Editing Alhambra (section)

=== Nasrid period ===
[[File:Detalle_de_la_pared_de_la_Sala_del_Mexuar._La_Alhambra,_Granada.«Sólo_Dios_es_vencedor».JPG|thumb|[[Islamic calligraphy]] in the [[Mexuar]] Hall: {{lang|ar|و لا غالب إلا الله}}, "[[Wala ghaliba illa Allah|There is no victor but God]]", a motto used by the Nasrid dynasty{{Sfn|Dickie|1992|p=139}}]]
The period of the [[Taifa|Taifa kingdoms]], during which the Zirids ruled, came to an end with the conquest of [[al-Andalus]] by the [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravids]] from North Africa during the late 11th century. In the mid-12th century they were followed by the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]]. After 1228 Almohad rule collapsed and local rulers and factions emerged again across the territory of Al-Andalus.{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|pp=265–267}} With the ''[[Reconquista]]'' in full swing, the Christian kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]] and [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]] – under kings [[Ferdinand III of Castile|Ferdinand III]] and [[James I of Aragon|James I]], respectively – made major conquests across al-Andalus. Castile captured [[Siege of Córdoba (1236)|Cordoba in 1236]] and [[Siege of Seville|Seville in 1248]]. Meanwhile, [[Muhammad I of Granada|Ibn al-Ahmar]] (Muhammad I) established what became the last and longest reigning [[Muslim]] dynasty in the Iberian peninsula, the [[Nasrid dynasty|Nasrids]], who ruled the [[Emirate of Granada]].<ref name=":82">{{cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&q=new+islamic+dynasties |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780748696482 |location= |pages= |chapter=The Nasrids or Banu 'l-Ahmar |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903085645/https://books.google.com/books?id=mKpz_2CkoWEC&q=new+islamic+dynasties |url-status=live }}</ref> Ibn al-Ahmar was a relatively new political player in the region and likely came from a modest background, but he was able to win the support and consent of multiple Muslim settlements under threat from the Castilian advance.{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|pp=266, 274–276}}

Upon settling in Granada in 1238, Ibn al-Ahmar initially resided in the old citadel of the Zirids on the Albaicin hill, but that same year he began construction of the Alhambra as a new residence and citadel.<ref name=":05222" /><ref name=":24" /> According to an Arabic manuscript since published as the ''Anónimo de Madrid y Copenhague'',{{Sfn|López|2011|p=39}} 
{{blockquote|This year, 1238 Abdallah ibn al-Ahmar climbed to the place called "the Alhambra". He examined it, marked the foundations of a castle and left someone in charge of directing the work, and before that year had passed, the construction of the ramparts was completed; water was brought in from the river and a channel carrying the water was built (...)|source=|author=}}

During the reign of the Nasrid Dynasty, the Alhambra was transformed into a palatine city, complete with an irrigation system composed of [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueducts]] and water channels that provided water for the complex and for other nearby countryside palaces such as the [[Generalife]].{{sfn|López|2011|pp=239–257}}<ref name=":9" /> Previously, the old fortresses on the hill had been dependent on rainwater collected from the cistern near the Alcazaba and on what could be brought up from the Darro River below.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Martín |first=Adelaida Martín |date=2019 |title=A New Architectural Approach to the Alcazaba and the Torre del Homenaje |url=https://cuadernosdelaalhambra.alhambra-patronato.es/index.php/cdalhambra/issue/view/1 |journal=Cuadernos de la Alhambra |volume=48 |pages=175–199 |access-date=11 April 2022 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228183424/http://cuadernosdelaalhambra.alhambra-patronato.es/index.php/cdalhambra/issue/view/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The creation of the Sultan's Canal ({{Langx|ar|ساقلتة السلطان |translit=Saqiyat al-Sultan|links=no}}), which brought water from the mountains to the east, solidified the identity of the Alhambra as a palace-city rather than a defensive and [[ascetic]] structure. This first hydraulic system was expanded afterwards and included two long water channels and several sophisticated elevation devices to bring water onto the plateau.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=García-Pulido |first=Luis José |date=2016-06-20 |title=The Mastery in Hydraulic Techniques for Water Supply at the Alhambra |url=https://academic.oup.com/jis/article/27/3/355/2458957 |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=355–382 |doi=10.1093/jis/etw016 |issn=0955-2340 |access-date=19 November 2018 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119220227/https://academic.oup.com/jis/article/27/3/355/2458957 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The only elements preserved from the time of Ibn al-Ahmar are some of the fortification walls, particularly the Alcazaba at the western end of the complex.{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=152}} Ibn al-Ahmar did not have time to complete any major new palaces and he may have initially lived in one of the towers of the Alcazaba, before later moving to a modest house on the site of the current [[Palace of Charles V]].{{Sfn|Cabanelas Rodríguez|1992|p=129}} Later Nasrid rulers after Ibn al-Ahmar continuously modified the site. Along with the fragile materials themselves, which needed regular repairs, this makes the exact chronology of its development difficult to determine.{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|pp=152–153}}{{Sfn|Ruggles|2008}}

