Surrender Treaty of the Kingdom of Granada

Document Text

First, that the Moorish king and the military chiefs, jurists, judges, religious advisers, governors, learned men, and all of the commanders and men of substance and all of the commoners of the city of Granada, including the Albaicín and its surrounding areas, shall, with love, peace, and goodwill, … within the next forty days turn over to Their Highnesses or to their agent the fortress of the Alhambra and the Alhizan, with all their towers and gates, and all the other fortresses, towers, and gates of the city of Granada and of the Albaicín and the surrounding areas extending out into the countryside, so that they may occupy them in their name with their people and at their will. …

At the end of the forty days, all the Moors shall surrender to Their Highnesses freely and without coercion, and they shall do what good and loyal vassals are obliged to do for their kings and natural lords. And to assure secure conditions during this surrender, one day ahead of surrendering the fortresses, they shall offer as hostages the minister Jucef Aben Comixa, with five hundred persons, children and siblings of the leading citizens of the city and of the Albaicín and its surrounding areas, so that they may remain under the power of Their Highnesses for ten days, while the fortresses are surrendered and secured, placing people and supplies in them, and during all of this time they shall be given everything they need for their sustenance; and once all is surrendered, they will be freed.

Once the fortresses are surrendered, Their Highnesses and the prince, Don Juan, their son, shall, for themselves and for the monarchs who succeed them, receive as their vassals and natural subjects the King Abí Abdilehi [Boabdil] and the military governors, judges, jurists, religious advisers, learned men, governors, commanders and squires, and all the greater and lesser common people, including men and women, inhabitants of Granada and the Albaicín and its surrounding areas and its fortresses, villages and other places, and also of the Alpujarras [region] and of other places that shall fall under this accord and treaty in any way, and they shall be allowed to stay in their houses, estates, and inherited properties at that time and forever, and they will not allow any harm or damage to be done to them without intervening. … Nor shall their goods or their estates be taken away from them, nor even any part of them; but rather they will be revered, honored, and respected by their subjects and vassals, as are all of those who live under their government and rule. …

On the day when King Abí Abdilehi shall surrender the fortresses and towers, Their Highnesses shall order that his son shall be returned to him, along with all the hostages, and their wives and children, with the exception of those who have converted to Christianity.

Their Highnesses and their successors forever shall let King Abí Abdilehi and his military chiefs, judges, religious advisers, governors, commanders, and other men of substance and all of the greater and lesser commoners live under their own law, and they shall not allow anyone to take away their mosques or minarets or muezzins, nor shall they take away the endowed properties of their mosques and the rents they receive, nor shall they interfere with their ways and customs.

The Moors shall be judged under their own laws and courts by the Islamic law they are accustomed to observing, under the authority of their judges.

Neither at this time nor at any future time shall [Their Highnesses] take their arms and horses away, or allow these to be taken away, except for their large and small artillery, which they must promptly turn over to agents sent by Their Highnesses.

All of the Moors, great and small, men and women, from Granada and its lands as well as from Alpujarras and all its places, who shall want to go live in the Berber lands or any other place they wish may sell their estates, furniture, and goods in any way they wish and to whomever they wish, and neither Their Highnesses nor their successors shall ever take away or permit to take away these things from those who purchased them. …

Their Highnesses shall give free and safe passage to those Moors who may wish to go to the Berber lands or other places, along with their families, movable goods, merchandise, jewels, gold, silver, and all types of weapons except for artillery. And for those who may wish to go, they shall provide ten large ships that will take them where they want to go for seventy days, leaving them free and safe in the ports of the Berber lands where Christian merchant ships are accustomed to going to trade. Moreover, all those who shall wish to go within three years may do so, and Their Highnesses shall send ships wherever they ask to go, giving them safe passage, as long as they are requested fifty days in advance. …

Once these three years are up, they may still go to the Berber lands whenever they wish, and they shall be allowed to do so upon payment of one ducado per person plus the cost of the passage in the ships in which they travel. …

Neither Their Highnesses nor their son, the prince don Juan, nor those who succeed them shall ever order the Moors who are their vassals to wear signs on their clothing, as the Jews wear.

Neither King Abdilehi nor the other Moors of the city of Granada or of the Albaicín and its surrounding areas shall pay the taxes that are levied on houses and possessions for the next three years, and they shall only pay the harvest tax of one-tenth in August and autumn, and the one-tenth on cattle they had, … as the Christians are accustomed to paying.

