istoryworld
Events relating to spain
Berber tribesmen, the Almoravids, establish a base at Marrakech from which they conquer northwest Africa and move into Spain
Toledo is captured from the Muslims by Alfonso VI of Castile, who continues the city's traditions of religious tolerance
Rodrigo Diaz, known as El Cid, drives out the Muslims and wins Valencia
Seville falls to the Almohads, from north Africa, who make it their Spanish capital
The merging of Catalonia with Aragon, by marriage, creates a power in northern Spain of comparable strength to Castile
In a treaty signed at Cazorla, the kings of Castile and Aragon agree on a plan of cooperation against the Muslims
In Cordoba the Muslim philosopher Averroës writes commentaries on Aristotle that are influential throughout medieval Europe
Representatives of the towns in Léon are summoned to one of the earliest known parliaments
The kingdom of Granada is established with a Berber noble, Muhammad I, as the first king
Work begins on the Alhambra, the palace fortress of the Muslim kings of Granada
A school of translation is set up in Toledo, to translate classical Greek texts from the Arabic versions into Latin
The classical work of the Kabbalah, the Zohar, is almost certainly the work of the Spanish Kabbalist Moses de Leon
The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella unites the crowns of Aragon and Castile, creating virtually a unified Spain
Tomas de Torquemada, from a family of converted Jews, is appointed Spain's first Grand Inquisitor
The army of Ferdinand and Isabella besieges and takes the city of Granada, completing the long reconquest of Spain from the Muslims
Torquemada persuades Ferdinand and Isabella to expel from Spain all Jews (about 160,000) who will not convert to Christianity
Bayazid II, the Turkish sultan, makes a special point of welcoming in Istanbul the Jews expelled from Spain
Christopher Columbus, together with the brothers Martin and Vicente Pinzón, sails west from Palos in Spain
Columbus returns to Spain, landing at Palos with news of his great discoveries
Pope Alexander VI draws a line through the Atlantic, dividing new discoveries between Spain (west) and Portugal (east)
Philip, heir to Austria, marries Joanna, a daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, in the second of the great Habsburg marital alliances
Vasco Núñez de Balboa reaches the Pacific coast and claims the ocean for the king of Spain
The death of Ferdinand II results in Spain becoming part of the Habsburg empire, under the rule of Charles V (as Charles I of Spain)
Ferdinand Magellan and a small fleet depart from Seville, attempting to sail round the world
Ignatius of Loyola, recovering from a wound received as a soldier at Pamplona, is inspired by reading the lives of the saints
