Nasrid Emirate of Granada

The Nasrid dynasty established its rule in Granada during the thirteenth-century expansion of the Christian kingdoms. The emirate survived through diplomacy, tribute, trade and the defensible geography of southern Iberia. Its court sponsored the palaces of the Alhambra and maintained commercial and cultural connections across the western Mediterranean.

Nasrid politics were frequently divided by succession disputes, aristocratic factions and the competing influence of Castile, Aragon and North African powers. During the fifteenth century these pressures intensified as the Catholic Monarchs built the resources for sustained conquest and members of the ruling family contested the throne.

The emirate provides the political and cultural setting for Elizabeth Drayson’s histories of Granada and Muhammad XII. Its final decades cannot be reduced to a simple confrontation between two unified religions: dynastic rivalry, negotiation, local interests and changing alliances shaped the road to 1492.