In 1526, Charles V commissioned a new Renaissance-style palace in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid palaces, but it was left uncompleted in the early 17th century. The site fell into disrepair over the following centuries, with its buildings occupied by squatters. The troops of Napoleon destroyed parts of it in 1812. After this, the Alhambra became an attraction for British, American, and other European Romantic travellers. The most influential of them was Washington Irving, whose Tales of the Alhambra (1832) brought international attention to the site. The Alhambra was one of the first Islamic monuments to become the object of modern scientific study and has been the subject of numerous restorations since the 19th century. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During the Nasrid era, the Alhambra was a self-contained city separate from the rest of Granada below. It contained most of the amenities of a Muslim city such as a Friday mosque, hammams (public baths), roads, houses, artisan workshops, a tannery, and a sophisticated water supply system. As a royal city and citadel, it contained at least six major palaces, most of them located along the northern edge where they commanded views over the Albaicín quarter. The most famous and best-preserved are the Mexuar, the Comares Palace, the Palace of the Lions, and the Partal Palace, which form the main attraction to visitors today. The other palaces are known from historical sources and from modern excavations. At the Alhambra's western tip is the Alcazaba fortress. Multiple smaller towers and fortified gates are also located along the Alhambra's walls. Outside the Alhambra walls and located nearby to the east is the Generalife, a former Nasrid country estate and summer palace accompanied by historic orchards and modern landscaped gardens.

The architecture of the Nasrid palaces reflects the tradition of Moorish architecture developed over previous centuries. It is characterized by the use of the courtyard as a central space and basic unit around which other halls and rooms were organized. Courtyards typically had water features at their centre, such as a reflective pool or a fountain. Decoration was focused on the inside of the building and was executed primarily with tile mosaics on lower walls and carved stucco on the upper walls. Geometric patterns, vegetal motifs, and Arabic inscriptions were the main types of decorative motifs. Additionally, "stalactite"-like sculpting, known as muqarnas, was used for three-dimensional features like vaulted ceilings.

Etymology

Alhambra derives from the Arabic الْحَمْرَاء (al-Ḥamrāʼ , pronounced [alħamˈraːʔ]), meaning lit. 'the red one' (f.), the complete form of which was الْقَلْعَةُ ٱلْحَمْرَاءُ al-Qalʻat al-Ḥamrāʼ "the red fortress (qalat)." The "Al-" in "Alhambra" means "the" in Arabic, but this is ignored in general usage in both English and Spanish, where the name is normally given the definite article. The reference to the colour "red" in the name is due to the reddish colour of its walls, which were constructed of rammed earth. The reddish colour comes from the iron oxide in the local clay used for this type of construction.

Most of the names used today for specific structures and locations within the Alhambra are imaginative names coined after the mediaeval period, often in the 19th century. The original Arabic names of the Nasrid-era buildings are not known, although some scholars have proposed connections between certain buildings and some of the names mentioned in historical sources.

History

Origins and early history

The evidence for a Roman presence is unclear but archaeologists have found remains of ancient foundations on the Sabika hill. A fortress or citadel, probably dating from the Visigothic period, existed on the hill in the 9th century. The first reference to the Qal‘at al-Ḥamra was during the battles between the Arabs and the Muladies during the rule of ‘Abdallah ibn Muhammad (r. 888–912). According to surviving documents from the era, the red castle was quite small, and its walls were not capable of deterring an army intent on conquering. The first reference to al-Ḥamrāʼ came in lines of poetry attached to an arrow shot over the ramparts, recorded by Ibn Hayyan (d. 1076):

"Deserted and roofless are the houses of our enemies;  Invaded by the autumnal rains, traversed by impetuous winds;  Let them within the red castle hold their mischievous councils; Perdition and woe surround them on every side."

At the beginning of the 11th century, the region of Granada was dominated by the Zirids, a Sanhaja Berber group and offshoot of the Zirids who ruled parts of North Africa. When the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed after 1009 and the Fitna (civil war) began, the Zirid leader Zawi ben Ziri established an independent kingdom for himself, the Taifa of Granada. The Zirids built their citadel and palace, known as the al-Qaṣaba al-Qadīma ("Old Citadel" or "Old Palace"), on the hill now occupied by the Albaicín neighbourhood. It was connected to two other fortresses on the Sabika and Mauror hills to the south. On the Darro River, between the Zirid citadel and the Sabika hill, was a sluice gate called Bāb al-Difāf ("Gate of the Tambourines"), which could be closed to retain water if needed. This gate was part of the fortification connecting the Zirid citadel with the fortress on the Sabika hill and it also formed part of a coracha, a type of fortification allowing soldiers from the fortress to access the river and bring back water even during times of siege. The Sabika hill fortress, also known as al-Qasaba al-Jadida ("the New Citadel"), was later used for the foundations of the current Alcazaba of the Alhambra. Under the Zirid kings Habbus ibn Maksan and Badis, the most powerful figure in the kingdom was the Jewish administrator known as Samuel ha-Nagid (in Hebrew) or Isma'il ibn Nagrilla (in Arabic). Samuel built his own palace on the Sabika hill, possibly on the site of the current palaces, although nothing remains of it. It reportedly included gardens and water features.

