66-545: The Sexenio Democrático or Sexenio Revolucionario ("six democratic/revolutionary years") is a period of six years between 1868 and 1874 in the history of Spain . The Sexenio Democrático starts on 30 September 1868 with the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of Spain after the Glorious Revolution , and ends on 29 December 1874 with the Bourbon Restoration , when Isabella's son Alfonso XII became King after
132-573: A brief time, according to historian Rhea Marsh Smith. In 587, Reccared , the Visigothic king at Toledo, converted to Catholicism and launched a movement to unify the religious doctrines that existed in the Iberian Peninsula. The Councils of Toledo debated the creed and liturgy of orthodox Catholicism , and the Council of Lerida in 546 constrained the clergy and extended the power of law over them with
198-678: A coup d'état by Arsenio Martínez-Campos . The sexenio spawned the most progressive 19th-century Spanish constitution, the 1869 Constitution , the one dedicating the most space to the rights of the Spanish citizens. Three phases can be distinguished in Sexenio Democrático : The Sexenio Democrático was a politically very unstable period. This Spanish history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . History of Spain The history of Spain dates to contact between
264-583: A great part of the peninsula. As Rome declined, Germanic tribes invaded the former empire. Some were foederati , tribes enlisted to serve in Roman armies and given land as payment, while others, such as the Vandals , took advantage of the empire's weakening defenses to plunder. Those tribes that survived took over existing Roman institutions, and created successor-kingdoms to the Romans in various parts of Europe. Hispania
330-682: A liberalization of Spanish society and a re-engagement with the international community. A new liberal Constitution was established in 1978. Spain entered the European Economic Community in 1986 (transformed into the European Union in 1992), and the Eurozone in 1998. Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014, and was succeeded by his son Felipe VI . The earliest record of Homo genus representatives living in Western Europe has been found in
396-503: A refuged Visigoth noble or an autochthonous Astur chieftain. The consolidation of a Christian polity that came to be known as the Kingdom of Asturias ensued later. At the end of Visigothic rule, the assimilation of Hispano-Romans and Visigoths was occurring rapidly. An unknown number fled and took refuge in Asturias or Septimania. In Asturias they supported Pelagius's uprising, and joining with
462-606: A skirmish (later magnified by Spanish nationalism ), a Muslim force sent to put down the Christian rebels in the northern mountains was defeated by a force reportedly led by Pelagius , known as the Battle of Covadonga . The figure of Pelagius, a by-product of the Asturian chronicles of Alfonso III (written more than a century after the alleged battle), has been later reconstructed in conflicting historiographical theories, most notably that of
528-740: A slow but steady migration of Christian subjects to the northern kingdoms in Christian Hispania was slowly increasing the latter's power. Al-Andalus coincided with La Convivencia , an era of relative religious tolerance, and with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula . Muslim interest in the peninsula returned in force around the year 1000 when Al-Mansur ( Almanzor ) sacked Barcelona in 985, and he assaulted Zamora , Toro , Leon and Astorga in 988 and 989, which controlled access to Galicia . Under his son, other Christian cities were subjected to numerous raids. After his son's death,
594-528: A unique respect for legal codes that resulted in continuous frameworks and historical records for most of the period between 415, when Visigothic rule in Hispania began, and 711 when it is traditionally said to end. The Liber Iudiciorum or Lex Visigothorum (654), also known as the Book of Judges, which Recceswinth promulgated, based on Roman law and Germanic customary laws, brought about legal unification. According to
660-500: Is also known today as Spanish) gained a growing prominence in the Kingdom of Castile as the language of culture and communication, at the expense of Leonese and of other close dialects. One example of this is the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem, Cantar de Mio Cid , written about the military leader El Cid . In the last years of the reign of Ferdinand III of Castile , Castilian began to be used for certain types of documents, and it
726-426: Is little evidence of Visigothic commerce and industry. The native Hispani maintained the cultural and economic life of Hispania and were responsible for the relative prosperity of the 6th and 7th centuries. Administration was still based on Roman law, and only gradually did Visigothic customs and Roman common law merge. The Visigoths did not, until the period of Muslim rule, intermarry with the Spanish population, and
