Sultan of Granada (r. 1354?1359) (1362?1391)
Abu Abdallah Muhammad V
(
Arabic
:
??? ??? ???? ???? ??????
) (4 January 1339 ? 16 January 1391), known by the
regnal name
al-Ghani bi'llah
(
Arabic
:
????? ?????
,
romanized
:
al-Ghan? bi-?ll?h
,
lit.
'He who is contented with God'),
was the eighth
Nasrid
ruler of the
Emirate of Granada
in
Al-Andalus
on the
Iberian Peninsula
.
He ruled between 1354?1359 and 1362?1391. His reign was part of the golden age of Nasrid rule. His architectural patronage also contributed some of the most famous elements of the
Alhambra
in Granada, including the
Palace of the Lions
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Muhammad V was the eldest son and heir of
Yusuf I
(
r.
1333?1354
) by his slave Butayna, born on Sunday, 4 January 1339.
[2]
He also had a younger full-blood sister, A'isha, two half brothers and five half-sisters.
[2]
Reign
[
edit
]
Muhammad V's father and predecessor, Yusuf I, was murdered suddenly in 1354 while at prayer in the
congregational mosque
of Granada, by a civilian described as a "madman".
Muhammad V was 16 years old at the time and still a minor. Accordingly, state affairs were managed by the
hajib
(chamberlain) Ridwan (who had also served his father), the vizier
Ibn al-Khatib
, and the commander of the
Ghazi
s
, Yahya ibn Umar ibn Ra??u.
Together, they maintained a policy of peace with
Castile
, paying tribute and providing military assistance against Castile's enemies when requested, such as against
Aragon
in 1359.
Muhammad V's reign was interrupted by a palace coup in August 1359 that placed his half-brother,
Isma'il II
(
r.
1359?1360
), on the throne.
Muhammad V escaped to
Guadix
, where he had support from the local garrison, but was unable to rally further support from Almeria or from
Peter I
, the Castilian king. He moved on and took refuge at the court of the
Marinid
ruler
Abu Salim
in
Fez
(present-day Morocco).
Isma'il II was soon assassinated in June 1360 by one of his former co-conspirators, a cousin named Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad, who took the throne as
Muhammad VI
(
r.
1360?1362
).
While in Fez, Muhammad V was accompanied by Ibn al-Khatib, who remained loyal to him. Both men also met
Ibn Khaldun
, who supported their cause.
[7]
Eventually, Muhammad V secured the support he needed from
Peter of Castile
. With the support of Peter, of Uthman ibn Yahya ibn Ra??u (the son of Yahya ibn Umar ibn Ra??u), and of another figure named Ali ibn Kumasha, he returned to the Iberian Peninsula in 1362.
Peter and Muhammad V's forces marched on Granada, capturing various towns and the important city of
Malaga
. With his fortunes turning for the worse, Muhammad VI, reportedly on the advice of his allies, surrendered himself to Peter of Castile and asked for mercy. Peter executed him instead, leaving his ally Muhammad V to reclaim the throne in 1362.
After his return to power, Muhammad V continued his policy of peace with Castile and remained pragmatic. Under his rule, Nasrid diplomacy was exceptionally effective, even amidst the convoluted politics of the Iberian Peninsula in this era.
The ongoing
Castilian Civil War
meant that Castile was not in a position to threaten Granada. Muhammad V initially supported Peter, his former ally, against his rival,
Henry of Trastamara
. He sent troops to help Peter, which provoked Henry's Aragonese allies into attacking Granadan ships at sea.
Muhammad V, in turn, used these Christian attacks to solicit materials and funds from
Musa II
, the
Zayyanid sultan
in
Tlemcen
.
When Henry captured
Seville
in 1366, forcing Peter to flee north, Muhammad V adapted by negotiating a new peace with him. When Peter returned to Seville in 1367, Muhammad V again renewed his loyalty to him.
When Peter was assassinated in 1369, leaving Castile in further chaos, Muhammad V took advantage of the situation to
recapture Algeciras
that year.
