Emirate of Granada: Map & History

History

Since the Muslim conquest of 711, much of the Iberian Peninsula had been under Muslim control. At its greatest geographical extent, Muslim control extended to most of the peninsula and part of present-day southern France. By the 10th century, under the Caliphate of Córdoba, the region was one of the most prosperous and advanced in Europe. Conflict with the northern Christian kingdoms was recurrent, while mounting civil strife led to the fragmentation of al-Andalus into smaller Taifa states in the early 11th century.

Military

Constantly under threat by both the Christian kingdoms to the north and the Muslim Marinid Sultanate to the south, the population of the Emirate of Granada developed a "siege mentality". The country consequently maintained a strong military. Its border territories were dotted with castles maintained by frontier warriors (thagri) led by armoured elite warriors who were influenced by and comparable to the Christian knights. However, the core of the emirate's army consisted of highly mobile light cavalry as well as light infantry.

The Granadan army was ethnically and culturally mixed. A large part were recruited locally through the jund system in which families with military obligations were registered and conscripted for service.

Economy

The emirate's economy was mostly agricultural. The rural population of the countryside was organized primarily into traditional alquerías (small farming communities), which were usually occupied by free peasants who owned the land and cultivated it mostly for subsistence. Larger farming estates, which could be owned by Nasrid family members or other members of the ruling class, were typically found on the edge of urban centers. Cultivation was intensive, diversified, and usually required sophisticated irrigation strategies, which in turn required well-organized management at a collective or community level, reflecting already-established traditions in al-Andalus.

Culture

Despite its frontier position, Granada was also an important Islamic intellectual and cultural center, especially in the time of Muhammad V, with figures such as Ibn Khaldun and Ibn al-Khatib serving in the Nasrid court. Ibn Battuta, a famous traveller and historian, visited the Emirate of Granada in 1350. In his journal, he called Granada the "metropolis of Andalusia and the bride of its cities". The Nasrid sultans and members of the court were active patrons of literature, the arts, or sciences, and in many cases they were writers or scholars themselves.

The most highly valued form of literature among Granada's elites was poetry, which was collected in anthologies and even used as architectural decoration in the Alhambra palaces.