Issue date: 26 Feb, 2013
On reaching the Millennium of the Kingdom of Granada, a stamp has been issued to commemorate the creation of this independent kingdom in 1013.
The Caliphate of Cordoba and, consequently, the Umayyad dynasty began to collapse in 1009 and the Al-Andalus territories were split up into small, short-lived states called “kingdoms of taifa”. One of the first of these kingdoms was Granada, founded in 1013 by the Muslim Berber Zawi ben Ziri. The Ziri dynasty quickly moved their capital from the city of Elvira, which was difficult to defend, to Granada, which was a place of scarce importance at the time. Granada was chosen as capital of the kingdom because of its good location and rich soil, making it easier to feed the people.
The Ziri dynasty lasted from 1013 until 1090 and the memoirs left by the fourth and last Ziri sovereign read: “And they gazed on the fair valley, full of brooks and groves, which together with the surrounding land is watered by the River Genil, as it comes down from the Sierra Nevada. They looked too upon the hill on which today the city of Granada sits, and they understood that it was the centre of the whole region”.
After nearly 150 years of wars, first against the Almoravids and later against the Almohads, Granada was to become grander with the arrival of the Nazari kingdom dynasty, between 1232 and 1492, when it was handed over to the Catholic Monarchs. During this period the palaces, gardens, pools and centres of learning were built, as were the narrow alleys which gave the city the urban layout we know today. The sciences, arts and letters flourished, with Arabs and Jews living in perfect harmony.
The arrival of the Catholic Monarchs meant the city continued to expand culturally and artistically. A Renaissance cathedral, convents and churches were built. The Emperor Charles V built a palace inside the grounds of the Alhambra and founded the university, to which the most prestigious teachers of the time flocked.
In 1984, the Alhambra palace, the Generalife and the Albaicín quarter, all in the historic city of Granada, were declared World Heritage Sites.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.