Muhammad I of Granada
Muhammad I | |
---|---|
al-Ghalib biʾllāh | |
Maliki ) |
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr (
In the 18 years that followed, Muhammad consolidated his domain by maintaining relatively peaceful relations with the
The Emirate of Granada, which Muhammad founded, and the Nasrid royal house, lasted for two more centuries until it was annexed by Castile in 1492. His other legacy was the construction of the Alhambra, his residence in Granada. His successors would continue to build the palace and fortress complex and reside there, and it has lasted to the present day as the architectural legacy of the emirate.
Origin and early life
Muhammad ibn Yusuf was born in 1195
Muhammad was also known as Ibn al-Ahmar,[9] or by his kunya Abu Abdullah.[3]
Family
Muhammad I was married to a paternal first cousin (a
Background
The early thirteenth century was a period of great loss for the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the north of the peninsula there were several Christian kingdoms: Castile, León (in a union with Castile since 1231), Portugal, Navarre, and a union of kingdoms known as the Crown of Aragon. They had been expanding south—taking formerly Muslim-ruled territories—in a process called the Reconquista or "the reconquest". All of the kingdoms had sizable Muslim minorities.[17] By the mid-thirteenth century, Castile was the largest kingdom of the peninsula.[18] Its king, Ferdinand III (r. 1217–1252) took advantage of the addition of León to his realm and of the Muslims' disunity to launch a southward expansion into Muslim territories, eventually conquering Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248).[3][19]
Rise to power
The defeats suffered by Ibn Hud eroded his credibility; rebellions broke out in parts of his domain, including Muhammad's small town of Arjona.[9] On 16 July 1232, a mosque assembly in Arjona declared the town's independence. This proclamation took place on 26 Ramadan 629 in the Islamic calendar, after the final Friday prayer of the holy month.[9][20] The assembly elected Muhammad, who was known for his piety and his martial reputation in previous conflicts against the Christians, as the town's leader. Muhammad also had the support of his clan, the Banu Nasr, and an allied Arjonan clan known as the Banu Ashqilula.[21][22][5]
In the same year, Muhammad took Jaén—an important city close to Arjona. With help from Ibn Hud's rivals, the Banu al-Mawl, Muhammad briefly seized control of the former disputed seat of Córdoba. He also took Seville in 1234 with help from the Banu al-Bajji family, but he was only able to hold it for one month. Both Córdoba and Seville, dissatisfied with Muhammad's ruling style, returned to Ibn Hud's rule shortly after Muhammad's takeover. After these failures, Muhammad once again declared his allegiance to Ibn Hud and kept his rule over a small region containing Arjona, Jaén, Porcuna, Guadix, and Baeza.[23][24][5]
Muhammad turned against Ibn Hud again in 1236. He allied himself with Ferdinand and helped the Castilians
Ruler of Granada
Settling in Granada
Muhammad entered Granada in May 1238 (Ramadan 635).
Initial conflict with Castile
By the end of the 1230s, Muhammad had become the most powerful Muslim ruler in Iberia. He controlled the major cities of the south, including Granada, Almería, Málaga and Jaén. In the early 1240s, Muhammad came into conflict with his former allies, the Castilians, who were invading Muslim territories. Contemporary sources disagree about the cause of this hostility: the Christian
In 1245, Ferdinand III of Castile
Peace
The peace agreement with Castile largely held for almost twenty years. In 1248, Muhammad demonstrated his commitment to Ferdinand by sending a contingent to help the Castilian conquest of the Muslim-held Seville. In 1252, Ferdinand died and was succeeded by Alfonso X. In 1254, Muhammad attended a Cortes, or an assembly of Alfonso's vassals, at the royal palace in Toledo, where he renewed his promise of loyalty and tributes, as well as paying homage to Alfonso's newborn daughter Berengaria. During his reign, Alfonso was more interested in other enterprises—including a series of unsuccessful campaigns in Muslim North Africa—rather than renewing the conflict with Granada. Muhammad met with Alfonso at the latter's court in Seville every year, and paid his annual tributes. Muhammad used the ensuing peace to consolidate his new emirate. Though small in size, the Emirate of Granada was relatively wealthy and densely populated. Its economy was focused on agriculture, especially silk and dried fruit; it traded with Italy and northern Europe. Islamic literature, art and architecture continued to flourish. The mountains and desert that separate the kingdom from Castile provided natural defenses, but its western ports and the northwestern route to Granada were less defensible.[41][42][43][44]
During his rule, Muhammad placed loyal men in castles and cities.[45] His brother Isma'il was governor of Málaga until 1257.[45] Following Isma'il's death in 1257, Muhammad appointed his nephew, Abu Muhammad ibn Ashqilula, as governor of Málaga.[45]
Rift with Castile
Peace between Granada and Castile lasted until the early 1260s, when various actions by Castile alarmed Muhammad.
