Islamic Spain

The invasion was swift. In 711, Tariq ibn Ziyad — a Berber general serving the Umayyad Caliphate — crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with approximately 7,000 troops. Within seven years, Muslim forces controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula. The territory they established — al-Andalus — would persist in some form for 781 years.

At its peak, al-Andalus was the most advanced civilisation in Western Europe. Córdoba in the 10th century had street lighting, running water, libraries with hundreds of thousands of volumes, and a population exceeding 500,000 — larger than any city in Christian Europe. The Great Mosque of Córdoba, with its forest of double arches, remains one of the most extraordinary buildings in the world.

The Moroccan connection was constant. The Almoravids crossed from Morocco to save al-Andalus from Christian reconquest in 1086. The Almohads followed in 1147, ruling both Morocco and al-Andalus as a single empire. The Giralda in Seville and the Koutoubia in Marrakech were built by the same architects — twin minarets on opposite sides of the strait.

Science, philosophy, and literature flourished. Ibn Rushd (Averroes) of Córdoba transmitted Aristotle to medieval Europe. Ibn Tufayl wrote Hayy ibn Yaqzan — arguably the first philosophical novel. Al-Zahrawi wrote the foundational text of medieval surgery. The Andalusian intellectual tradition blended Arabic, Greek, Jewish, and Latin knowledge.

The Reconquista pushed Muslims south over centuries. Granada — the last Muslim kingdom — fell on January 2, 1492. The refugees who crossed to Morocco brought Andalusian architecture (visible in Tetouan and Chefchaouen), Andalusian music (the nouba tradition), Andalusian cuisine (pastilla, orange blossom pastries), and Andalusian craft (ceramic traditions, textile patterns).

In Morocco today, al-Andalus is not history. It is identity — a golden age of Muslim civilisation that lives in the music played at weddings, the food served at celebrations, and the architecture of the imperial cities.

Explore the full interactive module — with territorial maps, timeline, cultural transfers, and the architectural connections charted — at Dancing with Lions: https://www.dancingwiththelions.com/data/islamic-spain