History of Alhendín
Alhendín was a human settlement in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the pots and vessels found in the area. A semi-artificial cave survives in Montevives from the Roman period. As a settlement, it began to gain importance during the Nasrid period of the Arab era. Located between the Vega and the Lecrín Valley, its strategic position made it a place of continuous habitation from the eighth to the sixteenth century. Its first inhabitants were members of the Yemeni tribe of Hamdan. During the Nasrid reign, the town was a royal farmstead and was defended by one of the most important towers in the entire Vega. It was conquered in 1483 by Fernando El Católico, but Boabdil destroyed its castle in 1490.
In Ibn Said’s treatise on scientific geography, referring to the different districts of Al-Andalus, he noted that one of the most important population centres was near the medina of Garnata, Al-Hamdan, or Alhendín; this name corresponds to an Arabic anthroponym referring to the Yemeni tribe of Hamdan, some of whose members settled here throughout the eighth century. During the Kingdom of Granada, this farmstead was owned by the Monarchs. It had one of the most important towers in the Vega de Granada, a tower that was part of an extensive defensive network, along with those of El Padúl, Soto de Roma, La Malahá, and Gabia.
The town was reconquered by King Fernando II of Aragon, El Católico, in 1483. In 1490, King Boabdil besieged and destroyed the fortress; Fernando responded by ordering the destruction of the millet and panizo crops that sustained Granada. To control the first rebellion of the Moriscos of the Alpujarras, in 1500, the Catholic Monarchs concentrated a large army in this town.