Yusuf I

Lived 1318–1354 (about 36 years)

Also known as: Yusuf I of Granada, Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf

Yusuf I of Granada was born in the Alhambra on 29 June 1318, the third son of Ismail I. He became Nasrid sultan in 1333, after his brother Muhammad IV was assassinated, and reigned until 1354. The Battle of Río Salado, on 30 October 1340, ended in a decisive Christian victory. His vizier Ibn al-Khatib described him as strong and elegant. Yusuf was assassinated while praying in a mosque of Granada on 19 October 1354, the day of Eid al-Fitr, and was buried in the royal cemetery of the Alhambra beside his father. His eldest son succeeded him as Muhammad V.

Most of his work stands in the Alhambra. At the Nasrid Palaces he built the Hall of the Comares and renovated the bathhouse of the Comares Palace. The Puerta de la Justicia, the grand entrance, dates to 1348, a year written in Arabic on its foundation stone. In the city he founded the Madrasa Yusufiyya in 1349, near the Great Mosque; the Madraza on Calle Oficios is its successor. He also reinforced the city walls, including the Bab Ilbira, now the Puerta de Elvira.

Places to see

Puerta de la Justicia

Calle Pedro Antonio de Alarcón at dusk, students on bar terraces, Granada university quarter

Universidad

Dappled light through the elm and oak canopy of the Bosque de la Alhambra, Granada, with the Pilar de Carlos V fountain on the cobbled path

Bosque Alhambra Forest Walk

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. 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.
Go deeper
- Nasrid Granada