The Crimsom Manuscript

War in Granada
by Jesús Balsinde

Nothing in life is more cruel than to be blind in Granada

-- Anonymous inscription in the Alhambra

    After the decisive defeat of the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, the roads to Andalusia, heartland of Al-Andalus, are open to the Christians. One after another the rich Andalusian cities fall to the Christians: Córdoba in 1236; Jaén in 1246; Seville in 1248... Thanks to the personal ability of Ibn al-Ahmar (Abenámar), the kingdom of Granada is spared from Christian wrath. Granada will go on, living on borrowed time, for another 250 years. Despite its political isolation, Granada flourishes magnificently, both artistically and culturally, attracting moslems from all over the world. But at the end of the XV century, Christian Spain sets out the final assault. The War of Granada begins. Aided by infighting between different Moorish factions, treacherous double-dealing and internal decadence, the war progresses rapidly. By the end of 1491 the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella are atthe gates of Granada itself, and by January of the next year, Boabdil hands over the city to the Christians in return for his safe passage out of the peninsula. After 800 years, Islamic Spain, Al-Andalus, is no more.