What is reconquista and how did it end?

The term “Reconquista” refers to the history of Spain and Portugal, but translates to “conquest”. It was about recapturing the lands that the Arab Muslims seized from the Christians at the beginning of the 8th century on the Iberian Peninsula.

The beginning of the Reconquista can be considered the rule of the Visigoth Pelayo, he began to rule the region of Asturias in the north of modern Spain, it was a narrow strip of land on the shores of the Bay of Biscay. Since the 750s, internal squabbles began among the Arabs, therefore, instead of a single caliphate, the Emirate of Cordoba appeared. The Christians fought with him, gradually liberating the territory of the peninsula. For example, in 878 they captured Coimbra and began settling Portugal, and by the middle of the XII there was a separate Portuguese kingdom with its capital in Lisbon.

During the Reconquista, there were several Christian states: Leon, Castile, Aragon, Navarra, County of Barcelona.

The single Cordoba Emirate was divided into several parts: Granada, Badajoss, Toledo, Saragossy, Denia, Malaga.

The reconquista ended in 1492 with the capture of Granada.