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A Brief History of Granada

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A Brief History of Granada

Margaret Craig

Introduction

In this article I merely scratch the surface of the very detailed history of what is now the city of Granada. I have tried, nevertheless, to give a complete account of the main events which have shaped the city. To make this more interesting for our European partners, I have mentioned the main English, French, and German writers and artists who have made Granada famous in their own languages.


First Settlers

There are traces of settlements in and around Granada from the Neolithic Age onwards. We can still see remains of constructions from the Iberian period. It appears that the city of Granada was founded by the Turtulos in the fifth century BC. The coastal area of the province of Granada was visited in turn by the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians. The Romans divided the area into two, with one of its most important cities near what is now Granada, known then as Iliberis. The area was in turn invaded by the Vandals, who expelled the Romans at the end of the sixth century AD. The Christians of the period saw their faith and their freedom restored to them with the conversion of Recaredo.


The Arabs

At the time of the Arab invasion, in 711 AD, there was a large population of Jews in Granada, living in various enclaves, one of which is in the left side of the road which leads to the Alhambra from Plaza Nueva, at the beginning of the Albaicín.

The Jews helped the Arabs to conquer the area. At first the Arabs allowed the Christians freedom of religion and customs, but after a short time the persecutions began.
In the middle of the eighth century, the area was populated by Arabs from Damascus, who found the area very similar to their own.
After a period of peace, various rebellions occurred.

The Alhambra, because of its site on a hill, became one of the most important fortresses during this bellic period. In 889, the ruler of the time took refuge on the hill, on which a fortress was constructed.

The area was constituted as a kingdom, (much larger than what is now the province of Granada), with the city of Granada named the capital in 1013.

The founder of the Nazari dynasty Muhammad b. al- Ahmar (1238-1273) decided to construct his official residence alongside the fortress. Later kings, Abu l-Hayyay Yusef I (1333-1353) and his son and successor Muhammad V (1353-1391) are responsible for most of the construction which we see today, including the Square of the Lions.

Granada embraces one of the most important ensembles of Islamic architecture in the Iberian Peninsula, with the remains of walls, gateways, mosques, houses, palaces, and, of course, the Alhambra. Close by are a series of autonomous enclosures capable of functioning as cities on their own: the Albaícin, the Madina, the Rabad al-Fajjarin.

Granada still retains some of the remains from the times of the caliphs, eclipsed by the overpowering ¨red fortress¨. In the Albaicín, the belfry in the church of San José is an ancient minaret from the Zirid period, with exquisite stonework. The Arab baths of the ´Bañuelo¨, also in the Albaícin, belong to the same period. In the lower part of the old city is the Corral del Carbon, a group of flats built around a common courtyard. Various defensive constructions, among which we can find angled gateways, bear witness to the level of the public works carried out by this dynasty in the city.