Aisha al-Hurra, mother of the last king of Granada

Aisha Al-Hurra led battles with her son against the Crusaders in Andalusia (Al-Jazeera)

Aisha al-Hurra, the last Arab princess in the history of Andalusia, was the wife of King Ali Abi al-Hasan, the daughter of his cousin King al-Yusar, and the mother of his son Abu Abdullah al-Saghir, the last king of Granada.

She led the resistance against the Christian threat, and fought to ensure her legitimacy as wife to the king and mother to the heir to his throne. She witnessed the death and end of Granada. She was a strong personality who fought to restore the kingdom to its former glory, and played a major role in the course of political events there.

Despite the lack of sources and documents about her life, she is known in Spanish heritage as “Aisha” and “Madre Bouabdil,” a name that is a variation of her son’s name, Abu Abdullah. She is appreciated by the Spaniards, so much so that they kept her house in the Albayzin neighborhood in Granada, known as Today at Dar Al-Hurra.

Birth and upbringing

Aisha Al-Hurra was born in Granada, to a royal family whose origins go back to Yusuf bin Nasr, known as Ibn Al-Ahmar, descended from the Arab Khazraj Qahtani tribe, whose ancestors came to the Jaén region, north of Valencia, with the fall of the Almohad state in Andalusia.

Aisha was one of the three daughters of Sultan Muhammad VIII “Al-Asar”, the 15th ruler of Granada, in three separate periods between the years 1419-1453. She grew up in the king’s house in the Alhambra Palace, and she learned from the cultural heritage that grew up in the embrace of the Nasrid kingdom and the care of its rulers. It is likely that she lived in Morocco during the period of her father’s exile.

Al-Hurra was affected by the atmosphere of internal strife that shook the king’s house in the third and final phase of the Nasrid rule in the period between 1391 AD and 1492 AD, and it was then dominated by intrigues, intrigues, and conflict and struggle over power.

The descendant of the royal house had faced dramatic situations and turmoil that shaped her life and made her a rare leader who broke into various fields such as governance, power, and negotiations.

Historical sources agree on the strong and courageous nature of her personality, her firm management, her unique intelligence, her wisdom, and her sound judgment, while Spanish documents prove that she was active in the political affairs of the Kingdom and loved by the Granadians. References even described her as one of the “noble and charming figures in our history.”

Name and Surname

Historical accounts differed about the real name of the Andalusian Sultan and the name of her father. The Spanish orientalist Seco de Lucena believes, in light of the text of two documents, “a royal sale contract in 1448, and another in 1492,” that Abu Abdullah’s mother was called Fatima, and described as “the free lady,” according to her lineage. What is recorded in the text is that she is the daughter of Sultan Muhammad X “Al-Ahnaf”.

However, Arab historians disagree with this opinion for reasons, the most important of which is that the similarity of names, and even their multiplicity, occurred in one family. Sultan Al-Ahnaf had a daughter called Aisha, and Abu Al-Hasan Ali had a daughter with the same name. This did not prevent Sultan Muhammad VIII Al-Yassar from having a daughter also called Aisha, and she The mother of the last king of Granada, according to them.

The most accepted point of view among historians was that the name Aisha, known in Spanish heritage, was the real name of the daughter of “Al-Aysar” and not “Al-Ahnaf”, based on an official copy of the secret treaty, which the two Catholic kings had issued to Abu Abdullah Al-Saghir upon the surrender of Granada, in which The name “Queen Aisha” and his mother are mentioned, and later dates have given her that name.

It was also said that the Andalusian princess, who was known as “Aisha Al-Hurra, the honest and honorable,” was also known among Muslims as Fatima Al-Hurra in honor of her lineage, which is said to go back to the companion Saad bin Ubadah Al-Ansari.

Historians mentioned that the title Al-Hurra was added to the name Aisha, a title that translates to “sovereign woman,” and it became part of her name, as the author of the book “The End of Andalusia” believes that the title was given to distinguish her from the Spanish slave girl whom Sultan Abu Al-Hassan married, or it was a tribute. By her purity and high qualities or by her strong positions.

the Lady of the palace

In 1453, Aisha Al-Hurra married at a young age to her cousin Muhammad Ali Abu Al-Hassan, who seized the kingdom from his father, and was nicknamed “the victor by God.” She gave birth to two sons, Abu Abdullah and Abu Al-Hajjaj Yusef, and a daughter named Aisha.

Princess Al-Hurra was the mistress of the palace for 20 years, until a Christian slave girl entered it. She became a second wife to Abu Al-Hassan in his last days in the Grand Alhambra wing or Comares Palace, and he chose her over his wife Aisha, who was residing with her children in the Sebaa lobby wing.

The foreign wife, nicknamed “Soraya Al-Rumiyya,” became the true lady of the kingdom, and her presence constituted a new factor in fueling the conflict and competition between two women representing two hostile cultures.

Historians mention that the Arab wife’s response to the conspiracies of her Christian rival had a dimension greater than just a rivalry between two women, as it became a plan by a Christian woman who wanted to monopolize one of her sons as crown prince after his father. This was a matter of concern to the nobles of Granada, who were favoring the son of a descendant of the royal house. Arabi.

In the midst of these conflicts, Abu Al-Hassan imprisoned his wife, Aisha, and her two sons in “Comares,” one of the castles of the Alhambra Palace, “and it was said in Dar Al-Hurra,” and treated them harshly. This matter aroused the anger of the kingdom’s leaders, and discontent intensified against him, and against his Christian wife, who shook the throne of the kingdom.

In Jumada al-Akhirah in the year 1482, Princess Aisha was able to escape from her prison with her two sons, with the support of Banu Siraj. Historical references describe this, saying that some loyal servants were waiting with horses near Al-Hamra on the bank of the Hadara River, next to the Comares Tower, and that the Princess She used bed covers to descend from the windows of the tall tower in the dead of night, and she landed after bringing her two children in, then everyone disappeared under the cover of darkness. They appeared after a while in Wadi Ash, where her son, Abu Abdullah Muhammad, declared disobedience against his father.

Mother of the last king

Princess Aisha had a major role in installing her son Muhammad June 1482, when he was 25 years old, 10 years before the fall of Granada.

Abu Abdullah, despite his young age, declared jihad against the Crusaders with the encouragement of his free mother. He was able to liberate several forts and castles in April 1483, and defeated the Christians in several local battles, but revolutions and internal unrest shook the throne of the young prince, and he was defeated in his last war with The Crusaders were in Lucena, "Zaher Castle of El-Lissana", and he was captured by them after his failed attempt to invade Castile.

History books mentioned that Aisha received the news with equanimity, to the point that she said to her daughter-in-law, “Tears are not appropriate for the daughter of a Mujahid or the husband of a king, and the danger is greater for a king who abstains from his palace than when he takes refuge in his tent, and it is your husband’s duty to buy the peace of his throne with the dangers of the field.” ".

Aisha returned once again to protect her son's throne, engaging in negotiations to free the young prince in captivity, and later, supporting him to seize the emirate from his uncle and father in 1486.

She tried to assemble the army again, and raise her son's morale to continue the jihad against the Crusaders, but he was unable to resist in the face of their increasing pressure on his kingdom, and he had signed a secret document, which ravaged his kingdom less than 10 years after his liberation, so he left Andalusia permanently in the year 1492.

Death

History records mention that Aisha al-Hurra, who was destined to live the final chapter of the fall of Granada, left with her family for Morocco in 1493. It is likely that she died in the city of Fez long before the death of her son, and neither the date of her death nor the location of her grave are known.

Source: Al Jazeera + websites