Muslim conquest of Hispania

The Muslim conquest of Hispania occurred in 711 AD when Arab Muslim armies, newly unified under the Umayyad Caliphate, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and quickly defeated the Visigothic Christian kingdom. They established control over most of the Iberian Peninsula, including major cities like Córdoba and Toledo. This led to a period of Islamic rule that influenced local culture, science, and architecture for several centuries. The conquest was driven by expanding Islamic territory and the strategic importance of the region, which eventually resulted in diverse cultural interactions and the gradual Christian Reconquista, culminating centuries later in the reconquest of the land by Christian kingdoms.