The Alhambra 19

The Alhambra 19

Such is the early story of Don Pedro Venegas, who at the time of which

we treat was a man mature in years, and of an active, ambitious spirit.

He appears to have been the soul of a conspiracy set on foot about this

time, to topple Muhamed the Left-handed from his unsteady throne, and

elevate in his place Yusef Aben Alhamar, the eldest of the Celtimerian

princes. The aid of the king of Castile was to be secured, and Don Pedro

proceeded on a secret embassy to Cordova for the purpose. He informed

King Juan of the extent of the conspiracy; that Yusef Aben Alhamar could

bring a large force to his standard as soon as he should appear in the

Vega, and would acknowledge himself his vassal, if with his aid he

should attain the crown. The aid was promised and Don Pedro hastened

back to Granada with the tidings. The conspirators now left the city, a

few at a time, under various pretexts; and when King Juan passed the

frontier, Yusef Aben Alhamar brought eight thousand men to his standard,

and kissed his hand in token of allegiance.

 

It is needless to recount the various battles by which the kingdom was

desolated, and the various intrigues by which one half of it was roused

to rebellion. The Abencerrages stood by the failing fortunes of Muhamed

throughout the struggle; their last stand was at Loxa, where their

chief, the vizier Yusef Aben Zeragh, fell bravely fighting, and many of

their noblest cavaliers were slain: in fact, in that disastrous war the

fortunes of the family were nearly wrecked.

 

Again the ill-starred Muhamed was driven from his throne, and took

refuge in Malaga, the alcayde of which still remained true to him.

 

Yusef Aben Alhamar, commonly known as Yusef II., entered Granada in

triumph on the first of January, 1432, but he found it a melancholy

city, where half of the inhabitants were in mourning. Not a noble family

but had lost some member; and in the slaughter of the Abencerrages at

Loxa had fallen some of the brightest of the chivalry.

 

The royal pageant passed through silent streets, and the barren homage

of a court in the halls of the Alhambra ill supplied the want of sincere

and popular devotion. Yusef Aben Alhamar felt the insecurity of his

position. The deposed monarch was at hand in Malaga; the sovereign of

Tunis espoused his cause, and pleaded with the Christian monarchs in his

favor; above all, Yusef felt his own unpopularity in Granada; previous

fatigues had impaired his health, a profound melancholy settled upon

him, and in the course of six months he sank into the grave.

 

At the news of his death, Muhamed the Left-handed hastened from Malaga,

and again was placed on the throne. From the wrecks of the Abencerrages

he chose as vizier Abdelbar, one of the worthiest of that magnanimous

line. Through his advice he restrained his vindictive feelings and

adopted a conciliatory policy. He pardoned most of his enemies. Yusef,

the defunct usurper, had left three children. His estates were

apportioned among them. Aben Celim, the eldest son, was confirmed in

the title of Prince of Almeria and Lord of Marchena in the Alpuxarras.

Ahmed, the youngest, was made Señor of Luchar; and Equivila, the

daughter, received rich patrimonial lands in the fertile Vega, and

various houses and shops in the Zacatin of Granada. The vizier Abdelbar

counselled the king, moreover, to secure the adherence of the family by

matrimonial connections. An aunt of Muhamed was accordingly given in

marriage to Aben Celim, while the prince Nasar, younger brother of the

deceased usurper, received the hand of the beautiful Lindaraxa, daughter

of Muhamed’s faithful adherent, the alcayde of Malaga. This was the

Lindaraxa whose name still designates one of the gardens of the

Alhambra.

 

Don Pedro de Venegas alone, the husband of the princess Cetimerien,

received no favor. He was considered as having produced the late

troubles by his intrigues. The Abencerrages charged him with the

reverses of their family and the deaths of so many of their bravest

cavaliers. The king never spoke of him but by the opprobrious

appellation of the Tornadizo, or Renegade. Finding himself in danger of

arrest and punishment, he took leave of his wife, the princess, his two

sons, Abul Cacim and Reduan, and his daughter, Cetimerien, and fled to

Jaen. There, like his brother-in-law, the usurper, he expiated his

intrigues and irregular ambition by profound humiliation and melancholy,

and died in 1434 a penitent, because a disappointed man.[9]

 

Muhamed el Hayzari was doomed to further reverses. He had two nephews,

Aben Osmyn, surnamed el Anaf, or the Lame, and Aben Ismael. The former,

who was of an ambitious spirit, resided in Almeria; the latter in

Granada, where he had many friends. He was on the point of espousing a

beautiful girl, when his royal uncle interfered and gave her to one of

his favorites. Enraged at this despotic act, the prince Aben Ismael took

horse and weapons and sallied from Granada for the frontier, followed by

numerous cavaliers. The affair gave general disgust, especially to the

Abencerrages who were attached to the prince. No sooner did tidings

reach Aben Osmyn of the public discontent than his ambition was aroused.

Throwing himself suddenly into Granada, he raised a popular tumult,

surprised his uncle in the Alhambra, compelled him to abdicate, and

proclaimed himself king. This occurred in September, 1445. The

Abencerrages now gave up the fortunes of the left-handed king as

hopeless, and himself as incompetent to rule. Led by their kinsman, the

vizier Abdelbar, and accompanied by many other cavaliers, they abandoned

the court and took post in Montefrio. Thence Abdelbar wrote to Prince

Aben Ismael, who had taken refuge in Castile, inviting him to the camp,

offering to support his pretensions to the throne, and advising him to

leave Castile secretly, lest his departure should be opposed by King

Juan II. The prince, however, confiding in the generosity of the

Castilian monarch, told frankly the whole matter. He was not mistaken.

