Africa—and increased the importance of the office of the vizier in the government. He also directed the construction of a series of strongholds in strategic positions throughout his frontiers, which formed the backbone of Granadan border defences in the centuries to come. He expanded the Alhambra palace and fortress complex, and increased the emirate's trade with Christian Europe, especially with traders from Genoa and Pisa. His epithet al-Faqih reflects his high education as well as his preference for surrounding himself with scholars and poets. Early life Muhammad was born in 633 AH (1235 or 1236 CE) to the Nasrid clan, which originated from the town of Arjona, then in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula. According to the later Granadan historian and vizier Ibn al-Khatib, the clan—also known as Banu Nasr or Banu al-Ahmar—was descended from Sa'd ibn Ubadah, a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, from the Banu Khazraj tribe in Arabia; Sa'd's descendants migrated to Spain and settled in Arjona as farmers. He had at least two older brothers, Faraj (b. 628 AH/1230 or 1231 CE) and Yusuf, and two sisters named Mu'mina and Shams. In 1232, his father Muhammad I established the independence of the town, and it later grew to a sizeable independent state in the south of Spain, centred on Granada after the loss of Arjona in 1244. The Emirate of Granada became the last independent Muslim state in the Iberian peninsula. In 1257, after the death of Faraj, Muhammad I declared his sons Muhammad and Yusuf as his new heirs. On August of the same year, the younger Muhammad had his first son, the future Muhammad III. He had another son, Nasr, and a daughter, Fatima. Fatima would later marry his father's cousin Abu Said Faraj, and their descendants would be the future rulers of Granada, replacing the direct male line after the ousting of Nasr in 1314. As heir, the future Muhammad II was involved in matters of state, including war and diplomacy. He served as vizier for some time during his father's rule. He became the sole heir after the death of Yusuf, who did not leave a descendant, during their father's lifetime. By the time of his father's death in 1273, Muhammad II was aged 38 and an experienced statesman. Rule: 1273–1302 Background Granada was located between two larger neighbours: the Christian kingdom of Castile to the north and the Muslim