Muhammad I of Granada
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr, also known as Ibn al-Ahmar and by his honorific al-Ghalib billah, was the first ruler of the Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula, and the founder of its ruling Nasrid dynasty. He lived during a time when Iberia's Christian kingdoms—especially Portugal, Castile and Aragon—were expanding at the expense of the Islamic territory in Iberia, called Al-Andalus. Muhammad ibn Yusuf took power in his native Arjona in 1232 when he rebelled against the de facto leader of Al-Andalus, Ibn Hud. During this rebellion, he was able to take control of Córdoba and Seville briefly, before he lost both cities to Ibn Hud. Forced to acknowledge Ibn Hud's suzerainty, Muhammad was able to retain Arjona and Jaén. In 1236, he betrayed Ibn Hud by helping Ferdinand III of Castile take Córdoba. In the years that followed, Muhammad was able to gain control over southern cities, including Granada, Almería, and Málaga. In 1244, he lost Arjona to Castile. Two years later, in 1246, he agreed to surrender Jaén and accept Ferdinand's overlordship in exchange for a 20-year truce.
In the 18 years that followed, Muhammad consolidated his domain by maintaining relatively peaceful relations with the Crown of Castile; in 1248; he even helped the Christian kingdom take Seville from the Muslims. But in 1264, he turned against Castile and assisted in the unsuccessful rebellion of Castile's newly conquered Muslim subjects. In 1266 his allies in Málaga, the Banu Ashqilula, rebelled against the emirate. When these former allies sought assistance from Alfonso X of Castile, Muhammad was able to convince the leader of the Castilian troops, Nuño González de Lara, to turn against Alfonso. By 1272 Nuño González was actively fighting Castile. The emirate's conflict with Castile and the Banu Ashqilula was still unresolved in 1273 when Muhammad died after falling off his horse. He was succeeded by his son, Muhammad II.
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 in the town of Arjona, then a small frontier Muslim town south of the Guadalquivir, now in Spain's province of Jaén. He came from a humble background, and, in the words of the Castilian First General Chronicle, initially he had "no other occupation than following the oxen and the plough". His clan was known as the Banu Nasr or the Banu al-Ahmar. According to later Granadan historian and vizier Ibn al-Khatib, the clan was descended from a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad known as Sa'd ibn Ubadah of the Banu Khazraj tribe; Sa'd's descendants migrated to Spain and settled in Arjona as farmers. During his early life he became known for his leadership activity on the frontiers and for his ascetic image, which he maintained even after becoming a ruler.Muhammad was also known as Ibn al-Ahmar, or by his kunya Abu Abdullah.
Family
Muhammad I was married to a paternal first cousin, Aisha bint Muhammad, likely in 1230 or before, when he was still in Arjona. Their first son was Faraj, whose early death was recorded to cause Muhammad considerable sadness. Their other children included Yusuf, who also died during Muhammad I's lifetime; Muhammad and two daughters Mu'mina and Shams. He also had a brother, Ismail, whom he appointed as governor of Malaga, and who was the male-line ancestor of a line of future sultans of Granada starting from Ismail I.Background
The early thirteenth century was a period of great loss for the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula. The Almohad caliphate, which had dominated Al-Andalus or the Muslim Iberia, was split by a dynastic struggle after Caliph Yusuf II died in 1224 without an heir. Al-Andalus broke up into multiple small kingdoms or taifas. One of the taifa leaders was Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Hud, who revolted against the Almohads and nominally proclaimed the authority of the Abbasid caliphate but in practice ruled independently from Murcia. His growing strength made him the de facto leader of Al-Andalus, and briefly Muhammad's overlord. Despite his popularity and his success in Al-Andalus, Ibn Hud had suffered defeats against the Christians, including at Alanje in 1230 and at Jerez in 1231, followed by the loss of Badajoz and Extremadura.In the north of the peninsula there were several Christian kingdoms: Castile, León, 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. By the mid-thirteenth century, Castile was the largest kingdom of the peninsula. Its king, Ferdinand III 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 and Seville.
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. 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. 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.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.
Muhammad turned against Ibn Hud again in 1236. He allied himself with Ferdinand and helped the Castilians take Córdoba and end centuries of Muslim rule in the city. In the following years, Muhammad took control of important cities in the south. In May 1237, by invitation of the city's notables, he took Granada, which he then made his capital. He also took Almería in 1238 and Málaga in 1239. He did not take these southern cities by force, but through political maneuvering and the consent of the inhabitants.
Ruler of Granada
Settling in Granada
Muhammad entered Granada in May 1238. According to Ibn al-Khatib, he entered the city dressed like a sufi, in a plain wool cap, coarse clothes and sandals. He took up residence in the alcazaba built by the Zirids of Granada in the 11th century. He then inspected an area known as al-Hamra, where there was a small fortress, and laid the foundations there for his future residence and fortress. Soon work began on defensive structures, an irrigation dam, and a dike. The construction would last into the reigns of his successors, and the complex would be known as the Alhambra and would become the residence of all Nasrid rulers up to the surrender of Granada in 1492. He pressured his tax collectors to collect the necessary funds for the construction, going as far as executing Almería's tax-gatherer Abu Muhammad ibn Arus to enforce his demands. He also used money sent by the Hafsid ruler of Tunis—intended for defense against the Christians—to extend the city's mosque.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 First General Chronicle blamed it on Muslim raiding, while Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun blamed it on Christian invasions of Muslim territories. In 1242, Muslim forces successfully raided Andújar and Martos near Jaén. In 1244, Castile besieged and captured Muhammad's hometown of Arjona.In 1245, Ferdinand III of Castile besieged the heavily fortified Jaén. Ferdinand did not want to risk assaulting the city, so his tactic was to cut it off from the rest of the Muslim territory and starve it into submission. Muhammad tried to send supplies to this important city, but these efforts were thwarted by the besiegers. Due to Muhammad's difficulty in defending and relieving Jaén, he agreed to terms with Ferdinand. In exchange for peace, Muhammad surrendered the city and agreed to pay Ferdinand an annual tribute of 150,000 maravedíes—an amount that became Ferdinand's most important source of income. This agreement was made in March 1246, seven months into the siege of Jaén. As part of the agreement he was required to kiss Ferdinand's hand to signify his vassalage, and promised him "counsel and aid". Castilian sources tended to emphasize this event as an act of feudal submission and considered Muhammad and his successors as vassals of Castile in the feudal sense. On the other hand, Muslim sources avoided mentions of any vassal-lord relation and tended to frame the relationship as between equals with certain obligations. After the agreement, the Castilians entered the city and expelled its Muslim inhabitants.