The
Emirate of Granada (,
trans. Imarat Gharnāṭah), also known as the
Nasrid Kingdom of Granada , was an emirate established in 1238 following the defeat of
Muhammad an-Nasir of the
Almohad dynasty by an alliance of Christian kingdoms at the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. After Prince Idris left Iberia to take the Almohad leadership, the ambitious
Mohammed I ibn Nasr established the last Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula—the
Nasrids. The Nasrid
emirs were responsible for building the
Alhambra palace complex as we know it today. By 1250, the Emirate was the last part of the Iberian peninsula held by the Muslims.
Andalusian Arabic was the official language, and mother tongue of the majority of the population. For two more centuries, the region enjoyed considerable cultural prosperity.