In light of these actions, Muhammad was worried that he would become Alfonso's next target.
Revolt of the Mudéjars
The peace was broken in either late April or early May 1264.[53] Muhammad attacked Castile, and at the same time Muslims in the territories recently conquered by Castile ("Mudéjars") rebelled; partially over Alfonso's forced relocation policy and partially at Muhammad's instigation. Initially, Murcia, Jerez, Utrera, Lebrija, Arcos and Medina Sidonia were taken into Muslim control, but counterattacks by James I of Aragon and Alfonso retook these territories, and Alfonso invaded Granada's territory in 1265. Muhammad soon sued for peace, and the resulting settlement was devastating for the rebels: the Muslims of Andalusia suffered mass expulsions, replaced by Christians.[54][55]
For Granada, the defeat had mixed consequences. On the one hand, it was soundly defeated, and according to the peace treaty signed at
Conflict with the Banu Ashqilula
The Banu Ashqilula were a clan and—like the Nasrids—were also from Arjona. They had been the Nasrids' most important allies during their rise to power. They supported Muhammad's appointment as leader of Arjona in 1232 and helped with the acquisition of cities like Seville and Granada. Both families intermarried, and Muhammad appointed members of the Banu Ashqilula as governors in his territories. The Banu Ashqilula's center of power was in Málaga, where Muhammad's nephew Abu Muhammad ibn Ashqilula was governor. Their military strength was the backbone of Granada's power.[58]
By 1266, while Granada was still fighting Castile in the Mudéjar revolt, the Banu Ashqilula started a rebellion against Muhammad I.[59][60][61] Sources are scarce regarding the beginning of the rebellion and historians disagree about the cause of the rift between the two families. Professor of Hispano-Islamic history Rachel Arié suggested that contributing factors may have been the 1257 declaration of Muhammad's sons—Muhammad and Yusuf—as heirs and his 1266 decision to marry one of his granddaughter Fatima [62]to a Nasrid cousin instead of one of the Banu Ashqilula. According to Arié, these decisions alarmed the Banu Ashqilula because Muhammad had previously promised to share power with them and these decisions excluded them from the Nasrid dynasty's inner circle. In contrast, another historian of Islamic Spain, María Jesús Rubiera Mata rejected these explanations; she argued that the Banu Ashqilula were worried about Muhammad's decision to invite North African forces during the 1264 Revolt of the Mudéjars because the new military power threatened the Banu Ashqilula's position as the strongest military power in the Emirate.[62]
Muhammad besieged Málaga but failed to overpower the Banu Ashqilula military strength.[60] The Banu Ashqilula sought assistance from Alfonso X of Castile, who was happy to support the rebellion to undermine Muhammad's authority.[60] Alfonso sent 1,000 soldiers under Nuño González de Lara and Muhammad was forced to break off the siege of Málaga.[60] The danger of fighting at multiple fronts contributed to Muhammad's decision to finally seek peace with Alfonso.[63] In the resulting agreement of Alcalá de Benzaide, Muhammad renounced his claims over Jerez and Murcia—territories not under his control—and promised to pay an annual tribute of 250,000 maravedies.[60][56] In exchange, Alfonso abandoned his alliance with the Banu Ashqilula and acknowledged Muhammad's authority over them.[60]
Alfonso was reluctant to enforce the last point and did not move against the Banu Ashqilula. Muhammad countered by convincing Nuño González, the commander of the Castilian forces sent to support the Banu Ashqilula, to rebel against Alfonso. Nuño González, who had grievances against his king, agreed; in 1272 he and his Castilian noble allies began operations against Castile from Granada. Muhammad had successfully deprived Castile of Nuño González's forces and gained allies in his conflict against the Banu Ashqilula. The Banu Ashqilula agreed to negotiate under the mediation of Al-Tahurti from Morocco.
