Al-Andalus and the Christian Kingdoms: The Reconquista
Al-Andalus and the Christian Kingdoms
The Rise of Christian Resistance
Christian kingdoms emerged as pockets of resistance against Muslim dominance in the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees. These kingdoms were initially weak. The Kingdom of Asturias consolidated under King Alfonso I (739-757), establishing a depopulated defensive strip in the Douro basin. Under Alfonso III (866-910), this border moved to the Douro River. Castile, born as a border county subject to Muslim raids, became independent from Asturias-León in 960. The Pyrenean states of Navarre, Aragon, and the Catalan counties arose from the Hispanic March, the border territory of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne.
Christian States During the Reconquista
During the Reconquista, the Iberian Peninsula was divided between Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus and Christian kingdoms. The major Christian states included:
- Kingdom of Asturias (718-910)
- Kingdom of León (910-1230)
- County of Castile (930-1029)
- Kingdom of Castile (1035-1230)
- Crown of Castile (from 1230)
- County of Aragon (early 9th century-1035)
- Kingdom of Aragon (from 1035)
- County of Barcelona (801-1137)
- Kingdom of Majorca (1229-1349)
- Kingdom of Valencia (from 1232, under the Kings of Aragon)
- Crown of Aragon (from 1137)
- Kingdom of Pamplona/Navarre (810-1512)
- County of Coimbra/Portugal (1096-1139)
- Kingdom of Portugal (from 1139)
Periods of Reconquest
The Muslim invasion began in 711, ending the Visigothic kingdom. The Reconquista started shortly after in Asturias and Cantabria, with Pelayo’s victory at Covadonga in 722, leading to the birth of the Kingdom of Asturias. Within 150 years, Christians reached the Douro River, with the subsequent rise of the Kingdom of León and the County of Castile.
In the Pyrenees, the Kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre), the County of Barcelona, and the County of Aragon emerged. Christians in this area recaptured territory up to the Llobregat River, approaching the Ebro River valley.
The Caliphate of Cordoba halted the Reconquista in the 10th century. Its collapse a century later led to the rise of the Taifa kingdoms. Castile and León exploited this weakness, reconquering the territory between the Douro and the Central System. Alfonso VI took Toledo in 1085.
The Almoravids unified Al-Andalus in 1086, limiting Christian advances to Aragon, where Alfonso I retook Zaragoza in 1118. Thirty years later, Al-Andalus fragmented again. Alfonso VIII of Castile conquered Cuenca in 1177, while Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona took Lerida in 1149. The Almohads unified Al-Andalus again at the end of the 12th century, halting the Reconquista once more.
The 13th century saw significant Christian gains. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 marked a turning point. James I of Aragon conquered the Balearic Islands and Valencia (1229-1245). Castile reconquered Extremadura, parts of Andalusia, and Murcia, with Ferdinand III taking Cordoba (1236) and Seville (1248). The Treaty of Almizra (1244) defined the boundaries between Castilian and Aragonese conquests. Afonso III of Portugal expelled the last Muslims from his kingdom in 1249.
From the mid-13th century, only Granada remained under Muslim rule. The Granada War (1481-1492) culminated in the Catholic Monarchs taking Granada on January 2, 1492, concluding the Reconquista after nearly eight centuries.