The Manuscript

By Marie Ryan Connolly

The discovery of an ancient manuscript has the historians of the Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain, in great excitement. A casket is unearthed, in the Palace courtyard, wherein lies the story of Fatima and her fascinating interactions with the founding Sultans of the Nasrid dynasty, last family to rule over the al-Ándalus empire.
The year is 1348 and much of the fate of the Nasrid dynasty lay in the hands of the unassuming Fátima, now agonising on her death bed.
What role did Fátima herself play in the establishment of the Nasrid dynasty and will something be revealed that has been thus far been concealed from our historians for over six hundred years?

This is a story based on much historical fact rather than fiction.
It is time to bring the names of these true historical female figures from the shadows to which they were confined during their lives. Let their light shine now, in honour not of great victories or bloody battles, but of their gentle ways and subtle influences over the men of their time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marie Ryan Connolly
• Release date: Jul 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005096588

Book preview

The Manuscript

Hidden for over six hundred years, in Spain, a recently discovered journal tells the story of a great lady, the true driving force behind the sultans of the Nasrid Dynasty.

A story of the founders of a dynasty in the al- Andalus Empire of medieval Spain.

By Marie Ryan Connolly

Copyright 2021

Cover Design: caseybelledesigns.com

Contents:

Notes.

Introduction.

Origin of the Document.

Part 1: Mohammed I (Alhamar).

Part 2: Mohammed II (al- Faqir).

Part 3: Mohammed III

Part 4: Nasr I

Part 5: Ismail I

Nasrid Dynasty Family Tree.

Part 6: Mohammed IV

Part 7: Yusuf I

Afterwards

Appendix 1 - Reigns of the sultans

Appendix 2- Spanish and Arabic Terms

Author’s note: Fact or Fiction?

Notes

Names, speech marks, and vocabulary

In the Arabic style, names are often transcribed as ‘al-Jatib’, ‘al-Faqir’ or ‘al-Alhamar’ when referring to a person using a nickname - such as in ‘the Scribe’ or ‘the Wise One’, or ‘the Red One’.

In the Arabic style of the time, many rulers and others were referred to by their nicknames, for differentiation purposes, as oftentimes their names were very similar. In the text, when addressing the person directly I have removed ‘al-‘ as it seems more natural, yet I have retained it when referring to them as a third person.

For clarity, I have not used inverted commas, or speech marks, when transcribing the manuscript itself in the two roles of al-Jatib or Fátima.

I have only used them for actual speaking in the text.

There are several Spanish and Arabic words in the text, marked * the first time they appear. These are explained at the end of the text, in the Appendix.

I have used Lady Fátima in referring to and addressing Fátima, unable to find a more suitable term of address for the historical period translatable to English. The vizier would have addressed Fátima using the al-Andalusi Arabic dialect, now considered a ‘lost’ or ‘dead’ language.

Cover Design: caseybelledesigns.com

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Introduction

The Conference

July 2017

"Good evening, señoras y señores*.

I would like to thank you all for turning out this evening. The Historical and Archaeological Society has kindly invited me here tonight to Granada to share with you the exciting news that has come to your notice in the last few weeks. Oh, and by the way, apologies for the air-conditioning not working this evening.

Francisco fidgeted in his chair, crossing, and uncrossing his legs. He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to sit in such formal surroundings. He had never been to any event like this before, not even as a member of the audience, and so, to be sitting on stage, beside the speaker, and facing the hundred-or-so people, all eagerly waiting for him to speak, was terrifying. The speaker droned on and on, and Francisco, or ‘Paco’ as he was known to his family and friends, wondered why he hadn’t thought of bringing a bottle of water to drink and help him keep awake. He could see some of the audience taking sips from their small plastic bottles and he became more and more irritated by this. He vowed never to leave the house again without a bottle of refreshing water.

The speaker, la señora Maria de los Ángeles Muñoz, continued to talk about the document that had only recently been unearthed at The Alhambra where Paco worked as a maintenance technician.

Before we go on any further, she said, I would just like to introduce you all to someone who has been the real protagonist of this find.

This was the moment Paco had been dreading all evening. She turned to him smiling, and the audience began clapping. He stood up, with a mixture of embarrassment and pride, not really knowing what he should do next.

Then, ‘Mari Ángeles’, well-known archaeologist and author of much research into the history of The Alhambra palace, made it very clear to him. She simply handed him the microphone and sat down, beaming. She leaned over to him and whispered, Go on. Tell them about how you found it. You’ll be fine!

Paco had