Granada History

Muslim era

Alhambra. Nasrid Kingdom

The Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula began in 711, with the arrival of Tariq off the coast of Tarifa. The Muslim Granada phase began in the 11th century, particularly in 1013, as a result of a population transfer.

The Ziri, who were North Africans but not Arabs, built a new city there. In the year 1238 Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Nasr, known as Ibn al-Ahmar, founded the dynasty Nasrid after conquering Granada, the last to remain a Muslim kingdom in Western Europe until the conquest of the city on January 2, 1492, from the Catholic Monarchs. This dynasty built the palaces of the Alhambra.

Grenada was an important center of al-Andalus and became part of the Caliphate of Cordoba, in the heart of integrated Elvira.

With the arrival of the Zirid dynasty in the 11th century, the capital was moved from Medina Elvira to its original location next to Garnata Jaude andalusia, which was what remained of the old Iliberis, a Jewish neighborhood located at the southern exit and water infrastructure.

Since the 13th century Granada has been described as a city of knowledge and great beauty. Andalusia-Saqundi, talking about the city, said, “Granada is grass to the eyes, lifting souls.” Ibn Yuzayy, for its part says that “offered no sense talking about a city so famous,” and, describing the buildings of the Alhambra Ibn al-Khatib, said they “dazzle and amaze the eyes of intelligence.”

Al-Basit Granada speaks in these terms: “It’s place for reunion of famous people, poets, scientists, artists; there are the best men of our time.”

Grenada became one of the most prosperous cities of Europe, and during the 15th century, with 165,000 inhabitants, it was the most populated city in Europe. Under the reign of Alhamar, the Palace of the Alhambra was built (which is no longer there because its current appearance is due to Yusuf I and Mohammed V, in the 14th century).

After being suppressed thousands of Muslims, mostly artisans, were deported to the interior lands of the peninsula, overtaking the Christians and seizing their property. Granada entered a period of economic decline. The religious explosion made it a permanent Baroque spectacle during the 17th century.

A statue of Queen Isabel granting permission to Columbus to begin preparations for his trip to India is located in the Plaza de Isabel la Catolica.

Since the 19th century Granada has experienced interesting changes in those mixed areas freed by the sale to the French and English, leading to the creation of plazas and gardens.

The Hall resulted, but to build it took meant the undoing of much of the ancient urban layout, which happened to build the Great Way to be sacrificed for the old neighborhood of the Mosque.

The origins are not foundational stories, and investigations are based on theoretical speculation. The oldest document dates back to the tribe of the Iberian turdulos, one of the most advanced among the first settlers of the Iberian Peninsula. This tribe founded the city under the name Ihverir.

Between the first and second centuries BCE, the Romans conquered the land and Granada became the capital city, then known as Illiberis, as in Latin Florentia. The Romans occupied the area of the Alcazaba Albaicin neighborhoods and stretched up the hill of the Alhambra.

Visigothic coins and medals were discovered, indicating that Granada was a shared settlement. A Jewish community established itself as well, near the border of the Alcazaba Iliberis.

The truth is that the Muslim population was down in neighborhoods. The continuing friction between the Muslim and Christian authorities led to the revolt in the Alpujarras.

Queen Isabella’s dream of a peaceful coexistence between two worlds did not occur. In 1500 the first riot in the Albaicin started and did not stop until the famous Don Juan of Austria, in 1571, ended with the Moors in the Alpujarras rebels and killed their king, Aben Humeya or don Fernando de Valor.

Crafts and nobility were a part of Albaicin. The population was the lowest to the south, with large industries, customs and madrassas (which had a great first university, founded by Yusuf I in 1349).

Realejo settled in the Jewish Quarter. They had a solid economic base. They had their neighborhood on the left bank of the Darro River and were identified as “al-yahud Garnata.”

After the Spanish Reconquista and the expulsion of the Jews, this neighborhood was planning major changes, and has not preserved almost any other medieval quarter, which had beautiful synagogues.

On January 2, 1492, the city surrendered to the troops of the Catholic Kings, assuming the end of the Nasrid Kingdom. Although Granada surrendered to the Catholic Monarchs, it was conducted under generous and respectful conditions, especially by the Archbishop Hernando de Talavera.