Muley Hacén

Lived c. 1436–1485 (about 49 years)

Also known as: Abu l-Hasan Ali, Abu al-Hasan Ali, Muley Hacen, Mulhacén the sultan

Muley Hacén, also known as Abu l-Hasan Ali, was the 21st Nasrid ruler of Granada. Born in Granada around 1436, he took the throne in 1464 by overthrowing his father and reigned until 1485, with a short interruption in 1482-1483. Late in his reign he was almost blind, and on 17 June 1485 his brother Muhammad al-Zagal deposed him. He died the same year.

His name outlived him on the map: Mulhacén, the highest mountain of the Iberian Peninsula, is named after him, though the tale that he lies buried on its summit is a dubious legend. No remains of the old Nasrid dynasty have been preserved.

For the dynasty he belonged to, read the Nasrid dynasty of Granada and the Nasrid civil war. Read the full story.

The full story

Mulhacén summit ridge in Sierra Nevada at dawn, bare rounded slopes of grey schist with late snow patches and a long shadow falling east, illustrating the Mulhacen name origin and the legend of the sultan buried on the peak

Mulhacén Name Origin: Sultan Said to Be Buried There

Mulhacén is named for Sultan Muley Hacén, said to lie on its summit. What the name means, what records say about his death and where Nasrid kings were buried.

Read the full story

Places to see

Palacio de Dar-al-Horra

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. Ibn al-Khatib
  
  1313–1374 Historical figure
  
  Ibn al-Khatib, born in Loja in 1313, was vizier to Nasrid kings Yusuf I and Muhammad V, and a poet and physician whose verse decorates the Alhambra walls.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
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.
Go deeper
- Nasrid Granada