The last struggle — The Siege of Granada— The capitulation — Treachery of Ferdinand and Isabella — The persecution of the Spanish Moslems— Final expulsion — The loss to Spain.
Ibn Ismail was succeeded by his eldest son Ali, surnamed Abu'l Hassan. Brave, chivalrous, and gifted, had he been supported by a united people he would probably have rivalled the glory of his ancestors, and kept his kingdom intact; but with a nation divided and torn by factions, the task before him was hopeless. The ruin was hastened by his own fiery recklessness and the rebellion of his son. In the year 1469 a.c. the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella united the forces of Castile, Aragon, and Leon under one common standard. Both equally fanatical, both alike regarding it a pious duty to burn or slaughter infidels and heretics, both alike determined to put an end to the last remnant of civilisation in Spain, they waited impatiently for the termination of the truce which, at their instance, and in consequence of the troubles within their own dominions, had been concluded with Abu'l Hassan. But the haughty refusal of the King of Granada to pay the tribute agreed upon rankled within them. The longed-for opportunity was supplied by Abu'l Hassan himself. No sooner did the truce expire, than he recklessly commenced the war by attacking and carrying by assault, in a storm of wind and rain, the township of Zahara.
The capture of this township unloosed upon him and his kingdom the avalanche of savagery and fanaticism, which only the internal convulsions in Northern Spain had hitherto prevented from rolling down on Granada. Thinking men among the Saracens considered the rashness of the King as the harbinger of evil to their own principality. In the reception-hall of the King an old fakih gave expression to this foreboding. "Woe is me!" said he. "The ruins of Zahara will fall on our own heads; the days of the Moslem Empire in Spain are now numbered!" Perceiving the difficulty of recapturing Zahara, which had been strongly garrisoned by Abu'l Hassan, the Castilians on their side made a sudden night attack on the fortified township of al-Hamah (Alhama), which, situated at the foot of the mountains fifteen leagues from the capital, guarded the entrance into the Granadan territories. In spite of a heroic defence the place was taken by assault and turned into a human shamble. Even the women and children, who had taken refuge in the Alhama, cathedral mosque, were mercilessly slaughtered by the Castilians. Thus fell Alhama in 887 A.H. (1482 a.c.)— one day a flourishing city, the next a vast tomb; its beautiful streets one day promenaded by a happy people, the next heaped with slaughtered corpses.
The fall of Alhama foreshadowed the doom of Granada; and a general wail went up from the Moslem population at the cruel fate of its citizens and garrison. They cursed the folly which had led to the disaster. Abu'l Hassan made two attempts to retake the city; the first failed; in the second he was nearly successful, when the news of an insurrection in the capital, headed by his son Abu Abdullah Mohammed, paralysed his arms. The evils of polygamy showed themselves at this grave crisis in the fortunes of the Spanish Moslems. Abu'l Hassan had two wives, one the daughter of his uncle, named Ayesha, the other a Spanish (Christian) lady of high birth. To the latter and her children he was devotedly attached. Ayesha, jealous of the influence exercised by her Spanish rival, instigated her son, the notorious Boabdil, to rise against his father. Bribed by the mother, a portion of the garrison and the people accepted the young man as their king. Abu'l Hassan hastened back to Granada, which became a field of carnage on both sides. A short truce between father and son enabled the old King to relieve Loja or Loxa (Losha), which was besieged by the Castilians, and to capture Canete. But these successes were of no avail, for he learnt that his rebel son had succeeded in seizing the Castle of Alhambra, and had virtually made himself master of the whole of Granada. Abu'l Hassan then fell back on Malaga, of which his brother Abu Abdullah Mohammed, surnamed az-Zaghal, was the governor. The cities of Guadix and Baeza (Basta) alone remained under his authority.
