rendered himself master of all the western part of
the kingdom of Grenada, and Boabdil agreed to divide with Zagel the
remnant of this desolated state. The city of Grenada was retained by
Boabdil, while Gaudix and Almeria fell to the share of Zagel. The war
was not the less vigorously prosecuted in consequence of this
arrangement; and the unprincipled Zagel, doubting his ability long to
retain the cities in his possession, sold them to King Ferdinand in
consideration of an annual pension.

By virtue of this treaty, the Catholic sovereigns took possession of
the purchased cities; and the traitor Zagel even lent the aid of his
arms to the Christian army, the more speedily to overthrow the royal
power of his nephew, and thereby terminate the existence of his
expiring country.

All that now remained to the Mussulmans was the single city of Grenada.
There Boabdil still reigned; and, exasperated by misfortune, he vented
his rage and despair in acts of barbarous cruelty towards its wretched
inhabitants.

{190}

Ferdinand and Isabella, disregarding the conditions of their pretended
alliance with this now powerless prince, summoned him to surrender his
capital, in compliance, as they said, with the terms of a secret
treaty, which they affirmed had been concluded between them. Boabdil
protested against this perfidious conduct. But there was no time
allowed for complaint: he must successfully defend himself, or cease to
reign. The Moorish prince adopted, therefore, to say the least, the
most heroic alternative; and resolved to defend to the last what
remained to him of his once beautiful and flourishing country.

The Spanish sovereign, at the head of an army of sixty thousand men,
the flower and chivalry of the united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon,
laid siege to Grenada on the 9th of May, 1491, and in the 897th year of
the Hegira.

This great city, as has been already mentioned, was defended by strong
ramparts, flanked by a multitude of towers, and by numerous other
fortifications, built one above the other. Notwithstanding the civil
wars which had inundated it with blood, Grenada still enclosed within
its walls more than two hundred thousand {191} inhabitants. Every
brave Moorish cavalier who still remained true to his country, its
religion, and its laws, had here taken refuge. Despair redoubled their
strength in this last desperate struggle; and had these fierce and
intrepid warriors been guided by a more worth