Gharb al-Andalus (, trans. ''gharb al-ʼandalus''; "west of

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

"), or just al-Gharb (, trans. ''al-gharb''; "the west"), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and part of West-central modern day

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

during their rule of the territory, from 711 to 1249. This period started with the fall of the

Visigothic kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

after Tariq ibn-Ziyad's invasion of Iberia and the establishment of the Umayyad control in the territory. The present day

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

derives its name from this Arabic name. The region had a population of about 500,000 people.

Umayyad Conquest

After a small civil war in the already

Christianized Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

, King

Roderic Roderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish language, Spanish and , ; died 711) was the Visigoths, Visigothic king in Hispania between 710 and 711. He is well known as "the last king of the Goths". He is actually an ex ...

(''Rodrigo'' in Portuguese and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) had a strong position in the peninsula. His opponents, exiled in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

, asked Musa ibn Nusair,

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Muslim governor and general, for help. The initially skeptical general sent an experimental expedition mainly consisting of Moors from North and West Africa, led by

Tariq ibn Ziyad Tariq ibn Ziyad ( ; ), also known simply as Tarik in English, was an Umayyad commander who initiated the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain and Portugal) against the Visigothic Kingdom in 711–718 AD. He led an army and ...

, thus initiating the Muslim conquest of Iberia. Tariq utterly defeated Roderic's Visigothic army in the

Battle of Guadalete The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces o ...

, and soon after captured Toledo and Córdoba. With Tariq's success, Musa joined the expedition and established himself as governor of the new territories. By 714

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

, Santarém and

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

had been conquered, and two years later

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

was in Muslim control. By 718 most of today's Portuguese territory was under Umayyad rule. The Umayyads eventually stopped between Poitiers and Tours but Muslim rule in Iberia would last until 1492 with the fall of the

Kingdom of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe. ...

Emirate and the Caliphate

The Emirate of Córdoba lasted from 756 to 929. The

Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

lasted from 929 to 1031. It was followed by the

Taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...

First taifa period

The first

Taifa of Badajoz The Taifa of Badajoz (from ) was a medieval Islamic Moorish kingdom located in what is now parts of Portugal and Spain. It was centred on the city of Badajoz which exists today as the first city of Extremadura, in Spain.Aftasid dynasty The Aftasid dynasty (Arabic: بنو الأفطس ''Banu al-Aftas'') was an Arabization, Arabized Muladí, Iberian-Berbers, Berber dynasty that ruled the Taifa of Badajoz in Al-Andalus. History When the Caliphate of Cordoba broke up into the Taifa ...

, existed from 1009 to 1094. The Taifa of Lisbon lasted from 1022 to 1034, when it as annexed to

Taifa of Badajoz The Taifa of Badajoz (from ) was a medieval Islamic Moorish kingdom located in what is now parts of Portugal and Spain. It was centred on the city of Badajoz which exists today as the first city of Extremadura, in Spain.Alfonso VI of León and Castile Alfonso VI (1 July 1109), nicknamed the Brave (''El Bravo'') or the Valiant, was king of Kingdom of León, León (10651109), Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia (10711109), and Kingdom of Castile, Castile (10721109). After the conquest of Toledo, Spai ...

between 1093 and 1094. The first Taifa of Mértola lasted from 1033 to 1044, when it became part of the

Taifa of Seville The Taifa of Seville ( ''Ta'ifat-u Ishbiliyyah'') was an Arab kingdom which was ruled by the Abbadid dynasty. It was established in 1023 and lasted until 1091, in what is today southern Spain and Portugal. It gained independence from the Calipha ...

. The Taifa of Santa Maria do Algarve lasted from 1018 to 1051, when it became part of the

. The first Taifa of Silves lasted from 1040 to 1063, when it became part of the

. The Taifa of Santarém lasted from 1144 to 1145, when it became part of the

Taifa of Badajoz The Taifa of Badajoz (from ) was a medieval Islamic Moorish kingdom located in what is now parts of Portugal and Spain. It was centred on the city of Badajoz which exists today as the first city of Extremadura, in Spain. The Almoravid dynasty lasted from 1040 to 1147. During some of that time it ruled over what is now Southern Portugal. After a successful

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, Portugal gained control of

in 1147.

Second taifa period

There were three taifas in what is now Portugal after the fall of the Almoravid dynasty: the second Taifa of Mértola, which lasted from 1144 to 1151, the second Taifa of Silves, which lasted from 1144 to 1151 and the Taifa of Tavira which lasted from 1146 to 1150. All three taifas became part of the

Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berbers, Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). Th ...

in 1151.

Almohad Caliphate

The Almohad Caliphate lasted from 1121 to 1269. During much of this time, until 1249, it ruled much of what is now southern Portugal. Eventually, however, a taifa based at Niebla was founded in the last years of 1230s and controlled the region up to 1249, when the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

conquered Faro.

Umayyad Conquest

Emirate and the Caliphate

First taifa period

Second taifa period

Almohad Caliphate

References

See also