Editing Spain (section)

=== Muslim era and ''Reconquista'' ===
{{See also|Umayyad conquest of Hispania|Al-Andalus|Reconquista}}
From 711 to 718, as part of the expansion of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] which had [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|conquered North Africa]] from the [[Byzantine Empire]], nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Muslims from across the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom. Only a small area in the mountainous north of the peninsula stood out of the territory seized during the initial invasion. The [[Kingdom of Asturias|Kingdom of Asturias-León]] consolidated upon this territory. Other Christian kingdoms, such as [[kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]] and [[kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]] in the mountainous north, eventually surged upon the consolidation of counties of the Carolingian ''[[Marca Hispanica]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rinehart|first1=Robert|last2=Seeley|first2=Jo Ann Browning|title=A Country Study: Spain – Castile and Aragon|publisher=Library of Congress Country Series|year=1998|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+es0016)|access-date=9 August 2008|archive-date=22 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922142215/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+es0016)|url-status=live}}</ref> For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian-controlled areas of the peninsula was along the [[Ebro]] and [[Douro]] valleys.
[[File:Palacios Nazaríes in the Alhambra (Granada). (51592334991) (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Court of the Lions]] and its central fountain in the [[Alhambra]] complex]]
Conversion to [[Islam]] proceeded at an increasing pace. The ''[[Muwallad|muladíes]]'' (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have formed the majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century.<ref>[http://libro.uca.edu/ics/ics5.htm Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages. Chapter 5: Ethnic Relations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403051916/http://libro.uca.edu/ics/ics5.htm |date=3 April 2017 }}, Thomas F. Glick</ref><ref name="chap2">{{cite web|last=Payne|first=Stanley G.|title=A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 2 Al-Andalus|publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online|year=1973|url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm|access-date=9 August 2008|archive-date=8 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008122627/https://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

A series of [[Viking]] incursions raided the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th and 10th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Viking raids on the spanish peninsula|first=Rolf|last=Scheen|journal=Militaria. Revista de Cultura Militar|issue=8|year=1996|url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/MILT/article/download/MILT9696110067A/3416/0|pages=67–73|access-date=13 April 2022|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413040655/https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/MILT/article/download/MILT9696110067A/3416/0|url-status=live}}</ref> The first recorded Viking raid on Iberia took place in 844; it ended in failure with many Vikings killed by the Galicians' [[ballista]]s; and seventy of the Vikings' longships captured on the beach and burned by the troops of King [[Ramiro I of Asturias]].

In the 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed, fracturing into a series of petty kingdoms (''[[Taifa]]s''),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3RtpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|title=Handbook of Medieval Culture|first=Albrecht|last=Classen|date=31 August 2015|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|via=Google Books|isbn=9783110267303|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=12 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912033453/https://books.google.com/books?id=3RtpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|url-status=live}}</ref> often subject to the payment of a form of [[protection racket|protection money]] (''[[Parias]]'') to the Northern Christian kingdoms, which otherwise undertook a southward territorial expansion. The capture of the strategic city of [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of the Christian kingdoms.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lansing |first1=Carol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re-1YpI9ObsC |title=A Companion to the Medieval World |last2=English |first2=Edward D. |date=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-49946-7 |pages=323 |language=en}}</ref> The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the [[Almoravids]] and the [[Almohads]] achieved temporary unity upon the Muslim-ruled territory, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and partially reversed some Christian territorial gains.

[[File:Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella of Castile (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Catholic Monarchs of Spain]]]]

The [[Kingdom of León]] was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188, the first form (restricted to the bishops, the magnates, and 'the elected citizens of each city') of modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in [[León (Spain)|León]] ([[Cortes of León]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=VAN ZANDEN |first1=JAN LUITEN |last2=BURINGH |first2=ELTJO |last3=BOSKER |first3=MAARTEN |date=29 July 2011 |title=The rise and decline of European parliaments, 1188-17891 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00612.x |journal=The Economic History Review |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=835–861 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00612.x |s2cid=154956049 |issn=0013-0117 |access-date=24 November 2022 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912033403/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00612.x |url-status=live |hdl=10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00612.x |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The [[Kingdom of Castile]], formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while the nobles benefited from [[feudalism]].

Muslim strongholds in the [[Guadalquivir Valley]] such as Córdoba (1236) and [[Seville]] (1248) fell to Castile in the 13th century. The [[County of Barcelona]] and the [[Kingdom of Aragon]] entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229, [[Mallorca]] was conquered, so was [[Valencia]] in 1238. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the North-African [[Marinid]]s established some enclaves around the Strait of Gibraltar. Upon the conclusion of the [[Granada War]], the [[Kingdom of Granada|Nasrid Sultanate of Granada]] (the remaining Muslim-ruled polity in the Iberian Peninsula after 1246) capitulated in 1492 to the military strength of the [[Catholic Monarchs]], and it was integrated from then on in the Crown of Castile.<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=[[Brill (publisher)|Brill]]|chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004443594/BP000014.xml|title=The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada between East and West|first=Roser|last=Salicrú i Lluch|chapter=Granada and Its International Contacts |pages=124–125|doi=10.1163/9789004443594_006|year=2020|isbn=9789004443594|s2cid=243153050|access-date=13 April 2022|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413053115/https://brill.com/view/book/9789004443594/BP000014.xml|url-status=live}}</ref>