Ismail II | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sultan of Granada | |||||
Reign | 23 August 1359 – 24 June/13 July 1360 | ||||
Predecessor | Muhammad V | ||||
Successor | Muhammad VI | ||||
Born | 4 October 1339 Alhambra, Granada | ||||
Died | 24 June or 13 July 1360 Alhambra, Granada | ||||
| |||||
Dynasty | Nasrid | ||||
Father | Yusuf I | ||||
Mother | Maryam | ||||
Religion | Islam |
Abu al-Walid Ismail II ibn Yusuf (أبو الوليد إسماعيل بن يوسف, 4 October 1339 – 24 June or 13 July 1360) was the ninth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula. He reigned from 23 August 1359 until his death.
The second son of Yusuf I, he was initially the favourite of his father due to the influence of his mother Maryam, of whom he was the first son. His half-brother Muhammad V succeeded in 1354 after their father's assassination, and Ismail lived in a palace provided by the new Sultan. He dethroned his half-brother on 23 August 1359 in a coup that was masterminded by his mother Maryam and his brother-in-law Muhammad el Bermejo. With Muhammad V exiled in North Africa, Ismail's rule came to be dominated by el Bermejo. They had a falling out, which resulted in the violent overthrow of Ismail by his brother-in-law after less than a year as sultan. Ismail was executed along with his brother Qays and his ministers.
The Emirate of Granada was the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula, founded by Muhammad I in the 1230s. [1] Through a combination of diplomatic and military manoeuvres, the emirate succeeded in maintaining its independence, despite being located between two larger neighbours: the Christian Crown of Castile to the north and the Muslim Marinid Sultanate in Morocco. Granada intermittently entered into alliance or went to war with both of these powers, or encouraged them to fight one another, in order to avoid being dominated by either. [2] From time to time, the sultans of Granada swore fealty and paid tribute to the kings of Castile, an important source of income for Castile. [3] From Castile's point of view, Granada was a royal vassal, while Muslim sources never described the relationship as such. [4]
Muhammad IV allied himself with the Marinid Sultanate against Castile, and Ismail's father, Yusuf I, continued this diplomatic policy early in his reign. [5] However, after the disastrous Battle of Río Salado in 1340, he cautiously avoided confrontation and focused on the independent defense of his realm. [6] Castile, Granada, and the Marinids agreed to a peace treaty between the three kingdoms in 1350. [7]
Abu al-Walid Ismail ibn Yusuf was born on 4 October 1339 (28 Rabi al-Awwal 740 AH). [8] His father was Sultan Yusuf I and his mother was the Sultan's concubine Maryam. He was the second son of his father, born nine months after Muhammad, the first son of another concubine, Buthayna. Ismail had at least three younger full siblings: his brother Qays and sisters Shams and Zaynab. Other than Muhammad, he had a half-sister Aisha, also a child of Buthayna. Maryam seems to have had more influence over the Sultan than Buthayna, and Ismail was also his favourite son. [9] Yusuf's hajib (chamberlain), Abu Nu'aym Ridwan, was responsible for the education of Ismail and the other princes. [9] Ismail learned some Greek from the Ridwan, who was a former Christian. [10] The Nasrid dynasty did not have a predetermined order of succession; [11] initially, Yusuf designated Ismail as his heir, but, a few days before his death, he named Muhammad instead. [8]
Yusuf I was assassinated during prayer in the Great Mosque of Granada on Eid al-Fitr, 19 October 1354. To Maryam's and Ismail's disappointment, the vizier Ibn al-Khatib immediately declared Muhammad (now Muhammad V) as the next Sultan. [12] [13] Due to Muhammad's young age, the government and the army were controlled by Ridwan, who still held the guardianship of Muhammad, Ismail, and their siblings. [14] Ismail, Maryam, and his full siblings lived in a palace assigned to them by Muhammad and located in the Alhambra, the Nasrid royal compound, near the Sultan's own palace. Their movements were restricted but they lived comfortably and were treated with dignity and generosity. [14] [8]
Muhammad continued the policy of peace with all neighbours, and had good relations with both Abu Salim of the Marinids (r. 1359–1361) and Peter I of Castile. [15] However, in 1358, he was embroiled in the War of the Two Peters between Peter I and Peter IV of Aragon. Castile demanded Granada's financial and military contributions as its vassal. Muhammad's decision to enter the war angered many at court and was one factor that facilitated Ismail's rise to the throne. [13]
