Abu Abdallah Muhammad XII ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الثاني عشر, Abū ʿAbdi-llāh Muḥammad ath-thānī ʿashar) (c. 1460–1533), known in Europe as Boabdil (a Spanish rendering of the name ''Abu Abdallah''), was the 22nd and last

Nasrid The Nasrid dynasty ( ar, بنو نصر ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; Spanish: ''Nazarí'') was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1230 until 1492. Its members claimed to be of A ...

ruler of the

Emirate of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language: Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion: Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roma ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a la ...

Sultan

Muhammad XII was the son of Abu l-Hasan Ali, Sultan of the

whom he succeeded in 1482, as a result of both court intrigue and unrest amongst the population at large. Muhammad XII soon sought to gain prestige by invading

Castile Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain *Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha *Kingdom of ...

, but was taken prisoner at

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in t ...

in 1483. Muhammad's father was then restored as ruler of Granada, to be replaced in 1485 by his uncle Muhammad XIII, also known as Abdullah ez Zagal. Muhammad obtained his freedom and Christian support to recover his throne in 1487, by consenting to hold Granada as a tributary kingdom under the

Catholic monarchs 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 bo ...

. He further undertook not to intervene in the Siege of Málaga, in which Málaga was taken by the Christians. Following the fall of Málaga and Baza in 1487,

Almuñécar Almuñécar () is a Spanish city and municipality located in the southwestern part of the comarca of the Costa Granadina, in the province of Granada. It is located on the shores of the Mediterranean sea and borders the Granadin municipalities of ...

Salobreña Salobreña (, < Phoenician ''Salambina Salawbiniya'') is a town on the ''

Costa Tropical

'' in

and

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

were taken by the Christians the following year. By the beginning of 1491,

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

was the only Muslim-governed city in Iberia.

Surrender of Granada

In 1491, Muhammad XII was summoned by

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...

and Ferdinand II of Aragon to surrender the city of Granada, which was besieged by the Castilians. Eventually, on 2 January 1492, Granada was surrendered. The royal procession moved from Santa Fe to a place a little more than a mile from Granada, where Ferdinand took up his position by the banks of the

Genil The Genil River is the main (left) tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. The Roman ''Singilis'', its modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: ''Sinyil, Sannil'', and ''Sinnil''. Route The source of the ...

. A private letter written by an eyewitness to the Bishop of León only six days after the event recorded the scene: La Rendición de Granada - Pradilla

The Moorish sultan, with about eighty or a hundred on horseback and very well dressed, went forth to kiss the hand of their Highnesses. According to the final capitulation the key to Granada will pass into Spanish hands without Muhammad XII having to kiss the hands of Los Reyes, as the Spanish royal couple Isabella and Fernando became known. The indomitable mother of Muhammad XII insisted on sparing her son this final humiliation of kissing the hand of Isabella.

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

seems to have been present; he refers to the surrender:

After your Highnesses ended the war of the Moors who reigned in Europe, and finished the war of the great city of Granada, where this present year 1492 on the 2nd January I saw the royal banners of Your Highnesses planted by force of arms on the towers of the Alhambra.

Exile

Les Adieux du roi Boabdil a Grenade Alfred Dehodencq 1822 1882

Legend has it that as Muhammad XII went into exile, he reached a rocky prominence which gave a last view of the city. Here he reined in his horse and viewed for the last time the Alhambra and the green valley that spread below. The place where this allegedly took place is today known as the Suspiro del Moro, "the Moor's sigh". Muhammad mourned his loss, and continued his journey to exile accompanied by his mother. Muhammad XII was given an estate in

Laujar de Andarax Laujar de Andarax is a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. History The people of Laujar de Andarax took part in the rebellion of the Alpujarras in 1500, triggered by the forced conversion of its Mu ...

Las Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, Arabic: ''al-bussarat'') is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, G ...

