The sun finally set on eight centuries of Muslim rule in Spain on the 2nd of January 2, 1492, as the 23rd and last ruler of the Nasrid dynasty of Granada, Sultan Abu Abdullah Muhammad XII, commonly known as Abu Abdullah,(Boabdil in the West), surrendered the keys of the beautiful Alhambra palace to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella – husband and wife. Nearly five centuries later, in 1997, the Spanish Government erected a bronze monument to Sultan Abu Abdullah at the location in Granada where he surrendered the city.
According to legend, as he rode into exile, Abu Abdullah turned backto cast one last glance at his ancestral palace that he would never see again and was overwhelmed by a rush of emotion. His mother, Princess Aisha al-Horra, chided him, “My son, you do well to cry like a woman for what you could not defend like a man.” This incident, dubbed “The Last Sigh of the Moor” has been immortalised over the centuries in numerous books and ballads.The story, most likely apocryphal, has been promoted to demean the character of Abu Abdullah and present him as a weak and indecisive ruler. However, credible evidence does not support this portrayal.
Muslim Spain in its twilight - Granada held out against the resurgent kingdoms of Castille and Aragon
Abu Abdullah, like most aspects of his reign and life, has been a figure of both fascination and controversy. Author Steven Nightingale in his book Granada, The Light of Andalucía, defined Abu Abdullah as “ridiculous Boabdil who with the full weight of his fear and vulgarity had hastened the end of the city by his useless quarrelling and confusion.” This negative assessment, however, is refuted in a new book, The Moor’s Last Stand. Author Elizabeth Drayson, has reexamined Abu Abdullah’s character and the role he played in the demise of the Nasrid dynasty that his ancestors had founded nearly two-and-a-half centuries before. She argues that Abu Abdullah has been treated unfairly and many misconceptions about him have been perpetuated by those with a biased view.
Sultan Abu Abdullah had to contend with an unusual number of adversities while growing up and later in his young life. He was involuntarily involved in a mortal conflict between his father Sultan Abu’l Hasan and his mother. Abu’l Hasan, in old age, became infatuated with a beautiful young Christian girl, Zoraya, and abandoning his wife Aisha and son, married her. The majestic chambers of Alhambra had become the site of intrigue, treachery and massacres, such as that of the Abencerrajes (Bani Siraj) clan, a prominent family of Granada. Internecine and dynastic fights had become frequent occurrences.
The Alhambra palace - enduring symbol of the architecture and aesthetics of Muslim Spain
Concurrently, Abu Abdullah was engaged in an existential struggle with Christian forces that were fast closing in. As the situation became hopeless, he concluded that his small kingdom lacked the resources to withstand the onslaught of such determined foes. Before he surrendered, he skillfully negotiated the most generous terms for the Muslims and Jewish subjects who he was leaving behind. They were to have full freedom to practice their religion, be free to travel and, for three years, exempt from paying any taxes. Unfortunately, these agreements were betrayed soon after his departure.
Writing in the Saudi-Aramco magazine, Tor Egeland described the plight of Muslims in Granada a few years after its surrender: “In 1499, the primate of Spain, Ximenez Cisneros, arrived in Granada and was applying great pressure on the Muslims to become Christians.” Soon they were forced to either convert or leave. Many dissimulated as Christians, but secretly practiced Islam. They were given a special name, Moriscos. Eventually, in the year 1614, an expulsion order was issued by the rulers, designed to free Spain of all its non-Catholic inhabitants.
Before he surrendered, he skillfully negotiated the most generous terms for the Muslim and Jewish subjects who he was leaving behind
After the fall of Granada, Abu Abdullah, aged 33, migrated to North Africa and seems to have descended into oblivion. In contrast to his early life spent in opulence and splendour in the Alhambra Palace, we know little of his life in exile. Even his final resting place is not known with any certainty. According to the Arab historian, al-Maqqari, he settled in the Moroccan capital of Fez and died there when he was 75 years old.
Other reports contest this assertion, suggesting that he died at a much younger age, when he was only about 34 years old. There is also disagreement about the location of his gravesite. Some historians believe that he was buried in Fez, inside a shrine, that is now in a bedraggled state and serves as a shelter for beggars and drunks. An alternative site suggested is in Tlemcen, a city in Algeria, famous for its Andalusian-style buildings. After the lapse of over five centuries, however, it is not easy to definitively resolve these issues.
Does the responsibility for the loss of the last Muslim enclave of Granada rest with Abu Abdullah? The answer is emphatically no. The reasons for the downfall of Muslim rule in Spain, long in the making, are complex and varied. The Muslim supremacy in Spain lasted for about four-hundred years, starting from the reign of Amir Abd al Rahman I (731-788 AD), and reached its zenith during the Caliphate of Abd al Rehman III (from 912 to 961 AD). The capital, the jewel of the western Islamic caliphate, Cordoba, weakened by the perennial attacks of the Berber forces from North Africa and internecine conflicts, was seized by King Ferdinand III in 1236, followed by the fall of Seville a mere twelve years later. By this time, the Christian forces had attained decisive control over the greater part of what used to be Muslim Al-Andalus.On several previous occasions, Muslims from North Africa, Almoravid (1086) and later Almohad (1312), had come to the rescue and temporarily slowed the collapse of Al-Andalus.
The ruling family leaves Granada as the Christian kingdoms complete their re-conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
Ultimately, with the disintegration of central authority, the former Caliphate splintered into small feuding regional states, called by Arabs Taifa (party) states. Ibn-al Ahmar, lord of one of these petty princelings, captured Granada and surrounding areas and founded the Nasrid dynasty, proclaiming himself the Emir. Paradoxically, the dynasty endured for more than 250 years – the longest lasting Muslim realm in Spain. The fate of Granada, the last refuge, was sealed when the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were united by the marriage of Ferdinand II and Isabella I, and their combined forces were deployed against it. This time no help from outside arrived: the North Africans were too weak themselves to help, while an appeal to the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from desperate Granadans generated no response.
After months of trying anda few months all the fall of Granada, Christopher Columbus was finally granted permission and resources by Queen Isabella, a religious fanatic, to set sail to discover a new route to the East Indies. One of his winning arguments was that he would spread Christianity and make new converts. Subsequently, Spain acquired a vast empire, comprising parts of North and South America, the West Indies and territories as far as the Philippines and beyond. It became a world power. However, it never could recreate the great learning and architectural splendor of Cordoba and Toledo – as reflected in the Alhambra.
The writer is a former health scientist administrator at the National Institutes of Health, USA, and an assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School
