From 712 until 1492 (when La Reconquista, the centuries-long process of reclaiming the Iberian Peninsula as Christian territory, was completed), much of Spain was under the boot of the Moors, Muslim tribes from northern Africa. The invasion commenced in 711 and consisted of a combined force of Africans, Berbers, and Arabs landing at Gibraltar and moving northward; these combined forces are commonly referred to as the Moors. By 714, the name of Hispania had been changed to Al-Andalus, a name which reflects that this particular geographical area was a part of the Caliphate.
This period of history was the Age of Feudalism, lacking in central government and effective military defense. Beginning with Agila's surrender of his lands in 712, the fiefdoms of the Iberian Peninsula surrendered one by one until the northward-moving Moorish forces had subdued all of Hispania. The Moors continued their expansion into France until they were defeated by Eudes of Aquitaine (near Toulouse in 721) and Charles Martel (the Battle of Tours in 732). The Frankish military-defeats of the Moors and the natural barrier of the Pyrenees Mountains, the passes of which were fortified under Charlemagne, thus confined the Moors to the Iberian Peninsula, where the Muslim tribes established an Emirate originally subordinate to the Caliph in Damascus. Because of the large distance from the Damascene Caliph, Muslim rule in Spain was more or less an independent and isolated governance, yet in keeping with the oppression of Christians and Jews according to the Code of Umar.
Muslims are presently demanding an apology from the Pope....
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And thank the Lord that the Muslims at least never defeated the Northern kingdoms in Spain, and my pride in Asturias, Galicia will never fail. Let their descendents not fail either. America may well be the last stronghold. It is odd to me that out of my ancestors, I have only Brits in my line who have not historically had to flee from Muslim conquerers. As for the small percentage of Spanish and the Ionian Greeks, they had to fight or flee from one Muslim orchestrated calamity or another until the mid-19th century. And after a brief respite, now I have to stand and fight them again. It's a pity that we ever knew complacency at all, I think in these times.
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