, a mountainous area between the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. He crossed the Mediterranean in exile, departing in October 1493 from

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

and landing in

Cazaza Cazaza was a Spanish enclave on the western coast of Cape Three Forks, in what is today Morocco, around 18 km from Melilla. It was here that the exiled Boabdil, last Emir of Granada, landed when he left the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. In 150 ...

. He settled in

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

, accompanied by an entourage of 1,130 courtiers and servants. Large numbers of the Muslim population of Granada had already fled to North Africa, taking advantage of a clause in the articles of surrender that permitted free passage.

Letter to the Marinid Sultan of Morocco

Shortly after his surrender, Muhammad Boabdil sent a long letter to the

Marinid The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...

rulers of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

asking for refuge. The letter begins with a long poem praising the

s, followed by a prose passage where he laments his defeat and asks forgiveness for past wrongdoings of his forefathers against the Marinids. The entire text was reported by

al-Maqqari Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the scholar ...

:"نفح الطيب من غصن الاندلس الرطيب" p. 1325. احمد المقري المغربي المالكي الاشعري

North African exile and death

The 17th-century historian

Al-Maqqari Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the scholar ...

wrote that Muhammad XII crossed the Mediterranean to

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was ...

then went to

where he built a palace. He stayed there until his death in 1533/1534 (in 940 A.H.)."نفح الطيب من غصن الاندلس الرطيب" p. 1317. احمد المقري المغربي المالكي الاشعري He was buried near the ''Musala'' (place of the special prayer during the Islamic festivals) located outside of "Bab Sheria" in

. Muhammad XII was survived by two sons; Yusef and Ahmed.

met with his descendants in 1618 in

; they lived in a state of poverty and relied on the

Zakat Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ...

. An alternative final resting place for Muhammad XII is suggested by the late nineteenth century Arabist M.C. Brosselard, who translated a lengthy prescription in Andalusian script on a three-foot long onyx slab held in the town museum of

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the po ...

. This epitaph marked the tomb of the exiled king ''our lord Abu-Abdullah'' who died in Tlemcen in May 1494, aged thirty-four. The conflict between places and dates of death may arise from confusion between Muhammad XII and his uncle El Zagal, who also died in North African exile. Spanish chronicler

Luis del Mármol Carvajal Luis del Marmol Carvajal (Granada, Spain, 1520 - Velez Malaga, Spain, 1600) was a Spanish chronicler living many years among the formerly Moorish Granada kingdom morisco's inhabitants and in the North African Berber regions in the mid 16th cen ...

wrote "Muhammad XII died near the Oued el Assouad (Black River) at ford told Waqûba during the war between the

Marinids The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...

and the

Saadians The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

." This source is also taken by

Louis de Chénier Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated te ...

, a diplomat of

King Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, in his ''Historical research on the Moors and History of the Empire of Morocco'' published in Paris in 1787.

Muhammad XII in popular culture

Washington Irving Memorial Irvington Boabdil

* He is a main character in

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...

's ''

The Conquest of Granada ''The Conquest of Granada'' is a Restoration era stage play, a two-part tragedy written by John Dryden that was first acted in 1670 and 1671 and published in 1672. It is notable both as a defining example of the " heroic drama" pioneered by Dryd ...

'', a heroic drama in two parts, 1672. * He is mentioned often by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories " Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Lege ...

in ''

Tales of the Alhambra ''Tales of the Alhambra'' (1832) is a collection of essays, verbal sketches and stories by American author Washington Irving (1783–1859) inspired by, and partly written during, his 1828 visit to the palace/fortress complex known as the Alhamb ...

'' (1832), particularly in the chapter "Mementos of Boabdil." * He was the subject of the three-act opera ''Boabdil, der letzte Maurenkönig'', Op. 49, written in 1892 by the Jewish-German-Polish composer

Moritz Moszkowski Moritz Moszkowski (23 August 18544 March 1925) was a German composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish-Jewish descent.

