Ruler Military Patron Castilian conquest & the Moriscos1492–1610

Ferdinand II of Aragon

Lived 1452–1516 (about 64 years)

Also known as: Ferdinand of Aragon, King Ferdinand, Ferdinand II, Fernando II

Ferdinand II of Aragon was born on 10 March 1452 in Sos del Rey Católico, son of John II of Aragon. He married Isabella in Valladolid on 19 October 1469, became King of Aragon in 1479 and, as her co-ruler, King of Castile from 1475 to 1504 (as Ferdinand V).

The Granada War of 1482 to 1492 was fought as a series of seasonal campaigns, launched in spring and broken off in winter. Aragon's share was smaller than Castile's: Ferdinand himself, naval help, guns and loans. On 2 January 1492 Muhammad XI (Boabdil) surrendered the city and the Alhambra to the Castilian forces. Pope Alexander VI later gave the couple the title "Catholic" in recognition of the war. For the surrender itself, read the Reconquista of Granada in 1492.

Ferdinand died on 23 January 1516 at Madrigalejo, in Extremadura. His testament asked to rest beside his wife, and he lies in Granada, in the Royal Chapel of Granada. The Chapel was completed a year after his death. The marble tombs by Domenico Fancelli are commemorative; the remains themselves lie in a crypt below.

Places to see

Madraza of Granada

Royal Chapel of Granada

In their time

Castilian conquest & the Moriscos

1492–1610
Boabdil handed Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella on 2 January 1492, after a siege whose camp became the town of Santa Fe. Enrique Egas drew a Gothic plan for the cathedral in 1518 and building began in 1523. Diego de Siloé, master builder from 1529, changed it into Spain's first fully Renaissance cathedral, with a circular capilla mayor.
1. Monastery of San Jerónimo
  
  1504 Monument
  
  San Jerónimo holds the tomb of the Great Captain in a Renaissance church completed in 1522, with a carved altarpiece and gilded ceilings of exceptional quality.
2. Royal Chapel of Granada
  
  1504 Monument
  
  Isabelline Gothic chapel with the tombs of Isabella I and Ferdinand II. The sacristy holds royal regalia and paintings by Memling, Botticelli, and Bouts.
3. Monasterio de la Cartuja
  
  1516 Monument
  
  Founded in 1516 by El Gran Capitán, La Cartuja's sacristy is one of Spain's most ornate Baroque spaces — marble inlay, gilded altars, and near-total silence.
4. Granada Cathedral
  
  1523 Monument
  
  Granada Cathedral in Spain took 181 years to build from 1523, blending Gothic foundations with a Renaissance interior of five naves and a gilded dome chapel.
5. Mirador de San Nicolás
  
  1525 Monument
  
  Free 24-hour viewpoint in the Albaicín with unobstructed Alhambra views and the Sierra Nevada as backdrop. Crowds peak at sunset; early morning is far quieter.
6. Hernando de Talavera
  
  c. 1430–1507 Historical figure
  
  Hernando de Talavera, Isabella's confessor, became Granada's first archbishop in 1493. He learned Arabic himself and encouraged his clergy to do the same.
7. Count of Tendilla
  
  c. 1440–1515 Historical figure
  
  Íñigo López de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla, governed the Alhambra from 1492 and died in 1515. Find his trace on the Alhambra hill and what to read next.
8. Isabella I
  
  1451–1504 Historical figure
  
  Isabella I of Castile, queen 1474–1504, chose Granada for her tomb in 1504. Her life in brief and where her trace survives in the Royal Chapel and the city.
9. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
  
  1453–1515 Historical figure
  
  Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the Gran Capitán, helped arrange Granada's surrender in 1492 and died near the city in 1515. Where his trace remains in Granada.
10. Pedro Machuca
  
  c. 1490–1550 Historical figure
  
  Pedro Machuca, the Toledo-born architect and painter who designed the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra from 1527. Where to see his work around Granada.
Go deeper
- Conquest and Moriscos