Reconkista name liberating fight of the people inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula against Mauritian conquerors. Events took place at 8-15 centuries, practically all groups of the Christian population participated in them.
Instruction
1. Liberation movement began in the 8th century in Asturias — the survived Christian kingdom, return of the territories of Portugal and Spain occupied by berbers and Arabs was the purpose of fight.
2. The leading ideological role throughout all Reconkista was played by Catholic church. The Christian population was interested in advance to the South also for the economic reasons as the southern Spain was much more developed, than northern territories.
3. The Castilian king Alfonso VI in 1085 recaptured the large city of Toledo, before coming of the Arab conquerors it was the capital of the kingdom of Visigoths. Toledo became the major strong point in fight against Muslims.
4. After Toledo capture the Muslim emirs asked for the help Mauritian governors of North Africa Almoravidam. At Zallake the Christian army got beaten in fight owing to what liberation of the Iberian Peninsula was for a while delayed.
5. The Spanish caballero Rodrigo Díaz de Bivar famous as El Cid Coppeador, was Reconkista's hero in the second half of the 11th century. In different years he ordered Castilian army and Almoravidam inflicted resolute defeat. In 1094 the Castilians occupied the Muslim city of Valencia.
6. In 1099 Almoravidam was succeeded to capture Valencia, but Castilians kept Toledo, and in 1118 Zaragoza was taken by the Aragonese troops. At this time the power in North Africa passed to a dynasty Almokhadov, they won all Muslim territories Almoravidov on the peninsula and at the end of the 12th century pressed Castilians on the North.
7. At the beginning of the 13th century four Christian kingdoms (Leon, Aragon, Castile and Navarre) united for fight against conquerors, with assistance of the European crusaders they inflicted Almokhadam crushing defeat. Arabs were pushed aside on the South, behind them only the small territory around Grenada remained.
8. By the 14th century Spain remained disconnected on Aragono-Katalonsky and Castilian and Leon kingdoms, but marriage of Isabella Kastilskaya and the king of Aragon Ferdinand in 1479 led to their reunification and creation of the largest European kingdom of Spain which occupied the most part of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Balearic Islands and the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula.
9. In 1143 the Christian kingdom Portugal was formed. Reconkista's termination marked the beginning of a new era of power of Catholic Spain - the largest state in Europe in those days.