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ALHAMBRA, THE

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 658 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ALHAMBRA, THE , an See also:ancient See also:palace and fortress of the Moorish monarchs of See also:Granada, in See also:southern See also:Spain, occupying a hilly See also:terrace on the See also:south-eastern border of the See also:city of Granada. This terrace or See also:plateau, which See also:measures about 2430 ft. in length by 674 ft. at its greatest width, extends from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and covers an See also:area of about 35 acres. It is enclosed by a strongly fortified See also:wall, which is flanked by thirteen towers. The See also:river Darro, which foams through a deep See also:ravine on the See also:north, divides the plateau from the Albaicin See also:district of Granada; the Assabica valley, containing the Alhambra See also:Park, on the See also:west and south, and beyond this valley the almost parallel See also:ridge of See also:Monte Mauror, See also:separate it from the Antequeruela district. The name Alhambra, signifying in Arabic " the red," is probably derived from the See also:colour of the See also:sun-dried tapia, or bricks made of See also:fine See also:gravel and See also:clay, of which the See also:outer walls are built. Some authorities, however, hold that it commemorates the red flare of the torches by whose See also:light the See also:work of construction was carried on nightly for many years; others See also:associate it with the name of the founder, See also:Mahomet See also:Ibn Al Ahmar; and others derive it from the Arabic See also:Dar at Amra, " See also:House of the See also:Master." (For an See also:account of the See also:period to which the Alhambra belongs, see GRANADA (City).) The palace was built chiefly between 1248 and 1354, in the reigns of Al Ahmar and his successors; but even the 'names of the See also:principal artists employed are either unknown or doubtful. The splendid decorations of the interior are ascribed to Yusef I., who died in 1354. Immediately after the See also:expulsion of the See also:Moors in 1492, their conquerors began, by successive acts of vandalism, to spoil the marvellous beauty of the Alhambra. The open work was filled up with whitewash, the See also:painting and gildirtg effaced, the See also:furniture soiled, torn or removed. See also:Charles V. (1516–1556) rebuilt portions in the See also:modern See also:style of the period, and destroyed the greater See also:part of the See also:winter palace to make See also:room for a modern structure which has never been completed. See also:Philip V.

(1700–1746) Italianised the rooms, and completed the degradation by See also:

running up partitions which blocked up whole apartments, gems of See also:taste and patient ingenuity. In subsequent centuries the carelessness of the See also:Spanish authorities permitted this masterpiece of Moorish See also:art to be still further defaced; and in 1812 some of the towers were blown up by the See also:French under See also:Count See also:Sebastian, while the whole buildings narrowly escaped the same See also:fate. In See also:Plan of the Alhambra See also:Scale of Yards 0 50 100 200 s. See also:Court of Myrtles 6. Modern Entrance a. Nall of Ambassadors 7. Court of the See also:Vestibule 3. Court of [ions 8. See also:Baths 4. See also:Hall of the See also:Abencerrages 9. Court of the See also:Council Chamber 9. Room of the Two Sisters so.

See also:

Queen's Robing Room See also:loan B.edetelt Spin a See also:Portugal. by ;contain. of Kul See also:Baedeker. 1821 an See also:earthquake caused further damage. The work of restoration undertaken in 1828 by the architect Jose Contreras was endowed in 183o by See also:Ferdinand VII.; and after the See also:death of Contreras in 1847, it was continued with See also:fair success by his son Rafael (d. 1890), and his See also:grandson Mariano. The situation of the Alhambra is one of rare natural beauty; the plateau commands a wide view of the city and See also:plain of Granada, towards the west and north, and of the heights of the Sierra See also:Nevada, towards the See also:east and south. Moorish poets describe it as " a See also:pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the brilliant colour of its buildings, and the luxuriant See also:woods See also:round them. The park (See also:Alameda de la Alhambra), which in See also:spring is overgrown with See also:wild-See also:flowers and grass, was planted by the Moors with See also:roses, oranges and myrtles; its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense See also:wood of See also:English elms brought hither in 1812 by the See also:duke of See also:Wellington. The park is celebrated for the multitude of its nightingales, and is usually filled with the See also:sound of running See also:water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied through a conduit 5 m. See also:long, which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del See also:Valle, above Granada. The Moorish portion of the Alhambra resembles many See also:medieval See also:Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a See also:castle, a palace and a residential annexe for subordinates. The Alcazaba or citadel, its See also:oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous See also:foreland which terminates the plateau on the north-west. Only its massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are See also:left.

