The Alhambra (/ælˈhæmbrə/, Spanish: [aˈlambɾa]; Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء,
romanized: Al-Ḥamrāʾ, pronounced [alħamˈraːʔ], lit.
"The Red One") is a palace and fortress complex located in
Granada, Andalusia, Spain.
It was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 CE on the
remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its
ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid
emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its
current palace and walls with many beautiful, intricate details. It was
converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.[1]
After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site
became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher
Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces
were partially altered in the Renaissance style. In 1526 Charles I & V
commissioned a new Renaissance palace better befitting the Holy Roman
Emperor in the revolutionary Mannerist style influenced by humanist
philosophy in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid Andalusian
architecture, but it was ultimately never completed due to Morisco
rebellions in Granada.