Nasrid period

The period of the Taifa kingdoms, during which the Zirids ruled, came to an end with the conquest of al-Andalus by the Almoravids from North Africa during the late 11th century. In the mid-12th century they were followed by the Almohads. After 1228 Almohad rule collapsed and local rulers and factions emerged again across the territory of Al-Andalus. With the Reconquista in full swing, the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon – under kings Ferdinand III and James I, respectively – made major conquests across al-Andalus. Castile captured Cordoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. Meanwhile, Ibn al-Ahmar (Muhammad I) established what became the last and longest reigning Muslim dynasty in the Iberian peninsula, the Nasrids, who ruled the Emirate of Granada. Ibn al-Ahmar was a relatively new political player in the region and likely came from a modest background, but he was able to win the support and consent of multiple Muslim settlements under threat from the Castilian advance.  Upon settling in Granada in 1238, Ibn al-Ahmar initially resided in the old citadel of the Zirids on the Albaicin hill, but that same year he began construction of the Alhambra as a new residence and citadel. According to an Arabic manuscript since published as the Anónimo de Madrid y Copenhague.

This year, 1238 Abdallah ibn al-Ahmar climbed to the place called "the Alhambra". He examined it, marked the foundations of a castle and left someone in charge of directing the work, and before that year had passed, the construction of the ramparts was completed; water was brought in from the river and a channel carrying the water was built (...) During the reign of the Nasrid Dynasty, the Alhambra was transformed into a palatine city, complete with an irrigation system composed of aqueducts and water channels that provided water for the complex and for other nearby countryside palaces such as the Generalife.[38][39] Previously, the old fortresses on the hill had been dependent on rainwater collected from the cistern near the Alcazaba and on what could be brought up from the Darro River below.[39][40] The creation of the Sultan's Canal (Arabic: ساقلتة السلطان, romanized: Saqiyat al-Sultan), which brought water from the mountains to the east, solidified the identity of the Alhambra as a palace-city rather than a defensive and ascetic structure. This first hydraulic system was expanded afterwards and included two long water channels and several sophisticated elevation devices to bring water onto the plateau.

The only elements preserved from the time of Ibn al-Ahmar are some of the fortification walls, particularly the Alcazaba at the western end of the complex. Ibn al-Ahmar did not have time to complete any major new palaces and he may have initially lived in one of the towers of the Alcazaba, before later moving to a modest house on the site of the current Palace of Charles V. Later Nasrid rulers after Ibn al-Ahmar continuously modified the site. Along with the fragile materials themselves, which needed regular repairs, this makes the exact chronology of its development difficult to determine. The oldest major palace for which some remains have been preserved is the structure known as the Palacio del Partal Alto, in an elevated location near the centre of the complex, which probably dates from the reign of Ibn al-Ahmar's son, Muhammad II (r. 1273–1302).[41] To the south was the Palace of the Abencerrajes, and to the east was another private palace, known as the Palace of the Convent of San Francisco,[c] both of which were probably also originally constructed during the time of Muhammad II.[41] Muhammad III (r. 1302–1309) erected the Partal Palace, parts of which are still standing today, as well as the Alhambra's main (congregational) mosque (on the site of the current Church of Santa Maria de la Alhambra).[41][8] The Partal Palace is the earliest known palace to be built along the northern walls of the complex, with views onto the city below.[41] It is also the oldest Nasrid palace still standing today.

Isma'il I (r. 1314–1325) undertook a significant remodelling of the Alhambra. His reign marked the beginning of the "classical" period of Nasrid architecture, during which many major monuments in the Alhambra were begun and decorative styles were consolidated.Isma'il decided to build a new palace complex just east of the Alcazaba to serve as the official palace of the sultan and the state, known as the Qaṣr al-Sultan or Dār al-Mulk. The core of this complex was the Comares Palace, while another wing of the palace, the Mexuar, extended to the west. The Comares Baths are the best-preserved element from this initial construction, as the rest of the palace was further modified by his successors. Near the main mosque Isma'il I also created the Rawda, the dynastic mausoleum of the Nasrids, of which only partial remains are preserved.[41] Yusuf I (r. 1333–1354) carried out further work on the Comares Palace, including the construction of the Hall of Ambassadors and other works around the current Mexuar. He also built the Alhambra's main gate, the Puerta de la Justicia, and the Torre de la Cautiva, one of several small towers with richly-decorated rooms along the northern walls.

