WAR OF GRANADA.--SURPRISE OF ZAHARA.--CAPTURE OF ALHAMA.
1481-1482.
Zahara Surprised by the Moors.--Marquis of Cadiz.--His Expedition against
Alhama.--Valor of the Citizens.--Desperate Struggle.--Fall of Alhama.--
Consternation of the Moors.--Vigorous Measures of the Queen.
No sooner had Ferdinand and Isabella restored internal tranquillity to
their dominions, and made the strength effective which had been acquired
by their union under one government, than they turned their eyes to those
fair regions of the Peninsula, over which the Moslem crescent had reigned
triumphant for nearly eight centuries. Fortunately, an act of aggression
on the part of the Moors furnished a pretext for entering on their plan of
conquest, at the moment when it was ripe for execution. Aben Ismael, who
had ruled in Granada during the latter part of John the Second's reign,
and the commencement of Henry the Fourth's, had been partly indebted for
his throne to the former monarch; and sentiments of gratitude, combined
with a naturally amiable disposition, had led him to foster as amicable
relations with the Christian princes, as the jealousy of two nations, that
might be considered the natural enemies of each other, would permit; so
that, notwithstanding an occasional border foray, or the capture of a
frontier fortress, such a correspondence was maintained between the two
kingdoms, that the nobles of Castile frequently resorted to the court of
Granada, where, forgetting their ancient feuds, they mingled with the
Moorish cavaliers in the generous pastimes of chivalry.
Muley Abul Hacen, who succeeded his father in 1466, was of a very
different temperament. His fiery character prompted him, when very young,
to violate the truce by an unprovoked inroad into Andalusia; and, although
after his accession domestic troubles occupied him too closely to allow
leisure for foreign war, he still cherished in secret the same feelings of
animosity against the Christians. When, in 1476, the Spanish sovereigns
required as the condition of a renewal of the truce, which he solicited,
the payment of the annual tribute imposed on his predecessors, he proudly
replied that "the mints of Granada coined no longer gold, but steel." His
subsequent conduct did not belie the spirit of this Spartan answer.
[1]
At length, towards the close of the year 1481, the storm which had been so
long gathering burst upon Zahara, a small fortified town on the frontier
of Andalusia, crowning a lofty eminence, washed at its base by the river
Guadalete, which from its position seemed almost inaccessible. The
garrison, trusting to these natural defences, suffered itself to be
surprised on the night of the 20th of December, by the Moorish monarch;
who, scaling the walls under favor of a furious tempest, which prevented
his approach from being readily heard, put to the sword such of the guard
as offered resistance, and swept away the whole population of the place,
men, women, and children, in slavery to Granada.
The intelligence of this disaster caused deep mortification to the Spanish
sovereigns, especially to Ferdinand, by whose grandfather Zahara had been
recovered from the Moors. Measures were accordingly taken for
strengthening the whole line of frontier, and the utmost vigilance was
exerted to detect some vulnerable point of the enemy, on which retaliation
might be successfully inflicted. Neither were the tidings of their own
successes welcomed, with the joy that might have been expected, by the
people of Granada. The prognostics, it was said, afforded by the
appearance of the heavens, boded no good. More sure prognostics were
afforded in the judgments of thinking men, who deprecated the temerity of
awakening the wrath of a vindictive and powerful enemy, "Woe is me!"
