Order of Alhambra the last Moorish stronghold in Spain conquered by the forces of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1492. It was after the completion of the Reconquista that the Spanish monarchs decided to fund Christopher Columbus' initial voyage to the Americas. Spanish, and arguably European, culture changed significantly with this change of leadership, especially since the Catholic religion became the dominant religion in the Iberian Peninsula. The significance of the conquest of the Alhambra in the spread and free practice of the Catholic faith, in Iberia and the Americas, greatly inspired the founder, much as Columbus himself
Tales of the Alhambra inspired Vladimir Belsky's libretto for the opera "The Golden Cockerel" by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. The book serves as the basis of the 1950 Spanish film "Tales of the Alhambra". Villa Zorayda, a museum in St. Augustine, Florida based on a wing of the Alhambra, takes its name from a character in Irving's book (specifically from "Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses"). The city of Alhambra, California is named after the book. In 1874, the daughter of Benjamin Wilson was reading the book and encouraged him to use the name for his new Los Angeles suburban development. In 2017, Spanish animation producer