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#1732859537377792-567: The Early Middle Ages , although the institutions and infrastructure did decline. Spain's languages, its religion, and the basis of its laws originate from this period. The first Germanic tribes to invade Hispania arrived in the 5th century, as the Roman Empire decayed . The Visigoths , Suebi , Vandals and Alans arrived in Hispania by crossing the Pyrenees mountain range, leading to
858-609: The Emirate of Granada in the south-east. Muslim rule in Granada survived until 1492, when it fell to the Catholic Monarchs . Hispania never saw a decline in interest in classical culture to the degree observable in Britain, Gaul, and Germany. The Visigoths, having assimilated Roman culture and language during their tenure as foederati , maintained more of the old Roman institutions. They had
924-509: The Kingdom of Navarre , the Kingdom of León , the Kingdom of Castile , and the Kingdom of Aragon . They eventually consolidated into two roughly equivalent polities, the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon . The early modern period is generally dated from the union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon in 1469. The joint rule of Isabella I and Ferdinand II is historiographically considered
990-769: The Mediterranean coast. Before the Roman conquest the major cultures along the Mediterranean coast were the Iberians , the Celts in the interior and north-west, the Lusitanians in the west, and the Tartessians in the southwest. The seafaring Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks successively established trading settlements along the eastern and southern coast. The development of writing in
1056-515: The Palencia Cathedral is a Visigothic chapel from the mid 7th century, built during the reign of Wamba to preserve the remains of the martyr Saint Antoninus of Pamiers . These are the only remains of the Visigothic cathedral of Palencia. Reccopolis , located near the tiny modern village of Zorita de los Canes , is an archaeological site of one of at least four cities founded in Hispania by
1122-714: The Spanish Golden Age flourished, the Spanish Empire reached its territorial and economic peak, and his palace at El Escorial became the center of artistic flourishing. However, Philip's rule also saw the calamitous destruction of the Spanish Armada , numerous state bankruptcies and the independence of the Northern Netherlands , which marked the beginning of the slow decline of Spanish influence in Europe. Spain's power
1188-560: The pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Greeks and Phoenicians . During Classical Antiquity , the peninsula was the site of multiple successive colonizations of Greeks, Carthaginians , and Romans. Native peoples of the peninsula, such as the Tartessos , intermingled with the colonizers to create a uniquely Iberian culture. The Romans referred to
1254-547: The saqáliba (plural of siqlabi , "slave"). These were the most lucrative part of the booty, and constituted an excellent method of payment for the troops, so much so that many aceifas were hunts for people. The Almohads, who had taken control of the Almoravids' Maghribi and al-Andalus territories by 1147, surpassed the Almoravides in fundamentalist Islamic outlook, and they treated the non-believer dhimmis harshly. Faced with
1320-953: The 10th century Abd-al-Rahman III declared the Caliphate of Córdoba , effectively breaking all ties with the Egyptian and Syrian caliphs. The Caliphate was mostly concerned with maintaining its power base in North Africa, but these possessions eventually dwindled to the Ceuta province. The first navy of the Emir of Córdoba was built after the Viking ascent of the Guadalquivir in 844 when they sacked Seville . In 942, Hungarian raids on Spain , especially in Catalonia , took place, according to Ibn Hayyan 's work. Meanwhile,
1386-753: The 12th to the 18th century in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia, where it was known as Valencian. Both languages were later substituted in its official status by Castilian Spanish, till the 20th century. In the 13th century many universities were founded in León and in Castile. Some, such as the Leonese Salamanca and the Castilian Palencia, were among the earliest universities in Europe. In 1492, under
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#17328595373771452-648: The Christian realms in the north. After the loss of Toledo in 1085, the Muslim rulers reluctantly invited the Almoravids , who invaded Al-Andalus from North Africa and established an empire. In the 12th century the Almoravid empire broke up again, only to be taken over by the Almohad invasion, who were defeated by an alliance of the Christian kingdoms in the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. By 1250, nearly all of Hispania
