About the year 403 of the Hegira (A.D. 1012) Granada first acquired importance. Záwí, the African chief who then ruled in Andalusia from Malaga to Almeria, declared himself independent, and transferred the seat of government from Elvira[1] to Granada. Little by little the whole population migrated to the new capital, so that Elvira dwindled to an insignificant village, whilst Granada rose to be a magnificent city, culminating in grandeur and importance during the reigns of three enlightened sovereigns of the _Beni Nasr_ dynasty--Mohammed the First (_Al-ghálib-billah_, A.D. 1232-1272), who commenced the Alhambra;[2] Yúsuf the First (A.D. 1333), who added greatly to its beauty, and is regarded as the monarch who completed the building; and Mohammed the Fifth (_Al-ghaní-billah_), son of Yúsuf, who succeeded to the throne upon the assassination of his father in 1354, and who finished the decorations of many of the Courts and Halls of the Palace.
One of the earliest extant references to Granada is contained in the MS. of _Ibnu Battúttah_, the Moslem traveller, who wrote in the fourteenth century. About the year 1360 _Ibnu Battúttah_ journeyed from Morocco to Andalus, and visited Granada, which he thus describes: “Granada is the capital of Andalus, and the husband of its cities; its environs are a delightful garden, covering a space of forty miles, and have not their equal in the world. It is intersected by the well-known river _Sheníl_[3] (Xenil) and other considerable streams, and surrounded on every side by orchards, gardens, groves, palaces, and vineyards. One of the most pleasant spots in its neighbourhood is that known by the name of _’Aynu-l-adamar_--the fountain of tears--which is a spring of cold and limpid water placed in the midst of delightful groves and gardens.” The suburb of Granada here referred to, preserves to this day its Arabic name corrupted into _Dinamar_, or _Adinamar_. It is a pleasant and much-frequented spot, close to Granada.
The city of Granada was held in the highest estimation by Andalusian poets. One ancient eulogist says: “If that city could reckon no other honour but of having been the birthplace of the Wizír _Ibnu-l-khattíb_, that alone would be sufficient. But Granada has not its like in the world: neither Cairo, Baghdád, nor Damascus can compete with it; we can only give an idea of its worth by comparing it to a beautiful bride, of whose dower it should form part.”