exclaimed an ancient Alfaki, on quitting the hall of audience, "the ruins
of Zahara will fall on our own heads; the days of the Moslem empire in
Spain are now numbered!" [2]
It was not long before the desired opportunity for retaliation presented
itself to the Spaniards. One Juan de Ortega, a captain of
_escaladores_, or sealers, so denominated from the peculiar service
in which they were employed in besieging cities, who had acquired some
reputation under John the Second, in the wars of Roussillon, reported to
Diego de Merlo, assistant of Seville, that the fortress of Albania,
situated in the heart of the Moorish territories, was so negligently
guarded, that it might be easily carried by an enemy, who had skill enough
to approach it. The fortress, as well as the city of the same name, which
it commanded, was built, like many others in that turbulent period, along
the crest of a rocky eminence, encompassed by a river at its base, and,
from its natural advantages, might be deemed impregnable. This strength of
position, by rendering all other precautions apparently superfluous,
lulled its defenders into a security like that which had proved so fatal
to Zahara. Alhama, as this Arabic name implies, was famous for its baths,
whose annual rents are said to have amounted to five hundred thousand
ducats. The monarchs of Granada, indulging the taste common to the people
of the east, used to frequent this place, with their court, to refresh
themselves with its delicious waters, so that Alhama became embellished
with all the magnificence of a royal residence. The place was still
further enriched by its being the _dépôt_ of the public taxes on land,
which constituted a principal branch of the revenue, and by its various
manufactures of cloth, for which its inhabitants were celebrated
throughout the kingdom of Granada. [3]
Diego de Merlo, although struck with the advantages of this conquest, was
not insensible to the difficulties with which it would be attended; since
Alhama was sheltered under the very wings of Granada, from which it lay
scarcely eight leagues distant, and could be reached only by traversing
the most populous portion of the Moorish territory, or by surmounting a
precipitous sierra, or chain of mountains, which screened it on the north.
Without delay, however, he communicated the information which he had
received to Don Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, marquis of Cadiz, as the person
best fitted by his capacity and courage for such an enterprise. This
nobleman, who had succeeded his father, the count of Arcos, in 1469, as
head of the great house of Ponce de Leon, was at this period about thirty-
nine years of age. Although a younger and illegitimate son, he had been
preferred to the succession in consequence of the extraordinary promise
which his early youth exhibited. When scarcely seventeen years old, he
achieved a victory over the Moors, accompanied with a signal display of
personal prowess. [4] Later in life, he formed a connection with the
daughter of the marquis of Villena, the factious minister of Henry the
Fourth, through whose influence he was raised to the dignity of marquis of
Cadiz. This alliance attached him to the fortunes of Henry, in his
disputes with his brother Alfonso, and subsequently with Isabella, on
whose accession, of course, Don Rodrigo looked with no friendly eye. He
did not, however, engage in any overt act of resistance, but occupied
himself with prosecuting an hereditary feud which he had revived with the
duke of Medina Sidonia, the head of the Guzmans; a family, which from
ancient times had divided with his own the great interests of Andalusia.
The pertinacity with which this feud was conducted, and the desolation
which it carried not only into Seville, but into every quarter of the
province, have been noticed in the preceding pages. The vigorous
administration of Isabella repressed these disorders, and after abridging
the overgrown power of the two nobles, effected an apparent (it was only
apparent) reconciliation between them. The fiery spirit of the marquis of
Cadiz, no longer allowed to escape in domestic broil, urged him to seek
distinction in more honorable warfare; and at this moment he lay in his
castle at Arcos, looking with a watchful eye over the borders, and
waiting, like a lion in ambush, the moment when he could spring upon his
victim.
