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Granada's history is one of internal crises because
of the existence of a powerful landowning nobility
successive wars with Castile.
Successive kings of Granada sought political support
and military aid from Morocco.
Moroccan recruits caused the kingdom to undergo an
intense process of 'arabisation', to cut itself off from
all Castilian influences, and to develop an absolute
form of government based on military support. |
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The central government's economic
resources depended mainly on the silk industry and on
external trade; the latter flourished because of the
fortunate position of the chief port, Málaga, on the
route from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
Granada paid close attention to the
Strait of Gibraltar; for a whole century its rulers made
efforts to secure control of the straits, allying to
this end at different times with both Morocco and
Castile. |
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In 1306 Muhammad III (ruled 1302-09),
then in possession of Ceuta and Gibraltar, seemed to
have succeeded, but a powerful coalition soon reduced
him to the modest position of vassal of the king of
Castile.
After 1340, when the battle of Río
Salado settled the question of the straits in Castile's
favour, Granada adopted a policy of isolation, taking
advantage of any propitious circumstance to strengthen
its land frontiers.
It was in this period that Yusuf I
(ruled 1333-54) and Muhammad V (ruled 1354-59 and
1362-91) finished building the Alhambra. |
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The city's name may have been derived
either from the Spanish granada, "pomegranate," a
locally abundant fruit that appears on the city's coat
of arms, or from its Moorish name, Karnattah (Gharnatah),
possibly meaning "hill of strangers."
Granada was the site of an Iberian
settlement, Elibyrge, in the 5th century BC and of the
Roman Illiberis. As the seat of the Moorish kingdom of
Granada, it was the final stronghold of the Moors in
Spain, falling to the Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand
II and Isabella I in January 1492. |
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Emperor Charles V, who spent several
months in Granada, began the construction of the palace
which bears his name and made some alterations to the
interior buildings. These measures were to cause
interminable controversy often motivated by political
agendas. The remaining Austrian kings did not forget the
monument and have left their own more discreet
impressions on it.
During the 18th century and part of the 19th, the
Alhambra fell into neglect and was to see its salons
converted into dungheaps and taverns,occupied by thieves
and beggars. "Thus bats defile abandoned castles, and
the reality of Spanish criminals and beggars destroy the
illusion of this fairy palace of the Moors;" writes
Richard Ford.
As the crowning blow, Napoleon's
troops, masters of Granada from 1808 until 1812, were to
convert the palaces into barracks During one retreat
they mined the towers and blew up part of them. Two of
them, the Torre de Siete Suelos and the Torre de Agua
were left in ruins.
And so the incredible neglect
continued, until 1870 when the Alhambra was declared a
national monument. Travellers and romantic artists of
all countries had railed against those who scorned the
most beautiful of their monuments. Since that date and
up to now, the Alhambra, protected, restored, cared for
and even improved, has been preserved for the pleasure
and admiration of all. |
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