page_title: Nasr of Granada
section_title: Rebellion and downfall
hierarchical_section_title: Nasr of Granada / Rebellion and downfall
caption_attribution_description: English: The Gate of Elvira (Arco de Elvira) in Granada, Spain
context_page_description: Nasr, full name Abu al-Juyush Nasr ibn Muhammad, was the fourth Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada from 14 March 1309 until his abdication on 8 February 1314. He was the son of Muhammad II al-Faqih and Shams al-Duha. He ascended the throne after his brother Muhammad III was dethroned in a palace revolution. At the time of his accession, Granada faced a three-front war against Castile, Aragon and the Marinid Sultanate, triggered by his predecessor's foreign policy. He made peace with the Marinids in September 1309, ceding to them the African port of Ceuta, which had already been captured, as well as Algeciras and Ronda in Europe. Granada lost Gibraltar to a Castilian siege in September, but successfully defended Algeciras until it was given to the Marinids, who continued its defense until the siege was abandoned in January 1310. James II of Aragon sued for peace after Granadan defenders defeated the Aragonese siege of Almería in December 1309, withdrawing his forces and leaving the Emirate's territories by January. In the ensuing treaty, Nasr agreed to pay tributes and indemnities to Ferdinand IV of Castile and yield some border towns in exchange for seven years of peace.
context_section_description: Despite his success in ending the three-front war with minimal losses, Nasr and his vizier Ibn al-Hajj—who replaced Ibn al-Mawl when the latter fled to North Africa—soon became unpopular at court. The historian L. P. Harvey writes that the reason is not clear, and while the near-contemporary scholar Ibn Khaldun writes that this was due to their "tendencies towards violence and injustice", Harvey rejects this as a "hostile propaganda". The Arabist scholar Antonio Fernández-Puertas linked their unpopularity to Nasr's pursuit of science, which was deemed excessive by his nobles, as well as the suspected pro-Christian tendencies of the sultan and the vizier. Nasr was said to spend too much time building astrolabes and astronomical tables, neglecting his duties as monarch. The suspicion of pro-Christian sympathy stemmed from his education by his Christian mother and his good relationship with Ferdinand IV. Ibn al-Hajj was also unpopular as he was believed to have too much power over the sultan. Compounding their image problem, they both often dressed in the Castilian manner.
  In November 1310, Nasr fell gravely ill, and a faction at court attempted to restore Muhammad III. The old and nearly blind former sultan was transported by litter from Almuñécar. The plot failed when Nasr recovered before Muhammad was enthroned; Nasr then imprisoned his brother in the Dar al-Kubra (La Casa Mayor, "Big House") of the Alhambra. Nasr later had his brother drowned, although there are conflicting reports of when this happened. Ibn al-Khatib listed four dates: mid-February 1311, February or March 1312, 12 February 1312, and 21 January 1314. Historian Francisco Vidal Castro, who considered all four dates, considers the latest date to be the valid one because it also appears in other credible reports as well as on Muhammad's tombstone.
  The leader of the next rebellion was Abu Said Faraj, the governor of Málaga and a member of the Nasrid dynasty. He was a 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. When Abu Said paid his annual homage to Nasr, he found that the sultan was unpopular at court. He also disliked what he heard about Nasr; according to Fernández-Puertas, Abu Said was further outraged at the death of the Muhammad III.
  Abu Said started his rebellion in Málaga in 1311. 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. The Málagan rebels were supported by North African forces under Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, the commander of the Volunteers of the Faith garrisoned in Málaga, while other North African forces under the princes Abd al-Haqq ibn Uthman and Hammu ibn Abd al-Haqq supported Nasr. 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. During the battle, Nasr fell from his horse and lost it, and had to run back to Granada on foot. Abu Said proceeded to besiege the capital but lacked the necessary supplies for a protracted campaign. Nasr requested help from Ferdinand IV, and Castile's forces under Infante Peter defeated Abu Said and Ismail on 28 May 1312. Abu Said sought peace and was able to retain his post as governor of Málaga and resumed paying tributes to the sultan. Subsequently, Nasr also paid his annual tribute to Castile in August 1312, shortly before Ferdinand IV died and was succeeded by his one-year-old son Alfonso XI.
  Opposition to Nasr continued, and members of the anti-Nasr faction fled the court for Málaga. Soon Ismail restarted the rebellion with help from his mother Fatima and Uthman ibn al-Ula. As Ismail moved towards Granada, his army swelled and the capital's inhabitants opened the city gates for him. Ismail entered the city from the Elvira (Ilbira) Gate and besieged Nasr, who remained in the Alhambra. Nasr tried to request help from Infante Peter (now one of the r
caption: The Gate of Elvira, where Ismail I entered Granada to depose Nasr in 1314
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