PREPARATIONS OF GRANADA FOR A DESPERATE DEFENCE.
How is thy strength departed, O Granada! how is thy beauty withered
and despoiled, O city of groves and fountains! The commerce that once
thronged thy streets is at an end; the merchant no longer hastens to
thy gates with the luxuries of foreign lands. The cities which once paid
thee tribute are wrested from thy sway; the chivalry which filled thy
Vivarrambla with sumptuous pageantry have fallen in many battles. The
Alhambra still rears its ruddy towers from the midst of groves, but
melancholy reigns in its marble halls, and the monarch looks down from
his lofty balconies upon a naked waste where once extended the blooming
glories of the Vega!
Such is the lament of the Moorish writers over the lamentable state of
Granada, now a mere phantom of former greatness. The two ravages of
the Vega, following so closely upon each other, had swept off all the
produce of the year, and the husbandman had no longer the heart to till
the field, seeing the ripening harvest only brought the spoiler to his
door.
During the winter season Ferdinand made diligent preparations for the
campaign that was to decide the fate of Granada. As this war was waged
purely for the promotion of the Christian faith, he thought it meet that
its enemies should bear the expenses. He levied, therefore, a general
contribution upon the Jews throughout his kingdom by synagogues and
districts, and obliged them to render in the proceeds at the city of
Seville.*
* Garibay, lib. 18, c. 39.
On the 11th of April, Ferdinand and Isabella departed for the Moorish
frontier, with the solemn determination to lay close siege to Granada
and never quit its walls until they had planted the standard of the
faith on the towers of the Alhambra. Many of the nobles of the kingdom,
particularly those from parts remote from the scene of action, wearied
by the toils of war and foreseeing that this would be a tedious siege,
requiring patience and vigilance rather than hardy deeds of arms,
contented themselves with sending their vassals, while they stayed at
home to attend to their domains. Many cities furnished soldiers at
their cost, and the king took the field with an army of forty thousand
infantry and ten thousand horse. The principal captains who followed him
in this campaign were Roderigo Ponce de Leon, the marques of Cadiz,
the master of Santiago, the marques of Villena, the counts of Tendilla,
Cifuentes, Cabra, and Urena, and Don Alonso de Aguilar.
Queen Isabella, accompanied by her son the prince Juan and the
princesses Juana, Maria, and Cathalina, her daughters, proceeded to
Alcala la Real, the mountain-fortress and stronghold of the count de
Tendilla. Here she remained to forward supplies to the army, and to be
ready to repair to the camp whenever her presence might be required.
The army of Ferdinand poured into the Vega by various defiles of the
mountains, and on the 23d of April the royal tent was pitched at a
village called Los Ojos de Huescar, about a league and a half from
Granada. At the approach of this formidable force the harassed
inhabitants turned pale, and even many of the warriors trembled, for
they felt that the last desperate struggle was at hand.
Boabdil el Chico assembled his council in the Alhambra, from the windows
of which they could behold the Christian squadrons glistening through
clouds of dust as they poured along the Vega. The utmost confusion and
consternation reigned in the council. Many of the members, terrified
with the horrors impending over their families, advised Boabdil to throw
himself upon the generosity of the Christian monarch: even several of
the bravest suggested the possibility of obtaining honorable terms.
The wazir of the city, Abul Casim Abdel Melic was called upon to report
the state of the public means for sustenance and defence. There were
sufficient provisions, he said, for a few months’ supply, independent
of what might exist in the possession of merchants and other rich
inhabitants. “But of what avail,” said he, “is a supply for a few months
against the sieges of the Castilian monarch, which are interminable?”
He produced also the lists of men capable of bearing arms. “The number,”
said he, “is great, but what can be expected from mere citizen soldiers?
They vaunt and menace in time of safety; none are so arrogant when the
enemy is at a distance; but when the din of war thunders at the gates
they hide themselves in terror.”
When Muza heard these words he rose with generous warmth. “What reason
have we,” said he, “to despair? The blood of those illustrious Moors,
the conquerors of Spain, still flows in our veins. Let us be true to
ourselves, and fortune will again be with us. We have a veteran force,
both horse and foot, the flower of our chivalry, seasoned in war and
scarred in a thousand battles. As to the multitude of our citizens,
spoken of so slightly, why should we doubt their valor? There are twenty
thousand young men, in the fire of youth, whom I will engage that in the
defence of their homes they will rival the most valiant veterans. Do
we want provisions? Our horses are fleet and our horsemen daring in the
foray. Let them scour and scourge the country of those apostate Moslems
who have surrendered to the Christians. Let them make inroads into the
lands of our enemies. We shall soon see them returning with cavalgadas
to our gates, and to a soldier there is no morsel so sweet as that
wrested with hard fighting from the foe.”
Boabdil, though he wanted firm and durable courage, was readily excited
to sudden emotions of bravery. He caught a glow of resolution from the
noble ardor of Muza. “Do what is needful,” said he to his commanders;
“into your hands I confide the common safety. You are the protectors of
the kingdom, and, with the aid of Allah, will revenge the insults of our
religion, the deaths of our friends and relations, and the sorrows and
sufferings heaped upon our land.” *
* Conde.
To every one was now assigned his separate duty. The wazir had charge
of the arms and provisions and the enrolling of the people. Muza was to
command the cavalry, to defend the gates, and to take the lead in all
sallies and skirmishings. Naim Reduan and Muhammed Aben Zayde were his
adjutants. Abdel Kerim Zegri and the other captains were to guard
the walls, and the alcaydes of the Alcazaba and of the Red Towers had
command of the fortresses.
Nothing now was heard but the din of arms and the bustle of preparation.
The Moorish spirit, quick to catch fire, was immediately in a flame, and
the populace in the excitement of the moment set at naught the power
of the Christians. Muza was in all parts of the city, infusing his
own generous zeal into the bosoms of the soldiery. The young cavaliers
rallied round him as their model; the veteran warriors regarded him with
a soldier’s admiration; the vulgar throng followed him with shouts; and
the helpless part of the inhabitants, the old men and the women, hailed
him with blessings as their protector.
On the first appearance of the Christian army the principal gates of the
city had been closed and secured with bars and bolts and heavy chains:
Muza now ordered them to be thrown open. “To me and my cavaliers,” said
he, “is entrusted the defence of the gates; our bodies shall be their
barriers.” He stationed at each gate a strong guard chosen from his
bravest men. His horsemen were always completely armed and ready to
mount at a moment’s warning: their steeds stood saddled and caparisoned
in the stables, with lance and buckler beside them. On the least
approach of the enemy a squadron of horse gathered within the gate,
ready to launch forth like the bolt from the thunder-cloud. Muza made no
empty bravado nor haughty threat; he was more terrible in deeds than
in words, and executed daring exploits beyond even the vaunt of the
vainglorious. Such was the present champion of the Moors. Had they
possessed many such warriors, or had Muza risen to power at an earlier
period of the war, the fate of Granada might have been deferred, and the
Moor for a long time have maintained his throne within the walls of the
Alhambra.