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North African commander Tariq ibn Ziyad leads Umayyad forces across the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain. Muslim forces defeat the Visigoth army, marking the beginning of Muslim rule in Iberia.
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Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman escapes the Abbasid Revolution and arrives in Spain, establishes leadership in Cordoba, and builds an independent state.
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Abd al-Rahman begins construction of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
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Abd al-Rahman III declares himself caliph in Cordoba, challenging Abbasid and Fatimid claims of authority over Muslims. This meant that it broke the religious ties with Baghdad. Since then, Al-Andalus was both religious and politically independent. Cordoba became the major cultural and economic center of the West.
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Alfonso VI of Leon-Castile takes control of the city of Toledo.
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The fanatical Almoravids from North Africa came to re-establish Islamic order and fight against the Christians. They were less tolerant of other faiths and this made them unpopular.
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Combined Christian allies Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal defeat Almohads in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Almohad power in Spain declines, leaving Andalusian cities vulnerable to conquest.
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The Almoravids were followed by the Almohad rulers, but eventually the major Islamic cities including Cordoba and Seville were lost to the Christians by the mid 13th century.
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Between the 14th and 15th centuries, Granada became the last bastion of Muslim control on the Iberian peninsula and one of the wealthiest and culturally rich cities in Europe. It was during this period that the Alhambra palace (begun in the 11th century) was expanded and became the center of Islamic power in the region.
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In the late 15th century, the hundreds of years of Muslim rule finally collapsed as the forces of the Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella lay siege to Granada. The infighting within the Nazari kingdom led to the final conquest in 1492 by the Catholic King.
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In the following centuries, the Catholic monarchy became increasingly intolerant of Muslims–forcing either conversion to Christianity or expulsion to North Africa. Many of the mosques were destroyed or turned into churches, but the traces of Islamic architecture and culture still remain in Spain–especially in the southern region of Andalusia.
