A type of fortress in Spain, built by the Christians during their 14th‐ and 15th‐century wars against the Moors. It was usually rectangular with great corner towers, and contained an open space or patio, surrounded by chapels, hospitals, and salons. The most renowned is the Alcázar of Seville, built by King Pedro the Cruel (1334–69). The most splendid Muslim fortress‐palace in Spain is the Alhambra (‘the red’), built by the Moorish monarchs of Granada, chiefly between 1238 and 1358.