The Alhambra Gives Nasrid Power an Architectural Form

In 1238, Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar took control of Granada, establishing the Nasrid dynasty as Christian kingdoms advanced across southern Iberia. Seeking a secure administrative seat, he relocated from the Albaicin hill to the Sabika hill, an elevated outcrop overlooking the city. There he began erecting the fortified perimeter that would grow into the Alhambra. Previous fortifications on the hill had relied on stored rainwater, but the new rulers transformed the defensive redoubt into a permanent royal citadel by constructing the Sultan Canal, an engineering work that diverted water directly from the Darro River.

This dependable water infrastructure permitted the Alhambra to develop into a self-contained administrative and residential city. Enclosed behind ramparts built of iron-rich rammed earth, the settlement accommodated public baths, residential streets, craft workshops, and a great congregational mosque, on whose site the Church of Santa María was later built. Successive emirs added palaces along the complex's northern edge, positioning reception halls to face outward over the valley while orienting private living chambers inward around enclosed courtyards.