As the Reconquista was very successful after the conquest of Cordoba in 1236 , the emirate officially became a tributary state in 1238 and was called the Kingdom of Granada . With the Reconquista in full swing after the conquest of Cordoba in 1236 , the Moorish Nasrid dynasty aligned themselves with Ferdinand III of Castile , officially becoming a tributary state in 1238 . The state officially became the Kingdom of Granada in 1238 .