Muhammad II of Granada
Muhammad II al-Faqih | |
---|---|
Taifa of Arjona | |
Died | 8 April 1302 (aged 66–67) Granada, Emirate of Granada |
Issue | Muhammad III, Nasr, Fatima |
House | Nasrid dynasty |
Father | Muhammad I |
Mother | Aisha[1] |
Religion | Islam |
Muhammad II (
After he took the throne, he negotiated a treaty with
During his 25-year rule, Muhammad consolidated the state founded by his father and implemented administrative and military reforms. He instituted the Nasrid royal protocol and the court chancery, organized the Volunteers of the Faith—troops recruited from North Africa—and increased the importance of the office of the vizier in the government. He also directed the construction of a series of strongholds in strategic positions throughout his frontiers, which formed the backbone of Granadan border defences in the centuries to come. He expanded the Alhambra palace and fortress complex, and increased the emirate's trade with Christian Europe, especially with traders from Genoa and Pisa. His epithet al-Faqih reflects his high education as well as his preference for surrounding himself with scholars and poets.
Early life
Muhammad was born in 633
Rule: 1273–1302
Background
Granada was located between two larger neighbours: the Christian kingdom of
Besides these two foreign powers, Granada was also challenged by the Banu Ashqilula, another Arjona clan which was initially allied with the Nasrids, and whose military strength had helped establish the kingdom. They rebelled against Muhammad I from at least 1266, and received assistance from Castile, then under the rule of Alfonso X, who wanted to keep Granada in check. Alfonso sent a force under Nuño González de Lara to help the Banu Ashqilula, but the Castilian nobleman had his own grievances against Alfonso;[19] Nuño González ended up rebelling against his king, and was welcomed by Muhammad I.[17] In the beginning of Muhammad II's rule, the Banu Ashqilula's territories included Málaga—the second biggest city in the emirate after Granada and an important Mediterranean port—as well as Guadix.[20][21]
Accession and negotiation with Alfonso X
On 22 January 1273, Muhammad I fell from a horse and died of his injuries. The younger Muhammad took the throne as Muhammad II. As he was the designated heir, the transition of power went smoothly. His first order of business was to deal with the Banu Ashqilula rebellion and the Castilian rebels who had been allied to his father and welcomed in Granadan territories. Relations with the Castilian rebels, who were led by Nuño González and had been useful in checking both Castile and the Banu Ashqilula, weakened as both sides were concerned about losing each other's support after the succession. Alfonso was also interested in reconciling with some of the rebels.[17]
Muhammad II then entered into negotiations with Alfonso—if he could secure Castile's alliance, he would not need to worry about losing the support of the rebels.[17] In late 1273, he and some of the rebel leaders visited Alfonso at his court in Seville, where they were welcomed with honour. Alfonso agreed to Granada's demands—to end his support for the Banu Ashqilula—in exchange for Muhammad's promise to be Alfonso's vassal, to pay 300,000 maravedís each year in tribute, and to end his co-operation with the rebels. However, once the payment was made, Alfonso reneged on his part of the bargain, maintained his support for the Banu Ashqilula and pressed Muhammad to grant them a truce.[22][23]
Marinid expeditions against Castile
Frustrated by Alfonso, Muhammad sought help from the Marinids, ruled by
With the beachhead established and the Castilian territories reconnoitred, Abu Yusuf sent more troops across, including his own household troops, ministers, officials and North African clerics. Abu Yusuf himself crossed to Spain on 17 August 1275. He then met with Muhammad and the leader of the Banu Ashqilula, Abu Muhammad, who joined the Sultan with their armies. The Marinids treated the Nasrids and the Banu Ashqilula as equals, and Muhammad, offended at being seen as an equal to his rebellious subjects, left the army after three days, although his forces remained.[27] In September 1275 this army won a major victory against Castile at the Battle of Ecija. Nuño González, now fighting for Castile, was killed. According to Marinid chronicles, the Banu Ashqilula contributed much to this victory and their leaders were present, while Granadan forces contributed little, with Muhammad himself staying in Granada.[28]
Abu Zayyan celebrated the victory in Algeciras and sent the head of Nuño González to Granada.[29] This probably offended Muhammad, who abhorred this type of cruelty and might have respected or even befriended his former ally. He embalmed the head in musk and camphor and sent it to Castile to be interred properly with his body.[30] Marinid sources portrayed this as an attempt by Muhammad to "court [Alfonso's] friendship".[29][31] At this point, the Marinids became more friendly with the Banu Ashqilula and less sympathetic towards Muhammad.[29]
Who wants to repent to his Lord for his sins, follow the example of his Prophet, and be among the guided?