Ismail came to the throne on 23 August 1359 (28 Ramadan 760) in a coup masterminded and financed by his mother Maryam and supported by his father's cousin Abu Abdullah Muhammad—called el Bermejo, "the Red-haired" [16] [13] —who was also his brother-in-law, as he had married one of his full sisters several years before. [8] Under cover of the night in the holy month of Ramadan, one hundred men scaled the Alhambra's walls and overwhelmed the guards. They killed the hajib Ridwan, demolished his house, and took his rich possessions. [8] [17] Muhammad V happened to be outside the Alhambra, and fled to the eastern city of Guadix after failing to retake the palace compound. [18] The conspirators found Ismail in his assigned palace and declared him as the new Sultan. [8] However, soon much actual power was held by his brother-in-law el Bermejo, [14] who as high-ranking royalty was customarily titled al-rais (arráez). [19]
Muhammad V's authority was recognised in Guadix, and he was supported by the commander of the Volunteers of the Faith garrisoned there, Ali ibn Badr ibn Rahhu. However, the dethroned sultan failed to gain the loyalty of the eastern port of Almería or to secure help from his ally Peter I of Castile. [18] He then left the Iberian Peninsula for North Africa after he was offered asylum by the Marinid Sultan Abu Salim. He sailed from the western port of Marbella to Ceuta, and thence to the Marinid capital of Fez on either 28 October 1359 or 4 November 1359 along with his retinue, his vizier Ibn al-Khatib—whom Ismail agreed to release—and his katib (secretary) Ibn Zamrak. [8] [20]
Ismail replaced many of the Granadan high officials known or suspected to be loyal to his predecessor. He appointed Ibn al-Hasan al-Nubahi as the chief judge (qadi al-jama'a), replacing Ibn Juzayy, one of the most celebrated men in the city, whom Ismail suspected of supporting Muhammad V. [21] Ismail appointed Idris ibn Uthman ibn al-Ula as the Chief of the Volunteers in Granada. His predecessor, Yahya ibn Umar ibn Rahhu, remained loyal to Muhammad V and fled to Castile, along with 200 of his cavalry. Yahya was given asylum in Cordoba until he joined the Sultan-in-exile in 1361. [22]
With a civil war averted, Ismail renewed his predecessor's alliance with Castile against Aragon. In response, Peter IV of Aragon sent Granadan knights in his service to Granada in an attempt to destabilise Ismail's reign. [8] Ibn al-Khatib, one of the main historical sources on Granada in this period, wrote in his al-Lamha al-Badriyya that Ismail—whom he nicknamed al-Mutawattib ("the Usurper") [23] —was a weak, lazy, and effeminate ruler, who braided his hair with silk to below his waist and lacked any personal quality. [18] [24] Historian L. P. Harvey commented that this negative portrayal might have been biased by Ibn al-Khatib's allegiance to Muhammad V. [18] In any event, el Bermejo increasingly held the real power, to the extent that Ismail began to oppose his brother-in-law. [8]
Before Ismail could act, el Bermejo mounted a second coup, which resulted in his own accession and the dethronement of Ismail, either on 24 June 1360 (8 Shaban 761) or the night of 13 July (27 Shaban). Ismail was surrounded by el Bermejo's men and barricaded himself in a tower overlooking the capital, likely one of the towers in the Alcazaba of the Alhambra. [25] [24] Forced to surrender, he offered to live in seclusion, but el Bermejo took him to a dungeon, where he was executed. Next, el Bermejo found Ismail's brother Qays, who was still a child, and executed him, too. Both their bodies were dumped in public covered only with rags. [8] Ismail's ministers were also executed. According to historian Francisco Vidal Castro, el Bermejo's actions were motivated by fear that either royal could be used in a future court intrigue against him, as Ismail had been used to dethrone Muhammad V. Thus, el Bermejo took the throne as Muhammad VI. The next day, the bodies of Ismail and Qays were recovered and they were buried in the rawda (royal cemetery) of the Alhambra, next to their father Yusuf I. [25]
The reign of Muhammad VI (el Bermejo) did not last long: Muhammad V returned from North Africa on August 1361, set up a rival government in Ronda, and deposed his brother-in-law in March 1362. Muhammad VI threw himself at the mercy of Peter I, an ally of Muhammad V. Peter refused to give asylum to the dethroned Sultan and instead personally executed him in Seville on 25 April 1362. [26] Muhammad V went on to rule until his natural death on 16 January 1391. [27] His relatively long reign is considered one of the highest points of the Nasrid dynasty, together with the reign of Yusuf I before him. [28] [29]
The Nasrid dynasty was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-three sultans ruled Granada from the founding of the dynasty in 1232 by Muhammad I until 2 January 1492, when Muhammad XII surrendered all lands to Isabella I of Castile. Today, the most visible evidence of the Nasrid dynasty is the Alhambra palace complex built under their reign.
