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

al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

"), or just al-Gharb ( ar, الغرب, trans. ''al-gharb''; "the west"), was the name given by the

Muslims of Iberia This is a timeline of notable events during the period of Muslim presence in Iberia, starting with the Umayyad conquest in the 8th century. Conquest (711–756) * 711A Muslim force consisting of Arabs and Berbers of about 7,000 soldiers under ge ...

to the region of southern modern-day

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and part of West-central modern day

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

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

Visigothic kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic peoples, Germanic su ...

after

Tariq ibn-Ziyad Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād ( ar, طارق بن زياد), also known simply as Tarik in English, was a Berber commander who served the Umayyad Caliphate and initiated the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispania (present-day Spain and Portugal) ...

's invasion of Iberia and the establishment of the Umayyad control in the territory. The present day

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

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

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic peoples, Germanic su ...

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

, King

Roderic Roderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish and pt, Rodrigo, ar, translit=Ludharīq, لذريق; died 711) was the Visigothic king in Hispania between 710 and 711. He is well-known as "the last king of the Goths". He ...

(''Rodrigo'' in Portuguese and Spanish) had a strong position in the peninsula. His opponents, exiled in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

, asked Musa ibn Nusair,

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

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, 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 Umayyad conquest of Hispania, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Christian Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces of t ...

, and soon after captured

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

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

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

, Santarém and

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

had been conquered, and two years later

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

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.

Emirate and the Caliphate

The Emirate of Córdoba lasted from 756 to 929. The

Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...

lasted from 929 to 1031. It was followed by the

Taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...

First taifa period

The first Taifa of Badajoz, ruled by the

Aftasid dynasty The Aftasid dynasty(from the Arabic بنو الأفطس ''Banu-l'Aftas'' or ''Banu al-Aftas'') was a Berber Miknasa dynasty centered in Badajoz (1022–1094) in Al Andalus (Moorish Iberia). History When the Caliphate of Cordoba broke up into the T ...

, existed from 1009 to 1094. The

Taifa of Lisbon The Taifa of Lisbon (from ar, طائفة الأشبونة ''Taa'ifatu al-Ushbunah'') was a medieval Islamic Arab Taifa kingdom of Gharb Al-Andalus. It was located in '' Ath-Thaghr Al-Adna'' region, the north-western section of the Moorish Al-A ...

lasted from 1022 to 1034, when it as annexed to Taifa of Badajoz. Lisbon was ruled by Alfonso VI of León and Castile between 1093 and 1094. The first

Taifa of Mértola The Taifa of Mértola () was a medieval Islamic Moorish taifa that existed in what is now southeastern Portugal. It existed during three distinct periods: from 1033 to 1044, from 1144 to 1145, and from 1146 to 1151. From 1044 until 1091 it was u ...

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 The Taifa of Santarém () was a medieval Islamic taifa Moorish kingdom in what is now central Portugal. It existed from 1144 to 1145. It was centered in the city of Santarém and encompassed much of the present day Santarém District. The Taifa ...

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

Almoravid dynasty

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 warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

, 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

, which lasted from 1144 to 1151, the second Taifa of Silves, which lasted from 1144 to 1151 and the

Taifa of Tavira The Taifa of Tavira () was a medieval Islamic taifa Moorish kingdom in what is now southern Portugal. It existed only from around 1146 to 1150. It was centered in the city of Tavira. List of Emirs 'Umarid dynasty * 'Umar: fl. mid-12th century ...

which lasted from 1146 to 1150. All three taifas became part of the

Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...

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 ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a 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 kno ...

conquered Faro.