Nasr, Sultan of Granada

Nasr (reigned 14 March 1309 — 8 February 1314), full name Abu al-Juyush Nasr ibn Muhammad (Arabic: أبو الجيوش نصر بن محمد‎), was a son of Muhammed II al-Faqih and the fourth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. On March 14, 1309, he ascended the throne after his brother Muhammed III was dethroned in a palace revolution. At his accession, Granada was in a very dangerous three-front war against Castile, Aragon and the Marinid Sultanate, due to his predecessor's disastrous foreign policy. In the first year of his rule he made peace with Granada's three enemies. He lost Ceuta as well as yielded Algeciras and Ronda to the Marinids in exchange for peace in September 1309. Granada lost Gibraltar to a Castilian siege in September, but successfully defended Algeciras until peace was agreed in January 1310.

In exchange for peace, Nasr agreed to pay tributes to Ferdinand IV of Castile and yield some border towns. Granada defeated the Aragonese siege of Almeria (August–December 1310) and James II of Aragon sued for peace and left Granadan territories. Despite achieving peace with relatively minimum losses, Nasr was unpopular at court due to his excessive activities in science and astronomy, as well as his perceived pro-Christian tendency. A rebellion started by his brother-in-law Abu Said Faraj in 1311 ended in his abdication in February 8, 1314, and the accession of Ismail I, Abu Said's son who was also Nasr's nephew and second cousin.

Rise to power

Granada and the surrounding kingdoms

A map of the Emirate of Granada, depicting relevant towns and cities

Nasr was the brother of Muhammad III, who ruled Granada from 1302 to 1309. In the last few years of Muhammad III's reign, Granada faced war against an alliance of its three larger neighbors, Castile and Aragon in the Iberian peninsula, as well as the North African-based Marinid Sultanate. The potentially disastrous war sparked anger among the people of Granada, and on March 14, 1309, a palace revolution forced Muhammad III to abdicate and be replaced by Nasr. Muhammad III retired to an estate in Almuñécar, and his chief minister, Ibn al-Hakim was killed by a political rival during the turmoil.^[3]

Reign

Alone at war against three larger enemies, Granada was at a very dangerous situation when Nasr took power. One of the main points of contention was Granada's occupation of Ceuta, a port on the North African coast which had rebelled against the Marinids in 1304. On 20 July 1309, a few month after Nasr's accession, the people of Ceuta overthrew their Nasrid governors and returned into the Marinid rule. The return of Ceuta softened the Marinid stance and the two Muslim states then entered into negotiations. By mid September 1309, peace was agreed. In addition to accepting Marinid rule over Ceuta, Nasr had to yield Algeciras, Ronda—both in Europe—and their surrounding territories.^[4][5]

Meanwhile, Castilian forces laid siege to Gibraltar and the city surrendered on September 12, 1309, just before Nasr's peace with the Marinids. Castile also besieged Algeciras, but while the siege was underway, as per the Granada-Marinid peace settlement the city changed hands into the Marinids, for whom the garrison now fought. In mid-November, a contingent of five hundred knights led by Juan Manuel left the siege, demoralizing the rest of the besiegers. In January 1310, Ferdinand IV of Castile entered into talks with Nasr. Nasr agreed to pay tributes to Castile and yield some frontier towns including Quesada and Bedmar,^[6] while Castile lifted the siege of Algerciras and ended its offensive.^[7][8]

In the eastern front, Aragon with some support by Castile besieged Almería.^[8] The city managed to stockpile supplies thanks to the late arrival by Aragonese forces by sea in mid-August 1309.^[8] A series of assaults against the city failed, and a contingent from Granada took position in the nearby Marchena, continuously harassing the besieger's foraging parties. By the time winter is approaching, the city still held out, and the weakening of the siege of Algeciras in November meant that Granada could still send more reinforcement to the east. At the end of December, James II of Aragon agreed to a truce and to evacuate his troops from Granadan territories. The evacuation completed in January 1310 after some incidents.^[8]

