Muhammad I (1195–1273) was the first ruler of the Emirate of Granada,
the last independent Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula. In the 1230s
he took power in his native Arjona and gained control over Spain's
southern cities, including Granada, Almería and Málaga. Settling in
Granada, he became the most powerful Muslim leader in the peninsula.
Under attack from Castile, he was forced to become a vassal of Ferdinand
III in 1246. A peace with Castile followed until 1264 when Muhammad
participated in an unsuccessful rebellion of their newly conquered
Muslim subjects. In 1266 his former allies, the Banu Ashqilula, rebelled
against him with help from Castile. This conflict was still unresolved
in 1273 when he died after falling off his horse. The emirate was
finally annexed by Castile in 1492. The Alhambra, a well-preserved
palace and fortress complex that Muhammad initiated, is a World Heritage
site.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_I_of_Granada>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1940:
Second World War: Coventry Cathedral (ruins pictured) and much
of the city centre of Coventry, England, were destroyed by the Luftwaffe
during the Coventry Blitz.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Blitz>
1960:
Ruby Bridges and the McDonogh Three became the first black
children to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana as part
of the New Orleans school desegregation crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_school_desegregation_crisis>
1975:
With the signing of the Madrid Accords, Spain agreed to
withdraw its presence from the territory of Spanish Sahara.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid_Accords>
1990:
Germany and Poland signed the German–Polish Border Treaty,
confirming their border at the Oder–Neisse line, which was originally
defined by the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Polish_Border_Treaty_%281990%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fruiterer:
(Britain) One who sells fruit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fruiterer>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We talk about a secular state in India. It is perhaps not very
easy even to find a good word in Hindi for "secular". Some people think
it means something opposed to religion. That obviously is not correct.
What it means is that it is state which honours all faiths equally and
gives them equal opportunities; that, as a state, it does not allow
itself to be attached to one faith or religion, which then becomes the
state religion.
--Jawaharlal Nehru
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru>