Muhammad XI of Granada
Iberia’s Last Muslim King
Ryan SzpiechThe life, legend and legacy of Granada’s last Muslim ruler
Muhammad XI of Granada, better known as Boabdil, was the last ruler of Muslim Granada and one of the most consequential figures in the history of medieval Iberia. This biography traces his turbulent life, following his struggles for power, family rivalries, the fall of Granada in 1492 and his final years in exile. At the same time, it places his life within a world transformed by religious conflict, political consolidation and the emergence of Spain as a global power. Drawing on sources in multiple languages, the book separates history from centuries of legend while examining how Muhammad XI’s memory has been reimagined across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. More than the story of a defeated king, it is an account of how history is remembered, reshaped and contested across generations.
Note on Names, Transliterations, Dates and Translations
Introduction: The Faces of 1492
1 A Jewel in the West: The Story of Islamic Iberia
2 A Walled Garden: Birth and Youth, c. 1460–73
3 Innocence and Experience: Coming of Age, 1474‒82
4 Things Fall Apart: Captivity and Civil Strife, 1483–7
5 Return of the King: Second Reign and Capitulation, 1487‒92
6 The Moor’s Last Sigh: Abu ʿAbd Allah in Exile, post-1492
7 Paradise Lost: Abu ʿAbd Allah in Muslim Cultures
8 A Sentimental Moor: Abu ʿAbd Allah in the European Imagination
Conclusion: Old Worlds and New
Chronology
Appendix: Genealogical Tree and Periods of Rule of the Nasrid Rulers
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Ryan Szpiech is Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan. His books include Conversion and Narrative: Reading and Religious Authority in Medieval Polemic (2013).