Muhammad IV of Granada

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد الرابع), known as Muhammad IV, (14 April 1315 – 25 August 1333) was the ruler of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula from 1325 to 1333. He was the sixth sultan of the Nasrid dynasty, succeeding to the throne at ten years old when his father, Ismail I (r. 1314–1325), was assassinated.

The initial years of his reign were marked by conflict among his ministers, who vied for control of the young sultan's government. This escalated into a civil war between the party of the vizier Muhammad ibn al-Mahruq and that of the powerful commander of the Volunteers of the Faith, Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula. Uthman declared Muhammad's uncle, Muhammad ibn Faraj, as a rival sultan and secured support from Alfonso XI of Castile (r. 1312–1350), Granada's Christian neighbour to the north. Muhammad IV requested help from Abu Said Uthman II (r. 1310–1331) of the Marinid Sultanate in Morocco and gave him territories in the Iberian Peninsula, including Ronda, Marbella, and Algeciras, probably in exchange for Marinid troops. The civil war ended in 1328 when Muhammad, who despite his youth had begun taking a more active role in government, reconciled with Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, and ordered Ibn al-Mahruq assassinated; the pretender Muhammad ibn Faraj was sent to North Africa. In 1329 he appointed his childhood tutor Abu Nuaym Ridwan as the hajib (chamberlain), outranking his other ministers; this was the first time the title appeared in the Emirate of Granada.

In 1328 and 1329, Alfonso XI formed an anti-Granada alliance with another Iberian monarch, Alfonso IV of Aragon (r. 1327–1336). Both Christian kingdoms invaded Granada in 1330, with Alfonso XI leading his army to take Teba and pillage the Granadan countryside. Muhammad sought terms, and secured a treaty with Castile on 19 February 1331. Alfonso XI soon broke the treaty by stopping food exports to Granada as had been agreed, while Aragon did not join the treaty and was invaded by Granadan forces. In September 1332, Muhammad sailed to the Marinid court at Fez to request help. The new Marinid Sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali (r. 1331–1348) sent 5,000 troops, led by his son Abu Malik Abd al-Wahid, to Algeciras in early 1333. The troops besieged the Castilians at Gibraltar: the town surrendered in June 1333 but was in turn besieged by Alfonso XI. Muhammad raided Castile in a diversionary attack before marching to relieve Gibraltar. This resulted in a stalemate that ended with a truce on 24 August 1333 that lifted the siege of Gibraltar and restored the 1331 treaty. One day later, Muhammad was assassinated (aged 18) on the orders of the sons of Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula (who had died in 1330), who resented either the sultan's alliance with the Marinids or his friendliness with Castile. He was succeeded by his brother Yusuf I (r. 1333–1354).