ABENCERRAGES, a family or faction that is said to have held a prominent position in the Moorish kingdom of Granada in the 15th century. The name appears to have been derived from Yussuf-ben-Serragh, the head of the tribe in the time of Moham med VII. It is familiar from the interesting romance of Gines Perez de Hita, Guerras civiles de Granada, which celebrates the feuds of the Abencerrages and the rival family of the Zegris. The hall of the Abencerrages in the Alhambra takes its name from be ing the reputed scene of the massacre of the family.