Imágenes del poder local en el emirato nazarí a través de la cronística castellana

The present paper aims to deepen in the knowledge of political organization of rural communities in the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada through the data collected in the Royal Castilian Chronicles, mainly the texts referring to the reign of the Catholic Kings and the conquest of the Emirate. It pays special attention to local authorities, mainly to fortresses governors (alcaides) and bailiffs (alguaciles) to determine to which degree the community preserved its mechanisms of self-government, ancient heritage of al-Andalus, at the end of the Muslim period, when the State was imposing its presence and its structures, and the social structures of rural communities were loosing cohesion, and thus were more feeble.