[[File:Partal Alto DSCF7876.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|Present-day remains of the ''[[Palacio del Partal Alto]]'', a palace likely built by [[Muhammad II of Granada|Muhammad II]] (r. 1273–1302)]]
The oldest major palace for which some remains have been preserved is the structure known as the ''[[Palacio del Partal Alto]]'', in an elevated location near the centre of the complex, which probably dates from the reign of Ibn al-Ahmar's son, [[Muhammad II of Granada|Muhammad II]] (r. 1273–1302).''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}'' To the south was the Palace of the Abencerrajes, and to the east was another private palace, known as the [[Palace of the Convent of San Francisco]]'',{{Efn|Named after the Convent of Saint Francis which was installed here in 1494.{{Sfn|López|2011|pp=180–184}}}}'' both of which were probably also originally constructed during the time of Muhammad II''.{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}'' [[Muhammad III of Granada|Muhammad III]] (r. 1302–1309) erected the [[Partal Palace]], parts of which are still standing today, as well as the Alhambra's main ([[Congregational mosque|congregational]]) mosque (on the site of the current Church of Santa Maria de la Alhambra).''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=152}}'' The Partal Palace is the earliest known palace to be built along the northern walls of the complex, with views onto the city below.''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}'' It is also the oldest Nasrid palace still standing today.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=The Partal |url=https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/edificios-lugares/the-partal |access-date=2020-11-28 |website=Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife |language=en-US |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129154039/https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/edificios-lugares/the-partal |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Ismail I of Granada|Isma'il I]] (r. 1314–1325) undertook a significant remodelling of the Alhambra. His reign marked the beginning of the "classical" period of Nasrid architecture, during which many major monuments in the Alhambra were begun and decorative styles were consolidated.{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=261}}{{Sfn|López|2011|p=295}}<ref name=":24" /> Isma'il decided to build a new palace complex just east of the Alcazaba to serve as the official palace of the sultan and the state, known as the ''Qaṣr al-Sultan'' or ''Dār al-Mulk''.{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=261}} The core of this complex was the [[Court of the Myrtles|Comares Palace]], while another wing of the palace, the [[Mexuar]], extended to the west.{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|pp=236–238}} The Comares Baths are the best-preserved element from this initial construction, as the rest of the palace was further modified by his successors. Near the main mosque Isma'il I also created the ''Rawda'', the dynastic mausoleum of the Nasrids, of which only partial remains are preserved.''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}'' [[Yusuf I of Granada|Yusuf I]] (r. 1333–1354) carried out further work on the Comares Palace, including the construction of the Hall of Ambassadors and other works around the current Mexuar. He also built the Alhambra's main gate, the ''Puerta de la Justicia'', and the ''[[Torre de la Cautiva]]'', one of several small towers with richly-decorated rooms along the northern walls.''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|pp=236, 266, 269, 275}}{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=152}}''

[[File:Court of the Lions, Alhambra by Juan Laurent.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The [[Court of the Lions]] in 1871. This palace, still preserved today, was built during the second reign of [[Muhammad V of Granada|Muhammad V]] (1362–1391).]]
[[Muhammad V of Granada|Muhammad V]]'s reign (1354–1391, with interruptions) marked the political and cultural apogee of the Nasrid emirate as well as the apogee of Nasrid architecture.{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|pp=288–292}}{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=164}} Particularly during his second reign (after 1362), there was a stylistic shift towards more innovative architectural layouts and an extensive use of complex ''[[muqarnas]]'' vaulting.{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=164}}{{Sfn|López|2011|p=295}}{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|pp=278–279}} His most significant contribution to the Alhambra was the construction of the [[Court of the Lions|Palace of the Lions]] to the east of the Comares Palace in an area previously occupied by gardens. He also remodelled the Mexuar, created the highly decorated "Comares Façade" in the ''Patio del Cuarto Dorado'', and redecorated the Court of the Myrtles, giving these areas much of their final appearance.''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|pp=236, 265, 269, 273}}''

After Muhammad V, relatively little major construction work occurred in the Alhambra. One exception is the ''Torre de las Infantas'', which dates from the time of [[Muhammad VII of Granada|Muhammad VII]] (1392–1408).''{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=236}}'' The 15th century saw the Nasrid dynasty in decline and in turmoil, with few significant construction projects and a more repetitive, less innovative style of architecture.''{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=152, 164}}{{Sfn|López|2011|p=295}}''