1518-458: The Council of Lerida in 546 constrained the clergy and extended the power of law over them with the approval of the Pope. In 587, the Visigothic king at Toledo, Reccared , converted to Catholicism and launched a movement to unify the various religious doctrines in Hispania. The Visigoths inherited from Late Antiquity a prefeudal system in Hispania, based in the south on the Roman villa system and in
1584-811: The French Bourbons and the Austrian Habsburgs. The Bourbons prevailed, resulting in the ascension of Philip V of Spain , who took Spain into the various wars to recapture the Spanish-controlled lands in Southern Italy recently lost. During the Napoleonic era , Spain became a French puppet state. Concurrent with, and following, the Napoleonic period the Spanish American wars of independence resulted in
1650-604: The Greek Bible and a few fragments of other documents have survived. The Hispano-Romans found Visigothic rule and its early embrace of the Arian heresy more of a threat than Islam, and shed their thralldom to the Visigoths only in the 8th century, with the aid of the Muslims themselves. The most visible effect of Visigothic rule was the depopulation of the cities as their inhabitants moved to
1716-617: The Spanish cave of Atapuerca ; a flint tool found there dates from 1.4 million years ago, and early human fossils date to roughly 1.2 million years ago. Modern humans in the form of Cro-Magnons began arriving in the Iberian Peninsula from north of the Pyrenees some 35,000 years ago. The most conspicuous sign of prehistoric human settlements are the paintings in the northern Spanish cave of Altamira , which were done c. 15,000 BC . Archeological evidence in places like Los Millares and El Argar suggests developed cultures existed in
1782-834: The Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I in Damascus . When the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate, Abd al-Rahman I managed to escape to al-Andalus and declared it independent. The state founded by him is known as the Emirate of Cordoba . Al-Andalus was rife with internal conflict between the Islamic Umayyad rulers and people and the Christian Visigoth-Roman leaders and people. The Vikings invaded Galicia in 844, but were heavily defeated by Ramiro I at A Coruña . Many of
1848-604: The Vikings' casualties were caused by the Galicians' ballistas – powerful torsion-powered projectile weapons that looked rather like giant crossbows. 70 Viking ships were captured and burned. Vikings returned to Galicia in 859, during the reign of Ordoño I . Ordoño was at the moment engaged against his constant enemies the Moors; but a count of the province, Don Pedro, attacked the Vikings and defeated them, destroying 38 of their ships. In
1914-568: The Visigothic kings, until their transition from Arianism to Catholicism. Conversion to Catholicism across Visigothic society reduced the friction between the Visigoths and the Hispano-Roman population. However, the Visigothic conversion negatively impacted the Jews, who came under scrutiny for their religious practices. The Umayyad Caliphate dominated most of North Africa by 710 AD. In 711 an Islamic Berber conquering party, led by Tariq ibn Ziyad ,
1980-470: The Visigothic language had a limited impact on the modern languages of Iberia. The historian Joseph F. O'Callaghan says that at the end of the Visigothic era the assimilation of Hispano-Romans and Visigoths was occurring rapidly, and the leaders of society were beginning to see themselves as one people. Little literature in the Gothic language remains from the period of Visigothic rule—only translations of parts of
2046-473: The Visigoths. It is the only city in Western Europe to have been founded between the fifth and eighth centuries. The city's construction was ordered by the Visigothic king Liuvigild to honor his son Reccared and to serve as Reccared's seat as co-king in the Visigothic province of Celtiberia . At the beginning of the Visigothic Kingdom , Arianism was the official religion in Hispania, but only for
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2112-829: The advancing legions of the Roman Republic and the Celtiberian tribes of Hispania Citerior from 181 to 133 BC. The Roman conquest of the peninsula was completed in 19 BC. Hispania was the name used for the Iberian Peninsula under Roman rule from the 2nd century BC. The population was gradually culturally Romanized , and local leaders were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. The Romans improved existing cities, such as Tarragona , and established others like Zaragoza , Mérida , Valencia , León , Badajoz , and Palencia . The peninsula's economy expanded under Rome. Hispania supplied Rome with food, olive oil, wine and metal. The emperors Trajan , Hadrian , and Theodosius I ,
2178-528: The approval of the pope. While the Visigoths clung to their Arian faith, the Jews were well-tolerated. Previous Roman and Byzantine law determined their status, and already sharply discriminated against them. Historian Jane Gerber relates that some of the Jews "held ranking posts in the government or the army; others were recruited and organized for garrison service; still others continued to hold senatorial rank". In general, they were well-respected and well-treated by
