Abu al-Hasan Ali

This article describes the Emir of Granada Abu l-Hasan Ali (ibn Sa'd). A person of the same name was the Merinid Sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali (ibn Uthman) .

Abu l-Hasan Ali ibn Sa'd ( Arabic أبو الحسن علي بن سعد, DMG Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Saʿd ; Spanish Muley Hacén ; † 1485 ) was Emir of Granada from 1464 to 1482 and 1483 to 1485.

Abu l-Hasan Ali ascended the throne in 1464, after the overthrow of his father Said (1454–1464), with the support of the Abencerrajes . After breaking with the Abencerrajes and personally taking over the government, he initially succeeded in eliminating this party, whose survivors had to flee to Castile . However, he used the increase in power primarily for annual campaigns in the Castilian areas. Although he was able to achieve some successes, with the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragons (1469) a merger of these two kingdoms was foreseeable, which excluded the long-established rocking policy of the Nasrids between Castile and Aragon for the future. The unification of Spain would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Emirate of Granada .

In 1482, united Spain began to attack the emirate of Granada and captured several important fortresses. Abu l-Hasan Ali was overthrown by the Abencerrajes after unsuccessful fighting against the Christian troops, which his son Muhammad XII. (Boabdil) set up as the new ruler (1482–1483). However, he was captured by the Spaniards at Lucena in 1483 , so that Abu l-Hasan Ali was able to reign in Granada until 1485. After a stroke, his health was badly damaged. In 1485 his brother Muhammad XIII. (El Zagal) fell and died a little later.

Abu l-Hasan Ali was the last important ruler of the emirate. But he could no longer stop the decline of the empire. This also resulted from the decline of the economy, since the wars of the Christians severely damaged the agriculture of the Muslims, the cities were overcrowded with refugees, and the urban handicrafts were increasingly driven into ruin by the increased taxes to finance the wars.

According to the legend of Mulhacén on the Sierra Nevada, it was named after him, as it was his last wish as Emir of Granada to be buried there.

literature

• Arnold Hottinger : The Moors. Arabic culture in Spain . Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7705-3075-6 .
• LP Harvey: Islamic Spain, 1250-1500. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1990. pp. 265-284.

predecessor	Office	successor
Said	Emir of Granada 1464–1482	Muhammad XII.
Muhammad XII.	Emir of Granada 1483–1485	Muhammad XIII.