History
From 711 to 1614.
What "Moor" meant, then nine turning points in the story of Muslim Spain and Portugal, from the crossing at Gibraltar to the last expulsions.
The word
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Where the word comes from
“Moor” comes from the Latin word Maurus. The Romans used it for people from their province of Mauretania, which covered parts of today’s Algeria and Morocco (not the modern country of Mauritania).
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Moor”
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Who the Moors of Spain were
In English, “Moor” once meant a member of the Muslim population of al-Andalus (Muslim Spain and Portugal), people of mixed Arab, Spanish, and Amazigh (Berber) roots. Like the Spanish word moro, it sometimes meant any Muslim at all, which is why Muslims in Sri Lanka and the Philippines were also called Moors.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Moor”
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Middle Ages to 1600s
A loose label, not an ethnicity
Britannica says the word is of little use for describing anyone’s ethnicity. From the Middle Ages into the 1600s, Europeans pictured Moors as black, “swarthy,” or “tawny,” and called Muslims of other complexions “white Moors.”
Where sources differ: Online claims go both ways (“the Moors were Black” vs. “the Moors weren’t Black”). The sources here agree the label was used loosely: for Amazigh and Arab North Africans, for Iberian Muslims, and in the Renaissance for dark-skinned people generally (Britannica; National Geographic).
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Moor”
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Renaissance
“Moor” and “blackamoor” in the Renaissance
Starting in the Renaissance, Europeans also used “Moor” and “blackamoor” for any person with dark skin, and sometimes split people into “blackamoors” and “white Moors.”
The timeline
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711
Tariq ibn Ziyad crosses into Spain
In 711 the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad landed at Gibraltar with an army Britannica describes as mostly Berbers, Syrians, and Yemenis, starting the Muslim conquest of Spain. Gibraltar is named for him: Jabal Tariq, “Mount of Tariq.”
Where sources differ: Exact dates differ by source: Britannica’s Tariq entry says he landed in May 711, while The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline essay says the army landed July 19, 711.
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756
The Umayyad emirate of Córdoba
Within about seven years, Arab and Berber forces controlled almost all of the peninsula, which Muslims called al-Andalus. After the Umayyad caliphs in Damascus were overthrown in 750, a surviving Umayyad prince, Abd al-Rahman I, set up his own emirate with Córdoba as its capital in 756.
Source: The Met, Heilbrunn Timeline, “The Art of the Umayyad Period in Spain (711 to 1031)”
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929 to 1031
The Caliphate of Córdoba
In 929 Abd al-Rahman III declared himself caliph. The Met calls caliphal Córdoba perhaps the greatest intellectual center in Europe, with celebrated libraries and schools.
Source: The Met, Heilbrunn Timeline, “The Art of the Umayyad Period in Spain (711 to 1031)”
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1031
The caliphate ends and the taifa kingdoms begin
After about 20 years of unrest, Córdoba’s leading families abolished the caliphate in 1031. Al-Andalus broke up into independent small kingdoms called taifas.
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1086
The Almoravids
The Almoravids, a Saharan Berber movement based in Marrakesh, crossed into Spain as Christian Castile was taking Toledo. They beat the Castilians at the Battle of al-Zallaqah in 1086 and went on to rule nearly all of Muslim Spain.
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1147 to 1212
The Almohads
The Almohads, a Berber movement from Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, toppled the Almoravids in 1147 and took Seville in 1172. A Christian coalition crushed them at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and they pulled back to North Africa.
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1238 to 1492
Nasrid Granada and the fall of 1492
The Nasrids, the last Muslim dynasty in Spain, ruled the kingdom of Granada from 1238. Their first ruler, a tributary vassal of Castile, began building the Alhambra. The Christian conquest of Granada in 1492 ended Nasrid rule.
Where sources differ: 1492 didn’t end the Muslim presence in Spain. Britannica’s Morisco entry says surrendering Muslim communities, including Granada’s in 1492, were usually promised freedom of religion by treaty, and many stayed until forced conversions began.
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1502 to 1526
Forced conversion and the Moriscos
Spain abandoned its promises of religious freedom. In 1502 Granada’s Muslims had to choose baptism or exile, and in 1526 the Muslims of Valencia and Aragon were forced to convert. These converts and their descendants were called Moriscos (“little Moors”), and many kept practicing Islam in secret.
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1609 to 1614
The expulsion of the Moriscos
A royal order in September 1609 began the expulsion of the Moriscos, and it was finished about five years later. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced out, most resettling in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.
Where sources differ: Numbers vary even within Britannica: its Morisco entry estimates about 300,000 resettled in North Africa, while its Spain history article says some 275,000 had been forced to leave by 1614.