2244-401: The caliphate plunged into a civil war and splintered into the so-called " Taifa Kingdoms". The Taifa kings competed in war and in the protection of the arts, and culture enjoyed a brief renaissance. The aceifas (Muslim military expeditions made in summer in medieval Spain) were the continuation of a policy from the times of the emirate: the capture of numerous contingents of Christian slaves,
2310-406: The choice of death, conversion, or emigration, many Jews and Christians left. By the mid-13th century, the Emirate of Granada was the only independent Muslim realm in Spain, which survived until 1492 by becoming a vassal state to Castile, to which it paid tribute . Medieval Spain was the scene of almost constant warfare between Muslims and Christians. The Taifa kingdoms lost ground to
2376-408: The continuity (though reduced) of western Mediterranean trade supported Visigothic culture. The Visigothic ruling class looked to Constantinople for style and technology. Spanish Catholicism also coalesced during this time. The period of rule by the Visigothic Kingdom saw the spread of Arianism briefly in Hispania. The Councils of Toledo debated creed and liturgy in orthodox Catholicism , and
2442-427: The countryside. Even while the country enjoyed a degree of prosperity when compared to France and Germany, the Visigoths felt little reason to contribute to the welfare, permanency, and infrastructure of their people and state. This contributed to their downfall, as they could not count on the loyalty of their subjects when the Moors arrived in the 8th century. In Spain, an important collection of Visigothic metalwork
2508-503: The early 8th century, when the peninsula fell to the Muslim conquests . The Muslim state in Hispania came to be known as Al-Andalus . After a period of Muslim dominance, the medieval history of Spain is dominated by the long Christian Reconquista or "reconquest" of the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista gathered momentum during the 12th century, leading to the establishment of the Christian kingdoms of Portugal , Aragon , Castile and Navarre and by 1250, had reduced Muslim control to
2574-539: The eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula during the late Neolithic and the Bronze Age . Around 2500 BC, the nomadic shepherds known as the Corded ware culture conquered the peninsula using new technologies and horses while killing all local males according to DNA studies. Spanish prehistory extends to the pre-Roman Iron Age cultures that controlled most of Iberia : those of the Iberians , Celtiberians , Tartessians , Lusitanians , and Vascones and trading settlements of Phoenicians , Carthaginians , and Greeks on
2640-491: The entire peninsula as Hispania , from which the name "Spain" originates. As was the rest of the Western Roman Empire , Spain was subject to numerous invasions of Germanic tribes during the 4th and 5th centuries AD, resulting in the end of Roman rule and the establishment of Germanic kingdoms, marking the beginning of the Middle Ages in Spain . Germanic control lasted until the Umayyad conquest of Hispania began in 711. The region became known as Al-Andalus , and except for
2706-439: The establishment of the Suebi Kingdom in Gallaecia , in the northwest, the Vandal Kingdom of Vandalusia (Andalusia), and the Visigothic Kingdom in Toledo. The Romanized Visigoths entered Hispania in 415. After the conversion of their monarchy to Roman Catholicism and after conquering the disordered Suebic territories in the northwest and Byzantine territories in the southeast, the Visigothic Kingdom eventually encompassed
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2772-414: The expansion of an organized military, building the strongest navy in the Umayyad Caliphate era (the second major Arab dynasty after Mohammad and the first Arab dynasty of Al-Andalus ). It was this tactic that supported the ultimate expansion to Hispania. Islamic power in Spain specifically climaxed in the 10th century under Abd-al-Rahman III . The rulers of Al-Andalus were granted the rank of Emir by
2838-435: The foundation of a unified Greater Spain. The conquest of Granada , and the first voyage of Columbus , both in 1492, made that year a critical inflection point in Spanish history. The voyages of the explorers and conquistadors of Spain during the subsequent decades helped establish a Spanish colonial empire which was among the largest ever. King Charles I established the Spanish Habsburg dynasty. Under his son Philip II
2904-411: The historian Joseph O'Callaghan, at that time they already considered themselves one people and together with the Hispano-Gothic nobility they called themselves the gens Gothorum . In the early Middle Ages, the Liber Iudiciorum was known as the Visigothic Code and also as the Fuero Juzgo . Its influence on law extends to the present. The proximity of the Visigothic kingdoms to the Mediterranean and