At the time of the surrender of the city and its area, the Moors are obliged to turn over to Their Highnesses all of the Christian captives, male and female, so that they may be freed without any kind of ransom being asked or given. …

Their Highnesses shall order that at no time shall either beasts of burden or servants be taken from King Abdilehi, the military governors, judges [and others] for any reason without their approval and without their being compensated fairly.

They shall not allow any Christians to enter in the mosques of the Moors where they pray, without the consent of their officials, and anyone who enters otherwise shall be punished for it.

Their Highnesses shall not permit Jews to have any power or authority over Moors, nor shall they be allowed to collect any kind of rent form them.

King Abdilehi and his military chiefs, judges, jurists, religious advisers, governors, learned men, commanders and squires, and all the common people of the city of Granada and of the Albaicín and its surrounding areas and of the Alpujarras region and other places shall be respected and treated well by Their Highnesses and their ministers, and their views shall be heard and their customs and rites guaranteed, and all the officials shall be allowed to charge their rents and enjoy the privileges and liberties to which they are accustomed, and it is just that these things be maintained.

Their Highnesses shall order that they shall not be forced to take in boarders, nor shall any clothing, birds, animals, or supplies of any kind be taken from the Moors without their consent.

Legal disputes that arise among Moors shall be judged by their Islamic law … and by their judges and jurists, as is their custom, and if a dispute shall arise between a Christian and a Moor, judgment shall be made by one Christian and one Moorish official, so that neither party can complain about the sentence. …

The Moors shall not give or pay to Their Highnesses more tribute than that they are accustomed to paying to the Moorish kings. …

It shall not be allowed for any person to mistreat, by deed or by work, any Christian man or woman who, previous to this treaty, has converted to Islam; and if any Moor has a wife who is a renegade [a Christian who converted to Islam], that person shall not be forced to become Christian against her will, and she shall be interviewed in the presence of Christians and Moors, and her will shall be followed; and the same will be done with the boys and girls born to a Christian woman and a Moorish man.

No Moor shall be forced to become Christian against his will. And if a woman in love, either married or a widow, should wish to become Christian, she shall not be allowed to convert until she is interviewed. …

Neither Their Highnesses nor their successors shall ever ask King Abdilehi or those from Granada and its lands, nor the others who enter into this agreement, to give back horses, property, cattle, gold, silver, jewels, nor any other thing that was won in any way during the war and rebellion, either from Christians or from Moors who are or are not Mudéjares [Muslims who live under Christian rule]. …

If any Moor has injured or killed a Christian man or woman who was his captive, he will not be held accountable for it.

Once the three years are up, the Moors shall not pay any greater amount in rent for estates and lands than it shall appear fair for them to pay in light of their value and quality.

The judges, officials, and governors Their Highnesses shall appoint in the city of Granada and its surrounding areas shall be persons who will honor the Moors and treat them affectionately, and shall observe this treaty; if anyone should do anything improper, Their Highnesses shall order them to be replaced and punished.

Their Highnesses and their successors shall not ask or inquire of King Abdilehi or any other person covered by this agreement about anything they have done, no matter what it is, previous to the day of the surrender of this city and its fortresses.

No military governor, squire, or servant of King [El] Zagal shall have any position or authority at any time over the kings of Granada. …

The Moors shall not be compelled or forced into any kind of military service against their will, and if Their Highnesses shall wish to recruit any horsemen, summoning them to any place in Andalusia, they shall order them to be paid from the day they leave until they return to their homes.

Their Highnesses shall order the maintenance of the existing irrigation channels, ditches, and fountains that go into Granada, and they shall neither alter them nor take any part of them; and should anyone do so or should anyone throw any dirty thing into them, they shall be punished for it. …

Any contractual and written debts that exist among the Moors must be paid. …

Christian slaughterhouses shall be kept separate from those of the Moors, and the supplies from one shall not be mixed together with those of the other. …

The Jews who are natives of Granada and the Albaicín and its surrounding areas and all the other places covered by this agreement shall benefit from its contents, provided that those who do not convert to Christianity must leave for the Berber lands within three years, starting from December 8 of this year.

Their Highnesses shall order that all that is contained in this treaty be observed starting from the day when the fortresses of the city of Granada are surrendered.

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Source: Source: Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, ed. Jon Cowans. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003: pp. 15-19. Reprinted with permission of the University of Pennsylvania Press.