Ferdinand and Isabella, burning to avenge the check sustained by their troops before Loxa, dispatched a strong force into the province of Malaga, which at first met with great success, "if we can call by that name the burning of harvests, the cutting down of olive trees and vines, the destruction of flourishing villages, the lifting of cattle, and the butchery of defenceless human beings." The Castilians, who were thus pleasantly engaged, were attacked by az-Zaghal and his lieutenant Rizwan in the mountains of Axarquia (ash-Sharkia) and routed with terrible slaughter. The Saracen cause was not entirely hopeless, but a new incident, of which the traitor Boabdil was the author, altered the whole course of events. Desirous of emulating the achievements of his uncle, az-Zaghal, whose name was now on the lips of the volatile Granadans, the unlucky Boabdil attacked the Castilian town of Lucena, was disastrously beaten and taken prisoner. At this juncture Abu'l Hassan abdicated the throne in favour of the brave az-Zaghal, and retired with his family and effects to Illora, and thence to Almunicar, where he died soon after.
The capture of Boabdil was regarded by Ferdinand and Isabella as a providential help rendered to their cause, for they saw in him the fittest instrument for perpetuating the discord in Granada, dividing its military resources, and ultimately destroying the ill-fated kingdom. Weak, vacillating, and pusillanimous, he was "mere wax" in the hands of the astute and masterful Ferdinand. He was soon persuaded to become their faithful vassal. "As soon as they felt they had completely mastered their tool," they sent him back towards Granada well supplied with men, money, and other requisites. With the assistance of the Castilians who formed his escort, and a number of Granadans who had been bribed by Ayesha, he seized the suburb of Albaezin and Granada was again plunged in a destructive civil war. Az-Zaghal proposed to Boabdil that they should reign together, and jointly oppose the common enemy; but the incapable young man refused all overtures. The Castilians took advantage of this suicidal struggle between az-Zaghal and Boabdil to capture in succession Alora, Kasr-Bonela, Ronda, and other important cities. Loxa, before which they had failed several times, was reduced in 1486 a.c, and Malaga fell a year later. Once did az-Zaghal issue to relieve this city, but was actually prevented by Boabdil, who was base enough to congratulate Ferdinand on the conquest of this Moslem city.
Although these places had surrendered or capitulated on a solemn pledge of security and protection to the inhabitants, once in possession the saintly Ferdinand did not hesitate to break his pledged word; the people were either reduced to slavery or expelled from their homes and country. Baeza, Almeria, Vera, Huescar, and a few other places alone remained in the hands of az-Zaghal. The perfidious Ferdinand entered into a secret compact with Boabdil to give to him all the territories he would conquer from az-Zaghal; and the miserable traitor fully relied on this promise in the fear that if he did not help the Castilians, az-Zaghal, who had beaten Ferdinand in several engagements, would turn him out of Granada. Ferdinand was thus able to fall with all his forces upon Baeza. Az-Zaghal, driven to desperation, appealed to the Moslem sovereigns of Africa, just then fighting amongst themselves. The appeal proved fruitless; nevertheless the Saracens maintained a sturdy defence, and az-Zaghal repeatedly drove back the Castilians from the walls of his capital; but the tactics of Ferdinand finally starved the city into capitulation. As usual, the terms on which the submission was obtained were broken immediately afterwards, and the citizens were ruthlessly expelled from their homes, and their goods and chattels seized by the pious King and Queen. The governors of the castles and towns in the Alpuxarras (al-Busharat) were gradually bribed into submission. Az-Zaghal, who had, until now, fought heroically for the freedom of his people, was at last induced to make his submission to Ferdinand and Isabella. He was allotted the district of Andarax, with the title of king, but was not allowed long to remain in the enjoyment of his small territory, for a year later he was exiled to Africa. Nothing now remained in the hands of the Saracens except Granada and its immediate dependencies. Boabdil, to whom the fall of az-Zaghal had come as a relief, was speedily undeceived as to the intentions of his Christian patrons regarding himself.