2970-536: The indigenous leaders, formed a new aristocracy. The population of the mountain region consisted of native Astures , Galicians , Cantabri , Basques and other groups unassimilated into Hispano-Gothic society. In 739, a rebellion in Galicia, assisted by the Asturians, drove out Muslim forces and it joined the Asturian kingdom. In the northern Christian kingdoms, lords and religious organizations often owned Muslim slaves who were employed as laborers and household servants. Caliph Al-Walid I had paid great attention to
3036-422: The latter grip strengthened from the 4th century BC on. The Barcids , following their landing in Gadir in 237 BC, conquered the territories that belonged to the sphere of influence of Carthage. Until 219 BC, their presence in the peninsula was underpinned by their control of places such as Carthago Nova and Akra Leuké (both founded by Punics), as well as the network of old Phoenician settlements. The peninsula
3102-446: The loss of most of Spain's territory in the Americas. During the re-establishment of the Bourbon rule in Spain, constitutional monarchy was introduced in 1813. Spain's history during the nineteenth century was tumultuous, and featured alternating periods of republican-liberal and monarchical rule. The Spanish–American War led to losses of Spanish colonial possessions and a series of military dictatorships, during which King Alfonso XIII
3168-411: The majority of the population in Al-Andalus converted to Islam. The Muslim population was divided per ethnicity (Arabs, Berbers, Muwallad), and the supremacy of Arabs over the rest of group was a recurrent cause for strife, rivalry and hatred, particularly between Arabs and Berbers. Arab elites could be further divided in the Yemenites (first wave) and Syrians (second wave). Male Muslim rulers were often
3234-435: The north drawing on their vassals to supply troops in exchange for protection. The bulk of the Visigothic army was composed of slaves. The loose council of nobles that advised Hispania's Visigothic kings and legitimized their rule was responsible for raising the army, and only upon its consent was the king able to summon soldiers. The economy of the Visigothic kingdom depended primarily on agriculture and animal husbandry; there
3300-419: The offspring of female Christian slaves. Christians and Jews were allowed to live as subordinate groups of a stratified society under the dhimmah system , although Jews became very important in certain fields. Some Christians migrated to the Northern Christian kingdoms, while those who stayed in Al-Andalus progressively arabised and became known as musta'arab ( mozarabs ). Besides slaves of Iberian origin,
3366-414: The peninsula took place after the arrival of early Phoenician settlers and traders (tentatively dated 9th century BC or later). The south of the peninsula was rich in archaic Phoenician colonies, unmatched by any other region in the central-western Mediterranean. They were small and densely packed settlements. The colony of Gadir —which sustained strong links with its metropolis of Tyre —stood out from
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#17328595373773432-522: The philosopher Seneca , and the poets Martial , Quintilian , and Lucan were born in Hispania. Hispanic bishops held the Council of Elvira around 306. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, parts of Hispania came under the control of the Germanic tribes of Vandals , Suebi , and Visigoths . The collapse of the Western Roman Empire did not lead to the same wholesale destruction of classical society as happened in areas like Roman Britain , Gaul and Germania Inferior during
3498-498: The rest of the network of colonies, also featuring a more complex sociopolitical organization. Archaic Greeks arrived on the Peninsula by the late 7th century BC. They founded Greek colonies such as Emporion (570 BC). The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia , apparently after the river Iber ( Ebro ). By the 6th century BC, much of the territory of southern Iberia passed to Carthage 's overarching influence (featuring two centres of Punic influence in Gadir and Mastia );
3564-445: The slave population also comprised the Ṣaqāliba (literally meaning "slavs", although they were slaves of generic European origin) as well as Sudanese slaves. The frequent raids in Christian lands provided Al-Andalus with continuous slave stock, including women who often became part of the harems of the Muslim elite. Slaves were also shipped from Spain to elsewhere in the Ummah . In what should not have amounted to much more than
3630-402: The small Kingdom of Asturias , the region remained under the control of Muslim-led states for much of the Early Middle Ages , a period known as the Islamic Golden Age . By the time of the High Middle Ages , Christians from the north gradually expanded their control over Iberia, a period known as the Reconquista . As they expanded southward, a number of Christian kingdoms were formed, including
