In 1391 he was crowned King of Granada Yusuf II . His first decision was to eliminate or imprison his family members who could dispute the throne and ensure his succession by naming his eldest son Yusuf as heir. He was of little use. His youngest son Muhammad led an insurrection in Granada that his father was only able to control with the help of the Maghreb Marinid. Still, a year later Yusuf II mysteriously died (poisoned?). Muhammad did not miss the opportunity, he recovered the insurgents and proclaimed himself king of Granada as Muhammad VII .
The fate of the legitimate heir, his older brother Yusuf, was cast... he was imprisoned in the castle of Salobreña and was held there for years. Throughout Muhammad's reign he sought peace with the Christian kingdoms of the north and with the Benimerines who had supported his father. Once order was restored in Granada, he resumed the campaigns against Jaén and Murcia. Meanwhile, Yusuf spent his days locked in a dungeon...until 1408.
In 1408, to name his own son as heir and avoid possible insurrections, the king ordered his brother to be killed. He sent an emissary to the castle of Salobreña with the sentence of death and the order to return to the emissary with the head of his brother. When he arrived at the castle, the prisoner was playing a game of chess with the warden. He read the message, showed it to Yusuf and said:
Sorry, I have no choice but to comply with the order.
Yusuf, without losing his temper, asked him, as a last wish before he died, to finish the game. They played for several hours until Yussf checkmated him with the move of a bishop. When they got up to carry out the sentence, a messenger arrived announcing the death of Muhammad VII... and the proclamation of Yusuf III , the fourteenth sovereign of the Nasrid dynasty of the Kingdom of Granada.
Originally published in Control Session.
Illustrations Illustrated history of Granada