No sooner was az-Zaghal disposed of than they called upon Boabdil to surrender Granada. His refusal supplied to Ferdinand the pretext for laying waste with fire and sword the fertile territories of Granada. After converting the Vega into a "vast expanse of desolation" he retired to Cordova. It was now war to the knife; the Saracens, under the leadership of Musa bin Abi'l Ghazan, one of their most valorous knights, whose words had put some life even into the heart of the pusillanimous Boabdil, resolved once more to carry the war into the enemy's country, and they actually succeeded in capturing some of the frontier posts. But with the return of spring Ferdinand again entered the plains of Granada with an army consisting of forty thousand foot and ten thousand horse, and commenced anew the work of devastation. The crops and fruit trees were destroyed, the homesteads reduced to ashes, and the defenceless inhabitants either butchered, outraged, or mutilated. The cordon was drawn tighter and tighter round the last stronghold of civilisation in Spain, and the harried people of the Vega took refuge within the walls of the capital. "For ten years they had disputed every inch of ground with their invaders: wherever their feet could hold they had stood firm against the enemy. But now there was left to them nothing beyond their capital, and within its walls they shut themselves up in sullen despair."
The dispositions for the defence were excellently conceived, and for a time were ably carried out. As yet the communications between the capital and the Alpuxarras (al-Busharat) were not interrupted, and convoys with provisions came constantly for the besieged from the districts of Sierra Nevada (the Jabal-Shulair), whilst vigorous sorties led by Musa himself kept the enemy at bay. In the single combats, which were of daily occurrence in front of the Castilian camp, the Saracen cavaliers almost invariably killed their antagonists. The loss of his best knights in these encounters determined Ferdinand to convert the siege into a blockade, and to starve the Saracens into surrender. "Every patch of ground beyond the city walls was seized by the enemy, and all access from outside was barred, so that it became impossible for the besieged to gather any crops or to receive supplies from the neighbouring districts. Provisions grew every day more scarce, and by the month of Safar the privations of the people became almost intolerable." A desperate attempt to break the cordon failed owing to the weakness of the famished infantry of Granada. Reduced to terrible straits, the besieged at last determined upon a surrender. "Famine did the work that no mere valour could effect."
Delegates were sent to the Castilian camp to arrange the conditions of capitulation, and after a long conference the following terms were settled: That, in case the Saracens were not relieved within the space of two months, either by land or sea, the city of Granada should be delivered over to the Christians; that the King, his generals, viziers and shaikhs, with all the people, should take the oath of obedience to the Castilian sovereigns, and that Boabdil should receive some property in the Alpuxarras; that the Moslems "great and small," should be perfectly secure in person, and that they should preserve, with their liberty, the full and unrestricted enjoyment and possession of their property, their arms, and their horses; that they should be allowed the free and unmolested exercise of their religion; that their mosques and religious foundations should remain intact; that the muezzin should not be interrupted in his call to prayers; that they should retain their manners, usages, customs, language, and dress; that their laws should be administered to them by their own magistrates; that transactions between them and the Christians should be dealt with by mixed tribunals ; that they should not be subjected to any taxes beyond what they paid to their sovereigns; that no Christian should enter forcibly the house of a Moslem, or insult him in any way; that all the Moslem captives should be liberated; that all Saracens who might wish to cross over to Africa should be allowed to take their departure within a fixed time, and be conveyed thither in the Castilian ships, without any payment except the mere charge for passage; and that after the expiration of that time no Moslem should be hindered from departing, provided he paid, in addition to the price of his passage, a tenth of whatever property he might carry along with him; that no one should be prosecuted and punished for the crime of another man; that any Christian who had embraced Islam should not be compelled to re-linquish it, and adopt his or her former creed; that any Moslem wishing to become Christian should be allowed some days to consider the step he was about to take, after which he was to be questioned both by a Moslem and a Christian judge concerning his intended change, and if, after this examination, he still refuse to return to Islam, he should be permitted to follow his own inclination; that no Moslem should be subject to have Christian soldiers billeted upon him, or to be transported from his home against his will; that any Moslem choosing to travel or reside among the Christians should be perfectly secure in his person and property; and that no badge or distinctive mark should be put on them, as was done with the Jews.
