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The Alhambra Spain's Long Decline
A Decisive PointBoth the Alhambra Spain and the Moorish rule of Spain reached a unsurpassable crux, at the outcome of the 1212 AD Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, near Cordoba.
Further Moorish Rule of Spain Losses- Zaragoza had fallen in 1118 AD
- Moorish Cordova was vanquished in 1236 AD
- Moorish Valencia was conquered in 1238 AD
- then Murcia and most of Moorish Andalucia Spain in the subsequent years
- Moorish Seville fell in 1248 to Alfonso of Castilla
OverviewChristian Spain needed this Reconquista gap
Los Reyes Catolicos
Granada had been Ripped Apart by Unfair Taxes and a Harem Feud
The People of Granada accepted Boabdil as their True King
The Battle of Lucena
Boabdil was Twice Throned and Twice Dethroned
Muley Hassan became ill
The Treaty of Granada 25 November 1491
What Sparked Events?
a Truce with King Henry 1V
Ferdinado and Isabel became King and Queen of Castilla and Aragon
Catholic Kings' ambassador
Emir Muley Hassan
A Peaceful Lull of 250 years followed Granada, during this period, became the richest city in all of Spain. The Alhambra Spain had magnificent new Palace structures and lavish decor added. A life of luxury had created enormous wealth for the Spanish Arabs - and this very wealth, the Christians wished too to harvest. They needed, however, to understand "how" to work the Moorish luxury industries. Therefore meticulous instruction was necessary in many skills:
Meryan Cordoba
Leather Workshop
- Moorish Metallurgy
- Mining
- Ceramics production
- Sophisticated carpintery techniques (Taracea Craftsmanship decor - was unique to Granada -
Spectacular examples of Taracea Art are in the sala: room nš 5 of the Alhambra Spain Museum, comprising the massive door of the Hall of Two Sisters and an intricately decorated cuboard door from the Torre de las Infantas. Ceiling of the Tower of Comares a perfect example of Taracea).
Museo de Ciencias, Granada, Andalucia
Museo de Ciencias, Granada, Andalucia
- Silk manufacture and derived goods:
- Carpets, Tapisteries, Brocades, Silks
- The wool industry: the art of weaving the softest Merino wool
Knowledge of the manufacture of these goods, eventually, represented the base of the Spanish economy.
Los Reyes Catolicos:
Ferdinado de Aragon 11, married Isabel de Castilla 1, in 1469 AD Their offical title of "Los Reyes Catolicos" - was bestowed in 1494 by Pope Alexander V1 (who was Spanish by birth), for strengthening and unifying the Catholic Church, by completing, the Reconquista in 1492 - their title was granted by means of a papal bull.Ferdinand of Aragon (1452 to 1516 AD)
Isabel of Castilla (1451 to 1504 AD) were royal cousins. Their marriage slogan: "tanto monta, monta tanto": They amount to the same. Their rule was equally shared.
This Tato Mota inscription is seemingly wrongly spelt. Why?
Maybe someone could tell why. Wilkipedia also reference a Tanto Monta, Monta Tanto. I asked 3 Alhambra guides where it was - none had any idea. Does anyone "know" where, is the Tanto Monta Shield in the Alhambra? Their intention was to unite all of Spain under one religion: Catholicism. They believed religious unity would bring Political Unity. The Reconquista had commenced centuries before, The Catholic Kings wielded a vast amount of power - having united Castile and Aragon. Their rule was renowned for its religious zeal. They had a mighty ally in the adminstration of Catholic unification: the Pope. In 1478 AD the Spanish Inquisition, (which up till then had been a Castillean tribunal) was ratified by Pope Alexander V1, means of another papal bull. The Pope feared Muslim invasion from Corsica and Sardinia. He injected endless enthusiasm for the "Holy Wars - the Crusades" and supported Northern Spain's efforts to oust the Arabs.
Heavy artillery were THE secret-advantage weapon of the Christians
some of the Alhambra Spain cannons
The Gradual Demise1482 AD Yusef and Boabdil escaped from their imprisonment in the Alhambra Spain, to Guadix. Boabdil was proclaimed Emir in Guadix. - Defendants for the cause of first wife Aixa and her "firstborn" descendants (the Abencerrajes were extremely loyal to Aixa - for her Moorish heritage: this led to Muley Hassan's massacre of many of the Abencerraje clan - those whom he believed had been traitors to him)
Aixa and Muley Hassan were also cousins.