Muhammad V's reign (1354–1391, with interruptions) marked the political and cultural apogee of the Nasrid emirate as well as the apogee of Nasrid architecture. Particularly during his second reign (after 1362), there was a stylistic shift towards more innovative architectural layouts and an extensive use of complex muqarnas vaulting. His most significant contribution to the Alhambra was the construction of the Palace of the Lions to the east of the Comares Palace in an area previously occupied by gardens. He also remodelled the Mexuar, created the highly decorated "Comares Façade" in the Patio del Cuarto Dorado, and redecorated the Court of the Myrtles, giving these areas much of their final appearance. After Muhammad V, relatively little major construction work occurred in the Alhambra. One exception is the Torre de las Infantas, which dates from the time of Muhammad VII (1392–1408). The 15th century saw the Nasrid dynasty in decline and in turmoil, with few significant construction projects and a more repetitive, less innovative style of architecture.

Reconquista and Christian Spanish period

The last Nasrid sultan, Muhammad XII of Granada, surrendered the Emirate of Granada in January 1492, without the Alhambra itself being attacked, when the forces of the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, took the surrounding territory with a force of overwhelming numbers. Muhammad XII moved the remains of his ancestors from the complex, as was verified by Leopoldo Torres Balbás in 1925, when he found seventy empty tombs. The remains are now likely to be located in Mondújar in the principality of Lecrín. After the conquest, the Alhambra became a royal palace and property of the Spanish Crown. Isabella and Ferdinand initially took up residence here and stayed in Granada for several months, up until 25 May 1492.[57] It was during this stay that two major events happened. On 31 March the monarchs signed the Alhambra Decree, which ordered the expulsion of all Jews in Spain who refused to convert.[58][57] Christopher Columbus, who had also been present to witness the surrender of Granada, presented his plans for an expedition across the Atlantic to the monarchs in the Hall of Ambassadors and on 17 April they signed the contract which set the terms for the expedition which landed in the Americas later that year.

The new Christian rulers began to make additions and alterations to the palace complex. The governorship of the Alhambra was entrusted to the Tendilla family, who were given one of the Nasrid palaces, the Palacio del Partal Alto (near the Partal Palace), to use as family residence. Iñigo López de Mendoza y Quiñones (d. 1515), the second Count of Tendilla, was present in Ferdinand II's entourage when Muhammad XII surrendered the keys to the Alhambra and he became the Alhambra's first Spanish governor. For almost 24 years after the conquest, he made repairs and modifications to its fortifications in order to better protect it against gunpowder artillery attacks. Multiple towers and fortifications – such as the Torre de Siete Suelos, the Torre de las Cabezas, and the Torres Bermejas – were built or reinforced in this period, as seen by the addition of semi-round bastions.In 1512 the Count was also awarded the property of Mondéjar and subsequently passed on the title of Marquis of Mondéjar to his descendants.

Charles V (r. 1516–1556) visited the Alhambra in 1526 with his wife Isabella of Portugal and decided to convert it into a royal residence for his use. He rebuilt or modified portions of the Nasrid palaces to serve as royal apartments, a process which began in 1528 and was completed in 1537. He also demolished a part of the Comares Palace to make way for a monumental new palace, known as the Palace of Charles V, designed in the Renaissance style of the period. Construction of the palace began in 1527 but it was eventually left unfinished after 1637. The governorship of the Tendilla-Mondéjar family came to an end in 1717–1718, when Philip V confiscated the family's properties in the Alhambra and dismissed the Marquis of Mondéjar, José de Mendoza Ibáñez de Segovia (1657–1734), from his position as mayor (alcaide) of the Alhambra, in retaliation for the Marquis opposing him in the War of the Spanish Succession. The departure of the Tendilla-Mondéjar family marked the beginning of the Alhambra's most severe period of decline. During this period the Spanish state dedicated few resources to it and its management was taken over by self-interested local governors who lived with their families inside the neglected palaces.

Over subsequent years the Alhambra was further damaged. Between 1810 and 1812 Granada was occupied by Napoleon's army during the Peninsular War. The French troops, under the command of Count Sebastiani, occupied the Alhambra as a fortified position and caused significant damage to the monument. Upon evacuating the city, they attempted to dynamite the whole complex to prevent it from being re-used as a fortified position. They successfully blew up eight towers before the remaining fuses were disabled by Spanish soldier José Garcia, whose actions saved what remains today. In 1821, an earthquake caused further damage. In the early 19th century, the site was described as being occupied by prisoners, disabled soldiers and other marginalized people.