Musa alone raised his voice against the capitulation. He warned them not to rely on the delusive and treacherous promises of the Castilians, and implored them to make one supreme effort to break the leaguer. "Death is sweeter," he said, "than the pain and shame of servitude. Do you believe that the Castilians would observe faithfully their promises? You are deceived. The enemy is thirsting for our blood. But death is nothing to what he has in store for us — injury, outrage, humiliation, degradation; the plunder of our homes, the dishonour of our wives and daughters, the profanation of our mosques — in a word, oppression, injustice, and intolerance. Already the fagots have been alighted to reduce us into cinders." His words had no effect. The brave knight, with a glance of contempt and indignation at his compatriots assembled in council, mounted his charger and rode forth from the city by the gate of Elvira never to return. "It is said that as he rode he encountered a party of Christian knights, half a score strong, and, answering their challenge, slew many of Death of them before he was unhorsed, and then, disdaining their offers of mercy, fought stubbornly upon his knees till he was too weak to continue the struggle: with a last effort he cast himself into the river Xenil, and, heavy with armour, sank to the bottom."
Messengers had been despatched to implore the help of the Sultans of Egypt and Rum, but the period of grace expired without any sign of relief; and on January 3, 1492 A.C., the Castilians took possession of Granada. It was indeed "an ill-omened hour when the Cross supplanted the Crescent on the towers of Granada;" for with the conquest of that city by the Christian Spaniards died for ever the intellectual life and industrial activity of the Peninsula.
Boabdil and his family took the road to the Alpuxarras, where he was to abide, when he reached the mountains of Padul he cast a last long look at Granada and wept. His mother, hitherto his evil genius, turned upon him with the words, "Yes, you may well weep like a woman at the loss of what you could not defend like a man." The spot whence Boabdil took his sad farewell look of Granada bears to this day the name of El ultimo sospiro del Moro — "The last sigh of the Moor." At Andarax Boabdil lived for a while, but his presence in Spain was regarded by Ferdinand as dangerous to the Castilian sovereignty, and he was soon of banished to Africa. He then went to Fez, where he abode until his death in 1538 a.c.
Neither the pious Ferdinand nor the saintly Isabella meant to abide by the capitulation concluded with the Moslems, who were soon reminded of the ominous warning of their last hero by the fate of the Jews. These people had prospered under the tolerant rule of the Saracens; their wealth attracted the cupidity of the Castilian sovereigns. In 1492 a.c, Ferdinand, who always concealed his perfidious policy in the cloak of religion, and lavished promises where he meant to deceive, promulgated a decree that they should either beginning abandon their religion or leave the country. They were burnt, tortured, or exiled.
Simultaneously with the decree against the Jews, the terms settled with the Moslems began to be infringed; they were subjected to every humiliation and injury; their religion and laws were proscribed, and many of them were forcibly baptised. The treachery of the Castilians caused great resentment among the Moslem population, and the Albaezin rose in arms, which only led to further ill-treatment. In 1498 the ferocious Ximenes started a universal persecution. They were enjoined within a certain time to embrace "the religion of the idolators" or to submit to death. Some yielded, but a majority clung to their faith, and betook themselves to the mountains of Alpuxarras. Here they were attacked by their persecutors. Not content with massacrmg the men, the Castilians blew up by gunpowder a mosque where the women and children of a wide dictrict had taken refuge. In spite of the odds against them the Moslems defended themselves bravely, and in 1501 a.c. gained a victory at Jabal Balansa, which obtained for the survivors and their families an exit to Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt. Their goods and chattels, however, were seized by their Christian majesties. Those that remained, and they were still numerous, were compelled at the point of the sword to make a profession of Christianity. Although nominally Christians, "they were not so in their hearts, for they worshipped God in secret, and performed their prayers and ablutions at the proper hours." "They took care to wash off" maintains Lane-poole "the holy water with which their children were baptised as soon as they were out of the priest's sight; they came home from their Christian weddings to be married again after the Mohammedan rite. A wise and honest government, respecting its pledges given at the surrender of Granada, would have been spared the danger of this hidden disaffection, but the rulers of Spain were neither wise nor honest in their dealings with the Moriscoes, and as time went on they became more and more cruel and false."
