Muhammad I of Granada

Muhammad I
Muhammad I embracing his Castilian ally during a siege of a castle. Contemporary depiction from Cantigas de Santa Maria
Sultan of Granada
Reign	1232 (as ruler of Arjona) – 1273
Successor	Muhammad II
Born	Muhammad ibn Yusuf 1195 Arjona
Died	22 January 1273 Granada
Issue	Muhammad II; others
House	Nasrid dynasty
Religion	Islam

Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr (1195–1273), also known as Ibn al-Aḥmar (Arabic: ابن الأحمر‎‎), was the first ruler of the Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula, and the founder of its ruling Nasrid dynasty. He lived during a time when Iberia's Christian kingdoms—especially Portugal, Castile and Aragon—were expanding at the expense of the Islamic territory in Iberia called Al-Andalus. Ibn al-Ahmar took power in his native Arjona in 1232 when he rebelled against the leader of Al-Andalus, Ibn Hud. During this rebellion, Ibn al-Ahmar was only able to take control of Córdoba and Seville briefly, before he lost both cities to Ibn Hud. Forced to acknowledge Ibn Hud's suzerainty, Ibn al-Ahmar was able to retain Arjona and Jaén. In 1236, he betrayed Ibn Hud by helping Ferdinand III of Castile take Córdoba. In the years that followed, Ibn al-Ahmar was able to gain control over the southern cities, including Granada (1237), Almería (1238) and Malaga (1239). The emirate that Ibn al-Ahmar established during the period was to be Spain's last Muslim state. In 1244, he lost Arjona to Castile. Two years later, in 1246, he agreed to surrender Jaén and accept Ferdinand's overlordship in exchange for a twenty-year peace.

In the 18 years that followed Ibn al-Ahmar consolidated his domain by maintaining relatively peaceful relations with the Crown of Castile; in 1248 he even helped the Christian kingdom take Seville from the Muslims. In 1264, however, he turned against Castile and assisted the unsuccessful rebellion of Castile's newly conquered Muslim subjects. In 1266 his allies in Málaga, the Banu Ashqilula, rebelled against the Emirate. When his former allies sought assistance from Alfonso X of Castile, Ibn al-Ahmar was able to convince the leader of the Castilian troops, Nuño González de Lara, to turn against Alfonso. By 1272 Nuño González was actively fighting Castile. The Emirate's conflict with Castille and Banu Ashqilula was still unresolved in 1273, when Ibn al-Ahmar died after falling off his horse. He was succeeded by his son, Muhammad II.