. * Spanish composer

Gaspar Cassadó Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu (30 September or 5 October 1897 – 24 December 1966) was a Spanish cellist and composer of the early 20th century. He was born in Barcelona to a church musician father, Joaquim Cassadó, and began taking cello lesso ...

wrote the ''Lamento de Boabdil'' for cello and piano, in memory of the king. * Spanish composer

Antón García Abril Antón García Abril OAXS (19 May 1933 – 17 March 2021) was a Spanish composer and musician. He composed many classical orchestral works, chamber and vocal pieces, as well as over 150 scores for film and television. Biography Between 1974 ...

wrote the 'Elegía a la pérdida de la Alhambra' from his song cycle ''Canciones del Jardin Secreto'' for voice and piano; it is set to text (in Andalusian Arabic) that is attributed to Boabdil, in which he laments the loss of the Alhambra. * Abu Abdallah appears as the main character in ''"De Ongelukkige"'' published in 1915 by Dutch author

Louis Couperus Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (10 June 1863 – 16 July 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His oeuvre contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and s ...

. This novel covers the last decade of Abu Abdallah's reign as ruler of the

. * In the 1931 anthology ''

If It Had Happened Otherwise ''If It Had Happened Otherwise'' () is a 1931 collection of essays edited by J. C. Squire and published by Longmans, Green. Each essay in the collection could be considered alternate history or counterfactual history, a few written by leading hi ...

'', the alternate history scenario "If the Moors in Spain Had Won" by

Philip Guedalla Philip Guedalla (12 March 1889 – 16 December 1944) was an English barrister, and a popular historical and travel writer and biographer. His wit and epigrams are well-known, one example being "Even reviewers read a Preface". He also was the ori ...

has the premise of Boabdil winning the war against the Spanish, and his kingdom persisting into the 20th century. * He figures in the video game '' Assassin's Creed II: Discovery'' for the

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Nintendo DS, as an ally of the Assassins. * He is portrayed by

Khalid Abdalla Khalid Abdalla ( ar, خالد عبدالله; ; born 26 October 1980) is a Scottish actor and activist of Egyptian descent. He came to international prominence after starring in the 2006 Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning film '' United ...

in the film ''

Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patric ...

'' (2016). * Andalusian singer-songwriter and poet dedicated a song to Muhammad XII in his album ''Crónicas Granadinas'', entitled ''Caída del Rey Chico''. *

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and W ...

's book, ''

The Moor's Last Sigh ''The Moor's Last Sigh'' is the fifth novel by Salman Rushdie, published in 1995. It is set in the Indian cities of Bombay and Cochin. Title and influences The title is taken from the story of Boabdil, the last Moorish king of Granada, who ...

'', also features consistent references to Muhammad XII. * He appears as a character in ''

Leo Africanus Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book ''Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...

'' by

Amin Maalouf Amin Maalouf (; ar, أمين معلوف; born 25 February 1949) is a Lebanese-born French"Amin ...

. *

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review '' Littérature''. He w ...

's book ''

Le Fou d'Elsa ''Le Fou d'Elsa'' is a 1963 novel written by Louis Aragon. Synopsis In this book Aragon's intellectual work is reflected through the description of Arabic and Muslim culture in both poetry and prose. Aragon describes the relationships between th ...

'' renders a dramatized and poetic version of the story of Granada's capture, which includes Muhammad XII as one of the two main characters present in the novel, ( Majnun being the other.

Elsa Elsa may refer to: ELSA (acronym) * ELSA Technology, a manufacturer of computer hardware *English Language Skills Assessment * English Longitudinal Study of Ageing *Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects research * European Law Students' Association *E ...

, whom it could be argued is the second major character, is absent from the book.). *

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background ...

(PTV) produced a drama in 1980, based on the novel " Shaheen" by

Nasim Hijazi Sharif Hussain (Urdu: ), who used the pseudonym Nasīm Hijāzī (Urdu: , commonly transliterated as Naseem Hijazi or Nasim Hijazi) (19 May 1914 – 2 March 1996), was an Urdu novelist. Life and career Hussain was born in an Arain family in t ...

