The Alhambra: Being a Brief Record of the Arabian Conquest of the Peninsula with a Particular Account of the Mohammedan Architecture and Decoration

“ANDALUS” is the name given by the Moors to that part of the Spanish Peninsula wherein they were all-powerful for eight centuries. Andalus comprehended the four kingdoms of Seville, Córdova, Jaen, and Granada. (Los Cuatro Reinos de Andalusia.)

About the year 403 of the Hegira (A.D. 1012) Granada first acquired importance. Záwí, the African chief who then ruled in Andalusia from Malaga to Almeria, declared himself independent, and transferred the seat of government from Elvira to Granada. Little by little the whole population migrated to the new capital, so that Elvira dwindled to an insignificant village, whilst Granada rose to be a magnificent city, culminating in grandeur and importance during the reigns of three enlightened sovereigns of the Beni Nasr dynasty—Mohammed the First (Al-ghálib-billah, A.D. 1232-1272), who commenced the Alhambra; Yúsuf the First (A.D. 1333), who added greatly to its beauty, and is regarded as the monarch who completed the building; and Mohammed the Fifth (Al-ghaní-billah), son of Yúsuf, who succeeded to the throne upon the assassination of his father in 1354, and who finished the decorations of many of the Courts and Halls of the Palace.

One of the earliest extant references to Granada is contained in the MS. of Ibnu Battúttah, the Moslem traveller, who wrote in the fourteenth century. About the year 1360 Ibnu Battúttah journeyed from Morocco to Andalus, and visited Granada, which he thus describes: “Granada is the capital of Andalus, and the husband of its cities; its environs are a delightful garden, covering a space of forty miles, and have not their equal in the world. It is intersected by the well-known river Sheníl (Xenil) and other considerable streams, and surrounded on every side by orchards, gardens, groves, palaces, and vineyards. One of the most pleasant spots in its neighbourhood is that known by the name of ’Aynu-l-adamar—the fountain of tears—which is a spring of cold and limpid water placed in the midst of delightful groves and gardens.” The suburb of Granada here referred to, preserves to this day its Arabic name corrupted into Dinamar, or Adinamar. It is a pleasant and much-frequented spot, close to Granada.

The city of Granada was held in the highest estimation by Andalusian poets. One ancient eulogist says: “If that city could reckon no other honour but of having been the birthplace of the Wizír Ibnu-l-khattíb, that alone would be sufficient. But Granada has not its like in the world: neither Cairo, Baghdád, nor Damascus can compete with it; we can only give an idea of its worth by comparing it to a beautiful bride, of whose dower it should form part.”

The mention of the celebrated Wizír, Ibnu-l-khattíb, brings to mind a particularly interesting figure in the history of the Alhambra, for to him we owe the composition of many of the poems inscribed upon its walls. He flourished A.D. 1313-1374. Amongst other works of the highest value, of which he was the author, is a biographical dictionary of illustrious Granadians. At an early age he attracted the notice of Yúsuf I., who promoted him through many offices of the State, until he became that Sultán’s Grand Wizír, in which capacity he served his master faithfully and long. After the death of Yúsuf, he retained his high office of Wizír under Mohammed V. for twenty years, when the hostility of his foes brought upon him the suspicion of disloyalty. He was thrown into prison, and strangled by order of Mohammed. “Thus,” says an admiring biographer, “perished the phœnix of the age, the prince of poets and historians of his time, and the model of Wizírs.”

The unfortunate Ibnu-l-khattíb possessed, in the highest degree, the faculty of improvisation. It is related that he was sent on an embassy by Mohammed V. to implore the aid of Fáris, Sultán of Fez, against the Christians. On entering the Hall of Audience, and before he delivered his message, he uttered some verses which called forth the admiration of all present, and were so much approved by the Sultán, that before listening to what the Ambassador had to say on affairs of State, he exclaimed: “By Allah! I know not the object of thy visit; but whatever it may be, I grant the request.” In concluding the anecdote, the narrator adds: “This circumstance elicited from the celebrated Kádí, Abú-l-kásim Ash-Sheríf, who formed part of the embassy, the very just remark that never until that time had there been an ambassador who attained the object of his mission before he had made it known!”