Who wants to purify his soul with a strong resolution to help the religion of Muhammad?
Or will you exalt the cities of the enemy lands, where God is never worshipped?
And will you humiliate the Muslim lands? Will you endure the insults of the trinitarians, oppressors of the believers of the One God?
That the mosques in this land have become churches! Be destroyed of grief, do not be insensitive!
The priests and the bells on top of the minaret; wine and pork in the mosque!
Alas! We no longer hear the prayers of the pious, who bowed down, who rose, and who prostrated themselves.
Instead we see a mob of reprobates, full of arrogance, who never in their lives profess the true faith.
Excerpt of a poem by Muhammad II's secretary to the Marinid Sultan Abu Yusuf, appealing for his continued help in Al-Andalus.[32][33][34]
After losing a naval battle off Tarifa, Abu Yusuf, wary of being cut off from Morocco, decided to return home. Abu Yusuf, Muhammad and Castile agreed to a two-year truce in late December 1275 or early January 1276.[35] Before Abu Yusuf left, Muhammad's secretary Abu Umar ibn Murabit[36] wrote a poem expressing fear of Castile's power and appealing for the Marinids' continued help (see box).[32][36] Abu Yusuf left Spain and landed at Ksar es-Seghir on 19 January.[37]
Abu Yusuf and the Marinids returned to Spain in June 1277. Initially they were joined by the Banu Ashqilula and campaigned without Muhammad and the Nasrid forces. The Marinids defeated the Castilian forces outside Seville on 2 August and took several castles along the Guadalquivir river before retiring to Algeciras on 29 August.[38] Abu Yusuf marched again on 30 October, this time joined by Muhammad near Archidona. They took the castle of Benamejí, encircled Córdoba and pillaged the surrounding towns. Either Alfonso or the towns affected by the war sued for peace, which was accepted by Muhammad and Abu Yusuf. Abu Yusuf retired to Algeciras on 28 November, concluded a truce on 24 February 1278, and returned to Morocco in May. Although the Marinids had won a battlefield victory and the Muslim forces plundered multiple towns, they failed to take any major settlement or permanently annex Christian territories.[39] On the other hands, the ports of Tarifa and Algeciras on the Strait, remained as the Marinids' outposts in the peninsula.[37]
Diplomatic manoeuvring up to 1280
During Abu Yusuf's second expedition, the Banu Ashqilula handed over Málaga—their centre of power—to their new ally.
