-
-
As Roman power and influence decreased, Germanic tribes started invading the Iberian Peninsula. The area ends up being taken over and controlled by a tribe known as the Visigoths.
-
The 8th Council of Toledo completes and approves the great legal code, Forum judicum, which combines the Roman code and Visigothic laws. It remains the basic secular code for Christians until the 13th century, CE.
-
This marks the end of the Visigothic Empire in Spain. Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula begins in the summer of this year with Tariq's expedition of roughly 7,000 men and is complete by 713.
-
The ruling Umayyad dynasty in Damascus gives way to the Abbasids from Bagdad. Abd ar-Rahman (an Umayyad) flees to Egypt and eventually to Spain where he ousts the governor and appoints himself emir. His reign sees the beginning of the construction of the great mosque in Córdoba.
-
The power of Seville declines. To protect themselves from invading Christians, many Taifas are forced to call upon Muslim armies from outside of Spain to help them deal with the Christian threat.
-
The death of Ferdinand I. Upon his death he divides his kingdom feudally among his children. He leaves Castile to his son Sancho and León to his other son, Alfonso
-
King Alfonso VI of Castile conquers Toledo, the old Visigothic capital, gaining control of, among other things, its immense library. This library held hundreds of volumes on astronomy, medicine, philosophy, metaphysics, algebra, ethics, etc.
-
Christians start to take over Spain from the Muslims
-
Almohad Berbers invade Spain and incorporate much of Muslim Spain into the African Almohad Empire.
-
Alfonso VIII leads Christian armies to fight the Muslims at the Battle of Navas de Tolosa, a mountain pass that guaranteed Christian forces passage into Southern Spain.
-
Jewish synangogues and quarters in Seville are attacked by the Christian populace.. Soon the aljamas of Toledo, Burgos and Barcelona are destroyed. Thousands of Jews are killed during these pogroms, thousands more are converted to Christianity, and an equally large number choose to leave.
-
The Edict of Expulsion is signed by the Catholic Monarchs, forcing all Muslims and Jews in Spain to either convert or emigrate.
-
Charlemagne takes Barcelona. He is granted the title of "Holy Roman Emperor" by Pope Leo III in order to guarantee his protection of Rome from the invading Lombards.
-
Wilfred "The Hairy," Count of Barcelona, wins Catalan independence. At the same time, the Basques of Navarre emerge as a strong Christian state with its capital at Pamplona.
-
From 912-961 AD, Abd ar-Rahman III establishes a strong central Muslim authority in Spain. He drives back the Christians in the North and diplomatically subdues much of North Africa. His army and navy are the strongest in Europe at this time.