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 (1237), Almería (1238), and Málaga (1239). 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.
Abu Abdallah Muhammad V, known by the regnal name al-Ghani bi'llah, was the eighth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula.
Muhammad II was the second Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula, succeeding his father, Muhammad I. Already experienced in matters of state when he ascended the throne, he continued his father's policy of maintaining independence in the face of Granada's larger neighbours, the Christian kingdom of Castile and the Muslim Marinid state of Morocco, as well as an internal rebellion by his family's former allies, the Banu Ashqilula.
Muhammad III was the ruler of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 8 April 1302 until 14 March 1309, and a member of the Nasrid dynasty. He ascended the Granadan throne after the death of his father Muhammad II, which according to rumours, was caused by Muhammad III poisoning him. He had the reputation of being both cultured and cruel. Later in his life, he became visually impaired—which caused him to be absent from many government activities and to rely on high officials, especially the powerful Vizier Ibn al-Hakim al-Rundi.
Nasr, full name Abu al-Juyush Nasr ibn Muhammad, was the fourth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada from 14 March 1309 until his abdication on 8 February 1314. He was the son of Muhammad II al-Faqih and Shams al-Duha. He ascended the throne after his brother Muhammad III was dethroned in a palace revolution. At the time of his accession, Granada faced a three-front war against Castile, Aragon and the Marinid Sultanate, triggered by his predecessor's foreign policy. He made peace with the Marinids in September 1309, ceding to them the African port of Ceuta, which had already been captured, as well as Algeciras and Ronda in Europe. Granada lost Gibraltar to a Castilian siege in September, but successfully defended Algeciras until it was given to the Marinids, who continued its defense until the siege was abandoned in January 1310. James II of Aragon sued for peace after Granadan defenders defeated the Aragonese siege of Almería in December 1309, withdrawing his forces and leaving the Emirate's territories by January. In the ensuing treaty, Nasr agreed to pay tributes and indemnities to Ferdinand IV of Castile and yield some border towns in exchange for seven years of peace.
Abu'l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj was the fifth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula from 1314 to 1325. A grandson of Muhammad II on the side of his mother Fatima, he was the first of the lineage of sultans now known as the al-dawla al-isma'iliyya al-nasriyya. Historians characterise him as an effective ruler who improved the emirate's position with military victories during his reign.
Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf ibn Ismail, known by the regnal name al-Muayyad billah, was the seventh Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula. The third son of Ismail I, he was Sultan between 1333 and 1354, after his brother Muhammad IV was assassinated.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail, known as Muhammad IV, was the ruler of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula from 1325 to 1333. He was the sixth sultan of the Nasrid dynasty, succeeding to the throne at ten years old when his father, Ismail I, was assassinated.
The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad VI ibn Ismail, also known by his Castilian nickname el Bermejo and the regnal names al-Ghālib bi 'llāh and al-Mutawakkil ʿalā 'llāh, was the tenth Sultan of the Emirate of Granada. A member of the Nasrid dynasty, he ruled for a brief period between June or July 1360 and April 1362.
Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf ibn Muhammad was sultan of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state in the Iberian Peninsula, from January 1391 until his death. He was the 11th sultan of the Nasrid dynasty and the first son of his predecessor, Muhammad V.
The second siege of Gibraltar was an abortive attempt in 1316 by the forces of the Azafid Ceuta and the Nasrid Emirate of Granada to recapture Gibraltar, which had fallen to the forces of Ferdinand IV of Castile in 1309.
