Editing Alhambra (section)

=== Origins and early history ===
[[File:Aa old gateway across rio darro in albaicin in granada.jpg|thumb|Remains of the ''Puente del Cadí'' (formerly ''Bāb al-Difāf''), an 11th-century Zirid fortification that enabled soldiers on the Sabika hill to access the river during times of siege]]
The evidence for a Roman presence is unclear but archaeologists have found remains of ancient foundations on the Sabika hill.{{Sfn|López|2011|p=293}} A fortress or citadel, probably dating from the Visigothic period, existed on the hill in the 9th century.<ref name=":24"/> The first reference to the ''Qal‘at al-Ḥamra'' was during the battles between the Arabs and the [[Muwallad|Muladies]] during the rule of [[Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi|‘Abdallah ibn Muhammad]] (r. 888–912). According to surviving documents from the era, the red castle was quite small, and its walls were not capable of deterring an army intent on conquering. The first reference to ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|al-Ḥamrāʼ&nbsp;}}'' came in lines of poetry attached to an arrow shot over the ramparts, recorded by [[Ibn Hayyan]] (d. 1076):
<poem>"Deserted and roofless are the houses of our enemies;
  Invaded by the autumnal rains, traversed by impetuous winds;
Let them within the red castle (Kalat al hamra) hold their mischievous councils;
  Perdition and woe surround them on every side."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Calvert |first1=Albert Frederick |url=https://archive.org/details/granadapresentby00calvrich |title=Granada, present and bygone |last2=Hartley |first2=C. Gasquoine (Catherine Gasquoine) |date=1908 |publisher=London : J. M. Dent & co. |others=University of California Libraries}}</ref></poem>

At the beginning of the 11th century, the region of Granada was dominated by the Zirids, a [[Sanhaja]] [[Berbers|Berber]] group and offshoot of the [[Zirid dynasty|Zirids]] who ruled parts of [[North Africa]]. When the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] collapsed after 1009 and the [[Fitna of al-Andalus|Fitna (civil war)]] began, the Zirid leader [[Zawi ben Ziri]] established an independent kingdom for himself, the [[Taifa of Granada]].<ref name=":05222"/> The Zirids built their citadel and palace, known as the ''al-Qaṣaba al-Qadīma'' ("Old Citadel" or "Old Palace"), on the hill now occupied by the [[Albaicín]] neighbourhood.<ref name=":05222"/><ref name=":24"/> It was connected to two other fortresses on the Sabika and Mauror hills to the south.<ref name=":24"/> On the [[Darro (river)|Darro River]], between the Zirid citadel and the Sabika hill, was a [[Sluice|sluice gate]] called ''Bāb al-Difāf'' ("Gate of the Tambourines"),{{efn|The gate is known today as the ''Puente del Cadí'' ("Bridge of the [[Qadi]]") or the ''Puerta de los Tableros'' ("Gate of the Boards"), and all that remains of it is one of its hexagonal towers with fragments of its large [[horseshoe arch]]way.{{Sfn|Rėklaitytė|2021|pp=443–445}}<ref name=":24" />}} which could be closed to retain water if needed.{{Sfn|Rėklaitytė|2021|pp=443–445}}{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|p=21}} This gate was part of the fortification connecting the Zirid citadel with the fortress on the Sabika hill and it also formed part of a ''coracha'' (from Arabic ''qawraja''), a type of fortification allowing soldiers from the fortress to access the river and bring back water even during times of siege.{{Sfn|Rėklaitytė|2021|pp=443–445}} The Sabika hill fortress, also known as ''al-Qasaba al-Jadida'' ("the New Citadel"), was later used for the foundations of the current [[Alcazaba of the Alhambra|Alcazaba]] of the Alhambra.<ref name=":24"/>{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=149}}{{Sfn|López|2011|pp=81, 293}} Under the Zirid kings [[Habbus al-Muzaffar|Habbus ibn Maksan]] and [[Badis ibn Habus|Badis]], the most powerful figure in the kingdom was the [[Jews|Jewish]] administrator known as [[Samuel ibn Naghrillah|Samuel ha-Nagid]] (in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]) or Isma'il ibn Nagrilla (in Arabic).<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Catlos |first=Brian A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xKBfDwAAQBAJ&dq=kingdoms+of+faith&pg=PP1 |title=Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain |publisher=Basic Books |year=2018 |isbn=9780465055876 |location=New York |pages=216–220 |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117192241/https://books.google.com/books?id=xKBfDwAAQBAJ&dq=kingdoms+of+faith&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Samuel built his own palace on the Sabika hill, possibly on the site of the current palaces, although nothing remains of it. It reportedly included gardens and water features.{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=149}}{{Efn|A 1956 theory by Frederick Bargebuhr<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bargebuhr |first=Frederick P. |date=1956 |title=The Alhambra Palace of the Eleventh Century |journal=Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes |volume=19 |issue=3–4 |pages=192–258 |doi=10.2307/750296 |jstor=750296 |s2cid=190612778}}</ref> that the lion sculptures in the current [[Court of the Lions]] came from Samuel's palace has since been challenged and refuted by other scholars.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scheindlin |first=Raymond P. |date=1993–1994 |title=El poema de Ibn Gabirol y la fuente de los leones |journal=Cuadernos de la Alhambra |volume=29–30 |pages=185–190}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ruggles|2000|pp=164–167}}{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=283}}}}