The capture of this place, which soon followed, roused the enthusiasm of
the Moriscos to the highest pitch. From all sides the warlike peasantry
flocked to the standard of their able chief, and a war began resembling
that of a century before, when the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella were
invading the Kingdom of Granada. From peak to peak of the sierras
beacon-fires flashed their signals, calling the bold mountaineers to
forays on the lands of the enemy. Pouring suddenly down on the lower
levels, the daring marauders swept away in triumph to the mountains the
flocks and herds of their Christian foes. The vega of Granada became, as
in ancient times, the battle-ground of Moorish and Christian cavaliers,
the latter having generally the advantage, though occasionally the
insurgent bands would break into the suburbs, or even the city of Granada,
filling its people with consternation, and causing the great bell of the
Alhambra to peal out its tocsin of alarm and call the Spanish chivalry in
haste to the fray.
We cannot describe, even in epitome, the varied course of this sanguinary
war. As might well have been expected, the greater force of the Spaniards
gradually prevailed, and the autumn of 1570 found the insurgents almost
everywhere subdued. Only Aben-Aboo, the "little king," remained in arms, a
force of four hundred men being all that were left to him of his recent
army. But these were men warmly devoted to him, and until the spring of
1571 every effort for his capture proved in vain. Hiding in mountain caves
and in inaccessible districts, he defied pursuit, and in a measure kept
alive the flame of rebellion.
Treason at length brought his career to an end. One of the few insurgent
prisoners who escaped death at the hands of the Spanish executioners
revealed the hiding-place of the fugitive king, and named the two persons
on whom Aben-Aboo most relied, his secretary, Abou Amer, and a Moorish
captain named El Senix.
An effort was made to win over the secretary by one who had formerly known
him, a letter being sent him which roused him to intense indignation. El
Senix, however, becoming aware of its contents, and having a private
grudge against his master, sent word by the messenger that he would
undertake, for a suitable recompense, to betray him to the Christians.
An interview soon after took place between the Moor and Barredo, the
Spanish agent, some intimation of which came to the ears of Aben-Aboo. The
king at once sought a cavern in the neighborhood where El Senix was
secreted, and, leaving his followers outside, imprudently entered alone.
He found El Senix surrounded by several of his friends, and sternly
demanded of him the purpose of his interview with Barredo. Senix, confused
by the accusation, faltered out that he had simply been seeking to obtain
an amnesty for him. Aben-Aboo listened with a face of scorn, and, turning
on his heel with the word "treachery," walked back to the mouth of the
cave.
Unluckily, his men, with the exception of two guards stationed at the
entrance, had left the spot to visit some near-by friends. Senix,
perceiving that his own life was in danger, and that this was his only
opportunity for safety, fell with his followers on the guards, one of whom
was killed and the other put to flight. Then an attack was made on
Aben-Aboo. The latter defended himself desperately, but the odds were too
great, and the dastardly El Senix ended the struggle by felling him with
the butt-end of his musket, when he was quickly despatched.
Thus died the last of the Omeyades, the famous dynasty of Arabian caliphs
founded in 660, and established in Spain in 756. Aben-Aboo, the last of
this royal race, was given in death a triumphal entrance to Granada, as if
he were one whom the Spaniards delighted to honor. The corpse was set
astride on a mule, being supported by a wooden frame, which lay hidden
beneath flowing robes. On one side rode Barredo; on the other the murderer
El Senix bore the scimitar and arquebuse of the dead prince. The kinsmen
and friends of the Morisco chief rode in his train, and after them came a
regiment of infantry and a troop of horse.
As the procession moved along the street of Zacatin salvos of musketry
saluted it, peals of artillery roared from the towers of the Alhambra, and
the multitude thronged to gaze with silent curiosity on the ghastly face.
Thus the cavalcade proceeded until the great square of Vivarambla was
reached. Here were assembled the principal cavaliers and magistrates of
the city, and here El Senix dismounted and delivered to Deza, the
president of the tribunal before which were tried the insurgent captives,
the arms of the murdered prince.
And now this semblance of respect to a brave enemy was followed by a scene
of barbarity worthy of the Spain of that day. The ceremony of a public
execution was gone through with, the head of the corpse being struck off,
after which the body was given to the boys of Granada, who dragged it
through the streets and exposed it to every indignity, finally committing
it to the flames. The head, enclosed in a cage, was set over the gate that
faced towards the Alpujarras. There it remained for a year, seeming to
gaze towards the hills which the Morisco chief had loved so well, and
which had witnessed his brief and disastrous reign.
Such was the fate of Aben-Aboo, the last of a line of great monarchs, and
one of the best of them all; a man of lofty spirit, temperate appetites,
and courageous endurance, who, had he lived in more prosperous days, might
have ruled in the royal halls of Cordova with a renown equal to that of
the most famous caliph of his race.