Starting with the Battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212, the Christians gradually expanded their territories in Andalucía, until Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragón defeated the last remaining Muslim kingdom in 1492.
![Ruined Basílica in Vega del Mar [photo: Ikusitaikasi / wikimedia.org (CC BY-SA 4.0)]](https://andalucia-bound.com/wp-content/uploads/basilica-vega-del-mar-768x576.jpg)
As the Western Roman Empire disintegrated, the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by several Germanic tribes. After an initial period of turmoil, the Visigoths imposed their authority, establishing a Christian kingdom that eventually covered the whole peninsula.
During the final period of Muslim rule in Andalucía, only the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada held on, covering roughly the modern provinces of Málaga, Granada and Almería. Although politically weak and riven by internal conflict, it was a centre of culture and learning.
In 929 the Emir of Córdoba Abd al-Rahman III declared himself Caliph. The Caliphate of Córdoba was splendid but short-lived, and the centuries following its collapse were plagued by conflict.
For over five centuries, Muslim rulers controlled the whole of Andalucía. During the first two hundred years of Muslim rule, Córdoba was the capital of a powerful Emirate which covered most of modern Spain and Portugal.
Andalucía was one of the most Romanised provinces outside Italy, and two of the great Roman emperors – Trajan and Hadrian – were born in Itálica, near modern-day Seville.
Andalucía has been inhabited by modern humans and their ancestors for over a million years, so there are a wealth of fascinating archaeological sites across the region. And fortunately for visitors, the dry climate of eastern Andalucia has kept some incredibly intact traces of bygone cultures.
