Muhammad XII of Granada

Muhammad XII, known as al-Zagal (c. 1440 – May,1494), was the 23rd Nasrid ruler of the Granada, reigning from 1485 to 1487. His popular epithet, al-Zagal, meaning "the Brave," "the Valiant," or "the Mighty in arms", distinguished him as the last significant military commander of the Nasrid dynasty.

Life

Born into the ruling house at an uncertain date, most likely around 1440, he was the second son of Emir Abu Nasr Sa'd and the younger brother of a future emir, Abu l-Ḥasan Ali, known in Castilian sources as Muley Hacén. His nephew, Muhammad XI (Boabdil), would become his principal rival.

A Christian chronicler described al-Zagal as tall, well-proportioned, and bearing a grave, dignified countenance of notable pallor.

He succeeded his brother in 1485. He abdicated in 1486. After passing the throne to his nephew Muhammad XI, also known as Boabdil, el Zagal ruled over a fractured remnant of the kingdom in its last days.

When Boabdil surrendered the Alhambra Palace to the Catholic Monarchs, el Zagal left for North Africa to gather an army. There he was imprisoned by the ruler of the Wattasid dynasty, Boabdil's friend, who ordered to blind him.

He presumably died in north-western Algeria, in Tlemcen, in 1494.

Notes

Bibliography

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