On its See also:

watch-See also:tower, the Torre de la Vela, 85 ft. high, the See also:flag of Ferdinand and See also:Isabella was first raised, in token of the Spanish See also:conquest of Granada, on the 2nd of See also:January 1492. A See also:turret containing a huge See also:bell was added in the 18th See also:century, and restored after being injured by See also:lightning in 1881. Beyond the Alcazaba&.1lyll1,1mutlasaaullHr..._ , See also:Emery W Weer is the palace of the Moorish See also:kings, or Alhambra properly so-called; and beyond this, again, is the Alhambra Alta (Upper Alhambra), originally tenanted by officials and courtiers. In spite of the long neglect, wilful vandalism and See also:ill-judged restoration which the Alhambra has endured, it remains the most perfect example of Moorish art in its final See also:European development, —freed from the See also:direct See also:Byzantine influences which can be traced in the See also:cathedral of See also:Cordova, more elaborate and fantastic than the Giralda at See also:Seville. The See also:majority of the palace buildings are, in ground-plan, quadrangular, with all the rooms opening on to a central court; and the whole reached its See also:present See also:size simply by the See also:gradual addition of new quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages. In every See also:case the exterior is left plain and austere, as if the architect intended thus to heighten by contrast the splendour of the interior. Within, the palace is unsurpassed for the exquisite detail of its See also:marble pillars and See also:arches, its fretted ceilings and the See also:veil-like transparency of its See also:filigree work in See also:stucco. Sun and See also:wind are freely admitted, and the whole effect is one of the most See also:airy lightness and See also:grace. See also:Blue, red, and a See also:golden yellow, all somewhat faded through See also:lapse of See also:time and exposure, are the See also:colours chiefly employed. The decoration consists, as a See also:rule, of stiff, See also:convention,al foliage, Arabic See also:inscriptions, and geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques of almost incredible intricacy and ingenuity. Painted tiles are largely used as panelling for the walls. See also:Access from the city to the Alhambra Park is afforded by the Puerta de See also:las Granadas (See also:Gate of • Pomegranates), a massive triumphal See also:arch dating from the 15th century.

A steep ascent leads past the See also:

Pillar of Charles V., a See also:fountain erected in 1554, to the See also:main entrance of the Alhambra. This is the Puerta Judiciaria (Gate of See also:Judgment), a massive horseshoe archway, surmounted by a square tower, and used by the Moors as an informal court of See also:justice. A See also:hand, with fingers outstretched as a See also:talisman against the evil See also:eye, is carved above this gate on the exterior; a See also:key, the See also:symbol of authority, occupies the corresponding See also:place on the interior. A narrow passage leads inward to the Plaza de los Aljibes (Place of the Cisterns), a broad open space which divides the Alcazhba from the Moorish palace. To the left of the passage rises the Torre del Vino (See also:Wine Tower), built in 1345, and used in the 16th century as a cellar. On the right is the palace of Charles V., a See also:cold-looking but majestic See also:Renaissance See also:building, out of See also:harmony with its surroundings, which it tends somewhat to See also:dwarf by its See also:superior size. Its construction, begun in 1526, was abandoned about 165o. The present entrance to the Palacio Arabe, or Casa Real (Moorish palace), is by a small See also:door from which a See also:corridor conducts to the See also:Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles), also called the Patio de la Alberca (Court of the Blessing or Court of the See also:Pond), from the Moorish birka, " pond," or See also:berka, " blessing." This court is 140 ft. long by 74 ft. broad; and in the centre there is a large pond set in the marble See also:pavement, full of See also:goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its sides. There are galleries on the north and south sides; that on the south 27 ft. high, and supported by a marble See also:colonnade. Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and over it are three elegant windows with arches and See also:miniature pillars. From this court the walls of the Torre de Comares are seen rising over the roof to the north, and reflected in the pond. The See also:Sala de los Ambajadores (Hall of the Ambassadors) is the largest in the Alhambra, and occupies all the Torre de Comares.

