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Comares Tower
The Court of the Myrtles () is the central part of the Comares Palace () inside the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, Spain. It is located east of the Mexuar and west of the Palace of the Lions. It was begun by the Nasrid sultan Isma'il I in the early 14th century and significantly modified by his successors Yusuf I and Muhammad V later in the same century. In addition to the Court of the Myrtles, the palace's most important element is Hall of Ambassadors (), the sultan's throne hall and one of the most impressive chambers in the Alhambra. Names and etymology Etymology of "Comares" The name of the Palace, ''Comares'', has led to various etymological research. For instance, Diego de Guadix wrote a dictionary about Arabic words in which it is said that ''Comares'' originally comes from ''cun'' and ''ari''. The first term means "stand up" and the second one "look", in other words it would have meant "Stand up and look around" or possibly "Open your eyes and see", which is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moorish Architecture
Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture that developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Islamic architecture often refer to this architectural tradition in terms such as architecture of the Islamic West or architecture of the Western Islamic lands. This architectural tradition integrated influences from pre-Islamic Roman, Byzantine, and Visigothic architectures, from ongoing artistic currents in the Islamic Middle East, and from North African Berber traditions. Major centers of artistic development included the main capitals of the empires and Muslim states in the region's history, such as Córdoba, Kairouan, Fes, Marrakesh, Seville, Granada and Tlemcen. While Kairouan and Córdoba were some of the most important centers during the 8th to 10th centuries, a wider regional style was later synthesized and shared across the Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic Nouns And Adjectives
Arabic nouns and adjectives are declined according to case, state, gender and number. While this is strictly true in Classical Arabic, in colloquial or spoken Arabic, there are a number of simplifications such as loss of certain final vowels and loss of case. A number of derivational processes exist for forming new nouns and adjectives. Adverbs can be formed from adjectives. Noun and adjective inflection (Classical Arabic) Nouns ( ') and adjectives in Classical Arabic are declined according to the following properties: * Case (nominative, genitive, and accusative) * State (indefinite, definite or construct) * Gender (masculine or feminine): an inherent characteristic of nouns, but part of the declension of adjectives * Number (singular, dual or plural) Nouns are normally given in their pausal form. For example, ' 'king' would be declined as ' 'king-', ' 'the king-', etc. A feminine noun like ' 'queen' would be declined as ' 'queen-', ' 'the queen-', etc. The citati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcazaba Of The Alhambra
The Alcazaba (; ) is a fortress at the western tip of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Its name comes from the Arabic term ''al-qaṣabah'' ('the citadel' or kasbah), which became ''Alcazaba'' in Spanish. It is the oldest surviving part of the Alhambra, having been built by Muhammad I of Granada, Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the founder of the Nasrid dynasty, after 1238. It stands on the site of an earlier fortress built by the Taifa of Granada, Zirid kingdom of Granada in the 11th century. History The Alcazaba is situated at the western tip of the Sabika hill, a promontory projecting from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada. It is a natural defensive position and was fortified from the 9th century onward. A fortress (''ḥiṣn'') named ''Ġarnāṭa'' (also transliterated as ''Gharnāṭa'') existed on the south side of the Darro (river), Darro River. The settlement here had a mainly Jews, Jewish population and thus was also known as ''Gharnāṭat al-Yahūd' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholic Monarchs Of Spain
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile () and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the '' de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; to remove the obstacle that this consanguinity would otherwise have posed to their marriage under canon law, they were given a papal dispensation by Sixtus IV. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was 18 years old and Ferdinand a year younger. Most scholars generally accept that the unification of Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. Their reign was called by W.H. Prescott "the most glorious epoch in the annals of Spain". Spain was formed as a dynastic union of two crowns rather than a unitary state, as Castile and Aragon remained separate kingdoms until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1707–1716. The court of Ferdina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granada War
The Granada War was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It ended with the defeat of Granada and its annexation by Castile, ending the last remnant of Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula. The ten-year war was not a continuous effort but a series of seasonal campaigns launched in spring and broken off in winter. The Granadans were crippled by internal conflict and civil war, while the Christians were generally unified. The Granadans were also bled economically by the tribute they had to pay Castile to avoid being attacked and conquered. The war saw the effective use of artillery by the Christians to rapidly conquer towns that would otherwise have required long sieges. On January 2, 1492, Muhammad XII of Granada (King Boabdil) surrendered the Emirate of Granada, the city of Granada, and the Alhambra palace to the Cast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torre De La Cautiva
The Torre de la Cautiva () is a tower in the walls of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It is one of several towers along the Alhambra's northern wall which were converted into a small palatial residence in the 14th century. It is considered an exceptional example of Nasrid domestic architecture from this period. Name The Spanish name ''Torre de la Cautiva'', meaning 'Tower of the Captive (Lady)', is a "fanciful" name that does not have a historical reasoning. The Arabic inscriptions inside the tower refer to it as the ''qalaḥurra'', meaning a "tower palace" or a military tower used as a dwelling. Historical background The tower is one of several towers along the northern wall of the Alhambra which were converted into residences or other non-military functions during the reign of Yusuf I (r. 1333–1354). The tower itself probably already existed before this and was rebuilt or modified by Yusuf I. The exact date of the tower's construction or conversion is not known, but b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Generalife