The Battle of the Strait was a military conflict contesting the ports in the Straits of Gibraltar taking place in the late thirteenth century and the first half of the fourteenth. The conflict involves principally the Spanish Muslim Emirate of Granada, the Spanish Christian Crown of Castile and the North African Muslim Marinid state. The ports' strategic value came from their position linking Spain and North Africa, thus connecting Muslims in Spain with the rest of the Islamic world. The campaign had mixed results. Castile gained Tarifa permanently, and managed to take Gibraltar and Algeciras but both would revert to Muslim rule. Castile also failed to gain any port in the African side of the strait.
Fatima bint Muhammad bint al-Ahmar was a Nasrid princess of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula. A daughter of Sultan Muhammad II and an expert in the study of barnamaj, she married her father's cousin and trusted ally, Abu Said Faraj. Their son Ismail I became sultan after deposing her half-brother, Nasr. She was involved in the government of her son but was especially politically active during the rule of her grandsons, Muhammad IV and Yusuf I, both of whom ascended the throne at a young age and were placed under her tutelage. Later Granadan historian Ibn al-Khatib wrote an elegy for her death stating that "She was alone, surpassing the women of her time / like the Night of Power surpasses all the other nights". Modern historian María Jesús Rubiera Mata compared her role to that of María de Molina, her contemporary who became regent to Castilian kings. Professor Brian A. Catlos attributed the survival of the dynasty, and eventual success, as being partly due to her "vision and constancy."
Abu Said Faraj ibn Ismail was a member of the Nasrid dynasty of Granada, who was a close advisor to Sultan Muhammad II and Muhammad III and served as the governor of Málaga between 1279 and the early 1310s. He was born in 1248 to Ismail ibn Nasr, governor of Málaga and brother of Sultan Muhammad I. After Ismail's death, the Sultan brought the young Abu Said to court, where he became friends with his cousin, the future Muhammad II. When the latter became Sultan, Abu Said became his advisor on economic and military policies. He married Muhammad II's daughter Fatima, and in 1279 he was appointed as the royal governor in Málaga. The city—the realm's most important port—had just recently been recovered by the crown after a rebellion by the Banu Ashqilula since 1266 followed by a short occupation by the Marinids of Morocco since 1278. He implemented policies to pacify the population and improved the region's economic condition, as well as embarking on the construction of ships to strengthen the Granadan navy. As governor, he also led Málaga's troops in various campaigns on the Iberian Peninsula, including against rebels and against the Marinid Sultanate.
Abu Sa'id Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula was a Marinid prince who led an unsuccessful rebellion aiming to capture the throne, and fled to the Nasrid Emirate of Granada in its aftermath. There he served as the Commander of the Volunteers of the Faith of Granada, and became one of the most important political figures of the Nasrid realm.
Muhammad ibn al-Mahruq was a minister in the Emirate of Granada. He served as the wakil, the superintendent of the sultan's finances, during the reign of Ismail I (r. 1314–1333. He stayed in the post at the accession of Muhammad IV, and a few months later elevated to vizier, replacing Abu al-Hasan ibn Mas'ud who died. From late 1326, Ibn al-Mahruq was involved in a civil war against a political rival, Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula. To end the civil war, Muhammad IV ordered him assassinated on 6 November 1328, during his meeting with the Sultan's grandmother Fatima bint al-Ahmar.
Abu Nu'aym Ridwan was a minister and military commander in the Emirate of Granada. Born a Christian with Castilian and Catalan origin, he was captured as a child in Calatrava and brought as a slave to the palace. He converted to Islam and rose through the ranks during the reign of Ismail I, eventually appointed as a tutor to the sultan's son Muhammad. When the latter became Sultan Muhammad IV at the age of ten, Ridwan remained in charge of him and acted as a sort of regent together with the Sultan's grandmother Fatima bint al-Ahmar. Muhammad appointed him as the hajib in 1329, making him the highest-ranking minister at court. He remained in this position during the reign of Muhammad's successor Yusuf I and the first reign (1354–1359) of Muhammad V, except for a brief pause during Yusuf's rule. He was killed during a coup that deposed Muhammad V in 1359.
Rīm, also called Maryam or Maryem, was a consort of Yusuf I of Granada, and the mother of Ismail II of Granada.