Abu AbdullahMuhammad VI ibn Ismail , also known by his Castilian nickname el Bermejo and the regnal namesal-Ghālib bi 'llāh and al-Mutawakkil ʿalā 'llāh, was the tenth Sultan of the Emirate of Granada. A second cousin and brother-in-law of both Muhammad V and Ismail II, he led a coup that deposed the former and enthroned the latter in August 1359. He increasingly held the power of government during Ismail's rule, and in June or July 1360 he killed the new Sultan and took the throne to himself. Muslim chronicles portrayed him negatively, describing him as a tyrannical ruler with coarse manners. In October, he allied himself with Peter IV of Aragon against Peter I of Castile in the War of the Two Peters, but had to face Castile alone when Aragon agreed to a separate peace in May 1361. Castile allied itself with Muhammad V who returned from exile in August. The war against this coalition began with partial successes for Muhammad VI, but from February 1362 onwards Peter I and Muhammad V won a string of major victories. In 13 April Muhammad VI fled Granada, allowing his rival to retake the throne. The desperate Muhammad VI then unexpectedly threw himself at the mercy of Peter I in Seville. However, the Castilian king—still outraged at his previous alliance with Aragon—decided to personally kill him with a lance on 27 April and send his severed head to Granada.
Origin
Muhammad ibn Ismail was born on 18 March 1333, likely in Granada, and a member of the ruling Nasrid dynasty. He was the grandson of Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Faraj, the brother of Sultan Ismail I, and therefore he was related to the subsequents sultans before him, all descendants of Ismail I. In 1327, Muhammad ibn Faraj claimed the throne in Andarax, but he was defeated by Muhammad IV in the ensuing civil war. Muhammad VI was a second cousin to his immediate predecessors, Muhammad V and Ismail II. He was further linked to the royal lineage by his marriage to a daughter of Yusuf I during Yusuf's reign. The name of the princess he married was unknown, but she was a full-blooded sister of Ismail II and a half-sister of Muhammad V who was born of a different mother. He was nicknamed el Bermejo — referring to his reddish hair and beard, originally by the Christians but the name is also attested in Muslim sources. Before his accession, he was titled al-rais, as per Nasrid customs for a member of the royal family.
Rise to power
During the first reign of Muhammad V, el Bermejo was involved in a conspiracy that eventually deposed the Sultan in favour of Ismail II. The other key participant of this conspiracy was Maryam, Ismail's ambitious mother who had controlled substantial amount of wealth after the death of Yusuf I. With Maryam's financial backing, el Bermejo led about a hundred men to carry out a coup on 23 August 1359. Under cover of the night during the holy month of Ramadan, they scaled the Alhambra's walls and overwhelmed the guards. They killed Muhammad's chief minister, the hajibAbu Nu'aym Ridwan, demolished his house, and took his rich possessions. Muhammad V happened to be outside the Alhambra, and fled to eastern city ofGuadix after failing to retake the palace compound. The conspirators found Ismail in his assigned palace and declared him as the new Sultan. The historian Ibn al-Khatib—a minister of Muhammad V—depicted the new Sultan as a weak ruler with poor personal characters. Soon, el Bermejo grew in influence and became the real power behind the throne. Muhammad V left for exile in North Africa after unsuccessfully trying to extend his control beyond Guadix and to secure help from his ally Peter I of Castile. El Bermejo's power grew so much that Ismail began to oppose him. Before the Sultan could act, el Bermejo started a violent coup which resulted in his accession, either on 24 June 1360 or at night of 13 July. El Bermejo's men surrounded Ismail, who barricaded himself in a tower overlooking the capital. Ismail was forced to surrender and offered to live in seclusion, but el Bermejo took him to a dungeon, where he was executed. Next, el Bermejo found Ismail's brother Qays, who was still a child, and executed him too. Both their bodies were dumped in public covered only with rags. Ismail's ministers too were executed. According to historian Francisco Vidal Castro, el Bermejo's actions were motivated by fear that either royal would be used in a future court intrigue against him, as Ismail had been to dethrone Muhammad V. Thus el Bermejo took the throne as Muhammad VI.
