Alhambra
Rawda (Nasrid mausoleum)

In the space between the former mosque and the Palace of the Lions stood the Rawda (spelled Rauda in Spanish), the royal mausoleum of the Nasrids. The term rawda (Arabic: الروضة) means 'garden' in Arabic, but a number of historic Islamic necropolises or cemeteries were known by this name, including the necropolis of the former Umayyad rulers in Cordoba. The Nasrid mausoleum was first built by Isma'il I in the early 14th century, though an earlier cemetery may have already existed there previously. The structure no longer stands today but it has been studied by archaeologists and its foundations are still visible. The necropolis consisted of a rectangular enclosure which was accessed through a small horseshoe-arch gate preserved today on its north side. Inside the enclosure was a square mausoleum chamber covered by a roof with a central square lantern. (The presence of the lantern is indicated by the remains of four pillars in the centre of the structure.) Some rectangular rooms were adjoined to the side of this chamber. The mausoleum was preceded by a rectangular courtyard. This layout was similar to some earlier mausoleums in North Africa and to the later Saadian Tombs in Marrakesh. Like the nearby mosque, the mausoleum was aligned with the qibla. It was decorated with carved stucco and tilework, remains of which have been uncovered in excavations. The windows of the central lantern were closed with wooden latticework, an example of which is preserved in the Alhambra Museum today.

The most important persons, such as the Nasrid rulers, were buried inside this mausoleum, but in the open space between the mausoleum and the outer enclosure wall were other graves belonging to less important figures. The tombs of important figures were covered with marble slabs on top of which were pyramidal or prismatic stones known as maqabriyya s, while lesser tombs outside where framed by stone curbs that made them look like miniature gardens. At the heads of important graves were marble tombstones carved with detailed inscriptions, some examples of which are preserved at the Alhambra Museum today. In 1574, during construction of the nearby Palace of Charles V, the tombstones of Muhammad II, Isma'il I, Yusuf I and Yusuf III were discovered. When Torres Balbás investigated the site in 1925-1926 he found 70 more graves inside the enclosure. Almost all the graves were already empty, as Muhammad XII, the last sultan of Granada, arranged to have the remains of his ancestors moved to an unknown site at Mondújar, in the Alpujarras.
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