"The Abencerraje" and "Ozmín and Daraja": Two Sixteenth-Century Novellas from Spain

Chronology

[ vii ] • Chronology • 711 Muslim troops cross the Strait of Gibraltar and defeat Visigoth troops at the battle of Guadalete. 711–714 Most of the Iberian Peninsula surrenders to Muslim forces. 711–756 Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula is controlled by the Caliph of Damascus. 756–1031 An independent Andalusian Umayyad Emirate reigns over the Iberian Peninsula. 1031 The Almoravids take over the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. 1085 Christian King Alfonso VI of León and Castile captures Toledo. 1174 The Almohads take over the Almoravid reign. 1212 Christian forces defeat Almohad forces at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. 1232 The Nasrid dynasty takes over Almohad territories. 1236 Christians capture Córdoba. 1238 Granada becomes the capital of the Nasrid kingdom. 1248 Christians conquer Seville. 1410 Christians seize Antequera. 1462 Christians conquer Gibraltar. 1469 Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon are married , uniting Spain. 1481 King Muley Hacén (Abū al-Hasan ʿAlī) refuses to pay the annual tribute to the Catholic Monarchs and seizes the Christian city of Zahara. 1482 Christian campaigns against Granada begin. 1482–1492 Internecine battles among the Nasrid rulers weaken Muslim efforts to fight against Christian attacks. The major factions of the civil conflict are King Muley Hacén (and his brother Mohammed al-Zagal) and Muley Hacén’s son [ viii ] chronology Mohammed XII (Abū ‘Abd Allah), known as the Small King, or Boabdil. 1482 Leadership of Muslim territories in Andalusia is divided: Muley Hacén reigns from the city of Málaga with the support of his brother. Boabdil reigns from Granada with the support of the Abencerrajes. 1483 Ferdinand II captures Boabdil. In his absence, his father, Muley Hacén, wins back control of Granada. Ferdinand II releases Boabdil under the condition that he fight against Muley Hacén. 1484 Theplotof“TheAbencerraje”beginssometimeaftertheChristian capture of Álora in June 1484. 1485 Muley Hacén becomes ill and is deposed. His brother Mohammed al-Zagal takes over his reign. Muley Hacén dies. 1486 Boabdil fights against Mohammed al-Zagal in Granada but eventually accepts al-Zagal’s rule. Shortly thereafter, Boabdil is captured again by Christian forces in battle. Whenheisreleased,hereturnstofightingagainstal-Zagal in Granada. 1487 Boabdil takes over rule of Granada, occupying the Alhambra . Al-Zagal retreats to Guadix. 1488 Christians seize Málaga. 1489 Of the four territories that remain in Nasrid control, Boabdil controls Granada and al-Zagal controls Guadix, Baza, and Almería. 1489 Baza surrenders to the Christians. 1489 The plot of “Ozmín and Daraja” begins. 1489 In December, al-Zagal turns over his remaining territories (Guadix and Almería) to the Catholic Monarchs and emigrates to Northern Africa. 1492 Boabdil’s official surrender to the Christians marks the end of Muslim political power on the Iberian Peninsula. Muslims living in Granada become subjects of Christian rule. The terms of surrender promise that the Muslims [ ix ] chronology of Granada will be allowed to preserve their religion and culture. 1492 The Jews are expelled from Spain. 1492 Columbus arrives in the New World. 1499 The Muslim uprising in Granada is quickly quelled by the Crown. 1500−1502 The Crown pursues forced mass conversions of Muslims in Castile. 1511 The Crown prohibits converted Muslims, called Moriscos, in Granada from wearing Moorish dress. 1515−1516 ForcedmassconversionsofMuslimstakeplaceinNavarre. 1523−1526 Forced mass conversions of Muslims take place in Aragon. 1525 All Muslims are expelled from Aragon. 1526 The Edict of Granada prohibits the use of Moorish names, circumcision, non-Christian notaries, the bearing of arms by Moriscos, and Morisco meat vendors. 1526 The Morisco community of Granada pays Charles V to revoke the Edict of Granada. The edict is temporarily suspended. 1530 The Crown issues a decree requiring converted Muslims to wear “Christian” clothes. 1532 The Crown issues a decree against Morisco dances and songs that mention Mohammed. 1560−1561 TheCrown’sprohibitionofsilkexportsandataxonGranadan silk hurts many Moriscos’ livelihoods. 1561 “The Abencerraje” is published as “Parte de la corónica del ínclito infante don Fernando, que ganó a Antequera” and also as an interpolated tale in a new edition of Jorge Montemayor ’s Diana. 1565 “The Abencerraje” reappears as part of Antonio Villegas’s literary miscellany, the Inventario. 1565 Three spies of the Castilian Crown infiltrate a Morisco community in Segovia. They announce to the Crown that theMoriscocommunitysupportsanallegedplanbyOttoman forces in Northern Africa to attack Spain. [ x ] chronology 1566 Philip II issues royal decrees to prohibit Moorish dress...