Reconquista Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Reconquista

Moorish and Christian Reconquista battle, taken from the Cantigas de Santa María

Date	711–1492 (781 years)
Location	Iberian Peninsula
Result	All Iberian Muslim territories taken by Christian kingdoms Alhambra Decree Forced conversions of Muslims in Spain

Belligerents

The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest"; Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing") was a period of 800 years in the Middle Ages during which the several Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula expanded themselves (grew) by fighting the Muslim states of al-Andalus (Arabic الأندلس), the Muslim states on the Iberian Peninsula, and pushing them out of the peninsula.

The Reconquista began shortly after the Islamic conquest. Much of the ideology of the Reconquista was common to most Crusading: soldiers from all Christendom travelled to Spain to fight the Muslims as an act of Christian repentance.

The Reconquista came to an end on the 2 January 1492 with the capture of Granada. The last Muslim ruler of Granada surrendered (gave up) his kingdom to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, the Catholic kings (los Reyes Católicos). This event marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia.

Images for kids

Depiction of battle, taken from the Cantigas de Santa Maria
One of the arguments challenging the concept of Reconquista is that for the majority of the 781 years of Islamic rule in Iberia, Muslims and Christians coexisted and were not at war with each other.
The Islamic Almohad dynasty and surrounding states, including the Christian Kingdoms of Portugal, Leon, Castile, Navarre, and the Crown of Aragon, c. 1200.
The Caliphate of Córdoba in the early 10th century
Reconquista of the main towns (per year)
Saint James the Great depicted as Saint James the Moor-slayer. Legend of the Reconquista
Ceramic of the conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI
The Moors request permission from James I of Aragon
Statue of Geraldo Geraldes Sem Pavor or Gerald the Fearless. A Portuguese folk hero with the head of a Moor
The Battle of the Puig at El Puig de Santa Maria in 1237
Capture of Seville by Ferdinand III of Castile (painted by Francisco Pacheco)
The Surrender of Granada by Francisco Pradilla Ortiz
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), an important turning point of the Reconquista
Forces of Muhammed IX, Nasrid Sultan of Granada, at the Battle of La Higueruela, 1431
Old Mosque in Mértola, Portugal, converted into a church.
Moros y Cristianos festival in Pego, Alicante, 2016
The Portuguese forces, personally commanded by King Afonso V, in the conquest of Asilah, Morocco, 1471, from the Pastrana Tapestries.
An army parade in Granada attended by far-right sympathisers who are waving the Francoist flags (2 January 2016)

Reconquista facts for kids

Images for kids

See also