Without hesitation, therefore, he assumed the enterprise proposed by Diego
de Merlo, imparting his purpose to Don Pedro Henriquez, _adelantado_
of Andalusia, a relative of Ferdinand, and to the alcaydes of two or three
neighboring fortresses. With the assistance of these friends he assembled
a force which, including those who marched under the banner of Seville,
amounted to two thousand five hundred horse and three thousand foot. His
own town of Marchena was appointed as the place of rendezvous. The
proposed route lay by the way of Antequera, across the wild sierras of
Alzerifa. The mountain passes, sufficiently difficult at a season when
their numerous ravines were choked up by the winter torrents, were
rendered still more formidable by being traversed in the darkness of
night; for the party, in order to conceal their movements, lay by during
the day. Leaving their baggage on the banks of the Yeguas, that they might
move forward with greater celerity, the whole body at length arrived,
after a rapid and most painful inarch, on the third night from their
departure, in a deep valley about half a league from Alhama. Here the
marquis first revealed the real object of the expedition to his soldiers,
who, little dreaming of anything beyond a mere border inroad, were
transported with joy at the prospect of the rich booty so nearly within
their grasp. [5]
The next morning, being the 28th of February, a small party was detached,
about two hours before dawn, under the command of John de Ortega, for the
purpose of scaling the citadel, while the main body moved forward more
leisurely under the marquis of Cadiz, in order to support them. The night
was dark and tempestuous, circumstances which favored their approach in
the same manner as with the Moors at Zahara. After ascending the rocky
heights which were crowned by the citadel, the ladders were silently
placed against the walls, and Ortega, followed by about thirty others,
succeeded in gaining the battlements unobserved. A sentinel, who was found
sleeping on his post, they at once despatched, and, proceeding cautiously
forward to the guard-room, put the whole of the little garrison to the
sword, after the short and ineffectual resistance that could be opposed by
men suddenly roused from slumber. The city in the mean time was alarmed,
but it was too late; the citadel was taken; and the outer gates, which
opened into the country, being thrown open, the marquis of Cadiz entered
with trumpet sounding and banner flying, at the head of his army, and took
possession of the fortress. [6]
After allowing the refreshment necessary to the exhausted spirits of his
soldiers, the marquis resolved to sally forth at once upon the town,
before its inhabitants cpuld muster in sufficient force to oppose him. But
the citizens of Alhama, showing a resolution rather to have been expected
from men trained in a camp, than from peaceful burghers of a manufacturing
town, had sprung to arms at the first alarm, and, gathering in the narrow
street on which the portal of the castle opened, so completely commanded
it with their arquebuses and crossbows, that the Spaniards, after an
ineffectual attempt to force a passage, were compelled to recoil upon
their defences, amid showers of bolts and balls which occasioned the loss,
among others, of two of their principal alcaydes.
A council of war was then called, in which it was even advised by some,
that the fortress, after having been dismantled, should be abandoned as
incapable of defence against the citizens on the one hand, and the succors
which might be expected speedily to arrive from Granada, on the other. But
this counsel was rejected with indignation by the marquis of Cadiz, whose
fiery spirit rose with the occasion; indeed, it was not very palatable to
most of his followers, whose cupidity was more than ever inflamed by the
sight of the rich spoil, which, after so many fatigues, now lay at their
feet. It was accordingly resolved to demolish part of the fortifications
which looked towards the town, and at all hazards to force a passage into
it. This resolution was at once put into execution; and the marquis,
throwing himself into the breach thus made, at the head of his men-at-
arms, and shouting his war-cry of "St. James and the Virgin," precipitated
himself into the thickest of the enemy. Others of the Spaniards, running
along the out-works contiguous to the buildings of the city, leaped into
the street, and joined their companions there, while others again sallied
from the gates, now opened for the second time. [7]
The Moors, unshaken by the fury of this assault, received the assailants
with brisk and well-directed volleys of shot and arrows; while the women
and children, thronging the roofs and balconies of the houses, discharged
on their heads boiling oil, pitch, and missiles of every description. But
the weapons of the Moors glanced comparatively harmless from the mailed
armor of the Spaniards, while their own bodies, loosely arrayed in such
habiliments as they could throw over them in the confusion of the night,
presented a fatal mark to their enemies. Still they continued to maintain
a stout resistance, checking the progress of the Spaniards by barricades
of timber hastily thrown across the streets; and, as their intrenchments
were forced one after another, they disputed every inch of ground with the
desperation of men who fought for life, fortune, liberty, all that was
most dear to them. The contest hardly slackened till the close of day,
while the kennels literally ran with blood, and every avenue was choked up
with the bodies of the slain. At length, however, Spanish valor proved
triumphant in every quarter, except where a small and desperate remnant of
the Moors, having gathered their wives and children around them, retreated
as a last resort into a large mosque near the walls of the city, from
which they kept up a galling fire on the close ranks of the Christians.