Recovery and modern restorations

As early as the second half of the 18th century, the Alhambra's appearance and details began to be documented by Spanish illustrators and officials. By the first decade of the 19th century, other European writers began to bring attention to it and the site subsequently became an object of fascination for Western Romanticist writers, whose publications frequently sought to evoke a contrast between the ornate architecture of the former Moorish palaces and their current state of ruin and neglect. This also coincided with a growing European interest in the Orient (Orientalism), which encouraged an emphasis on exoticism and on the "oriental" attributes of the Alhambra. This rediscovery of the Alhambra was led mostly by French, British, and German writers. In 1830, the American writer Washington Irving lived in Granada and wrote his Tales of the Alhambra, first published in 1832, which played a major role in spurring international interest in southern Spain and in its Islamic-era monuments like the Alhambra. Other artists and intellectuals, such as John Frederick Lewis, Richard Ford, François-René de Chateaubriand, and Owen Jones, helped make the Alhambra into an icon of the era with their writings and illustrations during the 19th century.

Restoration work on the Alhambra was undertaken in 1828 by the architect José Contreras, endowed in 1830 by Ferdinand VII. After the death of Contreras in 1847, it was continued by his son Rafael (died 1890) and his grandson Mariano Contreras (died 1912). The Contreras family members continued to be the most important architects and conservators of the Alhambra up until 1907. During this period, they generally followed a theory of "stylistic restoration", which favoured the construction and addition of elements to make a monument "complete" but not necessarily corresponding to any historical reality. They added elements which they deemed to be representative of what they thought was an "Arabic style", emphasizing the Alhambra's purported "Oriental" character. For example, in 1858–1859 Rafael Contreras and Juan Pugnaire added Persian-looking spherical domes to the Court of the Lions and to the northern portico of the Court of the Myrtles, even though these had nothing to do with Nasrid architecture.

In 1868, a revolution deposed Isabella II and the government seized the properties of the Spanish monarchy, including the Alhambra. In 1870 the Alhambra was declared a National Monument of Spain and the state allocated a budget for its conservation, overseen by the Provincial Commission of Monuments. Mariano Contreras, the last of the Contreras architects to serve as director of conservation of the Alhambra, was appointed as architectural curator in April 1890. His tenure was controversial and his conservation strategy attracted criticism from other authorities. In September 1890, a fire destroyed a large part of the Sala de la Barca in the Comares Palace, which highlighted the site's vulnerability. A report was commissioned in 1903. This resulted in the creation of a "Special Commission" in 1905. The Special Commission was tasked to oversee conservation and restoration of the Alhambra. The commission ultimately failed to exercise control due to friction with Contreras. In 1907, Mariano Contreras was replaced with Modesto Cendoya, whose work was also criticized. Cendoya began many excavations in search of new artifacts but often left these works unfinished. He restored some important elements of the site, like the water supply system, but neglected others. Due to continued friction with Cendoya, the Special Commission was dissolved in 1913 and replaced with the council (Patronato) of the Alhambra in 1914, which was charged again with overseeing the site's conservation and Cendoya's work. In 1915, it was linked directly to the Directorate-General of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Public Education (later the Ministry of National Education). Like Mariano Contreras before him, Cendoya continued to clash with the supervisory body and to obstruct their control. He was eventually dismissed from his post in 1923.

After Cendoya, Leopoldo Torres Balbás was appointed as chief architect from 1923 to 1936. The appointment of Torres Balbás, a trained archaeologist and art historian, marked a definitive shift to a more scientific and systematic approach to the Alhambra's conservation. He endorsed the principles of the 1931 Athens Charter for the Restoration of Monuments, which emphasized regular maintenance, respect for the work of the past, legal protection for heritage monuments, and the legitimacy of modern techniques and materials in restoration so long as these were visually recognizable. Many of the buildings in the Alhambra were affected by his work. Some of the inaccurate changes and additions made by the Contreras architects were reversed. The young architect "opened arcades that had been walled up, re-excavated filled-in pools, replaced missing tiles, completed inscriptions that lacked portions of their stuccoed lettering, and installed a ceiling in the still unfinished palace of Charles V". He also carried out systematic archaeological excavations in various parts of the Alhambra, unearthing lost Nasrid structures such as the Palacio del Partal Alto and the Palace of the Abencerrajes which provided deeper insight into the former palace-city as a whole.

The work of Torres Balbás was continued by his assistant, Francisco Prieto Moreno, who was the chief architectural curator from 1936 to 1970. In 1940, a new Council of the Alhambra was created to oversee the site, which has remained in charge ever since. In 1984 the central government in Madrid transferred responsibility for the site to the Regional Government of Andalusia and in 1986 new statutes and documents were developed to regulate the planning and protection of the site. In 1984 the Alhambra and Generalife were also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Alhambra is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain. Research, archaeological investigations, and restoration works have also remained ongoing into the 21st century.

Layout

The Alhambra site is about 700–740 m (2,300–2,430 ft) in length and about 200–205 m (660–670 ft) at its greatest width. It extends from west-northwest to east-southeast and covers an area of about 142,000 m² (1,530,000 sq ft) or 35 acres. It stands on a narrow promontory overlooking the Vega or Plain of Granada and carved by the river Darro on its north side as it descends from the Sierra Nevada. The red earth from which the fortress is constructed is a granular aggregate held together by a medium of red clay which gives the resulting layered brick- and stone-reinforced construction (tapial calicastrado) its characteristic hue and is at the root of the name of 'the Red Hill.'