It is a square room, the sides being 37 ft. in length, while the centre of the See also:

dome is 75 ft. high. This was the See also:grand reception room, and the See also:throne of the See also:sultan was placed opposite the entrance. The tiles are nearly 4 ft. high all round, and the colours vary at intervals. Over them is a See also:series of See also:oval medallions with inscriptions, interwoven with flowers and leaves. There are nine windows, three on each See also:facade, and the See also:ceiling is admirably diversified with inlaid-work of See also:white, blue and See also:gold, in the shape of circles, crowns and stars—a See also:kind of See also:imitation of the vault of See also:heaven. The walls are covered with varied stucco-work of most delicate See also:pattern, surrounding many ancient escutcheons. The celebrated Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions) is an oblong court, 116 ft. in length by 66 ft. in breadth, surrounded by a See also:low See also:gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A See also:pavilion projects into the court at each extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof, elaborately ornamented. The square is paved with coloured tiles, and the colonnade with white marble; while the walls are covered 5 ft. up from the ground with blue and yellow tiles, with a border above and below enamelled blue and gold. The columns supporting the roof and gallery are irregularly placed, with a view to See also:artistic effect; and the See also:general See also:form of the piers, arches and pillars is most graceful. They are adorned by varieties of foliage, &c.; about each arch there is a large square of arabesques; and over the pillars is another square of exquisite filigree work. In the centre of the court is the celebrated Fountain of Lions, a magnificent See also:alabaster See also:basin supported by the figures of twelve lions in white marble, not designed with sculptural accuracy, but as emblems of strength and courage.

The Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) derives its name from a See also:

legend according to which See also:Boabdil, the last See also:king of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that illustrious See also:line to a banquet, massacred them here. This room is a perfect square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its See also:base. The roof is exquisitely decorated in blue, See also:brown, red and gold, and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in a remarkably beautiful manner. Opposite to this hall is the Sala de las dos Hermanas (Hall of the two Sisters), so-called from two very beautiful white marble slabs laid as part of the pavement. These slabs measure 15 ft. by 72 ft., and are without flaw or stain. There is a fountain in the See also:middle of this hall, and the roof—a dome honeycombed with tiny cells, all different, and said tonumber 5000—is a magnificent example of the so-called " stalactite vaulting" of the Moors. Among the other wonders of the Alhambra are the Sala de la Justicia (Hall of Justice), the Patio del Mexuar (Court of the Council Chamber), the Patio de Daraxa (Court of the Vestibule), and the Peinador de la Reina (Queen's Robing Room), in which are to be seen the same delicate and beautiful See also:architecture, the same costly and elegant decorations. The palace and the Upper Alhambra also contain baths, ranges of bedrooms and summer-rooms, a whispering gallery and See also:labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchres. The See also:original furniture of the palace is represented by the celebrated See also:vase of %the Alhambra, a splendid specimen of Moorish ceramic art, dating from 1320, and belonging to the first period of Moorish See also:porcelain. It is 4 ft. 3 in. high; the ground is white, and the enamelling is blue, white and gold. Of the outlying buildings in connexion with the Alhambra, the foremost in See also:interest is the Palacio de Generalife or Gineralife (the Moorish Jennat al Arif, " See also:Garden of Arif," or " Garden of the Architect ").

This See also:

villa probably See also:dates from the end of the 13th century, but has been several times restored. Its gardens, however, with their clipped hedges, grottos, fountains, and See also:cypress avenues, are said to retain their original Moorish See also:character. The Villa de los Martires (Martyrs' Villa), on the See also:summit of Monte Mauror,commemorates by its name the Christian slaves who were employed to build the Alhambra, and confined here in subterranean cells. The Torres Bermejas (See also:Vermilion Towers), also on Monte Mauror, are a well-preserved Moorish fortification, with underground cisterns, stables, and See also:accommodation for a See also:garrison of 200 men. Several See also:Roman tombs were discovered in 1829 and 1857 at the base of Monte Mauror. , See Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra; from drawings taken on the spot by J. Goury and See also:Owen See also:Jones; with a See also:complete See also:translation of the Arabic inscriptions and a See also:historical See also:notice of the Kings of Granada, by P. de Gayangos. These two magnificent folios, though first published in See also:London between 1842 and 1845, give the best pictorial See also:representation of the Alhambra. See also Rafael Contreras, La Alhambra, El Alcdzar, y la gran Mezquita de Occidente (See also:Madrid, 1885) ; The Alhambra, by See also:Washington See also:Irving, was written in 1832, and rewritten in 1857, when it had already become widely celebrated for its picturesque and humorous descriptions. A well-illustrated edition was published in London in 1896.

End of Article: ALHAMBRA, THE

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