The Alhambra

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain.(/ælˈhæmbrə/; Spanish: [aˈlambɾa]; Arabic: ‫الْحَمْرَاء‎ [ʔælħæmˈɾˠɑːʔ], Al-Ḥamrā, lit. “The Red One”), the complete Arabic form of which was Calat Alhambra. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar  of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by  Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquest in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella  (where Christopher Columbus allegedly received royal endorsement for his expedition) and the palaces were partially altered to Renaissance tastes. In 1526 Charles I commissioned a new Renaissance palace  better befitting of the Holy Roman Emperor in the revolutionary Mannerist style  influenced by Humanist philosophy in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrin Andalusian architecture, but which was ultimately never completed due to Morisco rebellions in Granada.  

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