[January 1500 - December 1501]

In response to the explosion of hostilities in the Alpujarras mountains, the Catholic Monarchs have called upon the men of Spain and the Holy Orders therein to put down the rebellion and expel, once and for all, the Moor from Andalusia. 90,000 men of fighting caliber descend upon the countryside eager to earn a quick and decisive strike against the rebels.

They find no such luck. Rumors began to spread quickly among both rebel and Spaniard of a mysterious figure named 'al-Ganī'. The Muslims call him a hero, the Spaniards hardly even believe he exists. Either way, what's clear to Ferdinand of Aragon as he arrives to the area is that this rebellion will not be an easy one to quell. The rebels are well organized and fight ferociously - unfortunately for them, he figures, what they have in leadership they lack in resources. Indeed, the Spaniard army proceeds to spend much of the first year of the rebellion waiting and striking small groups of rebels who make a blunder and reveal themselves.

This policy sees some success and some failure, but it seems to be either this or get worn down by constant ambushes and probing attacks by the Moslem. And so the Spaniards take the slow and cautionary approach.

By mid 1501, Ferdinand sees fit to disband half of his current forces as the rebellion seems to be all but routed. Though flare ups in remaining pockets of the Alpujarras mountains drag the campaign out further than he would have liked, by the end of the year the last of the rebels are driven out of the mountains and given a choice; accept Christ as Lord or lose your head.

Curiously, throughout the campaign several prominent officers note the lack of civilian populations among the rebels and the full-on abandonment of several small villages. Women and children in particular are rare.

On an unrelated note, the population of Morocco has grown by multiple thousands. Very strange.

By the end of 1501 Spain has completely quelled the Alpujarras Rebellion. al-Ganī has never been identified. A large chunk of the civilian population of the Alpujarras have escaped to Morocco. The only significant casualties are the Spanish coffers and Captain Alfonso de Aguilar.