War on two fronts
The manoeuvring that saw the gain of Málaga and prevented Castile from taking Algeciras angered both the Marinids and Castile. Both, together with the Banu Ashqilula, attacked Muhammad in 1280.[44] The Marinids and Banu Ashqilula moved towards Málaga, unsuccessfully attacking the region of Marbella in the south.[44][45] Castile attacked from the north, led by the infante (prince) Sancho (later Sancho IV), son of Alfonso, who was checked by the North African Volunteers of the Faith led by Ibn Muhalli and Tashufin ibn Mu'ti.[44] The Volunteers were a component of Granada's military made up of warriors from North Africa, largely political exiles who migrated with their families and tribes.[46] They still defended Granada against Castile despite Granada also being at war with the Marinid state which they came from.[44] On 23 June, Granadan troops ambushed a large Castilian force at Moclín.[45] In June 1281, Castile invaded again, led by Alfonso himself and accompanied by the Infantes Sancho, Peter and John.[47] They defeated Muhammad in a battle near Granada's walls on 25 June, but after the failure of the negotiations that followed, the Castilians left Granada.[47]
At the end of 1281, Alfonso sent Sancho to Granada for further negotiations and Muhammad agreed to renew his vassalage to Castile. However, Alfonso accused Sancho of acting treacherously and of appropriating Muhammad's tribute. A rift broke out between the king and his son, which weakened the Castilian threat to Granada.[48] Alfonso ended up asking for Abu Yusuf's help against Sancho, and the two monarchs campaigned together against Sancho's partisans in Castile.[49] Meanwhile, Muhammad sealed an alliance with Sancho at Priego in late 1282.[50] At the end of 1283, Abu Yusuf attacked Málaga, forcing Muhammad to sue for peace. Mediated by Abu Yusuf's son, Abu Yaqub Yusuf, they agreed to reconcile and attack the Christians together.[51]
Alfonso died in 1284, and was succeeded by Sancho. Sancho was friendly towards Granada and pulled back the Castilian troops, while Muhammad declared his vassalage to him.[52][53] In 1286 Abu Yusuf died and was succeeded by his son Abu Yaqub. At the beginning of his reign Abu Yaqub was more preoccupied with domestic affairs, and so withdrew his forces from the Iberian campaign. In 1288 Abu Yaqub offered the Banu Ashqilula lands in North Africa. The clan took up the offer and emigrated en masse from Granadan territory.[23][53]
Tarifa campaigns
The Marinids retained outposts in Iberia, including Tarifa, an important port town on the Strait of Gibraltar. In 1290, Muhammad came to an arrangement with Sancho and the ruler of Tlemcen. Castile would attack Tarifa, Granada would attack other Marinid possessions, and Tlemcen would open hostilities against the Marinids in North Africa.[54] According to the agreement, Castile would then hand Tarifa to Granada in exchange for six border fortresses.[53] In November and December 1291, James II of Aragon met Sancho and agreed to join the war against the Marinids.[55] In October 1292 Castile, with assistance from Aragon's navy and supplied by Granada, succeeded in taking Tarifa.[56] Castile also took the six border fortresses from Granada as agreed, but refused to cede Tarifa even after Muhammad met with Sancho in Córdoba in December.[57][58] Granada, feeling cheated, then switched sides to the Marinids. Muhammad travelled to North Africa and met Abu Ya'qub at Tangier on 24 October, bearing many gifts and asking his friendship and forgiveness. Both monarchs agreed to an alliance against Castile.[59] In 1294, the Marinids and Granada unsuccessfully besieged Tarifa. The town would never again be in Muslim hands. After this failure, the Marinids decided to withdraw to North Africa. Granada proceeded to retake its former outposts, including Algeciras and—after some local resistance—Ronda.[57][58]
Final years and death
In 1295, Sancho died and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Ferdinand IV.[60] During his minority Castile was governed by a regency led by his uncle, Infante Henry.[60][61] His cousin, Alfonso de la Cerda made a rival claim for the throne, supported by James of Aragon.[62] Muhammad exploited this situation to strike at Castile: in late 1295 he captured Quesada and routed a Castilian army at the Battle of Iznalloz.[62] Ferdinand was also attacked by Aragon, Denis of Portugal, and his uncle, Infante John.[62] In 1296, Granada and Aragon concluded a pact of friendship and agreed to split their objectives: Murcia would go to Aragon and Andalusia to Granada.[61][62] In June 1296, Infante Henry made peace overtures to Muhammad, offering to hand over Tarifa, but this broke down when the town's commander, Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán, declared that he would not hand it over even if ordered to do so.[63][64] Late that year, Granadan forces defeated Infante Henry near Arjona and nearly captured him.[65] Henry's horse was captured, but Muhammad ordered it returned in a gesture of chivalry.[66]
The Marinids joined the war to support Granada and defeated Castile in a major battle near Seville in May or June 1299; they then laid siege to Tarifa.
