1492 was a hugely significant year in the history of Spain with both the successful voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic Ocean and the fall of the last Muslim Iberian stronghold at Granada. Emir Muhammad XII of the Nasrid dynasty was the ruler of Granada at this time and his predecessors had previously dominated southern Spain since 1230. By 1492, Muhammad only ruled the city of Granada itself and the emirate had been fighting the encroaching Christian kingdoms of Aragon and Castile for ten years. When Muhammad surrendered Granada to Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon on 2 January 1492, the Christian ‘Reconquista’ of Spain was complete.
The victorious Christian kingdoms presented the fall of Granada as a triumph of one world over another but late Medieval Iberia was defined by cultural crossovers that defied religious divides. Spain’s multiculturalism can be seen in this unique ‘sallet’ combat helmet that is believed to have belonged to Muhammad XII. Sallets were Italian in origin but universally worn across Western Europe. The pictured helmet is typically European in its shape but it has distinctive Islamic features such as finely engraved geometric and foliate designs. As befitting an emir, the sallet is made of steel but entirely covered in a layer of gold leaf while its edges are trimmed with silver. It is also the only known example of armour to have survived from Nasrid Spain and is therefore a very rare insight into the opulent fashions of the Moorish emirs.