Historical Context
The Romance of Abenamar takes place during a period of instability in the Moorish Nasrid dynasty, while the Catholic Christian kings of Castile were seeking greater tribute from and control over the Nasrid kingdom of Granada. Abenamar is either King Yusuf IV (Abenalmao) himself, or one of his courtiers. The poem is a dialog between Abenamar and King John II of Castille, who wishes for complete possession of Granada.
In 1431, there were several claimants to the throne of Granada. King Muhammad IX had entered Iberia from Tunisia in 1428 or 1429, with the promise of Castilian support in overthrowing Muhammad VIII. However, the Castilian Catholic King John II did not decisively support either, instead playing them against each other to obtain greater tribute and the concession of Granada as a vassal of Castile. Muhammad VIII surrendered in 1429 and was killed in March 1431, leaving Muhammad IX on the throne, but without having reached an agreement with Castile. John II continued to demand greater concessions, and would not offer a permanent peace. Instead, he supported another candidate, Yusuf IV (Ibn al-Mawl, also known as Abenalmao). Yusuf agreed to tribute and to be John's vassal.
On June 27, 1431, Yusuf met with John outside the city of Granada, as they prepared to install Yusuf as king. The poem imagines their dialog as Abenamar honors John, but the city refuses to be possessed by the Catholic king.
The city, however, would become part of a unified and Catholic Spanish kingdom only a generation later, as John's daughter Isabella I of Castile and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon conquered Granada in 1492.
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