Rule
At his accession he adopted two laqabs, al-Ghalib bi 'llah and al-Mutawakkil ala 'llah, an unusual practice given his lack of major achievements. Muslim chroniclers described Muhammad VI as a coarse man in dress and manners. He reportedly appeared in public bareheaded and with rolled up sleeves, and he had a tic that moved his head right and left uncontrollably. Ibn al-Khatib quoted that the chief of police of Granada as saying that the Sultan was once addicted to hashish, and by mentioning the places he had frequented Muhammad VI helped the police uncover illegal hashish rings. Muhammad VI ruled tyrannically and persecuted those whom he suspected of sympathising with Muhammad V, which, combined with his poor manners, caused many at court to flee Granada to Morocco or Castile. He made a deal with the MarinidSultan of Morocco, Abu Salim Ibrahim, in which Abu Salim was to keep the dethroned Muhammad V from returning to the Iberian Peninsula, while Muhammad VI arrested rebellious Moroccan princes who took asylum in Granada. Muhammad VI stopped the customary practice of paying tribute to Castile, and instead concluding an alliance with its enemy in the War of the Two Peters, the Christian Crown of Aragon, on 9 October 1360. Castile defeated Aragon in Najera in 1360, but the prospect of fighting on two fronts worried Peter I, who then agreed to peace with Peter IV of Aragon in May 1361. The Castilian king then shifted his attention against Muhammad VI. He pressured Abu Salim to allow Muhammad V to return to Granada by threatening to attack Marinid possessions on the Iberian Peninsula. The Marinid Sultan complied; the dethroned sultan sailed to Gibraltar in August 1361. A rival court was established at the Marinid outpost of Ronda, with the financial backing of Peter I. Muhammad V and Peter I then launched an offensive with the intention of deposing Muhammad VI. In 1361, their troops defeated those of Muhammad VI in Belillos. They advanced towards the Vega of Granada, and appeared to have won several skirmishes in Pinos Puente, but despite the presence of Muhammad V, the Granadan royal army did not defect as they had hoped. In 15 January 1362, Muhammad VI won a major victory against a Castilian incursion near Guadix, in which he took 2,000 prisoners including various noblemen. In a gesture of goodwill, he returned the most important of them, Diego García de Padilla, the Master of the Order of Calatrava, along with gifts to Castile, but this failed to appease Peter. Peter and Muhammad V joined their forces for an offensive in February, but from March onwards they led their campaigns independently. Peter took numerous fortresses, most notably Iznájar, while Muhammad V took Malaga, the second most important city of the Emirate after Granada. These campaigns turned the tide of the war against Muhammad VI.
Downfall
Muhammad VI fled Granada in 13 April, accompanied by his entourage, including the chief of the Volunteers of the Faith, Idris ibn Uthman ibn al-Ula, taking most of the royal treasury. Muhammad V entered the Alhambra three days later and was recognised as Sultan. Muhammad VI unexpectedly threw himself at the mercy of Peter I at Seville. Peter I initially welcomed him and gave his guests a feast, but after the meal arrested them and confiscated their riches. Two days later Muhammad VI was slayed at Tablada, a castle near Seville on 27 April. He was led on a donkey to a field, where Peter I personally struck him with a lance, saying, "Take that for causing me to get a bad deal from the king of Aragon!" to which Muhammad VI replied, in Arabic, "What a little deed of chivalry". Peter I was angered that Muhammad VI's previous alliance with Aragon had forced him to agree to an unfavourable peace agreement with Peter IV, in which he had to return various castles he had taken during the war. Later, Peter justified the execution as a punishment for Muhammad VI's treason against Muhammad V, for killing Ismail II, and for entering Seville without obtaining a proper safe conduct. Along with Muhammad, 36 members of his entourage were killed, while the rest were imprisoned and later poisoned, including Idris. Peter sent the heads of Muhammad VI and the 36 slain to Muhammad V. For a time before they were buried, the Sultan hanged them near the section of the wall Muhammad VI scaled to enter the Alhambra in the 1359 coup.