Aixa was known for her virginal upbringing. She became nicknamed: La Horra: the chaste. She had an extremely masculine character and was not physically appealing or sensual. Muley Hassan's aversity towards Boabdil existed since his birth astrology was cast: that Boabdil would bring about the fall of Moorish Spain.
- Defendants for (a Christian captive named Isabel de Solis): Soraya and the ascendancy of her children
(Muley Hassan's Vizier Abul Cacim Venegas had also previously been a Christian. He and his brother Reduan Venegas, later turned traitors. They were handsomely rewarded by the Catholic kings for their treachery, further granting the Venegas family high-ranking public offices.) Soraya, was a young virgin whose education had largely evolved around the seductive ways of the Alhambra Spain's Harem. The new favourite saw a way for the ascendancy for her own children and employed every feminine wile - to enforce this.
As Soraya's case gained in political influence: Aixa became imprisoned with her children in the Tower of Comares.
The city broke into a fierce civil war. The city versus the Alhambra Spain court. The military had had their wages slashed, crippling taxation (for the costs of the ongoing Christian war) was imposed on Granada civilians by openly drunken guards and high-ranking officials, wild stories of Muley Hassan's life becoming dedicated to the indulgence of sensual pleasures and drug-use in the Alhambra Spain: all this served to enrage the Granadine law-abinding, religious-minded citizens.
Imagine the amusement of the Christians, observing from afar, how the Moors decimated themselves during this raging internecine civil war. They themselves had UNITY. The Moors were spilt when they needed unity - at all costs.
Even before Boabdil left the Alhambra, the soothsayers' prediction of the El Zogoibi: "Unlucky One" began to roll. Passing under the Elvira Gate, Alhambra Spain, Boabdil's horse startled and bucked. Boabdil's lance shattered on the gate's arch. This was viewed as a "bad omen" by his officers, army and loyal supporters. He was encouraged to return. He refused... Boabdil was captured after a bloody and deathly battle by Diego Fernandez de Cordoba, in his first fight against the Christians - in Lucena. He was first imprisoned in the Palacio de Lucena and then was taken to Cordoba. He lived five months in the custody of the Count of Cabra in the Torrejon de Purcuna, (which remains standing to this day). On the 24th August 1483 AD, Boabdil signed the Pact of Cordoba which guaranteed his freedom. Fernando realised that Boabdil "released" was a far better tool in the Spaniards' cause - than Boabdil "imprisoned." The pact was: - peace was to reign for the next two years,
- he would have to pay 12,000 doblas in a yearly tribute as vassal to the Catholic Kings
- Christian prisoners were to be released
- Trained forces were to be rendered to the services of Ferdinando and Isabel
- Boabdil, also promised, to deliver the part of the kingdom of Granada, which belonged to his uncle, if the Castillean-Aragonese would aid him in winning back the city of Granada
- Ahmed (two years old at the time), Boabdil and Moraima's first born child was requested, to be held as hostage, insuring that Boabdil would not default
Once released, Boabdil fought both his father and his uncle. He was throned again by his loyal citizens. Boabdil's last dethronement was relinquishing the city of Granada and the Alhambra Spain to the Christians, 2nd January 1492.When Boabdil returned, Muley Hassan (who had returned to the Alhambra during Boabdil's imprisonment) and his brother el Zagal: the valiant escaped with vizier Abul Cacim Venegas; they vanished to Malaga. Meanwhile...Muley Hassan became ill with a malady similar to epilepsy. During his illness, his brother El Zagal, deposed Muley Hassan from his part of the Granadine kingdom, Muley Hassan died shortly after this in 1485. El Zagal adopted the title of Emir Muhammed X111. Boabdil and el Zagal made peace for a short period. In 1487 AD the city of Malaga was dramatically sieged and bitterly fought over. It was at this point when Abul Cacim Venegas turned traitor... Malaga fell: fifteen thousand Moslem souls were forced into slavery. Granada lost its coastal exit with the loss of Malaga becoming totally isolated from any exterior help. El Zagal surrendered to the Catholic kings, in prefence of accepting his nephew as his ruler. Boabdil meanwhile(son like father) renaged on the Cordova Pact.
