Granada (The Kalmar Union)

The Emirate of Granada, Kingdom of Granada, Granada, Al-Andalus, is a constitutional monarchy on the Southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula in South-West Europe. It is bordered to the North by Castille and its North African holdings border The Caliphate. The capital is Granada and the population is around 2.4 million.

The Head of State is Emir Ismael VI.

The official language is Andalusi Arabic.

The currency is the Granadan (or Al-Andalus) Dinar (ADD)

History
Conquered by Muslim forces in the 8th century and reaching its greatest extent in 734 Al-Andalus, as a province of the Umayyad Calipahte, began to fall apart after being held at the Pyrenees by the Franks. Disagreements between the Arab and Berber commanders were acerabated by the loss of control from the Umayyads. A separate Caliphate of Cordoba was established and it vied with various successor states in North Africa for local dominance while attempting to hold the Christian kingdoms on the Northern Iberian coast. A disasterous civil war in the early 11th century broke the Caliphate up. The successor 'Taifa' states were too weak to defend themselves from the Christian states of Castille, Leon, Navarre and Aragon and as they began to be swallowed up called for help from North Africa.

Under a united Berber dynasty, the Almoravids, Cordoba held the line against the Christians and kept peace at home. Their successors the Almohads were defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, which would lead to a new set of Taifa states of which, by 1249, only Granada remained unconquered. It survived as a vassal of Castille and paid tribute to its northern neighbour in African gold. Meanwhile Castille's Iberian rivals, Portugal, Leon and Aragon began cultivating their own power bases in Granada, eager to undermine Castille and prevent Granada's collapse. The tortured and twisted diplomacy of the time gave rise to the term 'Andalucian', still used to describe any unfathomable situation. The promises and threats would finally bring fruit in 1402 as the Emir 'neglected' to come to the aid of Castille during the war with Portugal, leading to the crushing defeat at Zafra. After this Granada was effectively free and increasingly it could pocket the gold for itself, launching wars against the Caliphate and an occasionally independent Morocco.

Controlling the straits of Gibraltar it quickly became quite wealthy. It was at the Northern end of the Saharan trade routes and monopolised West Africa's trade until Portuguese had developed ships able to engage in long-distance trade. Eager not to lose its position it copied Portuguese boat designs following it into trading deals along the African coast and crossing the Atlantic for itself in 1467. Meanwhile the great rivalry with Castille would ensure a near constant cycle of warfare from 1402 until 1563. During this time the borders of the Emirate were constantly probed for weakness. However, supplies of Mexic silver plus the general support of several Mediterranean states allowed it to decisively defeat Castille in 1469 and 1534 whilst improving its fortresses and building a modern European army.

Meanwhile, the Emirate was expanding. The 'battle' between Castillian and Granadan sailors in the Azores in 1542 led to Portugal throwing both sets out of the islands. This convinced Granada to set up a trading fort at Havna in Coabana in 1545. By 1552 their interference in Coaban politics led to the outright seizure of all reins of government, an act that sparked 'the scramble' for the Taino Islands. Under Granadan rule Coabana blossomed as the previously damaging rivalry between its tribes was quashed. Neutral during the Mexic-Leifian and Mexic-Kalmar Wars trade Havna soon became the trade capital of the Taino islands while it also served as the 'honest broker' in major peace deals. This gave Granada a great deal of capital, both monetarily and diplomatically. The Emirs were however counselled by Aragon not to push its luck too far by expanding further. They duly took note and beyond Coabana only a single trading fort in India at Adyar was established, and even this has been much overshadowed by Vinland's operations there.

Continued intolerance of non-Catholics in Castille led to a massive influx of Muslims and Jews, as well as other non-conformist Christians, during the 17th century. Added to this were small sects, mostly in the coastal cities practising Leifian religions. Emir Yusef IX granted religious freedoms in 1643 invoking the wrath of the Caliphate and the long, intermittent 'War of the Mediterranean' kept it on the defensive when it could have easily profited from Northern Europe's decline during the Fifty Years War. Despite its increasingly multi-cultural outlook and apparent riches the Emirate's fortunes were on the decline. The sheer amount of gold and silver extracted from overseas had effectively ruined its economy while its caution in provoking Europe and Leifia too much had allowed many other nations to muscle in, especially in trade with India and the Far East.

During the Iberian Revolution Granada seethed with revolt and after the defeat at the hands of Castille-Leon in May 1821 at the Battle of Jaen the unloved Emir Ismail V was ousted. Granada itself was annexed in August 1821 but it had a uneasy relationship with Madrid, especially after several began to bray that the reconquista had finally be completed. It would briefly rally to Aragon's side when it invaded in 1823 but otherwise kept a low profile within the Republic and then del Olmo's Kingdom of Hispania. As del Olmo's losses began to rack up in 1833-4 Granada's elites began to disown the project and as soon as a viable opportunity arose, albeit only after Madrid was conquered, ceded from the union. The Emirate was officially restored by the Treay of Milan and was handed the Castillian property in North Morocco.

Coabana was lost during the Coaban War of Independence (1867-1871), a result of Emir Ismail V's heavy handed direct rule. Granada briefly regained direct rule in 1914, exploiting deep divisions and near anarchy on the island to re-establish the monarchy. However it quickly backed off reintegrating it into a united Granada under severe protest from several Leifian and European states. It was eventually satisfied in creating a 'sister' Emirate governing the island in 1924 after the death of Emir Muhammed XVIII. His successor in Granada, Muhammed XIX, almost lost his crown 1938 and was persuaded to grant a wide reaching constitution after almost a year of civil disobedience.

Government
Following the constitution of 1938 Granada has been governed by a bi-cameral chamber. Elections are held every four years.

Granada is officially secular and in theory there are no bars on a member of any religion to advance through the government. So far however every Prime Minister has been a Muslim (though Jews and non-conformist Christians have featured prominently in cabinets). The current Prime Minister is Maslamah al-Kirmani.

The Head of State is Emir Ismael VI. The royal family has limited executive power. Still incredibly wealthy, since the beginning of 'Constitutional' Granada it has devoted itself to philanthropy rather than interfering in government.