The latter, after enduring some loss, succeeded in sheltering themselves
so effectually under a roof or canopy constructed of their own shields, in
the manner practised in war previous to the exclusive use of fire-arms,
that they were enabled to approach so near the mosque, as to set fire to
its doors; when its tenants, menaced with suffocation, made a desperate
sally, in which many perished, and the remainder surrendered at
discretion. The prisoners thus made were all massacred on the spot,
without distinction, of sex or age, according to the Saracen accounts. But
the Castilian writers make no mention of this; and, as the appetites of
the Spaniards were not yet stimulated by that love of carnage, which they
afterwards displayed in their American wars, and which was repugnant to
the chivalrous spirit with which their contests with the Moslems were
usually conducted, we may be justified in regarding it as an invention of
the enemy. [8]
Alhama was now delivered up to the sack of the soldiery, and rich indeed
was the booty which fell into their hands,--gold and silver plate, pearls,
jewels, fine silks and cloths, curious and costly furniture, and all the
various appurtenances of a thriving, luxurious city. In addition to which,
the magazines were found well stored with the more substantial and, at the
present juncture, more serviceable supplies of grain, oil, and other
provisions. Nearly a quarter of the population is said to have perished in
the various conflicts of the day, and the remainder, according to the
usage of the time, became the prize of the victors. A considerable number
of Christian captives, who were found immured in the public prisons, were
restored to freedom, and swelled the general jubilee with their grateful
acclamations. The contemporary Castilian chroniclers record also, with no
less satisfaction, the detection of a Christian renegade, notorious for
his depredations on his countrymen, whose misdeeds the marquis of Cadiz
requited by causing him to be hung up over the battlements of the castle,
in the face of the whole city. Thus fell the ancient city of Alhama, the
first conquest, and achieved with a gallantry and daring unsurpassed by
any other during this memorable war. [9]
The report of this disaster fell like the knell of their own doom on the
ears of the inhabitants of Granada. It seemed as if the hand of Providence
itself must have been stretched forth to smite the stately city, which,
reposing as it were under the shadow of their own walls, and in the bosom
of a peaceful and populous country, was thus suddenly laid low in blood
and ashes. Men now read the fulfilment of the disastrous omens and
predictions which ushered in the capture of Zahara. The melancholy
_romance_ or ballad, with the burden of _Ay de mi Alhama_, "Woe is me,
Alhama," composed probably by some one of the nation not long after this
event, shows how deep was the dejection which settled on the spirits
of the people. The old king, Abul Hacen, however, far from resigning
himself to useless lamentation, sought to retrieve his loss by the most
vigorous measures. A body of a thousand horse was sent forward to
reconnoitre the city, while he prepared to follow with as powerful levies,
as he could enforce, of the militia of Granada. [10]
The intelligence of the conquest of Alhama diffused general satisfaction
throughout Castile, and was especially grateful to the sovereigns, who
welcomed it as an auspicious omen of the ultimate success of their designs
upon the Moors. They were attending mass in their royal palace of Medina
del Campo, when they received despatches from the marquis of Cadiz,
informing them of the issue of his enterprise. "During all the while he
sat at dinner," says a precise chronicler of the period, "the prudent
Ferdinand was revolving in his mind the course best to be adopted." He
reflected that the Castilians would soon be beleaguered by an overwhelming
force from Granada, and he determined at all hazards to support them. He
accordingly gave orders to make instant preparation for departure; but,
first, accompanied the queen, attended by a solemn procession of the court
and clergy, to the cathedral church of St. James; where Te Deum was
chanted, and a humble thanksgiving offered up to the Lord of hosts for the
success with which he had crowned their arms. Towards evening, the king
set forward on his journey to the south, escorted by such nobles and
cavaliers as were in attendance on his person, leaving the queen to follow
more leisurely, after having provided reinforcements and supplies
requisite for the prosecution of the war. [11]
On the 5th of March, the king of Granada appeared before the walls of
Alhama, with an army which amounted to three thousand horse and fifty
thousand foot. The first object which encountered his eyes was the mangled
remains of his unfortunate subjects, which the Christians, who would have
been scandalized by an attempt to give them the rites of sepulture, had
from dread of infection thrown over the walls, where they now lay half
devoured by birds of prey and the ravenous dogs of the city. The Moslem
troops, transported with horror and indignation at this hideous spectacle,
