page_title: Ismail II of Granada
section_title: Downfall
hierarchical_section_title: Ismail II of Granada / Downfall
caption_attribution_description: English: view of part of the Alhambra, (Alcazaba, the fortress), taken from Albaicin, Granada, Spain Français&#160;: vue d'une partie de l'Alhambra (Alcazaba, la forteresse), prise depuis le quartier de l'Albaicin, Grenade, Espagne
context_page_description: Abu al-Walid Ismail II ibn Yusuf was the ninth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula. He reigned from 23 August 1359 until his death.
  The second son of Yusuf I, he was initially the favourite of his father due to the influence of his mother Maryam, of whom he was the first son. His half-brother Muhammad V succeeded in 1354 after their father's assassination, and Ismail lived in a palace provided by the new Sultan. He dethroned his half-brother on 23 August 1359 in a coup that was masterminded by his mother Maryam and his brother-in-law Muhammad el Bermejo. With Muhammad V exiled in North Africa, Ismail's rule came to be dominated by el Bermejo. They had a falling out, which resulted in the violent overthrow of Ismail by his brother-in-law after less than a year as sultan. Ismail was executed along with his brother Qays and his ministers.
context_section_description: With a civil war averted, Ismail renewed his predecessor's alliance with Castile against Aragon. In response, Peter IV of Aragon sent Granadan knights in his service to Granada in an attempt to destabilise Ismail's reign. Ibn al-Khatib, one of the main historical sources on Granada in this period, wrote in his al-Lamha al-Badriyya that Ismail—whom he nicknamed al-Mutawattib ("the Usurper")—was a weak, lazy, and effeminate ruler, who braided his hair with silk to below his waist and lacked any personal quality. Historian L. P. Harvey commented that this negative portrayal might have been biased by Ibn al-Khatib's allegiance to Muhammad. In any event, el Bermejo increasingly held the real power, to the extent that Ismail began to oppose his brother-in-law.
  Before Ismail could act, el Bermejo mounted a second coup, which resulted in his own accession and the dethronement of Ismail, either on 24 June 1360 (8 Shaban 761) or the night of 13 July (27 Shaban). Ismail was surrounded by el Bermejo's men and barricaded himself in a tower overlooking the capital, likely one of the towers in the Alcazaba of the Alhambra. Forced to surrender, he offered to live in seclusion, but el Bermejo took him to a dungeon, where he was executed. Next, el Bermejo found Ismail's brother Qays, who was still a child, and executed him, too. Both their bodies were dumped in public covered only with rags. Ismail's ministers were also executed. According to historian Francisco Vidal Castro, el Bermejo's actions were motivated by fear that either royal could be used in a future court intrigue against him, as Ismail had been used to dethrone Muhammad. Thus, el Bermejo took the throne as Muhammad VI. The next day, the bodies of Ismail and Qays were recovered and they were buried in the rawda (royal cemetery) of the Alhambra, next to their father Yusuf I.
caption: Ismail was surrounded by Muhammad VI's men and likely barricaded himself in one of the towers of the Alhambra's alcazaba (pictured), before he surrendered and was executed.
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