Nasrid dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
dynasty in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Arab history as the Battle of Al-Uqab , took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain...
. Twenty-three different emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
s ruled Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
from the founding of the dynasty in 1232 by Mohammed I ibn Nasr until January 2, 1492, when Muhammad XII surrendered to the Christian Spanish kingdoms of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
and Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
. Today, the most visible evidence of the Nasrids is the Alhambra
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
palace complex built under their rule.
List of Nasrid Sultans of Granada
- Muhammed I ibn Nasr (1238–1272)
- Muhammed II al-FaqihMuhammed II al-Faqih, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed II al-Faqih was the son and heir of Mohammed ibn Alhamar and the second Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula....
(1273–1302) - Muhammed IIIMuhammed III, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed III was a son of Muhammed II al-Faqih and the third Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula....
(1302–1309) - NasrNasr, Sultan of GranadaNasr , full name Abu'l-Juyush Nasr, was a son of Muhammed II al-Faqih and the fourth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. Nasr was a child of a Christian concubine....
(1309–1314) - Ismail IIsmail I, Sultan of GranadaIsmail I was the grandson of Muhammed II al-Faqih and the fifth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula in 1314–1325....
(1314–1325) - Muhammed IVMuhammed IV, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed IV was the Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 1325 to 1333. He was the son of Ismail I, Sultan of Granada and the sixth Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia...
(1325–1333) - Yusuf IYusuf I, Sultan of GranadaYusuf I, Sultan of Granada was the seventh Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He was Sultan between 1333 and 1354.-Qualities:...
(1333–1354) - Muhammed VMuhammed V, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed V was the eighth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula.Muhammad V was the eldest son and heir of Yusuf I by his slave Butayna, born in 1338. He also had a younger full-blood sister, A'isha, two half brothers and five half-sisters...
(1354–1359, 1362–1391) - Ismail IIIsmail II, Sultan of GranadaIsmail II , was the second son of Yusuf I and the ninth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He reigned from August 1359 until June 1360.-Conspiracy:...
(1359–1360) - Muhammed VIMuhammed VI, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed VI was the brother in-law of Ismail II, by his marriage to one of Ismail II's full-blood sisters, and the tenth Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia. He was a second cousin of Muhammed V and Ismail II, whom he conspired against...
(1360–1362) - Yusuf IIYusuf II, Sultan of GranadaYusuf II was the eleventh Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula.- References :*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992...
(1391–1392) - Muhammed VIIMuhammed VII, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed VII was the twelfth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula..- References :*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992...
(1392–1408) - Yusuf IIIYusuf III, Sultan of GranadaYusuf III was the thirteenth Nasrid Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 1408 to 1417. He inherited the throne from his brother, Muhammed VII, and was a noted builder and poet....
(1408–1417) - Muhammed VIIIMuhammed VIII, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed VIII , common alternative spelling Muhammad, known as "the left handed", was the fourteenth Nasrid Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula....
(1417–1419, 1427–1429) - Muhammed IXMuhammed IX, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed IX was the fifteenth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He was likely the father of Aixa.- References :...
(1419–1427, 1430–1431, 1432–1445, 1448–1453) - Yusuf IVYusuf IV, Sultan of GranadaYusuf IV was the sixteenth Nasrid ruler of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula in 1432. He was known as Yusuf Ibn al-Mawl, or in Spanish, Abenalmao. A maternal grandson of Muhammed VI, Yusuf IV was placed on the throne of Granada on 1 January 1432 with the support of the Catholic King...
(1432) - Yusuf VYusuf V, Sultan of GranadaYusuf V was the seventeenth Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia.- References :*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992...
(1445–1446, 1462) - Muhammed XMuhammed X, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed X was the eighteenth Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia.- References :*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992...
(1446–1448) - Muhammed XIMuhammed XI, Sultan of GranadaMuhammed XI was the nineteenth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. He was married to Aixa.- References :*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992...
(1453–1454) - SaidSaid, Sultan of GranadaSaid, Sultan of Granada was the twentieth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula.- References :*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992...
(1454–1464) - Abu l-Hasan Ali, known as Muley Hacén (1464–1482, 1483–1485)
- Abu 'abd Allah Muhammed XII, known as Boabdil (1482–1483, 1486–1492)
- Abū `Abd Allāh Muhammed XIIIMuhammed XIII, Sultan of GranadaAbū `Abd Allāh Muhammad az-Zaghall was the twenty-third Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia. Christians called him Muhammed XIII el Zagal.-Life:...
, known as El Zagal (1485–1486)
Nasab
Arabs trace their ancestry through their nasab, i.e. patrilinealPatrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
descent. The Nasrid dynasty claimed direct male-line descent from Sa'd ibn Ubadah
Sa'd ibn Ubadah
Sa'd ibn Ubadah ibn Dulaim was one of the prominent Sahabah and Ansar, the chief of the Banu Khazraj.He participated in the secret second pledge at al-Aqabah. It was not after that the Medinan pilgrims had left the city, that the Meccans became aware of the meeting at Aqabah. They pursued the...