King Juan not merely gave him permission to depart, but promised him

aid, and gave him letters to that effect to his commanders on the

frontiers. Aben Ismael departed with a brilliant escort, arrived in

safety at Montefrio, and was proclaimed king of Granada by Abdelbar and

his partisans, the most important of whom were the Abencerrages. A long

course of civil wars ensued between the two cousins, rivals for the

throne. Aben Osmyn was aided by the kings of Navarre and Aragon, while

Juan II., at war with his rebellious subjects, could give little

assistance to Aben Ismael.

 

Thus for several years the country was torn by internal strife and

desolated by foreign inroads, so that scarce a field but was stained

with blood. Aben Osmyn was brave, and often signalized himself in arms;

but he was cruel and despotic, and ruled with an iron hand. He offended

the nobles by his caprices, and the populace by his tyranny, while his

rival cousin conciliated all hearts of his benignity. Hence there were

continual desertions from Granada to the fortified camp at Montefrio,

and the party of Aben Ismael was constantly gaining strength. At length

the king of Castile, having made peace with the kings of Aragon and

Navarre, was enabled to send a choice body of troops to the assistance

of Aben Ismael. The latter now left his trenches in Montefrio, and took

the field. The combined forces marched upon Granada. Aben Osmyn sallied

forth to the encounter. A bloody battle ensued, in which both of the

rival cousins fought with heroic valor. Aben Osmyn was defeated and

driven back to his gates. He summoned the inhabitants to arms, but few

answered to his call; his cruelty had alienated all hearts. Seeing his

fortunes at an end, he determined to close his career by a signal act of

vengeance. Shutting himself up in the Alhambra, he summoned thither a

number of the principal cavaliers whom he suspected of disloyalty. As

they entered, they were one by one put to death. This is supposed by

some to be the massacre which gave its fatal name to the Hall of the

Abencerrages. Having perpetrated this atrocious act of vengeance, and

hearing by the shouts of the populace that Aben Ismael was already

proclaimed king in the city, he escaped with his satellites by the Cerro

del Sol and the valley of the Darro to the Alpuxarra Mountains; where he

and his followers led a kind of robber life, laying villages and roads

under contribution.

 

Aben Ismael II., who thus attained the throne in 1454, secured the

friendship of King Juan II. by acts of homage and magnificent presents.

He gave liberal rewards to those who had been faithful to him, and

consoled the families of those who had fallen in his cause. During his

reign, the Abencerrages were again among the most favored of the

brilliant chivalry that graced his court. Aben Ismael, however, was not

of a warlike spirit; his reign was distinguished rather by works of

public utility, the ruins of some of which are still to be seen on the

Cerro del Sol.

 

In the same year of 1454 Juan II. died, and was succeeded by Henry IV.

of Castile, surnamed the Impotent. Aben Ismael neglected to renew the

league of amity with him which had existed with his predecessor, as he

found it to be unpopular with the people of Granada. King Henry resented

the omissions, and, under pretext of arrears of tribute, made repeated

forays into the kingdom of Granada. He gave countenance also to Aben

Osmyn and his robber hordes, and took some of them into pay; but his

proud cavaliers refused to associate with infidel outlaws, and

determined to seize Aben Osmyn; who, however, made his escape, first to

Seville, and thence to Castile.

 

In the year 1456, on the occasion of a great foray into the Vega by the

Christians, Aben Ismael, to secure a peace, agreed to pay the king of

Castile a certain tribute annually, and at the same time to liberate six

hundred Christian captives; or, should the number of captives fall

short, to make it up in Moorish hostages. Aben Ismael fulfilled the

rigorous terms of the treaty, and reigned for a number of years with

more tranquillity than usually fell to the lot of the monarchs of that

belligerent kingdom. Granada enjoyed a great state of prosperity during

his reign, and was the seat of festivity and splendor. His sultana was a

daughter of Cid Hiaya Abraham Alnayar, prince of Almeria; and he had by

her two sons, Abul Hassan, and Abi Abdallah, surnamed El Zagal, the

father and uncle of Boabdil. We approach now the eventful period

signalized by the conquest of Granada.

 

Muley Abul Hassan succeeded to the throne on the death of his father in

1465. One of his first acts was to refuse payment of the degrading

tribute exacted by the Castilian monarch. His refusal was one of the

causes of the subsequent disastrous war. I confine myself, however, to

facts connected with the fortunes of the Abencerrages and the charges

advanced against Boabdil.

 

The reader will recollect that Don Pedro Venegas, surnamed El Tornadizo,

when he fled from Granada in 1433, left behind him two sons, Abul Cacim

and Reduan, and a daughter, Cetimerien. They always enjoyed a

distinguished rank in Granada, from their royal descent by the mother’s

side, and from being connected, through the princes of Almeria, with the

last and the present king. The sons had distinguished themselves by

their talents and bravery, and the daughter Cetimerien was married to

Cid Hiaya, grandson of King Yusef and brother-in-law of El Zagal. Thus

powerfully connected, it is not surprising to find Abul Cacim Venegas