These nominal Christians were watched with the greatest vigilance, and any sign of backsliding brought upon the hapless offender the punishment of the Inquisition. The fires of the auto da fe were lighted at Granada, at Cordova, and at Seville, and from day to day the flames devoured numbers of men, women, and children. In order to prevent a rising the use of every sharp instrument, even to the smallest knife, was interdicted, and so the unlucky descendants of the race that had conquered Spain bore patiently the tortures and outrages to which they were subjected. In 1568 A.C. their condition became intolerable. Not satisfied with despoiling their victims of property and privileges, reducing them to a hideous servitude in the land where they had once reigned, "the Christians sought their extermination — the destruction of the very memory of their glorious existence." The mad fanatic Philip II occupied the throne of Spain at this time. And the Archbishop of Granada, equally ferocious and fanatical, obtained from him a decree requiring the Arabs to abandon their language, their customs, their manners, and all their institutions in a day. "'The infidels' were ordered to abandon their picturesque costume, and to assume the hats and breeches of the Christians; to give up bathing, and adopt the dirt of their conquerors; to renounce their language, their customs and ceremonies, even their very names, and to speak Spanish, behave Spanishly, and re-name themselves Spaniards." "The wholesale denationalisation of the people was more than any folk, much less the descendants of the Almanzors and the Abencerrages, could stomach."
Driven to desperation they rose in arms. It was a hopeless struggle. After three years of incessant fighting the insurrection was crushed by the notorious Don Juan of Austria, by wholesale butchery and devastation. Men and women and children were butchered under his own eyes, and the villages and valleys of the Alpuxarras were turned into human shambles. The poor people who took refuge in caves were smoked to death. There still remained a large number of Moriscoes, as they were called, in Valencia and Murcia. In 1610 a.c. Philip III completed the work begun by his father; over half a million of inoffensive people were forcibly deported to Africa and thrown upon its shores without means or money. Those who lived in the interior, and whose number is said to have amounted to no less than two hundred thousand, unhappy remnant of a once powerful and prosperous nation, were mercilessly driven across the the frontier into France, whence such as survived the cruelties of the Spaniards or the hardships of the road, took ship to the countries of Islam. From the fall of Granada to the reign of Philip III three millions of people were driven out of the Peninsula!
Thus disappeared from the soil of Spain a brave, ingenious and enlightened nation, whose active industry had brought back to life the Peninsula that had lain dead and barren under the indolent pride of the Goths; who had turned Andalusia into a garden, and had held aloft the torch of knowledge when all around lay in darkness; who had spread culture, given impetus to civilisation, and established chivalry — who had, in fact, created modern Europe. And what has Spain gained by the expulsion of the Moors? Fair Andalusia, for centuries the home of culture, learning, and arts, has relapsed into sterility and become a synonym for intellectual and moral desolation. "An eternal gloom," to use the eloquent words of Conde, "envelopes the countries which their presence had brightened and enriched. Nature has not changed; she is as smiling as ever; but the people and their religion have changed. Some mutilated monuments still dominate over the ruins which cover a desolate land; but from the midst of these monuments, of these cold ruins comes the cry of Truth, 'Honour and glory to the vanquished Arab, decay and misery for the conquering Spaniard.'"
Stanely Lane-poole describes still more graphically the loss inflicted by fanaticism in Spain. "The misguided Spaniards knew not what they were doing. The exile of the Moors delighted them; nothing more picturesque and romantic had occurred for some time. They did not understand that they had killed their golden goose. For centuries Spain had been the centre of civilisation, the seat of arts and sciences, of learning, and every form of refined enlightenment. No other country in Europe had so far approached the cultivated dominion of the Moors. The brief brilliancy of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of the empire of Charles V., could found no such enduring pre-eminence. The Moors were banished; for a while Christian Spain shone, like the moon, with a borrowed light; then came the eclipse, and in that darkness Spain has grovelled ever since. The true memorial of the Moors is seen in desolate tracts of utter barrenness, where once the Moslem grew luxuriant vines and olives and yellow ears of corn; in a stupid, ignorant population where once wit and learning flourished; in the general stagnation and degradation of a people which has hopelessly fallen in the scale of the nations, and has deserved its humiliation."
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