Santa Fe was a Christian camp which accidentally burned down when a fire started in Queen Isabella's tent. The Moors believed, the Christians would retreat to spend the winter, to somewhere better sheltered, thus gaining them some relief-time to go and seek provisions, scant as they were.Ferdinando was resolute to complete the siege of Granada (the last step of the Spanish Reconquista). Granada's siege had begun in the spring of 1491. Santa Fe became a permanently constructed military city. The famished Moors observed as the camp tranformed from tents to stone. Traders began to travel to Santa Fe offering food and wares, enabling the Christians to sit there, for as long as it took... Santa Fe was purposely built, in the form of a cross - painted white. Santa Fe had never been touched by Moorish doctrine: its name signifies Holy Faith. Late October, Boadbil sent his Vizier Abul Cazim Abdelmalic to Santa Fe, to offer a surrender. Abul Cazim met with two men, Fernando de Zafra who was secretary to the catholic kings and Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba who acted as translator but was a military expert. Seventy-Seven terms of peaceful surrender were negociated. Boabdil offered Granada to Ferdinando and Isabel in exchange for an allowance to rule Guadix and other eastern Granadine towns: as a vassal of Castilla y Aragon. The Treaty was signed on the 25th November 1491. Sixty days were granted before the surrender was to be completed - but Granada was rife with discontent and rioting. Boabdil feared for his life. Boabdil sent message to the Christian camp and January 2nd became the new date of the surrender of the Alhambra Spain 1492 to the Christians. The Reconquista ended that very day.
The Christians did not Conquer - to Stay Christian conquests into Moorish lands, signified "tallas": systematic burning, plunder, enslavement of women and children, murder and total destruction. Abundant and lush Vegas were purposely ruined. Crops were burned, fruit and nut trees decimated, every vine was uprooted and salt was often scattered on the soil, contaminating it, for future use. Most of these lands were unusable thereafter and lay barren and arid - to this day. The Christians conquered - to oust the Muslims. The Christians were trained in warfare not agriculture or irrigation.
Finally, such losses, proved to be too expensive to the Moors. In 1457 AD, the Emir agreed to pay 12,000 doblas of gold and to liberate 600 Christian prisoners per/year - in exchange for Moorish Prisoners. The prisoner exchanges always took place in Cordoba. Emir Aben Ismael's son, Muley Hassan went once to the Cordova exchange. Muley Hassan was incensed at the mortification the Moors were subjected to. Muley Hassan ascended the throne in 1465 AD. The tribute payment stopped that day he ascended the Granada emirate throne of the Alhambra Spain. The weak rule of Henry (the Impotent) never contested this flagrant and intentional insult to Christian rule. The Christians, meanwhile, were swamped with the Portuguese war of succession and much civil unrest. The date of Emir Aben Ismael's truce expired. As the new Emir of Granada and the Alhambra Spain: Muley Hassan attempted to renew the Moorish/Spanish truce. The new Catholic rulers' were outraged. Not only were there previous tribute defaults - but the insult - that he should demand to renew - without paying those arrears. Travelling inside enemy territory, his military expertise, observed, the manifold and excellent Moorish fortifications and defences. Every hilltop had strategic Atalayas: watchtowers (used for smoke-signalling if the enemy penetrated). Each town had refuge fortresses and were sealed by massive protective walls. Moutain passes had strategic alcazabas. There were few ways to "surprize" the Moors.The scene of Granada and the Albayzin were deeply contrasting: extreme extravagance and manifest luxury - alongside - a thorough preparation for war. Undisguised hatred of the Moors, towards the Christian entourage as they entered the Elvira Gate, was not veiled. A deep sense of injustice rose in Juan de Vera's heart.
No-one knew the purpose of his mission.
Don Juan was received in the Hall of Ambassadors, Alhambra Spain.
He delivered the Catholic Kings' message.Emir Muley Hassan was renowned for a cruel and fearful temper. His reply was: "Tell your sovereigns, that the kings of Granada, who used to pay tribute in money to the Castillean crown, are dead. Our mint at present coins nothing but blades of scimitars and the heads of lances." Don Juan relaid the message to his king and queen. Simultaneously, he filled them in on the extensive military details of the Nazari Emirate. King Ferdinand 11, realised that immediate warfare - though was much deserved - would be a foolish decision at that time. His answer was a much remembered prediction/witticism: "I will pick out the seeds of this pomegranate one-by-one."
- Granada's etymology was that of a pomegranate
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