Muslim Conquest of Iberia

The Muslim Conquest of Iberia began in 711 AD when Islamic forces, mainly led by Tariq ibn Ziyad, crossed from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula, which includes present-day Spain and Portugal. Within a few years, they rapidly expanded their control over much of the region, driven by military strategy and political instability among the local Visigothic rulers. This conquest introduced Islamic culture, architecture, and learning to Iberia, lasting until the Reconquista, a gradual Christian campaign to reclaim territory, which concluded in 1492 with the fall of Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain.