Poet Writer Scholar Physician Philosopher Nasrid Granada1238–1492

Ibn al-Khatib

Lived 1313–1374 (about 61 years)

Also known as: Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib, Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib

Ibn al-Khatib, also called Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib, was born at Loja in 1313 and died in 1374. He was active as a poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician, serving the Nasrid kings Yusuf I and Muhammad V. His official title, Dhu al-Wizaratayn, made him minister of the pen and the sword at once.

His poems decorate the walls of the Alhambra, so the place to meet his work is the Alhambra. In 1369 he wrote Al-Ihata, a history of Granada that includes his autobiography. In 1374 he was imprisoned for heresy and sentenced to death by suffocation.

For related reading, see Ibn Zamrak, his student, and Muhammad V, the sultan he served. Read the full story.

The full story

Interior of the Nasrid Palaces, Alhambra Granada, with Arabic calligraphy and arabesque stucco covering the walls, epigraphy shaped by ibn al-khatib granada nasrid court poets

Ibn al-Khatib: Granada's Great Nasrid Vizier

Ibn al-Khatib ran Nasrid Granada for 30 years, wrote 60+ works, and argued contagion theory 500 years before Pasteur. His poetry lines the Alhambra walls.

Read the full story

Places to see

Alhambra

In their time

Nasrid Granada

1238–1492
Muhammad I founded the emirate in 1232, became Fernando III's vassal and began the Alcazaba on the Alhambra hill. Yusuf I added the Comares Tower and the Hall of Ambassadors, and Muhammad V finished the Court of the Lions around 1380. In all, 23 sultans ruled for 260 years before the city surrendered in 1492.
1. Muhammad I
  
  c. 1195–1273 Historical figure
  
  Muhammad I of Granada founded the Nasrid dynasty and began the Alhambra in 1238. His life, from Arjona to the Sabika hill, and where to see his trace today.
2. Yusuf I
  
  1318–1354 Historical figure
  
  Yusuf I of Granada ruled the Nasrid sultanate from 1333 to 1354 and left the Alhambra's Puerta de la Justicia and the Madraza. His life and where to find him.
3. Ibn Khaldun
  
  1332–1406 Historical figure
  
  Ibn Khaldun, the Tunis-born historian, served the Nasrid court of Granada under Muhammad V. His life, the Alhambra that housed it, and where to read more.
4. Ibn Zamrak
  
  c. 1333–1393 Historical figure
  
  Ibn Zamrak was a Nasrid vizier and poet from Granada. See where his verses survive in the Alhambra, from the Court of the Lions to the Lindaraja fountain.
5. Muhammad V
  
  1339–1391 Historical figure
  
  Muhammad V of Granada ruled the Nasrid sultanate twice, in 1354–1359 and 1362–1391, and inspired the Palace of the Lions. Where his work survives today.
Undated
1. Alcaicería
  
  Monument
  
  Granada's historic silk market, rebuilt after 1843 in Neo-Moorish style. Small shops sell ceramics, taracea woodwork, spices, and leather goods. Free to enter.
2. Alhambra
  
  Monument
  
  The Alhambra is Granada's UNESCO fortress-palace: Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba and Generalife gardens. Tickets sell out weeks ahead; book via the Patronato site.
3. Corral del Carbón
  
  Monument
  
  Granada's oldest Arab monument, the Corral del Carbón was built before 1336 as a Nasrid merchant inn, entered through an ornate horseshoe-arch portal.
4. Palacio de Dar-al-Horra
  
  Monument
  
  15th-century Nasrid palace in the upper Albaicín, home of Aixa, mother of Granada's last sultan Boabdil. Less visited than the Alhambra, almost as beautiful.
5. Nasrid Palaces
  
  Monument
  
  Three royal Nasrid palaces inside the Alhambra, including the Patio de los Leones and Hall of the Ambassadors. Entry is timed: arrive within your booked slot.
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- Nasrid Granada