Research Paper: Post Two

Moorish Influence in Spain
The term "Moor" can be used to describe the Muslims, Berber and Arab, who conquered the Iberian Peninsula in year 711. Their influence in Spain, or Hispania lasted until the year 1492 when Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in the Iberian Peninsula, was reconquered by the Christians. As some sources notes, 1492 was a big year for Spain. The Moorish part of Spain was called Al-Andalus ("Land of the Vandals), which later became Andalusia, a name still used today.

The Moors transformed the Iberian Peninsula in a matter of centuries, turning their small, squalid, dirty, and medieval chunk of land into a land rich in agriculture and culture. The arches in La Mezquita are recognizable to any Civling, and are a visible mark of the Moors in Spain. Founded in 785, the Mezquita "became the second most important place of worship in the Muslim world after Mecca" (source here).

In 1010, Al-Mansur died and the Umayyad Caliphate was broken up into 20 taifas, ["an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy"(source)], ending united rule of Al-Andalus (source.

The transient monarchy of Spain led to increased conflicts between the Moors and Catholics, culminating in a successful blockade of Granada in 1492 by Los reyes católicos (Ferdinand and Isabel) which broke the Moors century long hold on the Iberian Peninsula.

Additional source: here.