Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar Muluk Bani Nasr

Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar Muluk Bani Nasr (Arabic: نبذة العصر في أخبار ملوك بني نصر, lit. 'A Fragment of the Era on the History of the Nasrid Kings') is an anonymous Arabic chronicle detailing the final years and fall of the Nasrid dynasty of Granada between 882 AH and 904 AH (c. 1477–1499 CE) Majallat al-Risala+1.

Background and Authorship

The author of the work remains anonymous al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1. In the opening preface, the writer notes that the work was composed as a concise summary of the political upheaval that overtook Granada, remarking self-effacingly that his experience in composition was limited and his eloquence modest Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar …. In library catalogues, the text is also recorded under the variant titles Turfat al-Asr fi Akhbar Muluk Bani Nasr and Akhbar al-Asr fi Inqida Dawlat Bani Nasr Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1.

Contents and Scope

The chronicle focuses on the internal turmoil of the Nasrid sultanate and the Christian conquest of Al-Andalus, covering the period from 882 to 904 AH Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar …+1:

• Reign of Abu al-Hasan Ali: The work opens in 882 AH with Sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Sa'd consolidating power against his insubordinate army commanders, his confrontation with his younger brother Muhammad ibn Sa'd, his military reviews at the Alhambra, and the expiration of the truce leading to the Christian capture of Alhama in Muharram 887 AH Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar …+1.
• Dynastic Conflict and Territorial Losses: It narrates the subsequent civil wars involving Abu al-Hasan's brother Muhammad ibn Sa'd (al-Zaghal) and his son Abu Abd Allah Muhammad (Boabdil), the submission of cities like Guadix to the King of Castile in Safar 895 AH, and the brief Muslim counteroffensives in the Alpujarras Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar …+1.
• The Fall of Granada: The narrative describes the Castilian siege of Granada, the resulting famine and desperation among the population during the winter of 897 AH, the negotiations conducted by city notables, and the ultimate surrender of Granada and the Alhambra in Rabi I 897 AH Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar …+1.
• Exile and Forced Conversion: It records the departure of Sultan Abu Abd Allah Muhammad across the sea to Melilla and Fez, the migration routes of Andalusian Muslims to coastal cities in North Africa, the breaching of the surrender treaties by the Spanish monarchy, and the forced conversions to Christianity around 904 AH Nubdhat al-Asr fi Akhbar …+1.

Manuscripts and Modern Editions

A manuscript of the work is preserved in the library of the École Supérieure in Rabat (MS 28/1/d) Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…. An earlier edition of the text was published under the title Akhbar al-Asr fi Inqida Dawlat Bani Nasr by the German orientalist Marcus Joseph Müller in Göttingen in 1863 Dawlat al-Islam fi al-And….

The Lebanese scholar Alfred Bustani prepared a critical edition based on multiple manuscripts, which was published in Larache, Morocco, in 1940 by the Instituto General Franco para la Investigación Hispano-Árabe alongside a Spanish translation by the orientalist Carlos Quirós Majallat al-Risala+1. The publication was subsequently reviewed by Said al-Afghani in the journal of the Arab Academy of Damascus in 1941 al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj….