Muhammed V (
1338-
16 January 1391) was the eighth
Nasrid ruler of
Granada in
Iberia.. Eldest son and heir of Yusuf I by his slave Butayna, Muhammad V was born in 1338. He also had a younger full-blood sister, A'isha, two half brothers and five half-sisters. He ruled between 1354–1359 and 1362–1391, and is best known for completing the royal palace of the
Alhambra with the
Palace of the Lions and the Mexuar, or
Cuarto Dorado. He inherited the throne from
Yusuf I but was overthrown in August 1359 by his half-brother
Ismail II and sought protection with the
Marinid sultan of
Fez, where Muhammed was inspired with fresh examples of architecture. Ismail was overthrown and murdered with his brother Qays less than a year later in 1360, by his brother-in-law, Abu Said, who ruled as
Muhammed VI but was overthrown in turn by Muhammed V, who returned to the throne for another 29 years.
During the three-year period of the reign of
Muhammed VI, Muhammed V was plotting his return to power. A chance came in 1362 when King
Peter I of Castile (Pedro el Cruel) lured Muhammed VI to his kingdom. There, in Seville, he was murdered and his head sent to Muhammed V as a gift upon his return to the throne. As a gesture of good relations between he and the Marinid, the eldest son of Muhammed V,
Yusuf II, married to a daughter of the Marinid Sultan. His hospital in Granada was completed in 1366. He employed the poet and diplomat
Ibn Khaldun in negotiations with
Pedro the Cruel. Muhammed V died on January 16, 1391. He had at least four sons;
Yusuf II, Nasr, Muhammad and Sa'd. He was succeeded by his son, Yusuf II.
Yusuf IV was his maternal grandson.