711-1492 AD
In 711, the Umayyad Caliphate sent an army of Berbers and Arabs across the Strait of Gibraltar under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad. They defeated the Visigothic King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete and rapidly conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, establishing the emirate of al-Andalus. Only the small Christian kingdom of Asturias in the northern mountains resisted.
The Reconquistaβthe centuries-long Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsulaβbegan with the Battle of Covadonga in 722, where the Asturian king Pelayo achieved the first Christian victory over the Muslims. Over the next seven centuries, the Christian kingdoms of Asturias, LeΓ³n, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal slowly pushed the Muslim territories southward. Key moments included the capture of Toledo in 1085, the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and the fall of Granada in 1492.
The completion of the Reconquista in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella coincided with Columbus's voyage to the Americas and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, marking a pivotal year in world history. Key Sources: The Song of Roland; Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah; Catholic Encyclopedia, Reconquista