The Alhambra's most westerly feature is the Alcazaba, a large fortress overlooking the city. Due to touristic demand, modern access runs contrary to the original sequence which began from a principal access via the Puerta de la Justicia (Gate of Justice) onto a large souq or public market square facing the Alcazaba, now subdivided and obscured by later Christian-era development. From the Puerta del Vino (Wine Gate) ran the Calle Real (Royal Street) dividing the Alhambra along its axial spine into a southern residential quarter, with mosques, hamams (bathhouses) and diverse functional establishments, and a greater northern portion, occupied by several palaces of the nobility with extensive landscaped gardens commanding views over the Albaicín.

The rest of the plateau comprises a number of earlier and later Moorish palaces, enclosed by a fortified wall, with thirteen defensive towers, some such as the Torre de la Infanta and Torre de la Cautiva containing elaborate vertical palaces in miniature. The river Darro passes through a ravine on the north and divides the plateau from the Albaicín district of Granada. Similarly, the Sabika Valley, containing the Alhambra Park, lies on the west and south, and, beyond this valley, the almost parallel ridge of Monte Mauror separates it from the Antequeruela district. Another ravine separates it from the Generalife, the summer pleasure gardens of the emir. Salmerón Escobar notes that the later planting of deciduous elms obscures the overall perception of the layout, so a better reading of the original landscape is given in winter when the trees are bare.

Architecture

General design

The design and decoration of the Nasrid palaces are a continuation of Moorish (western Islamic) architecture from earlier centuries but developed their own characteristics. The combination of carefully proportioned courtyards, water features, gardens, arches on slender columns, and intricately sculpted stucco and tile decoration gives Nasrid architecture qualities that are described as ethereal and intimate. Walls were built mostly in rammed earth, lime concrete, or brick and then covered with plaster, while wood (mostly pine) was used for roofs, ceilings, doors, and window shutters.

Buildings were designed to be seen from within, with their decoration focused on the inside. The basic unit of Nasrid palace architecture was a rectangular courtyard with a pool, fountain, or water channel at its center. Courtyards were flanked on two or four sides by halls, often preceded by arcaded porticoes. Many of these structures featured a mirador, a room projecting from the exterior commanding scenic views of gardens or of the city. Buildings were designed with a mathematical proportional system that gives them a harmonious visual quality. The layout of the courtyards, the distribution of windows, and the use of water features were designed with the climate in mind, cooling and ventilating the environment in summer while minimizing cold drafts and maximizing sunlight in winter. Upper-floor rooms were smaller and more enclosed, making them more suited for use during the winter. Courtyards were usually aligned in a north–south direction which allows the main halls to receive direct sunlight at midday during the winter, while during the summer the higher midday sun is blocked by the position and depth of the porticos fronting these halls.

Architects and poets

Little is known about the architects and craftsmen who built the Alhambra, but more is known about the Dīwān al-Ins͟hā', or chancery. This institution seems to have played an increasingly important role in the design of buildings, probably because inscriptions came to feature so prominently in their decoration. The head of the chancery was often also the vizier (prime minister) of the sultan. Although not exactly architects, the terms of office of many individuals in these positions coincide with the major phases of construction in the Alhambra, which suggests that they played a role in leading construction projects. The most important figures who held these positions, such as Ibn al-Jayyab, Ibn al-Khatib, and Ibn Zamrak, also composed much of the poetry that adorns the walls of the Alhambra. Ibn al-Jayyab served as head of the chancery at various times between 1295 and 1349 under six sultans from Muhammad II to Yusuf I. Ibn al-Khatib served as both head of the chancery and as vizier for various periods between 1332 and 1371, under the sultans Yusuf I and Muhammad V. Ibn Zamrak served as vizier and head of the chancery for periods between 1354 and 1393, under Muhammad V and Muhammad VII.

Decoration

Carved stucco and mosaic tilework were used for wall decoration, while ceilings were generally made in wood, which could be carved and painted in turn. Tile mosaics and wooden ceilings often feature geometric motifs. Tilework was generally used for lower walls or for floors, while stucco was used for upper zones. Stucco was typically carved with vegetal arabesque motifs, epigraphic motifs, geometric motifs, or sebka motifs. It could be further sculpted into three-dimensional muqarnas. Arabic inscriptions, a feature especially characteristic of the Alhambra, were carved along the walls and included Qur'anic excerpts, poetry by Nasrid court poets, and the repetition of the Nasrid motto "wa la ghalib illa-llah" ("And there is no victor but God").

