Gran is one of the oldest towns of Hungary, and is famous as the birthplace of St Stephen, the first prince crowned “apostolic king” of Hungary. During the early times of the Hungarian monarchy it was the most important mercantile centre in the country, and it was the meeting place of the diets of 1016, 1111, 1114, and 1256. It was almost completely destroyed by Tartar hordes in 1241, but was rebuilt and fortified by King Béla IV. In 1543 it fell into the hands of the Turks, from whom it was recovered, in 1595, by Carl von Mansfeld. In 1604 it reverted to the Turks, who held it till 1683, when it was regained by the united forces of John Sobieski, king of Poland, and Prince Charles of Lorraine. In 1708 it was declared a free city by Joseph I. On the 13th April 1818 it was partly destroyed by fire. Gran lay in the direct route of the victorious revolutionary campaign of April 1849. Since 1876 its civil privileges have been of a corporate character.

See Von Reden, “Die Staaten im Strom-Gebiet des La Plata,” in Petermann’s Mitth., 1856; Petermann and Burmeister, Die Südamerikanischen Republiken, Argentina, &c., 1875; Major Host in ha Plata Monatschrift, 1873.

During the Roman period, Granada from the time of Augustus formed an undistinguished portion of the province of Baetica, of which the four conventus juridici were Cadiz, Cordova, Ecija, and Seville. Along with the rest of Andalucia, as a result of the great invasion from the north in the 5th century, it fell to the lot of the Vandals. Under the caliphs of Cordova, onwards from the 8th century, the town of Granada rapidly gained in importance, and ultimately became the seat of a provincial government, which, after the fall of the 0mmiades (1038), ranked with Seville, Jaen, and others as an independent principality. By the conquests of St Ferdinand in the first half of the 13th century, Granada was left the sole representative of the Mahometan power in Spain; and even it was compelled to pay tribute to the sovereigns of Castile. The limits of the kingdom at that time were nearly identical with those of the province prior to 1833, the modern provinces of Malaga and Almeria being until that date included. It is said to have contained a population of 3,000, C00, and to have had considerable commerce, especially with Italy in silk. On the capitulation of Boabdil in January 1492, Granada was united to the crown of Castile, but with special privileges which were afterwards treacherously withdrawn.

GRANADA, the capital of the above province, is situated at the confluence of the Darro and the Genii, not far from the base of the Sierra Nevada (37° 13' N. lat., 3° 4Γ W. long.). Different suggestions have been made as to the etymology of the name, which is rather obscure,—the least probable being that it is derived from granada, “a pomegranate,” in allusion to the abundance of pomegranate trees in its neighbourhood. The Moors called it Karnattah or Karnattàh-al-Yahoud, and possibly the name is composed of the Arabic words kurn, “a hill,” and nattah i “stranger” —the “city” or “hill of strangers.” Granada is built partly on level ground near the Genii and partly on the slopes of two adjacent hills, at an elevation of about 2300 feet above the sea. The more ancient quarters of the town still retain much of the Moorish style, but the modern part is somewhat commonplace. It contains several squares, of which the most remarkable is the Bibarrambla, where tournaments were formerly held. There is also a beautiful shady walk, called the Alameda, which is one of the most frequented promenades. The old city comprises the faubourgs of Antequeruela, Alcazaba, Alhambra, and Albaicin, the last being named after the settlers who came from Baeza, after the capture of that city by St Ferdinand. For a detailed account of the Alhambra the reader is referred to the special article, vol. i. p. 570. The Antequeruela and Albaicin are mostly inhabited by the working classes. In the cemetery of the latter there are still a few ruins of an ancient mosque. The town proper contains a great number of churches and other public edifices. The cathedral, a somewhat heavy and irregular building, was begun in 1529 by Diego de Siloe, and finished in 1639. It is profusely ornamented with jasper and coloured marble and surmounted by a dome; and it contains several valuable paintings by Alonso Cano, portraits of Ferdinand and Isabella by Rincon, and marble statues of several kings and queens of Spain. In one of its numerous chapels (the Chapel Royal) are buried their “Catholic Majesties,” and Philip and Juana. The church of Nuestra Seil ora de las Angustias has a splendid high altar and fine towers. That of St José is an elegant modern building. Other remarkable edifices are the monastery of St Gerônimo, founded by Gonzalo de Cordova, who is buried there; the Carthusian convent (Cartuja) adorned with paintings by Murillo, Morales, and Cano; the university, founded in 1531 by Charles V.; and the library. Granada is the birthplace of many eminent writers and artists, both Mahometan and Christian; among the latter may be mentioned Fray Luis de Granada (1505); Hurtado de Mendoza (1505), the historian of the war of Granada; Alonso Cano (1601), the great painter; and Moya (1610), who was both painter and sculptor. The climate of the town is pleasant and healthy, especially during the spring and summer months. Its manufactures are unimportant, the chief being coarse woollen stuffs, hats, paper, saltpetre, and gunpowder. Silk-weaving was once extensively carried on, and large quantities of silk were exported to Italy, France, Germany, and even America; but the production now is very limited. The education of the lower classes is much neglected, the city having only a few insignificant schools. In the year 1878 the population amounted to about 75,000.

