In the intimacy of the Dār al-Nisā’. The residential spaces of the Nasrid Sultanas at the Alhambra of Granada (thirteenth-fifteenth centuries)

Abstract

Like many other dynasties in the History of Islam in the Middle Ages, the Banū Naṣr (1232-1492) created their own palaces as both their seat of power and royal residence at the Alhambra in Granada, the city chosen as the capital of their kingdom in 1238. During its long building process, which lasted from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, the Alhambra became the dwelling of the different members of the Nasrid family, including not only the men but also the many women who made up the harem of this dynasty. This article aims to identify the residential spaces in the Alhambra where the daily life of the women of the Nasrid dynasty took place. To start with, we will reflect on the feminine nature of the Alhambra and the concept of the harem in this final phase of Andalusi history, also analysing the composition of the household of the Nasrid sultanas. We will then try to locate the specific areas of the Alhambra where the Dār al-nisā’ (or “house of women”) may have been located, gathering the sparse textual anecdotes reflecting the presence of women in different parts of this royal palace and resorting to personal interpretations due this scarcity of textual sources. For this, we will revisit the available Arabic sources and material culture from a gender perspective. With this study, we aim to turn the Alhambra into an academic field of debate and reflection on how the segregation of spaces according to gender category was organized in the context of both Islamic society and architecture.