In the 8th century AD, a group of people invaded Spain. The conquerors were a mixture of Arabs (people from Arabia) and Berbers (a tribe from northern Africa) who practiced the religion of Islam. The Arab-Berber invaders soon began marrying Spanish people, creating a society of people who came to be known as the Moors.

Culture and society

The Moors made large improvements to the areas they lived in. They rebuilt old Roman cities to include palaces and mosques (places where Muslims worship). They also used irrigation to turn dry lands into gardens.

Moorish Spain was a center of learning and produced many well-known scientists, mathematicians, philosophers, and writers. The Moors were also known for the quality of their metalwork, silk, and leather goods.

History

The arrival of the Arab-Berber invaders began seven centuries of Islamic power in Spain. However, weak leaders slowly led to the fall of the Moors. Christian kingdoms that had formed in the northern mountain regions took land from the Moors bit by bit, though people were still given religious freedom. By 1212, Moorish rule was limited to the kingdom of Granada in southern Spain.

Most of Spain was united in 1469 with the royal marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. The final blow to the power of the Moors in Spain came in 1492, when the king and queen sent their army to take over Granada. Religious freedom soon ended. Moors who practiced Islam were forced out of Spain. Moors who stayed in Spain became Christians, or at least pretended to follow Christianity while secretly practicing Islam.

Descendants of the Moors who stayed in Spain were known as Moriscos. Early in the 17th century, Moriscos were driven out of Spain because of their political and religious beliefs. Most of them moved to northern Africa. Modern descendants of the Moriscos who live along the coast of Morocco and Algeria in northwest Africa are sometimes called Moors.