The history of Granada does not go back far, if at all, into the Roman perio I (for it is not to be confounded with the ancient Illiberis); and even under the Moors it held a place of very subordinate importance until the period of the conquests of St Ferdinand, when it became the exclusive seat of Islam in Spain, and rose to almost unparalleled splendour, under Mohammed-Eb∏- AIahmar, the builder of the Alhambra. It is said in its best days to have had 400,000 inhabitants, 70,000 houses, and 60,000 warriors, but this is probably an exaggeration. In the 15th century it was the last stronghold of the Moors against the Christian forces under Ferdinand and Isabella, and after a long siege it was surrendered by Boabdil on 2d January 1492. From that time Granada’s wealth and magnificence rapidly decreased till 1610, when the Moors were expelled from Spain.

GRANADA, a city of Central America, state of Nicaragua, is situated on the N.W. bank of the Lake of Nicaragua, 30 miles N.N.W. of the town of that name. The suburbs are composed of cane huts occupied by the poorer inhabitants, but the city proper is formed of one-storied houses built of adobes or sun-dried bricks, roofed with tiles. They have balconied windows, and are surrounded by courtyards with ornamental gateways. It possesses several old churches and the remains of ancient fortifications. By means of the lake and the river San Juan, it communicates with the Caribbean Sea, and carries on a Considerable trade in cocoa, cochineal, indigo, and hides. The steamer “Coburg” in the end of 1878, after several unsuccessful attempts, forced a passage up the river San Juan from the sea to Lake Nicaragua, thus establishing steam navigation between Granada, the Bay de la Vierge, San George, and other towns, and direct communication between Greyton and Granada. The feat is of importance in view of the project of constructing an oceanic canal by this route.

Granada was founded by Francisco Fernandez de Cordova in 1522, and he erected a fort for its protection. At an early period it surpassed Leon in importance, and was one of the richest cities in North America. It suffered greatly from the attacks of pirates in the latter half of the 17th century, and in 1606 was completely sacked by them. . In 1855 it was taken by the filibuster William Walker, and partially destroyed by fire, and though retaken in 1857 it has never recovered its former prosperity, a great part of it being still in ruins. The population is about 10,000.

GRANADA, Luis de (1504-1588), a Spanish preacher and ascetic writer, was born of poor parents at Granada in 1504. At five years of age he was left an orphan, but the Conde de Tendilla, alcalde of Alhambra, having accidentally observed his singular intelligence, took him under his protection and had him educated with his own sons. At the age of nineteen he entered the Dominican convent of Santa Cruz, Granada, whence he went to the college of St Gregory, Valladolid. After completing his theological education he was named prior of the convent of Scala Coeli, where he exercised his preaching gifts under the direction of the celebrated orator Juan de Avila, whom he subsequently rivalled, if he did not surpass him, in eloquence. Having been invited by Cardinal Henry, infanta of Portugal and archbishop of Evora, to Badajoz in 1555, he founded a monastery there, and two years later was elected provincial of Portugal. He was also appointed confessor and councillor to the queen regent, but he declined promotion to the archbishopric of Braga, and on the expiry of his provincial office in 1561 he retired to a Dominican convent at Lisbon, where he died in 1588. Luis de Granada enjoyed the reputation of being the first ecclesiastical orator of his day, and his description of the “descent into hell” is one of the finest specimens of eloquence in the Spanish language. He also acquired great fame as a mystic writer, his Guia de Pecadores, or Guide to Sinners, first published in 1556, being still a favourite book of devotion in Spain, and having been translated into nearly every European language.

His principal other works are Libro de lα Oration y Meditation, Salamanca, 1567; Introduction al simbolo de la Fé, Salamanca, 1582; Rhetoricoe Ecclcsiasticae, tive de ratione contionandi, Libri VI., Lisbon, 1576; Silva locorum communium omnibus verbi contionatoribus necessaria, 1582; anil several series of sermons. A collected edition of the works of Luis de Granada was published by Planta at Antwerp, in 1572, at the expense of the duke of Alva, and by Luis Menozal, Madrid, in 1657, afterwards reprinted at various periods. See preface to this edition of his works; preface to Guia de Pecadores, Madrid, 1781; Biblioteca de Λutorcs Esp., tom. vi., viii., xi.; Ticknor’s History of Spanish Literature·, and Eug. Baret, Hist, de la litt, espagnole, Paris, 1863.