without its walls. His tyranny had caused the people to gather
round his son.

From that time forward there was dissension and civil war in Granada, and
the quarrels of its kings paved the way for the downfall of the state. The
country was divided into the two factions of the young and the old kings.
In the city the hill of the Albaycin, with its fortress of the Alcazaba,
was the stronghold of Boabdil, while the partisans of Abul Hassan dwelt on
the height of the Alhambra, the lower town between being the battle-ground
of the rival factions.

The succeeding events were many, but must be told in few words. King
Boabdil, to show his prowess to the people, marched over the border to
attack the city of Lucena. As a result he was himself assailed, his army
put to the rout, and himself taken prisoner by the forces of Ferdinand of
Aragon. To regain his liberty he acknowledged himself a vassal of the
Spanish monarch, to whom he agreed to pay tribute. On his release he made
his way to the city of Granada, but his adherents were so violently
assailed by those of his father that the streets of the city ran blood,
and Boabdil the Unlucky, as he was now called, found it advisable to leave
the capital and fix his residence in Almeria, a large and splendid city
whose people were devoted to him.

As the years went on Muley Abul Hassan became sadly stricken with age. He
grew nearly blind and was bed-ridden with paralysis. His brother Abdallah,
known as El Zagal, or "The Valiant," commander-in-chief of the Moorish
armies, assumed his duties as a sovereign, and zealously took up the
quarrel with his son. He attempted to surprise the young king at Almeria,
drove him out as a fugitive, and took possession of that city. At a later
date he endeavored to remove him by poison. It was this attempt that
spurred Boabdil to the enterprise we have just described. El Zagal was now
full king in Granada, holding the Alhambra as his palace, and his nephew,
who had been a wanderer since his flight from Almeria, was instigated to
make a bold stroke for the throne.

On the day after the secret return of Boabdil battle raged in the streets
of Granada, a fierce encounter taking place between the two kings in the
square before the principal mosque. Hand to hand they fought with the
greatest fury till separated by the charges of their followers.

For days the conflict went on, death and turmoil ruling in Granada, such
hatred existing between the two facti