AlÁndalus

Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Iberia, refers to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed at various times by Muslim states from 711 to 1492. The conquest began when Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and defeated the Visigothic king Roderic at Guadalete in 711. For nearly two centuries, large portions of the peninsula were ruled by the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba (later Caliphate). Abd al-Rahman I established independent rule in 756, and Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed the Caliphate of Córdoba in 929, marking the apex of political unity and cultural flourishing.

Córdoba became a major cultural, economic, and intellectual center, with notable architecture such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba and the palace complex of Madinat al-Zahra. The period saw advances in science, philosophy, medicine, and arts, as well as the translation and transmission of classical texts to the Latin West.

Following the decline of the Caliphate, the regime fragmented into independent taifa kingdoms after 1031. In the later 11th and 12th centuries, the Iberian peninsula faced incursions by the North African Almoravids and later the Almohads, while Christian kingdoms in the north began the long reconquest. The battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) marked a turning point in favor of the Christians.

Granada remained under Nasrid rule until 1492, when the Catholic Monarchs captured the city, ending Muslim rule in the peninsula. The era left a lasting architectural and cultural legacy in Iberia and Europe, including irrigated agriculture, urban architecture, and works by scholars such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and others. The term convivencia is used to describe, with debate, interreligious coexistence during this period.