Muhammad II of Granada

Attacked by his more powerful neighbours, Muhammad exploited the rift between Alfonso and his son Sancho, as well as receiving help from Volunteers of the Faith, soldiers recruited from North Africa.

In 1288 the Banu Ashqilula emigrated to North Africa at Abu Yaqub's invitation, removing Muhammad's biggest domestic concern.

He instituted the Nasrid royal protocol and the court chancery, organized the Volunteers of the Faith—troops recruited from North Africa—and increased the importance of the office of the vizier in the government.

[9] Fatima would later marry his father's cousin Abu Said Faraj, and their descendants would be the future rulers of Granada, replacing the direct male line after the ousting of Nasr in 1314.

[10] Granada was located between two larger neighbours: the Christian kingdom of Castile to the north and the Muslim Marinid state centred in today's Morocco to the south.

[16] Besides these two foreign powers, Granada was also challenged by the Banu Ashqilula, another Arjona clan which was initially allied with the Nasrids, and whose military strength had helped establish the kingdom.

[17] In the beginning of Muhammad II's rule, the Banu Ashqilula's territories included Málaga—the second biggest city in the emirate after Granada and an important Mediterranean port—as well as Guadix.

Relations with the Castilian rebels, who were led by Nuño González and had been useful in checking both Castile and the Banu Ashqilula, weakened as both sides were concerned about losing each other's support after the succession.

However, once the payment was made, Alfonso reneged on his part of the bargain, maintained his support for the Banu Ashqilula and pressed Muhammad to grant them a truce.

[24] While Alfonso was away on a journey to meet Pope Gregory X, leaving his realm under his heir and the regent Ferdinand de la Cerda,[25] Muhammad sent envoys to the Marinid court.

[24] Abu Yusuf had expressed interest in fighting the Christians in Spain since 1245, and now, having gained control of the former Almohad capital of Marrakech and unified most of Morocco, he had the power and the opportunity to do so.

[26] Ferdinand de la Cerda marched to meet the Muslim forces, but he died on 25 July 1275 in Villareal, leaving Castile with uncertain leadership.

We no longer hear the prayers of the pious, who bowed down, who rose, and who prostrated themselves.Instead we see a mob of reprobates, full of arrogance, who never in their lives profess the true faith.

Although the Marinids had won a battlefield victory and the Muslim forces plundered multiple towns, they failed to take any major settlement or permanently annex Christian territories.

[21][23] Muhammad was alarmed at this Marinid encroachment on his domain, reminiscent of the actions of the Almoravids and Almohads, two previous North African Muslim dynasties which had annexed Al-Andalus after initially intervening against the Christians.

[42] With Málaga in his hands, Muhammad then helped the Marinids defend Algeciras, possibly feeling guilty about the sufferings of the besieged Muslims in the city.

[44] The Volunteers were a component of Granada's military made up of warriors from North Africa, largely political exiles who migrated with their families and tribes.

[66] The Marinids joined the war to support Granada and defeated Castile in a major battle near Seville in May or June 1299; they then laid siege to Tarifa.

[68] On 6 September, Pope Boniface VIII declared Ferdinand the legitimate king of Castile, weakening the resolve and legitimacy of his Christian enemies.

[64][69][70] This agreement was ratified in January 1302, and subsequently Alfonso de la Cerda also joined the alliance and recognised Muhammad's rights to Tarifa.

[71][72][73] Muhammad built on the nascent state created by his father, and continued to secure his realm's independence by alternatively allying with other powers, especially Castile and the Marinids, and sometimes encouraging them to fight each other.

[12][74] A sense of identity also emerged in the realm, united by religion (Islam), language (Arabic), and an awareness of an ever-present threat to its survival from its Romance-speaking Christian neighbours.

[76] His considerable legislative activity included the institution of the Nasrid royal protocol (rusūm al-mulk),[77] and of the court chancery (al-kitāba), in which the chief figure of his reign was the future vizier Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim.

[78] His reign also saw the expansion and institutionalisation of the Volunteers of the Faith (also called ghazis in Arabic): soldiers recruited from North Africa to defend Granada against the Christians.

[85] The fortifications that he built also served to enforce royal authority because they were controlled by military governors (qa'ids) appointed and rotated by the court rather than by hereditary lords.

[88] Muhammad also expanded the Alhambra, steadily establishing a royal residence zone in what was largely a fortress complex built by his father.

[91] Further afield, the Nasrid palace structure now known as the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, located on along the edge of what was Granada's southern walls, has been dated by scholars to his reign as well.

[94] Muhammad II was known by the epithet al-Faqih, literally meaning "the canon-lawyer", but which can also be understood as "the Wise", and reflects not only his high education, but also his preference for surrounding himself with scholars and poets.

Much like his contemporary, King Alfonso X of Castile, Muhammad wrote poetry—he was a decent poet himself according to Ibn al-Khatib—and fostered significant cultural activity at his court.

[96][97] The Spanish historian Ana Isabel Carrasco Manchado writes, "al-Faqih is an unusual sobriquet among Andalusi rulers; it underlined a political personality that intended to affirm itself through association with intellectual practice and with the faith, as well as with justice and legal norms, facets which overlap in the activity of the faqihs".