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Granada is a major city in Andalusia, Spain which served as the capital city of the Moorish Emirate of Granada during the last stages of the Reconquista. It is home to the Alhambra, the former royal palace of the emirate.

History[]

During the Middle Ages, the Nasrid family founded in Granada what would become the last Muslim state in Iberia. The Emirate of Granada, as it was known, waged war intermittently against the Christian kingdoms on the peninsula for the next centuries. The protracted conflict rarely escalated into full-scale war until 1482, when the newly-unified Crowns of Castile and Aragon were convinced by Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada that the peninsula must be unified under the Catholic faith. In that year, Castile and Aragon resolved to a decisive campaign for the reunification of Iberia.[1]

Granada War[]

Alhambra1

The palace of Alhambra

The ensuing war would see the Moors rapidly lose control of all their territory until in 1491, under the Emir Muhammad XII, they were left only with the capital city. Though faced with imminent defeat, Muhammad XII refused to relent, goaded on in part by the machinations of a Templar spy in his court. It was the Templar goal to exhaust the Castilian treasury by keeping them embroiled in the war as long a possible, thereby eliminating any prospect of them financing the voyage of Christoffa Corombo, in turn, allowing the Templars to stage their own expedition to the Americas first.[1]

After rescuing their allies in Barcelona and Zaragoza, the Assassins Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Raphael Sánchez journeyed to Granada to uncover what they believed to be a Templar conspiracy. At this time, the outskirts of Granada were under occupation by the Templars who had infiltrated the ranks of the besieging Spanish Army. Moreover, the contested territory led to a breakdown in military discipline, and Spanish soldiers harassed civilians throughout the countryside; the towns outside the Granada walls nearly descended into anarchy. Raphael and Ezio acted swiftly in neutralizing all the Templar commanders and saving civilians from the lawless soldiers, though Ezio himself was lured into an ambush at an amphitheater. After escaping the trap, Ezio assassinated the Templar spy at the Spanish camp, in the process learning of the Templars' plot to deliberately prolong the war.[1]

Alhambra

Alhambra

Without further ado, Ezio infiltrated Alhambra through the catacombs to convince Muhammad XII to surrender. In the meantime, another assault on Granada commenced, and the Templars, having received news of the death of their spy, seized the emir hostage altogether. Ezio rescued Muhammad XII from his captors and persuaded him to abdicate, effectively ending the war. The Assassin personally rushed to the city gates to carry this news before the armies, though he was forced to defeat the Moorish garrison at the gate to do so. The Spanish Army marched triumphantly into the city that night, but the Templars, aggravated by their failure, incited the victorious soldiers into razing the city even while Queen Isabella I of Castile was in the midst of negotiations with Muhammad XII. Once again, the timely response of the Assassins cut short these atrocities and peace terms were settled between Isabella and Muhammad without an issue, granting a temporary ceasefire while the emirate prepared for the formal transfer of sovereignty of Granada.[1]

On 2 January 1492, the scheduled date of the transfer and formal capitulation, the palace of Alhambra was stormed by the Templars working under Tomás de Torquemada. With them was the son of Muhammad XII, Prince Ahmed, who they had abducted to use as ransom for the Apple of Eden in the emir's possession. While Muhammad XII resigned to the exchange, the meeting was interrupted by the Assassins Aguilar de Nerha and Maria, who killed all the Templars save Torquemada and seized the Apple themselves, though Maria perished in the fight.[2]

Castile control[]

Under the terms of the Treaty of Granada, the religious rights of the Muslims were to be respected by Castile, a development that infuriated Torquemada, not least of all because he had wanted Muhammad XII executed. In stark violation of the treaty, Torquemada secretly ordered an Inquisitor, Juan de Marillo, to carry out a purge throughout the city. Ezio prevented this operation from running its course by hunting down the Inquisitors conducting the arrests and assassinating Juan in the sewers without anyone noticing.[1]

During Muhammad XII's abdication ceremony, the Templars targeted Queen Isabella for assassination, but rumors of the imminent attack reached the ears of the former French Assassin Helene Dufranc, who alongside Ezio, intercepted the Templars outside the ceremony and killed them, saving Isabella's life.[1]

In 1499, the Spanish Assassins returned to Granada, aiding the Libyan Assassin Najma Alayza to hunt down her brother and Templar Ubayd Alayza. At the same time, they also eliminated Ubayd's handler Garza.[3]

Appearances[]

References[]

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