2 GRANADA 



the fragments of empire. With an ever-increasing 

 following, he seized upon Jaen in 1232, and 

 obtained possession of Granada itself in 1237. 

 City after city opened its gates to him, including 

 Malaga and Almeria, and in 1241 he was recog- 

 nised as Lord and Sultan of all the territory 

 between the Sierra Morena and the Pillars of 

 Hercules, from Ronda to Baza. 



A great man, in every sense, was this founder 

 of the Nasrite dynasty. His presence was fine 

 and commanding, his manner bland and amiable, 

 his courage worthy of the heroic age. For all 

 his valour and prowess on the battlefield, no 

 monarch prized peace more highly. He proved 

 himself a true national hero and the father of his 

 people. He fostered industry and agriculture, 

 was a patron, like all his race, of arts and letters, 

 and encouraged immigration by every means in 

 his power. A far-sighted statesman, he perceived 

 that a state so limited in area as his own could 

 only hope to exist by virtue of an unusual density 

 of population, and he offered every inducement 

 to Muslims from the provinces conquered by 

 the Christians to settle within his dominions. 

 Granada was the last hope of Islam in Europe, 

 and he resorted to all possible means to safeguard 

 it. He concluded alliances with the rulers of 

 Morocco, Tlemsen, and Tunis, and even of dis- 

 tant Baghdad. Above all, he neglected no means 



