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The Moors, Muslims from North Africa, invade the Iberian peninsula. They name it Al-Andalus.
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From the time the Christians of Spain created their own small villages and towns in the northern realms of the peninsula they dreamed of one day reconquering and uniting Spain. This, however, took more than 7 centuries.
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The city of Cordoba is named the Muslim capital of Al-Andalus.
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The Jewish population of the Iberian peninsula is welcomed into the Muslim kingdom in the south.
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After uniting three of the Christian kingdoms, León, Castile, and Galicia, King Alfonso VI reclaimed the city of Toledo for the Christians.
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Valencia falls to one of Alfonso VI's generals, Rodrigo Díaz, nicknamed El Cid. Valencia marks the farthest south city the Christians would conquer for a while. Power struggles in the north halted southern progress for some time.
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Thanks to multiple marriages, alliances, and truces, the Christian regions of Catalonia, Aragon, and Castile united their powers under a unified Catholic Spain.
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Cordoba was besieged for six months by Christian forces. The gates were opened to let in thousands of soldiers and mark the loss of the Muslim capital. Only Granada, in the far mountains to the south stood under Muslim control. The Muslim rulers had already fled to Granada before the siege.
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Construction on a huge, sprawling palace-fortress for the last few Muslim Kings is begun. The Alhambra would become one of the greatest known architectural wonders, defending the city and allowing the royalty to live a luxurious life in the mountain city of Granada.
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King Ferdinand of Aragon marries Queen Isabella of Castile and unites nearly all of Spain under a Catholic rule.
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All non-Catholic citizens of Spain are treated as enemies. Jews and Muslims alike flee the country or flee to the southern reaches to find the city of Granada, the last Muslim holdout.
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Granada, the final holdout of the Muslim force, was conquered by the Catholic Kings. The 700 year occupation of the Iberian peninsula drew to an end.
