Destinations Menu
RSS
1 Of 4
A Brief History of Granada
Granada, Spain (cc)
A Brief History of Granada
Granada's history goes back a long, long way. Traces of settlements in Granada have been dated to the Neolithic Age. The city itself was most likely founded by the Iberians in the fifth century BC. When the Romans colonized southern Spain, they built their own city here and called it Illiberis. The Romans gave way to the Vandals, and in 711 AD the Arabs invaded the peninsula. With the help of local Jews they conquered the city and named it Granada.
The Moorish empire soon stretched far into northern Spain. Boosted by its close proximity to the trade ports on the Mediterranean, the city’s silk trade flourished. Increasing Arab persecution of Christians hastened the Reconquest led by the Catholic monarchs. After successive wars with Christian Castile, the Arabs began to seek military aid from Morocco and as a result the city underwent a rapid process of “Arabization.”
After 1340, when the battle of Río Salado left much of the Mediterranean in Christian hands, Granada adopted a policy of isolation, effectively cutting itself off from Castilian influence. It was in this period that Yusuf I (1333-54) and Muhammad V (1354-59 and 1362-91) finished building the Alhambra.
By the 15th century the Moors had been forced to withdraw to their only remaining stronghold, Granada. The city, and with it the last of Moorish Spain, fell to the Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabela at the Alhambra in 1492. Moslems and Jews were ultimately forced out of the country or made to convert to Christianity during an intense period of ethnic cleansing. The splendor that had characterized Granada under the Moors ebbed until a new university had been established and all the cultural and monumental trappings of the new Christian Granada had begun to take shape.
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(36)
Restaurants(18)
Attractions(32)
Activities(25)
Map 
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Fri, 12/20/2024 - 07:00
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More