reconquest

Reconquest is the act or process of regaining control of territory that has been lost to an outside power. In historical usage, it most often refers to the medieval Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, commonly called the Reconquista.

The period extended roughly from the early 8th century, after the Muslim conquest of Hispania in 711, to 1492, when the Kingdom of Granada fell to the Crown of Castile and Iberia was politically unified under Christian rule. The effort involved successive campaigns by Christian kingdoms such as Asturias, León, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and later Portugal, with notable turning points including the capture of Toledo in 1085, the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and the conquest of Valencia in 1238 and Granada in 1492.

The concept has been central to Iberian identity and to Christian–Muslim relations in the medieval period. Historians debate its framing: some view it as a long, multifaceted process shaped by dynastic, economic, and religious factors, while others emphasize religious rhetoric and the idea of a civilizational restoration. The term can also oversimplify regional differences and the coexistence that persisted in parts of the peninsula for centuries.

The reconquest had lasting consequences, including the redrawing of borders, changes in governance, and demographic shifts. In later phases, Muslim and Jewish communities faced pressures, conversions, exile, or forced assimilation as Christian rule solidified. In modern usage, reconquest usually refers specifically to this Iberian period, though the term can describe other instances where a state regains lost territory.