The great battle of Granada, 663

ملحمة غرناطة وكسر الفنش سنة 663هـ

c. 1264 CE · 663 AH

Granada

The great Andalus struggle of 663: the Castilian king 'al-Funsh' (Alfonso) met Abu Abdallah Ibn al-Ahmar repeatedly — the Nasrid army routed them, the king was taken then slipped free; when he besieged Granada itself Ibn al-Ahmar came out and broke him, taking ten thousand prisoners while over forty thousand of the Franks fell; a great heap of heads was piled and the adhan sounded over it, and several towns were retaken 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region
al-Andalus & Europe
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1250126012701280 c.
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

In space

Granada

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Sides

Summary

In 663 AH there was a great battle in al-Andalus. The king of Castile, Alfonso, and Abu ʿAbd Allah Ibn al-Ahmar, ruler of Granada, met more than once. The forces of the enemy were routed, and Alfonso was captured and then escaped. He then mustered and marshalled his forces and came to besiege Granada itself. Ibn al-Ahmar went out, defeated them, and took ten thousand prisoners. The Muslims killed more than forty thousand, collected a huge heap of the heads of the Franks, and called the call to prayer upon it. They also recovered several cities from the Franks 2.

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Occurred at
Granada

People and things also explored

The Alhambra· Foundations of the Alhambra· The breach of the Granada terms and the revolt of the Alpujarras· The surrender of Granada and the Christian entry into the Alhambra· Ibn Jubayr sets out from Granada· Ibn Jubayr returns to Granada· Expulsion of the Moriscos from al-Andalus· Ibn al-Ahmar takes Granada

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 541
  2. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.541
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The great battle of Granada, 663”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/granada-battle-663/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-18.

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Related

The Alhambra

The Alhambra of Granada: Ibn al-Ahmar built the fortress as his residence when he took the city in 635, and it became the Nasrids' seat — the elegant palaces raised by Yusuf 'al-Ghani billah' — until the last sultan surrendered it to the Christians on 2 Rabi I 897 after five hundred hostages secured the entry.