Governance and legacy
Muhammad built on the nascent state created by his father, and continued to secure his realm's independence by alternatively allying with other powers, especially Castile and the Marinids, and sometimes encouraging them to fight each other.
Muhammad II was the true organiser of the Nasrid state with his reforms to the administration and the army.[76] His considerable legislative activity included the institution of the Nasrid royal protocol (rusūm al-mulk),[77] and of the court chancery (al-kitāba), in which the chief figure of his reign was the future vizier Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim.[78] His reign also saw the expansion and institutionalisation of the Volunteers of the Faith (also called ghazis in Arabic): soldiers recruited from North Africa to defend Granada against the Christians. Many of them were members of tribes or families which had been exiled from the Marinid state.[46] Some of them settled in the city of Granada, establishing the quarter of Zenete (named after the Berber tribe of Zenata),[46] and some in the western areas of the realm, such as Ronda and the surrounding area.[61] They received payments from the state, but often came into conflict with the locals in the areas they settled. When, in the early 1280s, Granada came into conflict with the Marinids, the Volunteers remained loyal and defended Granada against Castile, when it attacked at the same time.[44] Over time, the Volunteers became Granada's most important military force, numbering 10,000 at the end of Muhammad's rule and eclipsing Granada's locally recruited army. Their leader, the shaikh al-ghuzat, held an influential position in Granadan politics.[79] Different men were named as the shaikh by Muhammad at different points of his reign, including Ali ibn Abi Iyad ibn Abd al-Haqq, Tasfin ibn Mu'ti, Musa ibn Rahhu, Abd al-Haqq ibn Rahhu, and Ibrahim ibn Yahya.[80]
Territorially, Muhammad consolidated his realm and gained several strongholds in the Kingdom of Jaén, including Quesada and Alcaudete.[68] He lost Tarifa to Castile, and from this point the town would never again be in Muslim hands.[58] The internal threat from the Banu Ashqilula was eliminated, and Muhammad not only saw off successfully the repeated Marinid attacks, but deprived them of their holdings in Al-Andalus as well.[74][81] Muhammad oversaw a large-scale fortification project for the kingdom's defences, building a series of strategically positioned and well-supplied strongholds from the west to the east, which formed the backbone of Granadan frontier defences in the centuries to come.[82][83][84] He worked with his own hands during the constructions of the moat (khandaq) in Alcaudete.[85] The fortifications that he built also served to enforce royal authority because they were controlled by military governors (qa'ids) appointed and rotated by the court rather than by hereditary lords.[86] They were often located in mountainous or other areas that were difficult to reach, and could only be conquered or breached by expensive siege warfare.[87]
Muhammad increased the importance of the vizier in the Nasrid state. He had only one vizier throughout his long reign, Abu Sultan Aziz ibn Ali ibn al-Mun'im al-Dani, who became his trusted ally. He also served as Muhammad's ambassador to the Marinids, commanded some military operations, and co-signed many royal documents.[88] Muhammad also expanded the Alhambra, steadily establishing a royal residence zone in what was largely a fortress complex built by his father.[89] He continued his father's constructions of a precinct wall surrounding the royal zone, as well as multiple residence buildings and bathhouses.[90] The chronology for each part of the Alhambra during the early Nasrid period is not always clear—partly due to alterations and renovations under later Muslim or Christian rulers[89]—but Muhammad II definitely built the original palace that today becomes the Convent of San Francisco as well as the original Dar al-Mamlaka al-Saida in the Generalife.[90] He also built the Tower of the Ladies (Torre de las Damas, the site of today's Partal Palace built by his son Muhammad III) and the Tower of the Points (Torre de los Picos).[91] Further afield, the Nasrid palace structure now known as the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, located on along the edge of what was Granada's southern walls, has been dated by scholars to his reign as well.[92]
Externally, Muhammad pursued an increase in trade with Christian Europe, especially with Italian traders from Genoa and Pisa.[93] On 18 April 1279, Muhammad concluded a treaty with the ambassador of Genoa, granting the republic the rights to export Granadan goods with an especially low fee of 6.5% and to establish a trading post in the emirate, in exchange for supplying ships to Granada in the event of conflict against another Muslim power not allied to Genoa.[94]
Muhammad II was known by the epithet al-Faqih, literally meaning "the
References
Citations
- ^ a b Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 165.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 164.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 38.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 39.
