Muhammad IX (, 1396–1454), also known by his

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and Castilian nicknames Al-Aysar and El Zurdo ("The Left Handed"), was the fifteenth

Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty ( ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; ) was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-three sultans ruled Granada from the foun ...

ruler of the

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

on the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. He was likely the father of

Aixa Aisha al-Hurra (), generally known under her Spanish name Aixa (''fl.'' 1493), was a Queen of the Nasrid dynasty. She was the spouse of Muhammad XI of Granada, Muhammed XI and of Abu l-Hasan Ali, Sultan of Granada, Abu l-Hasan Ali, and the mother ...

Campaigns of the Reconquista

After the successful recapturing of the Throne of Granada, the Sultan Muhammad X in 1447, Muhammad IX continued his policies with regards to the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

. His predecessor (Muhammad X) had managed to retake a few frontier towns from the

Kingdom of Murcia After roughly two decades as a protectorate of the Crown of Castile, the territory of the Taifa of Murcia became the Kingdom of Murcia (, a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile) in the wake of its Conquest of Murcia (1265–66), conq ...

through regular raids. Most of these incursions into Castilian territory were taking advantage of the fact that the contemporary ruling family of the Kingdom of Murcia, the House of Fajardo was preoccupied with internal squabbles. The most successful of these incursions resulted in the capturing of the town of Cieza followed closely by a much celebrated victory at the

Battle of Hellín The battle of Hellín or Disaster of Hellín was a military engagement between the Granadans and the Castilians near the city of Hellín. After initial defeat, the Granadas routed the Castilians and achieved a resounding victory. History On Decembe ...

, both of which occurred in 1448. The continued incursions by the

into Murcia obliged the Castilian monarch,

John II of Castile John II of Castile (; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the son of King Henry ...

to ask for a truce in 1450 in order to be able to better concentrate his own forces in a separate war against

Juan Pacheco Juan Pacheco, 1st Duke of Escalona (1419 – 1 October 1474), better known as Juan Pacheco, Marquess of Villena, was a Castilian noble of Portuguese descent who rose to power in the last years of the reign of Juan II of Castile and came to ...

, the

Marquis of Villena Duke of Escalona () is a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1472 by Henry IV to Juan Pacheco, 1st Marquess of Villena. The title refers to the village Escalona del Alberche, in the ...

. Muhammad IX refused the truce offer in a bid to take full advantage of the disunity amongst the Castilian nobility. The following year, in 1451, Muhammad IX launched a fresh incursion into the Kingdom of Murcia which brought back much plunder to Granada's coffers. Between 1451 and 1452, Muhammad IX planned a large scale Algara (Arabic for incursion: الغارة) against the area of

Campo de Cartagena Campo de Cartagena is a natural region (comarca) located in the Region of Murcia, in Spain. For administrative purposes, it is also known as Comarca del Campo de Cartagena or Comarca de Cartagena. It is located in the southeast of the Iberian P ...

. This incursion resulted in the capture of 40,000 heads of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and around 40 prisoners, mostly cowherds. These Granadan incursions eventually came to a battle at the Battle of Los Alporchones fought near the city of Lorca in 1452. The battle resulted in a Granadan defeat, a truce, and an end to border skirmishes for some time between the kingdoms.

References

*Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500 by Leonard Patrick Harvey; University of Chicago Press, 1992 Sultans of Granada 15th-century monarchs in Europe 1396 births 1454 deaths 15th century in al-Andalus 15th-century Arab people {{Al-Andalus-royal-stub