Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/463

SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 317 princes, as the jealousy of two nations, that might chapter be considered the natural enemies of each other, — would permit ; so that, notwithstanding an occa- sional border foray, or the capture of a frontier fortress, such a correspondence was maintained be- tween the two kingdoms, that the nobles of Castile frequently resorted to the court of Granada, where, forgetting their ancient feuds, they mingled with the Moorish cavaliers in the generous pastimes of chivalry. Muley Abul Hacen, who succeeded his father in 1466, was of a very different temperament. His fiery character prompted him, when very young, to violate the truce by an unprovoked inroad into An- dalusia ; and, although after his accession domestic troubles occupied him too closely to allow leisure for foreign war, he still cherished in secret the same feelings of animosity against the Christians. When, in 1476, the Spanish sovereigns required as the con- dition of a renewal of the truce, which he solicited, the payment of the annual tribute imposed on his predecessors, he proudly replied that " the mints of Granada coined no longer gold, but steel." His subsequent conduct did not belie the spirit of this Spartan answer.^ At length, towards the close of the year 1481, the storm which had been so long gathering burst upon Zahara, a small fortified town on the frontier of Andalusia, crowning a lofty eminence, washed at 1 Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et — Conde, Dominacion de los Ara- d'Espagne, torn. iii. pp. 467-469. bes, torn. iii. cap. 32, 34. Zahara sur- prised by the Moors.