called loudly to be led to the attack. They had marched from Granada with
so much precipitation, that they were wholly unprovided with artillery, in
the use of which they were expert for that period; and which was now the
more necessary, as the Spaniards had diligently employed the few days
which intervened since their occupation of the place, in repairing the
breaches in the fortifications, and in putting them in a posture of
defence. But the Moorish ranks were filled with the flower of their
chivalry; and their immense superiority of numbers enabled them to make
their attacks simultaneously on the most distant quarters of the town,
with such unintermitted vivacity, that the little garrison, scarcely
allowed a moment for repose, was wellnigh exhausted with fatigue. [12]
At length, however, Abul Hacen, after the loss of more than two thousand
of his bravest troops in these precipitate assaults, became convinced of
the impracticability of forcing a position, whose natural strength was so
ably seconded by the valor of its defenders, and he determined to reduce
the place by the more tardy but certain method of blockade. In this he was
favored by one or two circumstances. The town, having but a single well
within its walls, was almost wholly indebted for its supplies of water to
the river which flowed at its base. The Moors, by dint of great labor,
succeeded in diverting the stream so effectually, that the only
communication with it, which remained open to the besieged, was by a
subterraneous gallery or mine, that had probably been contrived with
reference to some such emergency by the original inhabitants. The mouth of
this passage was commanded in such a manner by the Moorish archers, that
no egress could be obtained without a regular skirmish, so that every drop
of water might be said to be purchased with the blood of Christians; who,
"if they had not possessed the courage of Spaniards," says a Castilian
writer, "would have been reduced to the last extremity." In addition to
this calamity, the garrison began to be menaced with scarcity of
provisions, owing to the improvident waste of the soldiers, who supposed
that the city, after being plundered, was to be razed to the ground and
abandoned. [13]
At this crisis they received the unwelcome tidings of the failure of an
expedition destined for their relief by Alonso de Aguilar. This cavalier,
the chief of an illustrious house since rendered immortal by the renown of
his younger brother, Gonsalvo de Cordova, had assembled a considerable
body of troops, on learning the capture of Alhama, for the purpose of
supporting his friend and companion in arms, the marquis of Cadiz. On
reaching the shores of the Yeguas, he received, for the first time,
advices of the formidable host which lay between him and the city,
rendering hopeless any attempt to penetrate into the latter with his
inadequate force. Contenting himself, therefore, with recovering the
baggage, which the marquis's army in its rapid march, as has been already
noticed, had left on the banks of the river, he returned to Antequera.
[14]
Under these depressing circumstances, the indomitable spirit of the
marquis of Cadiz seemed to infuse itself into the hearts of his soldiers.
He was ever in the front of danger, and shared the privations of the
meanest of his followers; encouraging them to rely with undoubting
confidence on the sympathies which their cause must awaken in the breasts
of their countrymen. The event proved that he did not miscalculate. Soon
after the occupation of Alhama, the marquis, foreseeing the difficulties
of his situation, had despatched missives, requesting the support of the
principal lords and cities of Andalusia. In this summons he had omitted
the duke of Medina Sidonia, as one who had good reason to take umbrage at
being excluded from a share in the original enterprise. Henrique de
Guzman, duke of Medina Sidonia, possessed a degree of power more
considerable than any other chieftain in the south. His yearly rents
amounted to nearly sixty thousand ducats, and he could bring into the
field, it was said, from his own resources an army little inferior to what
might be raised by a sovereign prince. He had succeeded to his inheritance
in 1468, and had very early given his support to the pretensions of
Isabella. Notwithstanding his deadly feud with the marquis of Cadiz, he
had the generosity, on the breaking out of the present war, to march to
the relief of the marchioness when beleaguered, during her husband's
absence, by a party of Moors from Ronda, in her own castle of Arcos. He
now showed a similar alacrity in sacrificing all personal jealousy at the
call of patriotism. [15]
No sooner did he learn the perilous condition of his countrymen in Alhama,
than he mustered the whole array of his household troops and retainers,
which, when combined with those of the marquis de Villena, of the count de
Cabra, and those from Seville, in which city the family of the Guzmans had
long exercised a sort of hereditary influence, swelled to the number of
five thousand horse and forty thousand foot. The duke of Medina Sidonia,
putting himself at the head of this powerful body, set forward without
delay on his expedition.