3696-430: The south of modern France) and gradually expanded their influence into Hispania after the battle of Vouillé (507) at the expense of the Vandals and Alans, who moved on into North Africa without leaving much permanent mark on Hispanic culture. The Visigothic Kingdom shifted its capital to Toledo and reached a high point during the reign of Leovigild . The Visigothic Kingdom conquered all of Hispania and ruled it until
3762-418: The southeast. The Celts mostly inhabited the inner and north-west part of the peninsula. To the east of the Meseta Central , the Sistema Ibérico area was inhabited by the Celtiberians , reportedly rich in precious metals (obtained by Romans in the form of tributes ). Celtiberians developed a refined technique of iron-forging, displayed in their quality weapons. The Celtiberian Wars were fought between
3828-408: Was a military theatre of the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) waged between Carthage and the Roman Republic , the two powers vying for supremacy in the western Mediterranean. Romans expelled Carthaginians from the peninsula in 206 BC. The peoples whom the Romans met at the time of their invasion were the Iberians, inhabiting an area stretching from the northeast part of the Iberian Peninsula through
3894-410: Was back under Christian rule with the exception of the Muslim kingdom of Granada. In the 13th century, many languages were spoken in the Christian kingdoms of Hispania. These were the Latin-based Romance languages of Castilian , Aragonese , Catalan , Galician , Aranese , Asturian , Leonese , and Portuguese , and the ancient language isolate of Basque . Throughout the century, Castilian (what
3960-419: Was deposed and a new Republican government was formed. Ultimately, the political disorder within Spain led to a coup by the military which led to the Spanish Civil War . After much foreign intervention on both sides, the Nationalists emerged victorious; Francisco Franco led a fascist dictatorship for almost four decades. Franco's death ushered in a return of the monarchy under King Juan Carlos I , which saw
4026-472: Was during the reign of Alfonso X that it became the official language. Henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian. At the same time, Catalan and Galician became the standard languages in their respective territories, developing important literary traditions and being the normal languages in which public and private documents were issued: Galician from the 13th to the 16th century in Galicia and nearby regions of Asturias and Leon, and Catalan from
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#17328595373774092-634: Was found in Guadamur , known as the Treasure of Guarrazar . This archeological find comprises twenty-six votive crowns and gold crosses from the royal workshop in Toledo, with signs of Byzantine influence. During their governance of Hispania, the Visigoths built several churches in the basilical or cruciform style that survive, including the churches of San Pedro de la Nave in El Campillo, Santa María de Melque in San Martín de Montalbán , Santa Lucía del Trampal in Alcuéscar, Santa Comba in Bande, and Santa María de Lara in Quintanilla de las Viñas. The Visigothic crypt (the Crypt of San Antolín) in
4158-407: Was further tested by its participation in the Eighty Years' War , whereby it tried and failed to recapture the newly independent Dutch Republic, and the Thirty Years' War , which resulted in continued decline of Habsburg power in favor of the French Bourbon dynasty . Matters came to a head during the reign of Charles II of Spain ; upon his death, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out between
4224-408: Was only stopped in what is now north-central France by the West Germanic Franks under Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Muslim conquerors (also known as "Moors") were Arabs and Berbers ; following the conquest, conversion and arabization of the Hispano-Roman population took place, ( muwalladum or Muwallad ). After a long process, spurred on in the 9th and 10th centuries,
4290-445: Was sent to Hispania to intervene in a civil war in the Visigothic Kingdom . Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar , they won a decisive victory in the summer of 711 when the Visigothic King Roderic was defeated and killed on July 19 at the Battle of Guadalete . Tariq's commander, Musa, quickly crossed with Arab reinforcements, and by 718 the Muslims were in control of nearly the whole Iberian Peninsula . The advance into Western Europe
4356-436: Was taken over by the Visigoths after 410. At the same time, there was a process of "Romanization" of the Germanic and Hunnic tribes. The Visigoths, for example, were converted to Arian Christianity around 360, even before they were pushed into imperial territory by the expansion of the Huns . The Visigoths, having sacked Rome two years earlier, arrived in Gaul in 412, founding the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse (in
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