White marble quarried from Macael was also used to make fountains and slender columns. The capitals of columns typically consisted of a lower cylindrical section sculpted with stylized acanthus leaves, an upper cubic section with vegetal or geometric motifs, and inscriptions (like the Nasrid motto) running along the base or the top edge. While the stucco decoration, wooden ceilings, and marble capitals of the Alhambra often appear colourless or monochrome today, they were originally painted in bright colours. Primary colours – red, blue, and gold – were the most prominent and were juxtaposed to achieve a certain aesthetic balance, while other colours were used in more nuanced ways in the background.

Inscriptions

The Alhambra features various styles of the Arabic epigraphy that developed under the Nasrid dynasty, and particularly under Yusuf I and Muhammad V. José Miguel Puerta Vílchez compares the walls of the Alhambra to the pages of a manuscript, drawing similarities between the zilīj-covered dados and the geometric manuscript illuminations, and the epigraphical forms in the palace to calligraphic motifs in contemporary Arabic manuscripts. Inscriptions typically ran in vertical or horizontal bands or they were set inside cartouches of round or rectangular shape.

Most major inscriptions in the Alhambra use the Naskhi or cursive script, which was the most common script used in writing after the early Islamic period. Thuluth was a derivation of the cursive script often used for more pompous or formal contexts; favoured, for example, in the preambles of documents prepared by the Nasrid chancery. Many inscriptions in the Alhambra were composed in a mixed Naskhi-Thuluth script. Bands of cursive script often alternated with friezes or cartouches of Kufic script. Kufic is the oldest form of Arabic calligraphy, but by the 13th century Kufic scripts in the western Islamic world became increasingly stylized in architectural contexts and could be nearly illegible. In the Alhambra, there are many examples of "Knotted" Kufic, a particularly elaborate style where the letters tie together in intricate knots. The extensions of these letters could turn into strips that continued and formed more abstract motifs, or sometimes formed the edges of a cartouche encompassing the rest of the inscription.

The texts of the Alhambra include "devout, regal, votive, and Qur'anic phrases and sentences," formed into arabesques, carved into wood and marble, and glazed onto tiles. Poets of the Nasrid court, including Ibn al-Khatīb and Ibn Zamrak, composed poems for the palace. The inscriptions of the Alhambra are also unique for their frequent self-referential nature and use of personification. Some inscribed poems, such as those in the Palace of the Lions, talk about the palace or room in which they're situated and are written in the first person, as if the room itself was speaking to the reader. Most of the poetry is inscribed in Nasrid cursive script, while foliate and floral Kufic inscriptions—often formed into arches, columns, enjambments, and "architectural calligrams"—are generally used as decorative elements. Kufic calligrams, particularly of the words "blessing" and "felicity," are used as decorative motifs in arabesque throughout the palace. Like the rest of the original stucco decoration, many inscriptions were originally painted and enhanced with colours. Studies indicate that the letters were often painted in gold or silver, or in white with black outlines, which would have made them stand out on the decorated backgrounds that were often painted in red, blue, or turquoise (with other colours mixed into the details).

Main structures

Entrance gates

The main gate of the Alhambra is the large Puerta de la Justicia (Gate of Justice), known in Arabic as Bab al-Shari'a ("Gate of Shari'a (law)"), which served as the main entrance on the south side of the walled complex. It was built in 1348 during the reign of Yusuf I. The gate consists of a large horseshoe arch leading to a steep ramp passing through a bent passage. The passage turns 90 degrees to the left and then 90 degrees to the right, with an opening above where defenders could throw projectiles onto any attackers below. The image of a hand, whose five fingers symbolized the Five Pillars of Islam, is carved above the archway on the exterior façade, while the image of a key, another symbol of faith, is carved above the archway on the inner façade. A Christian-era sculpture of the Virgin and Christ Child was inserted later into another niche just inside the gate. Near the outside of the gate is the Pilar de Carlos V, a Renaissance-style fountain built in 1524 with some further alterations in 1624.

At the end of the passage coming from the Puerta de la Justicia is the Plaza de los Aljibes ("Place of the Cisterns"), a broad open space which divides the Alcazaba from the Nasrid Palaces. The plaza is named after a large cistern dating to around 1494, commissioned by Iñigo López de Mondoza y Quiñones. The cistern was one of the first works carried out in the Alhambra after the 1492 conquest and it filled what was previously a gully between the Alcazaba and the palaces. On the east side of the square is the Puerta del Vino (Wine Gate) which leads to the Palace of Charles V and to the former residential neighbourhoods (the medina) of the Alhambra. The gate's construction is attributed to the reign of Muhammad III, although the decoration dates from different periods. Both the inner and outer façades of the gate are embellished with ceramic decoration filing the spandrels of the arches and stucco decoration above. On the western side of the gate is the carving of a key symbol like the one on the Puerta de la Justicia.