Before these efforts bore fruit, Muhammad suffered fatal injuries after falling from a horse on 22 January 1273 (29
Succession
By the time of his death in 1273, Muhammad had already secured the succession for his son, also named Muhammad, known by the epithet
Legacy
Muhammad's main legacy was the founding of the Emirate of Granada under the rule of the Nasrid dynasty, which on his death was the only independent Muslim state remaining in the Iberian peninsula,[69] and would last for little over two centuries before its fall in 1492. The emirate spanned 240 miles (390 km) between Tarifa in the west and eastern frontiers beyond Almería, and was around 60 to 70 miles (97 to 113 km) wide from the sea to its northern frontiers.[69]
During his lifetime, the Muslims of al-Andalus suffered severe setbacks, including the loss of the
His religious views appeared to transform during his career. In the beginning, he displayed an outward image of an ascetic religious frontiersman, like a typical
Notes
- Arabic: amir) are also used in official documents and by historians.[1]
References
Citations
- ^ Rubiera Mata 2008, p. 293.
- ^ Vidal Castro 2000, p. 802.
- ^ a b c d e f Latham & Fernández-Puertas 1993, p. 1020.
- ^ Vidal Castro 2000, p. 798.
- ^ a b c d e f g Latham & Fernández-Puertas 1993, p. 1021.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 28.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 21.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, p. 274.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 38.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, p. 163.
- ^ Boloix Gallardo 2017, pp. 38, 165.
- ^ Fernández-Puertas 1997, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 9.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, p. 265.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2014, pp. 268, 274.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 6.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Vidal Castro 2000, p. 806.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, pp. 267, 274.
- ^ a b c d Harvey 1992, p. 22.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2014, pp. 275–276.
- ^ Latham & Fernández-Puertas 1993, pp. 1020–1021.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, p. 275.
- ^ a b Terrasse 1965, p. 1016.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 29.
- ^ Terrasse 1965, pp. 1014, 1016.
- ^ Latham & Fernández-Puertas 1993, p. 1028.
- ^ Terrasse 1965, pp. 1016–1017.
- ^ Terrasse 1965, p. 1014.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 22–23.
- ^ a b c Miranda 1970, p. 429.
- ^ Doubleday 2015, p. 46.
- ^ a b c Catlos 2018, p. 334.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 26.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 30.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, p. 276.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, pp. 277–278.
- ^ Harvey 1992, p. 25.
- ^ Doubleday 2015, p. 60.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 11.
- ^ a b c Fernández-Puertas 1997, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f O'Callaghan 2011, p. 34.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 23.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 29.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 31.
- ^ a b c O'Callaghan 2011, p. 32.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, pp. 34–35.
- ^ a b c d e f O'Callaghan 2011, p. 35.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 36.
- ^ Kennedy 2014, pp. 278–279.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 53–54.
- ^ a b Doubleday 2015, p. 122.
- ^ a b Harvey 1992, p. 51.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 31–33.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2014, p. 279.
- ^ a b c d e f Harvey 1992, p. 38.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 48.
- ^ a b Harvey 1992, p. 33.
- ^ O'Callaghan 2011, p. 49.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Diem & Schöller 2004, p. 434.
- ^ a b Harvey 1992, p. 39.
- ^ a b Diem & Schöller 2004, p. 432.
- ^ Harvey 1992, pp. 152–153.
- ^ a b Watt & Cachia 2007, p. 127.
- ^ a b c d e Harvey 1992, p. 40.
- ^ UNESCO World Heritage List, 314-001
Sources
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- Doubleday, Simon R. (1 December 2015). The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465073917.
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- ISBN 978-0226319629.
- ISBN 978-1317870418.
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- O'Callaghan, Joseph F. (2011). The Gibraltar Crusade: Castile and the Battle for the Strait. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 34–59. ISBN 978-0812204636.
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- OCLC 495469475.
- Vidal Castro, Francisco (2000). "Frontera, genealogía y religión en la gestación y nacimiento del Reino Nazarí de Granada: En torno a Ibn al-Aḥmar" (PDF). III Estudios de Frontera: Convivencia, defensa y comunicación en la Frontera (in Spanish). Jaén: Diputación Provincial de Jaén. pp. 794–810.
- ISBN 978-0202309361.