1908 Cendoya y Busquets Map of the Alhambra, Granada, Spain

This is a 1908 Modesto Cendoya y Busquets map of the Alhambra, Granada, Spain. Three indexes identify locations around the palace / fortress. One identifies towers, gates, and other places along the Alhambra's extensive walls and the second uses letters to mark major buildings within the complex. The third index, also numerical, labels rooms and smaller buildings. Buildings colored red and solid black were built by the Arabs when they ruled southern Spain. However, some buildings were built after the Reconquista, when the building was used as a palace by Christian kings.

The Alhambra

The first references to an Alhambra, or red castle, appeared during the rule of Abdullah ibn Muhammad (r. 888 - 912) in lines of poetry. Centuries passed before the Alhambra resurfaced in the eleventh century, when it was rebuilt by a vizier to the emir of the Zirid Dynasty. The Alhambra was completed near the end of Muslim rule in Spain during the reigns of Yusuf I (1333 - 1353) and Muhammad V (1353 - 1391). During the Nasrid period, when Sultan Ibn Nasr lived in the Alhambra, he began expanding the complex. His successors turned the fortress into a palace city, complete with gardens and several palaces. After the Reconquista in 1492, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile took up residence in the Alhambra, where they welcomed Christopher Columbus and decided to fund his quest across the Atlantic. Today, the Alhambra is one of Spain's most visited tourist sites and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by Modesto Cendoya y Busquets in 1908 and lithographed by Paulino Ventura Traveset. We note a single cataloged example in OCLC, located at the Biblioteca Nactional de España.