The other main gate of the Alhambra was the Puerta de las Armas ("Gate of Arms"), located on the north side of the Alcazaba, from which a walled ramp leads towards the Plaza de los Aljibes and the Nasrid Palaces. This was originally the main access point to the complex for the regular residents of the city, since it was accessible from the Albaicín side, but after the Christian conquest the Puerta de la Justicia was favoured by Ferdinand and Isabella. The gate, one of the earliest structures built in the Alhambra in the 13th century, is one of the Alhambra structures that bears the most resemblance to the Almohad architectural tradition that preceded the Nasrids. The exterior façade of the gate is decorated with a polylobed moulding with glazed tiles inside a rectangular alfiz frame. Inside the gate's passage is a dome that is painted to simulate the appearance of red brick, a decorative feature characteristic of the Nasrid period.

Two other exterior gates existed, both located further east. On the north side is the Puerta del Arrabal ("Arrabal Gate"), which opens onto the Cuesta de los Chinos ("Slope of the Pebbles"), the ravine between the Alhambra and the Generalife. It was probably created under Muhammad II and served the first palaces of the Alhambra which were built in this area during his reign. It underwent numerous modifications in the later Christian era of the Alhambra. On the south side is the Puerta de los Siete Suelos ("Gate of Seven Floors"), which was almost entirely destroyed by the explosions set off by the departing French troops in 1812. The present gate was reconstructed in the 1970s with help of remaining fragments and of multiple old engravings that illustrate the former gate. The original gate was probably built in the mid-14th century and its original Arabic name was Bab al-Gudur. It would have been the main entrance serving the medina, the area occupied by industries and the houses of workers inside the Alhambra. It was also through here that the Catholic Monarchs first entered the Alhambra on January 2, 1492.

Alcazaba

The Alcazaba or citadel is the oldest part of the Alhambra today. It was the centrepiece of the complicated system of fortifications that protected the area. Its tallest tower, the 26 m (85 ft) high Torre del Homenaje ('Tower of Homage'), was the keep and military command post of the complex. It may have also been the first residence of Ibn al-Ahmar inside the Alhambra while the complex was being constructed. The westernmost tower, the 25 m (82 ft) high Torre de la Vela, acted as a watch tower. The flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was first raised above it as a symbol of the Spanish conquest of Granada on 2 January 1492. A bell was added on the tower soon afterward and for centuries it was rung at regular times every day and on special occasions. In 1843 the tower became part of the city's coat of arms. Inside the enclosure of the inner fortress was a residential district that housed the elite guards of the Alhambra. It contained urban amenities like a communal kitchen, a hammam, and a water supply cistern, as well as multiple subterranean chambers which served as dungeons and silos.

Nasrid palaces

The royal palace complex consists of three main parts, from west to east: the Mexuar, the Comares Palace, and the Palace of the Lions.

Mexuar

The Mexuar is the westernmost part of the palace complex. It was analogous to the mashwars (or mechouars) of royal palaces in North Africa. It was first built as part of the larger complex begun by Isma'il I which included the Comares Palace. It housed many of the administrative and more public functions of the palace, such as the chancery and the treasury. Its layout consisted of two consecutive courtyards followed by a main hall, all aligned along a central axis from west to east. Little remains of the two western courtyards of the Mexuar today, except for their foundations, a portico, and the water basin of a fountain. The main hall, known as the Sala del Mexuar or Council Hall, served as a throne hall where the sultan received and judged petitions. This area also granted access to the Comares Palace via the Cuarto Dorado section on the east side of the Council Hall. Multiple parts of the Mexuar were significantly modified in the post-Reconquista period; notably, the Sala del Mexuar was converted into a Christian chapel and additions were made to the Cuarto Dorado to convert it into a residence. Many of these additions were later removed during modern restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Comares Palace

The Comares Palace was the core of a large palace complex begun by Isma'il I in the early 13th century and subsequently modified and refurbished by Yusuf I and Muhammad V over the course of the same century. This new palace complex served as the official palace of the sultan and the state, known in Arabic as the Qaṣr al-Sultan or Dār al-Mulk. The Comares Palace was accessed from the west through the Mexuar. An internal façade, known as the Comares Façade, stands on the south side of the Patio de Cuarto Dorado ('Courtyard of the Gilded Room') at the east edge of the Mexuar. This highly decorated symmetrical façade, with two doors, was the entrance to the palace and likely served in some ceremonial functions.

The Comares Palace itself is centred around the Patio de los Arrayanes ('Court of the Myrtles'), a courtyard measuring 23 to 23.5 metres wide and 36.6 metres long, with its long axis aligned roughly north-to-south. At the middle, aligned with the main axis of the court, is a wide reflective pool. The pool measures 34 metres long and 7.10 metres wide. The myrtle bushes that are the court's namesake grow in hedges along either side of this pool. Two ornate porticos are situated at the north and south ends of the court, leading to further halls and rooms behind them. The court's decoration contained eleven qasā'id by Ibn Zamrak, eight of which remain. Annexed to the east side of the palace are the Comares Baths, a royal hammam that is exceptionally well-preserved.

On the north side of the Court of the Myrtles, inside the massive Comares Tower, is the Salón de los Embajadores ('Hall of the Ambassadors'), the largest room in the Alhambra. It is accessed by passing through the Sala de la Barca, a wide rectangular hall behind the northern portico of the court. The Hall of the Ambassadors is a square chamber measuring 11.3 metres per side and rising to a height of 18.2 metres. This was the throne room or audience chamber of the sultan. The sultan's throne was placed opposite the entrance in front of a recessed double-arched window at the back of the hall. In addition to the extensive tile and stucco decoration of the walls, the interior culminates in a large domed ceiling. The ceiling is made of 8017 interlinked pieces of wood that form an abstract geometric representation of the seven heavens. The hall and its tower project from the walls of the palace, with windows providing views in three directions. In this sense, it was an enlarged version of a mirador, a room from which the palace's inhabitants could gaze outward to the surrounding landscape.

Palace of the Lions

The Palace of the Lions is one of the most famous palaces in Islamic architecture and exemplifies the apogee of Nasrid architecture under the reign of Muhammad V. Its central rectangular courtyard measures about 28.7 metres long and 15.6 metres wide, with its long axis aligned roughly east-to-west. The arches and columns of the surrounding portico are arranged in a complex pattern of single columns alternating with groups of two or three columns, a design that was unique in Islamic architecture. Two ornate pavilions stand at the east and west sides of the courtyard, while the centre is occupied by the famed Fountain of the Lions. The fountain consists of a large basin surrounded by twelve stylized lion sculptures, all carved from marble. Along the rim of the fountain's basin is an inscribed poem composed by Ibn Zamrak. This praises the beauty of the fountain and the power of the lions, but it also describes their hydraulic systems and how they worked.

Four halls are arranged around the courtyard. The Sala de los Mocárabes ('Hall of the mocárabes (muqarnas)'), on the west side, was damaged in 1590 by the explosion of a nearby gunpowder magazine and its ceiling was replaced by the current Baroque-style plaster vault in 1714. The Sala de los Reyes ('Hall of Kings'), on the east side, is subdivided into multiple sections covered by muqarnas vaults. Opening behind these are several more rooms, three of which contain rounded vault ceilings covered by unique pictorial scenes painted on leather. One painting shows a Nasrid sultan and other dignitaries sitting and discussing together while the two other paintings feature scenes of sports, hunting, and court life. The style of painting was influenced to one extent or another by Christian Gothic art.

On the south side of the courtyard, the Sala de los Abencerrajes ('Hall of the Abencerrages') derives its name from a legend according to which the father of Boabdil, the last sultan of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that line to a banquet, massacred them here. It is covered by an elaborate muqarnas vault ceiling, featuring a 16-sided lantern cupola in the shape of an eight-pointed star, possibly symbolizing the celestial heaven. On the north side of the courtyard is the Sala de Dos Hermanas ('Hall of Two Sisters'), so-called because of two large slabs of marble that form part of the pavement. Its original Arabic name was al-Qubba al-Kubrā (lit. 'the Great Dome'), suggesting it had a particular significance. The hall is covered by one of the most remarkable muqarnas domes in Islamic art. The muqarnas composition consists of at least 5000 prismatic pieces, unfolding from the central summit into sixteen miniature domes right above the level of the windows.

To the north of the Sala de Dos Hermanas, and accessed through it, is the Mirador de Lindaraja, a small projecting room with double-arched windows on three sides which overlook the gardens below. The name Lindaraja is a corruption of Arabic 'Ayn Dar 'Aisha (lit. 'Eye of the House of 'Aisha'). This small chamber has some of the most sophisticated carved stucco decoration in the Alhambra and retains original mosaic tilework that features very fine Arabic inscriptions. The room is also covered by a unique vault ceiling consisting of a wooden lattice shaped into an interlacing geometric motif and filled with pieces of coloured glass.

Partal Palace and gardens

To the east of the Palace of the Lions and the Renaissance additions is the Partal Palace, a pavilion structure on the edge of the Alhambra walls. It was built by Muhammad III, which makes it the oldest surviving palace in the Alhambra today, although it has undergone many alterations since then. Its south side has a portico and faces a large reflective pool, while a mirador projects from its north side over the walls. Next to it is a small but richly decorated oratory containing a mihrab. Beyond the Partal is an area of gardens stretching along the northern wall of the Alhambra. Several towers along this northern wall were converted into small palatial residences during the Nasrid period, including the Torre de los Picos ('Tower of the Pointed Battlements'), the Torre de la Cautiva ('Tower of the Captive'), and the Torre de las Infantas ('Tower of the Princesses'). For tourists visiting the Alhambra today, all these areas are accessible after passing through the main Nasrid Palaces, although the palace-towers are not normally open to visitors.