When King Ferdinand in his progress to the south had reached the little
town of Adamuz, about five leagues from Cordova, he was informed of the
advance of the Andalusian chivalry, and instantly sent instructions to the
duke to delay his march, as he intended to come in person and assume the
command. But the latter, returning a respectful apology for his
disobedience, represented to his master the extremities to which the
besieged were already reduced, and without waiting for a reply pushed on
with the utmost vigor for Alhama. The Moorish monarch, alarmed at the
approach of so powerful a reinforcement, saw himself in danger of being
hemmed in between the garrison on the one side, and these new enemies on
the other. Without waiting their appearance on the crest of the eminence
which separated him from them, he hastily broke up his encampment, on the
29th of March, after a siege of more than three weeks, and retreated on
his capital. [16]
The garrison of Alhama viewed with astonishment the sudden departure of
their enemies; but their wonder was converted into joy, when they beheld
the bright arms and banners of their countrymen, gleaming along the
declivities of the mountains. They rushed out with tumultuous transport to
receive them and pour forth their grateful acknowledgments, while the two
commanders, embracing each other in the presence of their united armies,
pledged themselves to a mutual oblivion of all past grievances; thus
affording to the nation the best possible earnest of future successes, in
the voluntary extinction of a feud, which had desolated it for so many
generations.
Notwithstanding the kindly feelings excited between the two armies, a
dispute had wellnigh arisen respecting the division of the spoil, in which
the duke's army claimed a share, as having contributed to secure the
conquest which their more fortunate countrymen had effected. But these
discontents were appeased, though with some difficulty, by their noble
leader, who besought his men not to tarnish the laurels already won, by
mingling a sordid avarice with the generous motives which had promoted
them to the expedition. After the necessary time devoted to repose and
refreshment, the combined armies proceeded to evacuate Alhama, and having
left in garrison Don Diego Merlo, with a corps of troops of the hermandad,
returned into their own territories. [17]
King Ferdinand, after receiving the reply of the duke of Medina Sidonia,
had pressed forward his march by the way of Cordova, as far as Lucena,
with the intention of throwing himself at all hazards into Alhama. He was
not without much difficulty dissuaded from this by his nobles, who
represented the temerity of the enterprise, and its incompetency to any
good result, even should he succeed, with the small force of which he was
master. On receiving intelligence that the siege was raised, he returned
to Cordova, where he was joined by the queen towards the latter part of
April. Isabella had been employed in making vigorous preparation for
carrying on the war, by enforcing the requisite supplies, and summoning
the crown vassals, and the principal nobility of the north, to hold
themselves in readiness to join the royal standard in Andalusia. After
this, she proceeded by rapid stages to Cordova, notwithstanding the state
of pregnancy, in which she was then far advanced.
Here the sovereigns received the unwelcome information, that the king of
Granada, on the retreat of the Spaniards, had again sat down before
Alhama; having brought with him artillery, from the want of which he had
suffered so much in the preceding siege. This news struck a damp into the
hearts of the Castilians, many of whom recommended the total evacuation of
a place, "which" they said, "was so near the capital that it must be
perpetually exposed to sudden and dangerous assaults; while, from the
difficulty of reaching it, it would cost the Castilians an incalculable
waste of blood and treasure in its defence. It was experience of these
evils, which had led to its abandonment in former days, when it had been
recovered by the Spanish arms from the Saracens."