- ^ a b Harvey 1992, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 33.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 166.
- ^ a b Fernández-Puertas 1997, pp. 2–3.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2014, p. 279.
- ^ Arié 1973, p. 206.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, p. 280.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 11.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2013, p. 456.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, p. 281.
- ^ a b Carrasco Manchado 2009, p. 401.
- ^ a b c d Harvey 1992, p. 151.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 3.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b c O'Callaghan 2011, p. 65.
- ^ a b c d e Harvey 1992, p. 158.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 153.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, p. 284.
- ^ a b c d e Harvey 1992, p. 154.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b c Arié 1973, p. 70.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 156–157.
- ^ a b c d Harvey 1992, p. 157.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 68.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 68–69.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Ibn Khaldun 1851, p. 288, also in Wikimedia Commons
- ^ Ibn Khaldun 1856, p. 94.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 69.
- ^ a b Ibn Khaldun 1856, p. 92.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 70.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 72–73.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 74.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Fernández-Puertas 1997, p. 2.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 158–159.
- ^ a b c d e Harvey 1992, p. 159.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, p. 282.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 81.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 82.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 83.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 85.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 86.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 89.
- ^ a b c Harvey 1992, p. 160.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 159–160.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 97–98.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 101.
- ^ a b Harvey 1992, pp. 161–162.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, pp. 284–285.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 103.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 112.
- ^ a b c Harvey 1992, p. 162.
- ^ a b c d O'Callaghan 2011, p. 113.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 114.
- ^ a b c d Harvey 1992, p. 163.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 114–115.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 115.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 116.
- ^ a b c O'Callaghan 2011, p. 118.
- ^ a b Latham & Fernández-Puertas 1993, p. 1022.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan 2011, p. 117.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 163, citing Ibn al-Khatib: "A story was put about that [Muhammad II] had been poisoned by a sweetmeat administered by his heir." Kennedy 2014, p. 285: "It was alleged that [Muhammad III] had in fact poisoned his father."
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 163, 166.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, p. 285.
- ^ a b Catlos 2018, p. 341.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 163–164.
- ^ a b c Carrasco Manchado 2009, p. 402.
- ^ Carrasco Manchado 2009, p. 429.
- ^ Carrasco Manchado 2009, p. 439.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, pp. 282–283.
- ^ a b Arié 1973, p. 240.
- ^ Carrasco Manchado 2009, p. 403.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, p. 283.
- ^ Arié 1973, p. 230.
- ^ Albarrán 2018, pp. 45–47.
- ^ Fernández-Puertas & Jones 1997, p. 170.
- ^ Albarrán 2018, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Albarrán 2018, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Arié 1973, p. 306.
- ^ a b Cabanelas Rodríguez 1992, p. 129.
- ^ a b Fernández-Puertas & Jones 1997, p. 234.
- ^ Arié 1973, p. 463.
- ^ Arnold 2017, p. 242-244.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 161.
- ^ Arié 1973, pp. 360–361.
- ^ Vernet & Samsó 1996, p. 272.
- ^ Vernet & Samsó 1996, p. 271.
- ^ Arié 1973, p. 429.
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- Ibn Khaldun (1851). Baron de Slane (ed.). Kitab al-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi al-Maghrib (in Arabic). Vol. 2. Algiers: Imprimerie du Gouvernment.
- Ibn Khaldun (1856). Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale (in French). Vol. 4. Translated by Baron de Slane. Algiers: Imprimerie du Gouvernment.