. In this drama Abu Abdullah Mohammad was played by Shakeel Ahmed. * Also in 1980 (22 November until 7 February 1981), appeared in the comics supplement to the Portuguese newspaper ''A Capital'' a 12-page comics story on the conquest of Granada with Boabdil as the main character, ''Luz do Oriente'' ("Light of the Orient"). The script was by

popular literature Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A num ...

writer and bookman Jorge Magalhães and the drawing was by Portuguese-

Guinean Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

sculptor, painter and comic book artist Augusto Trigo.''Quadradinhos'', II series, number 26 (22 November 1980) to 37 (7 February 1981), newspaper ''A Capital''. Published in book-form as ''Luz do Oriente'', ''Editorial Futura'', Lisbon, 1986 * Boabdil appeared as main character in the Spanish eight-episode serial ''

Requiem por Granada A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' (1991). In this serial, he was played by

Manuel Bandera Manuel Bandera (born 12 December 1960) is a Spanish actor and dancer. He became popular for his performance in the 1989 film '' The Things of Love''. Biography Born on 12 December in 1960 in Málaga, Bandera started his career performing as d ...

. Young Boabdil was played by

Lucas Martín Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''Lu ...

. * Boabdil appeared as a main character in season two of the Spanish TV Series ''

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popula ...

'' (2013). In this show, he was played by Álex Martínez. * He appeared as a main character in the novel ''Court of Lions'' (2017) by

Jane Johnson Jane Johnson may refer to: * Jane Johnson (actress) (1706–1733), English actress *Jane Johnson (slave) (c. 1814–1872), American slave who was center of a precedent-setting legal case *Jane Johnson (writer) (born 1960), English author *Jane Clays ...

. * He appears as a character in

G. Willow Wilson Gwendolyn Willow Wilson (born August 31, 1982) is an American comics writer, prose author, and essayist. Her best-known prose works include the novels ''Alif the Unseen'' and '' The Bird King''. She is most well known for relaunching the ''Ms. Mar ...

’s novel, ''The Bird King'' (2019), which is set during 1491 and the arrival of the Spanish Inquisition. The protagonist Fatima is his concubine. *

Nathaniel Mackey Nathaniel Mackey is an American poet, novelist, anthologist, literary critic and editor. He is the Reynolds Price Professor of Creative Writing at Duke University and a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets. Mackey is currently teaching a ...

's poem "Sigh of the Moor" in ''

Splay Anthem Splay may refer to: *Splay, a verb meaning slant, slope or spread outwards * Splay (physiology), the difference between urine threshold and saturation * Splay (Japanese band), a J-pop band from Osaka * Splay Networks, a Sweden-headquartered grou ...

'' is built around the motif of Boabdil’s abdication. * Keith Bradbury's novel "

Let the Dead Hold Your Hand Let or LET may refer to: Sports * Let serve, when the served object in certain racket sports hits the net and lands in the correct service court, such as; ** Let (badminton) ** Let (pickleball) ** Let (tennis) * Ladies European Tour, the ladie ...

" features the story of Boabdil and the search to find his final resting place. * He appears in ''The Queen’s Vow'', a novel of Isabella of Castile by

C.W. Gortner C.W. Gortner is an American author of historical fiction, including the novels ''The Last Queen'', ''The Confessions of Catherine de Medici'', and the ''Spymaster Trilogy''. His novels are translated in over 25 languages. ''The Queen’s Vow' ...

. * He appears in the E.T.A Hoffmann short story "Das Sanctus" or (The Sanctus" as the antagonist.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad 12 Of Granada Sultans of Granada 15th-century monarchs in Europe 1460s births 16th-century deaths People of the Reconquista 15th-century Al-Andalus people Nasrid dynasty People from Granada 15th-century Arabs 16th-century Arabs