The Generalife (; ) was a summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. It is located directly east of and uphill from the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, Spain. Etymology The most commonly cited etymology for the name "Generalife" is that it derives from ''jannat al-‘arīf'' () which may variously mean "Garden of the Architect", "Garden of the Artist", "Garden of the Gnostic", or even "Garden of the Flautist". According to Robert Irwin (writer), Robert Irwin, however, this traditional etymology is unlikely and the true origin of the name is not clearly known. An earlier version of the name recorded in the 16th century by Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Marmol was ''Ginalarife'', which J.D. Latham suggests is evidence that the first word was originally ''jinan'' (; a plural version derived from the same root), not ''jannat''. The original name of the Generalife may have simply been the equivalent of "Principal Orchard". An orname ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Partal Palace
Partal Palace () is a palatial structure inside the Alhambra fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It was originally built in the early 14th century by the Nasrid ruler Muhammad III, making it the oldest surviving palatial structure in the Alhambra. Etymology The name Partal comes from Arabic ''al-Barṭal'' or ''al-Burtāl'' ( or ). This word was an Arabisation of the Latin word ''portale'' ('portal') that was used in Old Castilian to mean "portico". History The Partal Palace was built by the Nasrid ruler Muhammad III who ruled the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state in Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula), from 1302 to 1309. This dating makes it the oldest remaining palace in the Alhambra today. It was also the first of several palaces that were eventually built along the northern perimeter of the Alhambra. Another palace, called the '' Palacio del Partal Alto'' by archeologists, once stood to the south in an area now occupied by gardens. Though traditionally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirador (architecture)
A ''mirador'' is a Spanish term (from ) designating a lookout point or a place designed to offer extensive views of the surrounding area. In an architectural context, the term can refer to a tower, balcony, window, or other feature that offers wide views. The term is often applied to Moorish architecture, especially Nasrid architecture, to refer to an elevated room or platform that projects outwards from the rest of a building and offers 180-degree views through windows on three sides. The equivalent term in Arabic is ''bahw'' () or ''manāẓir/manẓar'' (). In Moorish architecture the mirador is typically situated on the perimeter of a building and is aligned with its central axis. It is particularly characteristic of Nasrid architecture in al-Andalus (late 13th to 15th centuries), most notably in the palaces of the Alhambra. Scholar Arnold Felix traces the development of this feature to the combination of two pre-existing features in the architecture of al-Andalus and wester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammam
A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model of the Roman '' thermae.'' Muslim bathhouses or hammams were historically found across the Middle East, North Africa, al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia, i.e. Spain and Portugal), Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and in Southeastern Europe under Ottoman rule. In Islamic cultures the significance of the hammam was both religious and civic: it provided for the needs of ritual ablutions but also provided for general hygiene in an era before private plumbing and served other social functions such as offering a gendered meeting place for men and for women. Archeological remains attest to the existence of bathhouses in the Islamic world as early as the Umayyad period (7th–8th centuries) and their importance has persisted up to modern tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muhammad III Of Granada
Muhammad III (; 15 August 1257 – 21 January 1314) was the ruler of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 8 April 1302 until 14 March 1309, and a member of the Nasrid dynasty. He ascended the Granadan throne after the death of his father Muhammad II, which according to rumours, was caused by Muhammad III poisoning him. He had the reputation of being both cultured and cruel. Later in his life, he became visually impairedwhich caused him to be absent from many government activities and to rely on high officials, especially the powerful Vizier Ibn al-Hakim al-Rundi. Muhammad III inherited an ongoing war against Castile. He built upon his father's recent military success and expanded Granada's territory further when he captured Bedmar in 1303. He negotiated a treaty with Castile the following year, in which Granada's conquests were recognised in return for Muhammad making an oath of fealty to the King of Castille, Ferdinand IV, paying him tribut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muhammad II Of Granada
Muhammad II () (also known by the epithet ''al-Faqih'', " the canon-lawyer", – 8 April 1302; reigned from 1273 until his death) was the second Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula, succeeding his father, Muhammad I. Already experienced in matters of state when he ascended the throne, he continued his father's policy of maintaining independence in the face of Granada's larger neighbours, the Christian kingdom of Castile and the Muslim Marinid state of Morocco, as well as an internal rebellion by his family's former allies, the Banu Ashqilula. After he took the throne, he negotiated a treaty with Alfonso X of Castile, in which Castile agreed to end support for the Banu Ashqilula in exchange for payments. When Castile took the money but maintained its support for the Banu Ashqilula, Muhammad turned towards Abu Yusuf of the Marinids. The Marinids sent a successful expedition against Castile, but relations soured when the Marinids treat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