Isabella was far from being shaken by these arguments. "Glory," she said,
"was not to be won without danger. The present war was one of peculiar
difficulties and danger, and these had been well calculated before
entering upon it. The strong and central position of Alhama made it of the
last importance, since it might be regarded as the key of the enemy's
country. This was the first blow struck during the war, and honor and
policy alike forbade them to adopt a measure, which could not fail to damp
the ardor of the nation." This opinion of the queen, thus decisively
expressed, determined the question, and kindled a spark of her own
enthusiasm in the breasts of the most desponding. [18]
It was settled that the king should march to the relief of the besieged,
taking with him the most ample supplies of forage and provisions, at the
head of a force strong enough to compel the retreat of the Moorish
monarch. This was effected without delay; and, Abul Hacen once more
breaking up his camp on the rumor of Ferdinand's approach, the latter took
possession of the city without opposition, on the 14th of May. The king
was attended by a splendid train of his prelates and principal nobility;
and he prepared with their aid to dedicate his new conquest to the service
of the cross, with all the formalities of the Romish church. After the
ceremony of purification, the three principal mosques of the city were
consecrated by the cardinal of Spain, as temples of Christian worship.
Bells, crosses, a sumptuous service of plate, and other sacred utensils,
were liberally furnished by the queen; and the principal church of Santa
Maria de la Encarnacion long exhibited a covering of the altar, richly
embroidered by her own hands. Isabella lost no opportunity of manifesting,
that she had entered into the war, less from motives of ambition, than of
zeal for the exaltation of the true faith. After the completion of these
ceremonies, Ferdinand, having strengthened the garrison with new recruits
under the command of Portocarrero, lord of Palma, and victualled it with
three months' provisions, prepared for a foray into the vega of Granada.
This he executed in the true spirit of that merciless warfare, so
repugnant to the more civilized usage of later times, not only by sweeping
away the green, unripened crops, but by cutting down the trees, and
eradicating the vines; and then, without so much as having broken a lance
in the expedition, returned in triumph to Cordova. [19]
Isabella in the mean while was engaged in active measures for prosecuting
the war. She issued orders to the various cities of Castile and Leon, as
far as the borders of Biscay and Guipuscoa, prescribing the
_repartimiento_, or subsidy of provisions, and the quota of troops,
to be furnished by each district respectively, together with an adequate
supply of ammunition and artillery. The whole were to be in readiness
before Loja, by the 1st of July; when Ferdinand was to take the field in
person at the head of his chivalry, and besiege that strong post. As
advices were received, that the Moors of Granada were making efforts to
obtain the co-operation of their African brethren in support of the
Mahometan empire in Spain, the queen caused a fleet to be manned under the
command of her two best admirals, with instructions to sweep the
Mediterranean as far as the Straits of Gibraltar, and thus effectually cut
off all communication with the Barbary coast. [20]
FOOTNOTES
[1] Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. pp. 467-469.--Conde,
Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 32, 34.
[2] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 51.--Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 34.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, p. 180.--L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 171.--Marmol, Historia del Rebelion y Castigo de
los Moriscos, (Madrid, 1797,) lib. 1, cap. 12.
Lebrija states, that the revenues of Granada, at the commencement of this
war, amounted to a million of gold ducats, and that it kept in pay 7000
horsemen on its peace establishment, and could send forth 21,000 warriors
from its gates. The last of these estimates would not seem to be
exaggerated. Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 1, cap. 1.
[3] Estrada, Poblacion de España, tom. ii. pp. 247, 248.--El Nubiense,
Descripcion de España, p. 222, nota.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, p. 181.--
Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12.
[4] Zuñiga, Annales de Sevilla, pp. 349, 362. This occurred in the fight
of Madroño, when Don Rodrigo, stooping to adjust his buckler, which had
been unlaced, was suddenly surrounded by a party of Moors. He snatched a
sling from one of them, and made such brisk use of it, that, after
disabling several, he succeeded in putting them to flight; for which feat,
says Zuñiga, the king complimented him with the title of "the youthful
David."
