Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. In My Learning the same topic also comes with:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
The big idea: For nearly 800 years Christian kingdoms in the north of Spain slowly pushed south against Muslim Spain, which they called al-Andalus.
This long, on-and-off struggle is known as the Reconquest, and it finally ended in 1492 when the last Muslim city, Granada, surrendered.
Region tag: this is a European case study: The Reconquest took place on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe — modern Spain and Portugal. Keep that clear, because the invaders of 711 came from North Africa, so it is easy to mix up the two sides.
The shape of the story (711 to 1492): Muslims conquer Spain (711) → Christian kingdoms slowly push south for centuries → only Granada is left → Granada falls (1492). Almost every date you learn fits somewhere on that line.
The Reconquest is easiest to remember through a handful of turning points and the people who drove them. You do not need every battle, just the ones examiners expect.
Think of it as three big stages: a slow start, a decisive middle, and a fast finish under two famous rulers.
718 (approx.) — Covadonga
A small Christian victory in the northern mountains, led by a noble named Pelayo. It saved a Christian foothold and was later remembered as the symbolic start of the Reconquest.
1085 — Toledo taken
The kingdom of Castile captured the important city of Toledo. This showed Christian power was now growing strong enough to seize major cities, not just villages.
1212 — Las Navas de Tolosa
A combined Christian army crushed the Almohads at this battle. It broke Muslim military power in Spain for good.
By about 1250 — only Granada left
Over the next decades Christians took most of the south. Only the Emirate of Granada, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty, survived — and it stayed alive partly by paying tribute money to Castile.
1469 — the royal marriage
Isabella I of Castile married Ferdinand II of Aragon, joining Spain's two biggest Christian kingdoms. Together they became known as the Catholic Monarchs, and they aimed their combined power at Granada.
1482 to 1492 — the War of Granada
Isabella and Ferdinand launched a ten-year campaign against Granada. City by city they closed in, until only the capital itself remained.
Covadonga starts it, Las Navas breaks it, Granada ends it.
The last act: Granada surrenders, 2 January 1492: Granada's last ruler, the emir Boabdil (also called Muhammad XII), agreed to surrender rather than see his city destroyed.
The surrender terms, the Treaty of Granada (signed in November 1491), were generous: Granada's Muslims were promised they could keep their religion, property, laws and language.
On 2 January 1492 Boabdil handed the keys of the city to Isabella and Ferdinand. This ended the last Muslim state in Spain and closed the Reconquest.
Why 1492 is such a famous year: The fall of Granada was only the start of a huge year. In the same 1492, the Catholic Monarchs also funded Christopher Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic, and issued the Alhambra Decree ordering Jews to convert to Christianity or leave Spain.
Christian side
- Pelayo — the northern noble linked to the first victory at Covadonga
- Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon — the Catholic Monarchs who united the kingdoms and finished the Reconquest
- Fought as separate kingdoms (Castile, Aragon, Portugal) for most of the story, only uniting near the end
Muslim side
- The Almohads — the North African empire beaten at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212
- The Nasrid dynasty — rulers of Granada, the last Muslim state, who survived by paying tribute
- Boabdil — the final emir, who surrendered Granada in 1492
| Year | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 711 | Muslim conquest of Spain | Al-Andalus is created; Christians hold only the north |
| 718 (approx.) | Battle of Covadonga | Symbolic start of the Reconquest |
| 1085 | Toledo captured | Castile seizes a major city |
| 1212 | Las Navas de Tolosa | Muslim military power broken |
| 1469 | Isabella marries Ferdinand | Castile and Aragon united |
| 1492 | Fall of Granada | Last Muslim state ends; Reconquest complete |
Stop wasting time on topics you know
Our AI identifies your weak areas and focuses your study time where it matters. No more overstudying easy topics.
How this is tested (Paper 1): Paper 1 is source-based, so you often meet a short written or visual source and are asked to judge how useful it is. A common 4-mark task asks you to weigh a source's value and limitations using its origin, purpose and content.
Your knowledge of the key events and actors is what lets you judge whether a source is trustworthy.
A source is an original painting made in the 1880s, long after the events. It shows Boabdil handing the keys of Granada to a proud Isabella and Ferdinand, with cheering crowds. With reference to its origin, purpose and content, assess the value and limitations of this source for a historian studying the fall of Granada.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Common mistakes: Do not just describe the painting or say 'it is biased' with no reason. Marks come from tying value and limitation to the source's origin, purpose or content, and always giving both a value and a limitation.