Al-Andalus : The Mezquita (Cordoba Mosque)

Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس) was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims, at various times in the period between 711 and 1492. It refers to the Umayyad Caliphate province (711-750), Emirate of Cordoba (c. 750-929) and Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031) and its "taifa" ("successor") kingdoms. As the Iberian Peninsula was eventually regained by Christians re-expanding southward in the process known as the Reconquista, the name Al-Andalus came to refer to the Muslim-dominated lands of the former Visigothic Hispania. In 1236, the Reconquista progressed to the last remaining Islamic stronghold, Granada, achieved by the forces of Ferdinand III of Castile. Granada was a vassal state to Castile for the next 256 years, until January 2, 1492, when Boabdil surrendered complete control of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Cat?licos ("The Catholic Monarchs"). The Portuguese Reconquista culminated in 1249 with the conquest of Algarve by Afonso III. The Mezquita (Spanish word for "mosque") dates back to the 10th century when Cordoba reached its zenith under a new emir, Abd ar-Rahman III who was one of the great rulers of Islamic history. At this time Cordoba was the largest, most prosperous cities of Europe. Related Video: An Islamic History of Europe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh0wEDZFxps