Don Juan, count of Arcos, had no children born in wedlock, but a numerous
progeny by his concubines. Among these latter, was Doña Leonora Nuñez de
Prado, the mother of Don Rodrigo. The brilliant and attractive qualities
of this youth so far won the affections of his father, that the latter
obtained the royal sanction (a circumstance not infrequent in an age when
the laws of descent were very unsettled) to bequeath him his titles and
estates, to the prejudice of more legitimate heirs.
[5] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 52.--L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 171.--Pulgar computes the marquis's army at 3000 horse
and 4000 foot.--Reyes Católicos, p. 181.--Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes,
tom. iii. cap. 34.
[6] Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 1, cap. 2.--Carbajal,
Anales, MS., año 1482.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 52.--Zurita,
Anales, tom. iv. fol. 315.--Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom.
iii. pp. 252, 253.
[7] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., ubi supra.--Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, cap. 34.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 172.
[8] Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, ubi supra.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos,
pp. 182, 183.--Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. pp. 545, 546.
[9] Bernaldez, Reyes. Católicos, MS., cap. 52.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos,
ubi supra.--Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. p. 254.
[10]
"Passeavase el Key Moro
For la ciudad de Granada,
Desde las puertas de Elvira
Hasta las de Bivarambla.
Ay de mi Alhama!
"Cartas le fueron venidas
Que Alhama era ganada.
Las cartas echó en el fuego,
Y al mensagero matava.
Ay de mi Alhama!
"Hombres, niños y mugeres,
Lloran tan grande perdida.
Lloravan todas las damas
Quantas en Granada avia.
Ay de mi Alhama!
"Por las calles y ventanas
Mucho luto parecia;
Llora el Rey como fembra,
Qu' es mucho lo que perdia.
Ay de mi Alhama!"
The _romance_, according to Hyta, (not the best voucher for a fact,)
caused such general lamentation, that it was not allowed to be sung by the
Moors after the conquest. (Guerras Civiles de Granada, tom. i. p. 350.)
Lord Byron, as the reader recollects, has done this ballad into English.
The version has the merit of fidelity. It is not his fault if his Muse
appears to little advantage in the plebeian dress of the Moorish
minstrel.
[11] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 172.--Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 34.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 1482.--Mariana,
Hist. de España, tom. ii. pp. 545, 546.
[12] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 52.--Bernaldez swells the
Moslem army to 5500 horse, and 80,000 foot, but I have preferred the more
moderate and probable estimate of the Arabian authors. Conde, Dominacion
de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 34.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, loc. cit.
[13] Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. lib. 18, cap. 23.--Pulgar, Reyes
Católicos, pp. 183, 184.
[14] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 52.
[15] Zuñiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 360.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables,
fol. 24, 172.--Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, lib. 1, cap. 3.
[16] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 183, 184. Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos,
MS., cap. 53.--Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 572.--Zuñiga,
Annales de Sevilla, pp. 392, 393.--Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne,
tom. iii. p. 257.
[17] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 183-186.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS.,
bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 28.
[18] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 53, 54.--Pulgar states that
Ferdinand took the more southern route of Antequera, where he received the
tidings of the Moorish king's retreat. The discrepancy is of no great
consequence; but as Bernaldez, whom I have followed, lived in Andalusia,
the theatre of action, he may be supposed to have had more accurate means
of information.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 187, 188.
[19] Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 28.--Bernaldez,
Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 54, 55.--Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, lib.
1, cap. 6.--Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, cap. 34.--Salazar de Mendoza,
Crón. del Gran Cardenal, pp. 180, 181.--Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib.
1, cap. 12.
During this second siege, a body of Moorish knights to the number of forty
succeeded in scaling the walls of the city in the night, and had nearly
reached the gates, with the intention of throwing them open to their
countrymen, when they were overpowered, after a desperate resistance, by
the Christians, who acquired a rich booty, as many of them were persons of
rank. There is considerable variation in the authorities, in regard to the
date of Ferdinand's occupation of Alhama. I have been guided, as before,
by Bernaldez.
[20] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 188, 189.