He destroyed the city and from then on its former territory became attached to
Gibraltar
instead.
[12]
Muhammad V's reign, along with that of his father, Yusuf I, is considered a golden age of the Nasrid emirate.
The emirate was relatively free of internal conflict during his second reign.
Among his domestic reforms, Muhammad V eliminated the office of the
shaykh al-ghuzat
, the chief of the
Ghazi
s, in 1370, placing the Zenata troops under the direct command of the Nasrid family for the first time.
Culture and patronage
[
edit
]
Muhammad V's reign also period marked the pinnacle of Nasrid culture. The vizier Ibn al-Khatib (d. 1375) was a major figure of literature, as was his successor,
Ibn Zamrak
(d. 1392).
After meeting him in Fez, Muhammad V welcomed Ibn Khaldun to his court in Granada and used him as an ambassador to Seville in 1363.
His reign was also a high point of cultural exchange with the Castilian court of Peter in Seville, who built his palace in the
Alcazar
in the style of Granada's art and architecture.
Within the Nasrid citadel and palace complex in Granada, the
Alhambra
, Muhammad V undertook major construction projects and renovations, most notably the
Palace of the Lions
.
He also rebuilt the
Mexuar
section and refurbished the
Comares Palace
, including the creation of the ornate entrance facade in the
Patio del Cuarto Dorado
('Courtyard of the Gilded Room').
For the general population in the city, Muhammad V sponsored the construction of a hospital (
maristan
), the
Maristan of Granada
, between 1365 and 1367.
[20]
It was one of the earliest European hospitals that also included care for the mentally ill.
[21]
Death
[
edit
]
Muhammad V died on 16 January 1391.
He had at least four sons;
Yusuf II
, Nasr, Muhammad and Sa'd.
[
citation needed
]
He was succeeded by his son, Yusuf II. Muhammad V's death marked an end to the Nasrid dynasty's golden years. Until
its fall
in the late 15th century, the dynasty became embroiled in succession disputes, rivalries, and assassinations.
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Arnold, Felix (2017).
Islamic Palace Architecture in the Western Mediterranean: A History
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780190624552
.
- Boloix Gallardo, Barbara (2021). "The Ban? Na?r: The Founders of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada (Thirteenth?Fifteenth Centuries)". In Fabregas, Adela (ed.).
The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada between East and West: Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries
. Handbook of Oriental studies. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39?72.
ISBN
978-90-04-44234-4
.
- Dickie, James (1992). "The Palaces of the Alhambra". In Dodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed.).
Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain
. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 135?151.
ISBN
0870996371
.
- Harvey, Leonard Patrick (1990).
Islamic Spain, 1250 to 1500
. University of Chigaco Press.
ISBN
0226319628
.
- Kennedy, Hugh (1996).
Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus
. Routledge.
ISBN
978-1317870418
.
- Latham, J.D. & Fernandez-Puertas, A. (1993).
"Na?rids"
. In
Bosworth, C. E.
;
van Donzel, E.
;
Heinrichs, W. P.
&
Pellat, Ch.
(eds.).
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
. Volume VII: Mif?Naz
. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1020?1029.
doi
:
10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0855
.
ISBN
978-90-04-09419-2
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- The Alhambra From the Ninth Century to Yusuf I (1354)
. vol. 1. Saqi Books, 1997.
- Pedro the Cruel of Castile 1350-1359
(The Medieval Mediterranean : Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400?1453, Vol 6) by Clara Esto; Brill Academic Publishers, 1995
- The Three Great Sultans of al-Dawla al-Ism?'?liyya al-Na?riyya Who Built the Fourteenth-Century Alhambra: Ism?'?l I, Y?suf I, Mu?ammad V (713-793/1314-1391)
Antonio Fernandez-Puertas, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Apr. 1997), pp. 1?25
Muhammad V of Granada
Born:
1338
Died:
16 January 1391
|
Regnal titles
|
Preceded by
|
Sultan of Granada
1354–1359
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Sultan of Granada
1362–1391
|
Succeeded by
|