History of Nívar
Nívar has ancient origins, as evidenced by the archaeological site near the town where Roman remains have been found. However, it was not until the medieval era that reliable records began to emerge. In his memoirs, Abd-Allah recounts that a bloody battle took place in Nívar between Christians and Muslims during the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile (1072–1109). There was already a farmhouse and a fortress by that name at that time, the latter of which was located on a hill called Castillo de Nívar or Castillejo. There are no ruins left today, probably due to the major earthquake that devastated the area around Lisbon in 1755.
In the twelfth century, Nívar, as the antegate of Granada, would be the scene of important military events. In September 1125 the Christian troops of the Aragonese King Alfonso I “El Batallador” set out for Andalusia with the intention of taking Granada and helping the Mozarabs who at that time were in an extremely serious situation. In January of the following year, the army of Alfonso I was already in the farmhouse of Nívar, however, the bad weather conditions, the harshness of the previous battles and the shortage of food made the Aragonese Monarch decide to return to the north without having taken any important place from the Muslims.
In the 12th century, Nívar, as the antegate of Granada, was the setting for significant military events. In September 1125, the Christian troops of King Alfonso I of Aragon, also known as "El Batallador", set out for Andalusia with the intention of taking Granada and helping the Mozarabs, who were in an extremely serious situation at that time. By January of the following year, Alfonso I's army was stationed at Nívar. However, adverse weather conditions, the toll of previous battles and a shortage of food caused the Aragonese monarch to decide to return north without capturing any significant Muslim territory.
At the end of the Middle Ages, in 1485, when the Catholic Monarchs were preparing to take Granada and the Nasrid dynasty was on the verge of ending in the peninsula, a Christian expedition led by the Count of Cabra, Martín Alonso de Sotomayor, Diego de Castilla and other prominent Castilian nobles attempted to attack Granada, destroying Nívar Guájar in the process.
Henríquez de Jorquera's well-known annals of Granada provide an exceptionally interesting source for learning about what Nívar was like in the times immediately after the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs. In them, the author states that our town was inhabited by around 60 people, or approximately 240 inhabitants, most of whom were involved in cultivating silk and cutting firewood, which they transported to Granada to sell. He also asserts that Nívar was founded in ancient times by the Moors and, after the reconquest, was governed by an ordinary mayor and several councillors whose work was overseen by the Granada Town Hall and its corregidor.
Throughout the eighteenth century, improvements in hygiene and sanitation in Spain, resulting from the reforms of the various enlightened Bourbon governments, together with significant economic growth and a generally favourable situation, caused a substantial population increase that spread throughout Western Europe. The census carried out in 1787 by Florioblanca provides a comprehensive overview of the town's socio-economic composition at the end of the Old Regime. In this census, Nívar is categorised as a royal town belonging to the Intendency of Granada and the judicial district of the same city.