Nasrid dynasty

The Capitulation of Granada by F. Pradilla y Ortiz, 1882: Muhammad XII of Granada confronts Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

History of Al-Andalus 711–1492
711–732 Muslim conquest
Battles : Battle of Guadalete Battle of Toulouse | Battle of Tours
756–1031 Omayyads of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir
1009–1106 First Taifa period
1085–1145 Almoravid rule
Almoravid conquest Battle of Sagrajas
1140-1203 Second Taifa period
1147–1238 Almohad rule
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
1232–1287 Third Taifa period
1238–1492 Emirate of Granada
Nasrid dynasty Battle of Granada
connected articles
Map of Al-Andalus Reconquista

The Nasrid dynasty (Arabic: بنو نصر‎ banū Naṣr) was the last Moorish and Muslim dynasty in Spain. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Twenty-three different emirs ruled Granada 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 and Castile. Today, the most visible evidence of the Nasrids is the Alhambra palace complex built under their rule.

List of Nasrid Sultans of Granada

• Muhammed I ibn Nasr (1238–1272)
• Muhammed II al-Faqih (1273–1302)
• Muhammed III (1302–1309)
• Nasr (1309–1314)
• Ismail I (1314–1325)
• Muhammed IV (1325–1333)
• Yusuf I (1333–1354)
• Muhammed V (1354–1359, 1362–1391)
• Ismail II (1359–1360)
• Muhammed VI (1360–1362)
• Yusuf II (1391–1392)
• Muhammed VII (1392–1408)
• Yusuf III (1408–1417)
• Muhammed VIII (1417–1419, 1427–1429)
• Muhammed IX (1419–1427, 1430–1431, 1432–1445, 1448–1453)
• Yusuf IV (1432)
• Yusuf V (1445–1446, 1462)
• Muhammed X (1446–1448)
• Muhammed XI (1453–1454)
• Said (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 XIII, known as El Zagal (1485–1486)

Nasab

Arabs trace their ancestry through their nasab, i.e. patrilineal descent. The Nasrid dynasty claimed direct male-line descent from Sa'd ibn Ubadah, chief of the Banu Khazraj tribe and one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[1] The Banu Khazraj were themselves part of the Qahtanite group of tribes, which originate in the southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula. 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.

Yusuf al-Ahmar ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn (Khamees ibn)^[2] Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Nusair ibn Ali ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd ibn Qais ibn Sa'd ibn Ubadah^[3] ibn Dulaym ibn Harithah ibn Abi Hazima ibn Tha'labah ibn Tarif ibn al-Khazraj ibn Sa'ida ibn Ka'b ibn al-Khazraj^[4] ibn Harithah ibn Tha'labah ibn Amr ibn Amir ibn Harithah ibn Imri' al-Qays ibn Tha'labah ibn Mazin ibn al-Azd ibn al-Ghawth ibn Nabt ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn Kahlan ibn Saba' ibn Yashjub ibn Ya'rub ibn Qahtan^[5]

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 Malaga 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.^[6]

Family tree

The family tree below shows the genealogical relationship between each sultan of the Nasrid dynasty.^[7] It starts with their common ancestor, Yusuf al-Ahmar. Daughters are omitted, as are sons whose descendants never reigned. During times of rival claims to the throne, the family tree generally recognizes the sultan who controlled the city of Granada itself and the Alhambra palace.

See also

• Al-Andalus
• Alhambra
• Romance of Abenamar

Notes and references

1. ^ Makki, Mahmoud (1992). "The Political History of Al-Andalus". In Jayyusi, Salma Khadra. The Legacy of Muslim Spain. Handbuch der Orientalistik. Part 1, Volume 12. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 77. ISBN 9789004095991. http://books.google.com/books?id=cbfORLWv1HkC&pg=PA77. 
2. ^ The name of Khamees is sometimes inserted in the nasab as an additional generation between Muhammad and Nasr.
3. ^ The line of descent of Yusuf al-Ahmar from Sa'd ibn Ubadah is taken from the following source:
   • Ibn al-Ahmar (1986) [Composed c. 1396]. Muhammad Ridwan al-Dayah. ed (in Arabic). Nathir fara'id al-juman fi nazm fuhul al-zaman. Beirut: Alam al-Kutub. OCLC 23145743. http://books.google.com/books?id=OoMzAAAAIAAJ&q=يوسف+نصر+سعد. 
4. ^ The line of descent of Sa'd ibn Ubadah from al-Khazraj is taken from the following sources:
   • Al-Dhahabi (in Arabic). Siyar a`lam al-nubala' [The Lives of Noble Figures]. 
   • Ibn Ishaq (1998) [Composed 8th century]. Ibn Hisham. ed. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Jubilee series. trans. Alfred Guillaume. Oxford University Press. p. 204. ISBN 9780195778281. http://books.google.com/books?id=w7tuAAAAMAAJ&q=Ubada+Dulaym. 
5. ^ The line of descent of al-Khazraj from Qahtan is taken from the following source:
   • Al-Tabari (1998) [Composed 10th century]. Tarikh al-Tabari [The History of al-Tabari]. SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Volume XXXIX: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors. trans. Ella Landau-Tasseron. State University of New York Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780791428191. 
6. ^ Barton, Simon (2009). A History of Spain. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 104. ISBN 978-0-230-20012-8. 
7. ^ Lane-Poole, Stanley (1894). The Mohammedan Dynasties: Chronological and Genealogical Tables with Historical Introductions. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company. p. 29. OCLC 1199708. http://www.archive.org/stream/mohammedandynas00lanegoog#page/n65/mode/1up. 

Bibliography

• Fernández Puertas, Antonio (1997). The Alhambra. Vol 1. From the Ninth Century to Yusuf I (1354). Saqi Books. ISBN 0-86356-466-6. 
• Fernández Puertas, Antonio. The Alhambra. Vol. 2. (1354 - 1391). Saqi Books. ISBN 0-86356-467-4. 
• Harvey, Leonard Patrick (1992). Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31962-8. 
• Watt, W. Montgomery (1965). A History of Islamic Spain. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0847-8. 
• Arié, Rachel (1990) (in french). L’Espagne musulmane au Temps des Nasrides (1232–1492) (2nd ed.). De Boccard. ISBN 2-7018-0052-8. 
• Bueno, Francisco (2004) (in spanish). Los Reyes de la Alhambra. Entre la historia y la leyenda. Miguel Sánchez. ISBN 84-7169-082-9. 
• Cortés Peña, Antonio Luis; Vincent, Bernard (1983-1987) (in spanish). Historia de Granada. 4 vols. Editorial Don Quijote. 

External links

• (Spanish) Genealogy of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada
• (French) Genealogy of the muslim dynasties in Spain