Rebellion and downfall

Despite his success in ending the three-front war with a relatively minimum loss, Nasr soon became unpopular at court.^[8] He was said to spend too much time pursuing science, building astrolabes and astronomical tables, and neglecting his duties as monarch.^[9] He was also suspected of being too pro-Christian, having educated by his Christian mother and good relationship with Ferdinand IV.^[9] His vizier, Muhammad ibn al-Hajj was also unpopular as he had too much power over the Sultan and they both liked to dress in the Castilian manner.^[9] At first, a court conspiracy attempted to restore the deposed Muhammad III, but this failed and the former Sultan was found dead in the Alhambra.^[9][10]

The next leader of the rebellion was Abu Said Faraj, the governor of Malaga and a member of the Nasrid dynasty.^[11] He was the nephew of Muhammad I, Nasr's grandfather and the founder of the emirate, as well as Nasr's brother-in-law as he was married to Nasr's sister, Princess Fatima.^[12] When Abu Said paid his homage to Nasr, he found that the sultan was unpopular.^[9] He also disliked what he heard about Nasr at court, and was further outraged at the death of Muhammad III, possibly at Nasr's orders.^[9]

Abu Said started his rebellion in Malaga in 1311.^[9] Rather than proclaiming himself Sultan, he declared for his son, Ismail, who had the added legitimacy of being the grandson of Muhammad II through his mother Fatima.^[9][13] The Malagan rebels were supported by a Marinid forces under Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, while a North African Zanata forces under the princes Abd al-Haqq ibn Uthman and Hammu ibn Abd al-Haqq supported Nasr.^[6] The rebels took Antequera, Marbella and Vélez-Málaga, advanced to the Vega of Granada and defeated Nasr's forces at a place called al-Atsha by Arabic sources, possibly today's Láchar.^[9][14]

On February 8, 1314 (21 Shawwal 713 AH), Nasr was forced to abdicate.^[8] In exchange for surrendering the Alhambra, he was permitted to left for Guadix and rule there as governor.^[15][8] Abd al-Haqq ibn Uthman and Hammu ibn Abd al-Haqq accompanied him there.^[6][8]

Attempt to regain throne

After his defeat and move to Guadix, he still maintained his claim to the throne.^[16] He repeatedly asked help from Castile—which was ruled by a regency for its infant king Alfonso XI.^[17] The king's uncle Infante Peter, great-uncle Infante John, and grandmother María de Molina made up the regency.^[17] Peter agreed to meet Nasr and help him, but separately he also told James II of Aragon that he intended to conquer Granada for himself, and would give one-sixth of it to Aragon in exchange for help.^[16] In January 1316, Nasr reiterated to James II that the upcoming campaign was for restoring him as Sultan of Granada.^[16]

Preparation for Castile's campaign began in spring of 1314.^[16] On 8 May, Granadan forces under Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula intercepted a Castilian column supplying the besieged Nasr at Guadix.^[18] Castilian forces led by Peter and supported by Nasr routed the Granadan royal forces in Alicún on 8 May, killing 1,500 and causing them to withdraw to Granada.^[18] Subsequently, the war dragged on for several years, punctuated by several short-term truces.^[19] The climax of the war took place on 25 June 1319, in which a Granadan force led by Ismail I confronted the Castilian army in the Vega of Granada.^[20] The Castilian commanders, regents John and Peter both died without combat during the battle, possibly due to cardiac arrest.^[21] Ismail's forces then routed the demoralized Castilian forces.^[20] The defeat and death of the two regents made Castile leaderless, threw it into internal turmoil, and gave Ismail the upper hand.^[17][22] Due to the lack of royal leadership, Hermandad General de Andalucía—a regional "brotherhood" of frontier towns—acted to negotiate with Granada.^[23] A truce was agreed by the hermandad and Ismail at Baena in 18 June 1320, meant to last for eight years.^[24][8] One of the provisions was that the Castilians would not help any other Moorish king, which meant the end of support for Nasr.^[24]

He died in Guadix without heir in 1322, ending the direct male line of the Nasrid dynasty from Muhammad I, the founder of the emirate.^[8][15][16] Subsequent Sultans of Granada would descend from Ismail I, from a collateral branch of the dynasty.^[15][6]

References