Her charms at length attracted the notice of Muley Abul Hassan, and she soon became a member of his harem.

Some have spoken of her as a Christian slave whom he had made his concubine; but others, with more truth, represent her as one of his wives, and ultimately his favorite sultana; and indeed it was often the case that female captives of rank and beauty, when converted to the faith of Islam, became united to the proudest and loftiest of their captors.
* Cronica del Gran Cardinal, cap.

71.
Zoraya soon acquired complete ascendancy over the mind of Muley Abul Hassan.

She was as ambitious as she was beautiful, and, having become the mother of two sons, looked forward to the possibility of one of them sitting on the throne of Granada.

These ambitious views were encouraged, if not suggested, by a faction which gathered round her inspired by kindred sympathies.