The Reconquista: 781 Years to Retake Iberia (711–1492)

The Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula lasted 781 years — from the Battle of Guadalete (711) to the Fall of Granada (1492).

Phases

1. 711–722: Collapse & Resistance — Visigothic kingdom falls; Pelagius wins at Covadonga (Asturias).
2. 722–1031: Asturian-Leonese Expansion — Slow push to Duero River; fragmentation of Caliphate of Córdoba (1031) into taifas.
3. 1031–1212: Taifa Era & Almoravid/Almohad Interventions — Toledo falls (1085); Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) breaks Almohad power.
4. 1212–1248: Great Advance — Córdoba (1236), Valencia (1238), Seville (1248), Murcia (1243). Only Granada remains.
5. 1248–1492: Granada Emirate — Nasrid dynasty, vassal to Castile, cultural zenith (Alhambra). Final war (1482–92).

Key Dynamics

• Not a single "crusade": Local expansion, dynastic marriages (Aragon-Castile 1469), repopulation (repartimiento), military orders (Calatrava, Santiago).
• Muslim disunity: Taifas, North African interventions, civil wars.
• Demographics: Christian north population grew; Muslim south declined (emigration, conversion).
• Papal support: Crusading indulgences, military orders.

1492 & After

• Granada surrenders Jan 2, 1492.
• Columbus sails Aug 1492 — same monarchs (Ferdinand & Isabella).
• Expulsion of Jews (1492), Muslims (1502, 1609 Moriscos).

Historiography

"Reconquista" is a 19th-century nationalist term; medieval actors saw it as restauratio (restoration). Modern scholarship emphasizes coexistence (convivencia), frontier society, and economic exchange alongside conflict.

781 years — the longest "war" in European history, forging Spain's identity.