The ill-fated Mohammed was succeeded by his brother, Yusuf I., Abu-l-Hejaj. While possessed, of course, of the virtues which seem to have been inherent in the Nasrite dynasty, this prince was exceptional in being an ardent, almost a passionate, lover of peace. He believed, says Don Francisco Pi Margall, that it was more glorious to remedy evils than to attempt perilous enterprises. Assisted by his able Wizir, Redwân, he revised the laws and purified the administration of justice. He built a magnificent palace at Malaga, and the great aljama or mosque at Granada, of which no trace remains. Abandoning for once his settled policy, he joined the Africans in a war against Castile. He was badly beaten, and was glad to negotiate a truce of ten years. At the end of that time, Alfonso of Castile died, and the Sultan of Granada was stabbed to death by a madman, while at his prayers in the mosque, in the year 1354. Mohammed V. was as virtuous and as unfortunate as his father. He had reigned but four years when he was attacked in his own palace by the partisans of his half-brother, Ismail. Narrowly escaping death, he fled to his harem, and in the disguise of a slave eluded his pursuers and made his way to Guadix. Ismail II. ran a brief and inglorious career, and was dethroned and slain (1360) by the “Red King,” Abu Saïd. Meantime, Pedro I. of Castile espoused the cause of the lawful sultan and invaded the territory of Granada. But the magnanimous Moor would not consent to remount the throne at the cost of his people’s blood. Pedro accordingly withdrew, but freed Mohammed from his enemies by murdering Abu Saïd when the latter incautiously paid a visit to Seville. Mohammed was reinstated on his throne, and mindful of the services rendered him by Pedro, advanced to his support with a Grenadine army against Enrique de Trastamara. The tragedy of Montiel made a continuance of the struggle useless, and the Moorish sultan devoted the remainder of his reign to improving the condition of his subjects. He founded charitable institutions and asylums, and raised Granada to a high pitch of prosperity. The city, according to the contemporary writer, El Khattib, became the metropolis of the Mediterranean, the emporium of commerce, and the common fatherland of all nations. Under Mohammed V., the kingdom may be considered to have reached its zenith. Thence to its nadir we count but a century of years.