, chief of the Banu Khazraj
Banu Khazraj
-Early history:Abu Muhammad Al-hasan Ibn Ahmad Al-hamdani mentioned that The Banu Khazraj along with Banu Aws settled the area of Yathrib around the 2nd century ad as part of the PreIslamic Exodus of Yemen due to the Great Dam damage....
tribe and one of the companions
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. The Banu Khazraj were themselves part of the Qahtanite
Qahtanite
The terms Qahtanite and Qahtani refer to Semitic peoples either originating in, or claiming genealogical descent from the southern extent of the Arabian Peninsula, especially from Yemen....
group of tribes, which originate in the southern
South Arabia
South Arabia as a general term refers to several regions as currently recognized, in chief the Republic of Yemen; yet it has historically also included Najran, Jizan, and 'Asir which are presently in Saudi Arabia, and Dhofar presently in Oman...
regions of the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. The nasab of Yusuf (nicknamed "al-Ahmar", meaning "the Red"), the common ancestor of all Nasrid sultans, is shown below. The name of Nasr, from whom the dynasty derives its name, appears in bold font.
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- Yusuf al-Ahmar ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn (Khamees ibn) Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Nusair ibn Ali ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd ibn Qais ibn Sa'dSa'd ibn UbadahSa'd ibn Ubadah ibn Dulaim was one of the prominent Sahabah and Ansar, the chief of the Banu Khazraj.He participated in the secret second pledge at al-Aqabah. It was not after that the Medinan pilgrims had left the city, that the Meccans became aware of the meeting at Aqabah. They pursued the...
ibn Ubadah ibn Dulaym ibn Harithah ibn Abi Hazima ibn Tha'labah ibn Tarif ibn al-Khazraj ibn Sa'ida ibn Ka'b ibn al-KhazrajBanu Khazraj-Early history:Abu Muhammad Al-hasan Ibn Ahmad Al-hamdani mentioned that The Banu Khazraj along with Banu Aws settled the area of Yathrib around the 2nd century ad as part of the PreIslamic Exodus of Yemen due to the Great Dam damage....
ibn Harithah ibn Tha'labah ibn Amr ibn Amir ibn Harithah ibn Imri' al-Qays ibn Tha'labah ibn Mazin ibn al-AzdAzdThe Azd or Al Azd, are an Arabian tribe. They were a branch of the Kahlan tribe, which was one of the two branches of Qahtan the other being Himyar.In the ancient times, they inhabited Ma'rib, the capital city of the Sabaean Kingdom in modern-day Yemen...
ibn al-Ghawth ibn Nabt ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn KahlanKahlanKahlan was one of the main tribal federations of Saba'a in Yemen.-Conflict with Himyar:By the 1st century BC Saba'a was declining gradually and its southern neighbor Himyar was able to settle many Nomadic tribes that was allied to Saba'a and create a stronger Himyarite nation in the lowlands...
ibn Saba'SabaeansThe Sabaeans or Sabeans were an ancient people speaking an Old South Arabian language who lived in what is today Yemen, in the south west of the Arabian Peninsula.Some scholars suggest a link between the Sabaeans and the Biblical land of Sheba....
ibn Yashjub ibn Ya'rub ibn QahtanQahtaniteThe terms Qahtanite and Qahtani refer to Semitic peoples either originating in, or claiming genealogical descent from the southern extent of the Arabian Peninsula, especially from Yemen....
- Yusuf al-Ahmar ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn (Khamees ibn) Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Nusair ibn Ali ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd ibn Qais ibn Sa'd
Conflicts of Succession and Civil War
During the time the Christians were launching a campaign against the Emirate of Granada that would effectively end the Nasrid dynasty, the Nasrids were engaged in a civil war over the throne of Granada. When Abu l-Hasan Ali the reigning amir was ousted by his son Abu 'abd Allah Mumhamed XII. Abu l-Hasan Ali retreated to MalagaMálaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and civil war broke out between the competing factions. Christians took full advantage of this and continued capturing Muslims strongholds. Muhammed XII was caught by Christian forces in 1483 at Lucena. He was freed after he swore an oath of allegiance to Ferdinand and Isabella. Abu l-Hasan Ali finally abdicated in favor of his brother Sa'd al-Zaghal (the valiant) and a power struggle with Abu 'abd Allah (Mumhamed XII) continued. Sa'd prevailed in the inner struggle but was forced to surrender to the Christians.Abu 'abd Allah (Mumhamed XII) was given a lordship in the Alpujarras mountains but instead took financial compensation from the Spanish crown to leave the Iberian Peninsula.