Resource

Al-Andalus History Timeline: 711-1492, Dynasties, Cities and Sources

A source-aware timeline of al-Andalus from the 711 conquest through the Umayyad emirate and caliphate, taifa states, North African dynasties and Nasrid Granada in 1492.

Data updated July 11, 2026 at 06:04 PMal-AndalusIberian historyCordobaGranadahistorical sources

Al-Andalus History Timeline: 711-1492, Dynasties, Cities and Sources

Political coverage

711-1492 CE

Timeline anchors

28 selected events

Method

Chronology plus evidence labels

Last reviewed

11 July 2026

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name used for changing Muslim-ruled territories in the Iberian Peninsula. Its political history begins with the conquest from 711 and conventionally ends with the surrender of Nasrid Granada in 1492. That span was not one state, one border or one uniform social order. Provinces, emirates, a caliphate, taifa principalities, Almoravid and Almohad rule, and the Nasrid kingdom succeeded and overlapped with Christian polities and local communities.

This timeline is built for source-aware navigation. It separates political milestones from slower changes in language, religion, settlement, art and law. It also labels famous claims that need caution: the exact location of the 711 battle, Tariq's burned ships, idealized convivencia, enormous unsupported population totals and the idea that all Muslim life ended instantly in 1492.

Use the three linked guides for claim-level citations on the conquest, the Caliphate of Cordoba and the fall of Granada. Dates are conventional where the evidence does not support an exact day. Archaeology, archives, monuments, chronicles and modern scholarship answer different questions, so no single source type should carry the entire story.

How to use this al-Andalus timeline

Start with the political period, then check the evidence label and geography. A change of ruler did not instantly change every language, religion, settlement or institution. Exact dates are retained when an archive or strong chronology supports them; approximate dates remain approximate.

711-756: conquest and provincial government under wider Umayyad authority.
756-1031: independent Umayyad emirate, then the Caliphate of Cordoba from 929.
1031-c. 1230: taifa states and periods of Almoravid and Almohad rule.
1232/1238-1492: Nasrid Granada, alongside expanding Christian kingdoms.
1492 ended Nasrid sovereignty, not Muslim residence in Iberia on a single day.

Names, borders and communities

Al-Andalus did not always cover the whole peninsula. Its borders contracted, expanded and fragmented. Medieval identities also do not map cleanly onto modern national or racial categories. Arab, Berber, local Iberian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, convert, enslaved and elite identities intersected in changing ways.

Use Iberia for the peninsula and al-Andalus for changing Muslim-ruled territories and societies.
Cordoba, Seville, Toledo, Valencia and Granada mattered in different periods.
Christian and Jewish communities lived under varying legal hierarchies and political conditions.
North Africa was central to Iberian politics, migration, scholarship and trade.

Source ladder and recurring myths

Early conquest narratives were written after 711 and must be compared with Latin texts, coins and archaeology. UNESCO sites establish surviving material layers, not every political claim. PARES provides archival description for the Granada capitulations. Modern scholarship interprets those records and openly debates gaps.

Tariq's burned-ships story is later tradition, not secure contemporary evidence.
Convivencia describes a field of questions, not proof of a perfect interfaith utopia.
The Caliphate of Cordoba lasted 929-1031, not the entire 711-1492 period.
The 1492 surrender, the Jewish expulsion decree and Columbus's agreement were distinct events.

Conquest and Umayyad province, 711-756

Early conquest dates combine later written narratives with archaeology, coins and modern reconstruction.

Date	Event	Why it matters	Evidence label
Spring 711	Tariq ibn Ziyad crosses into Iberia	A mostly Berber force crossed from North Africa near the strait later associated with Jabal Tariq.	Later Arabic and Latin texts; modern synthesis; logistics debated
July 711, conventional	Roderic defeated in southern Iberia	The Visigothic king's defeat opened routes toward major cities; the exact battlefield remains disputed.	Later narratives and modern reconstruction
711-712	Cordoba, Toledo and other centers enter the new order	Campaigns and local agreements changed sovereignty at different speeds.	Later chronicles, coins, archaeology and local records
712	Musa ibn Nusayr arrives with another force	Further campaigns expanded control and linked the conquest to Umayyad North Africa.	Arabic narrative tradition and modern synthesis
713	Pact associated with Tudmir	A negotiated submission illustrates that conquest included agreements as well as battles.	Documentary tradition with textual transmission questions
c. 718-722	Northern resistance and the Covadonga tradition	A northern polity developed outside durable Andalusi control; exact early chronology is debated.	Later Christian and Arabic narratives
740s	Berber revolt and factional conflict	North African revolt and military rivalries destabilized provincial rule in al-Andalus.	Chronicles and modern political reconstruction

Umayyad emirate and Caliphate of Cordoba, 756-1031

Emirate, caliphate and civil-war dates are political anchors, not a complete social history.

Date	Event	Why it matters	Evidence label
756	Abd al-Rahman I establishes an independent Umayyad emirate	Cordoba became the center of a dynasty independent in practice from Abbasid rule.	Chronicles, coins, monuments and modern synthesis
784-786	First phase of Cordoba's Great Mosque	The congregational mosque became a central institution and was expanded by later rulers.	Standing fabric, archaeology and textual record
912	Abd al-Rahman III begins rule as emir	He rebuilt central authority before adopting the caliphal title.	Chronicles, coins and modern synthesis
929	Caliphate of Cordoba proclaimed	Abd al-Rahman III asserted an independent Umayyad caliphate.	Court chronicles, titulature, coins and material record
936 onward	Medina Azahara constructed	The palatine city expressed and administered caliphal power near Cordoba.	Archaeology, architecture and textual record
961-976	Caliphate of al-Hakam II	Court patronage, book culture, diplomacy and mosque expansion marked the reign.	Chronicles, manuscripts, objects and monuments
976-1002	Hisham II and the dominance of al-Mansur	The chamberlain's household exercised effective power while the caliph retained formal legitimacy.	Court chronicles, coins and modern political analysis
1009	Fitna begins	Rebellion and rival claimants opened a prolonged civil war over Cordoba and the caliphate.	Multiple chronicles, archaeology and numismatics
1009-1010	Medina Azahara devastated	The caliphal city was destroyed and abandoned during the civil war.	UNESCO record, archaeology and texts

Taifas, Almoravids and Almohads, 1031-c. 1230

Regional states and North African dynasties changed borders and centers repeatedly.

Date	Event	Why it matters	Evidence label
1031	Caliphate abolished; taifa period formalized	Cordoban notables ended the office as regional rulers consolidated independent states.	Chronicles, coins and political reconstruction
1085	Toledo conquered by Alfonso VI	The loss altered the balance between taifa states and expanding Christian kingdoms.	Christian and Arabic chronicles; documentary record
1086 onward	Almoravid intervention and rule	A North African dynasty first intervened against Alfonso VI and later absorbed taifa states.	Chronicles, coins, architecture and modern synthesis
1140s-1170s	Almohad conquest of al-Andalus	Another North African empire replaced Almoravid authority across much of Muslim Iberia.	Chronicles, inscriptions, coins and monuments
1212	Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa	Almohad defeat accelerated political contraction, though Muslim rule continued for centuries in Granada.	Arabic and Latin chronicles; modern military history

Nasrid Granada and the 1492 transition

The 1492 surrender ended Nasrid sovereignty, not Muslim residence on one day.

Date	Event	Why it matters	Evidence label
1232-1238	Nasrid state forms and Granada becomes its center	Muhammad I established the dynasty that ruled the last Muslim state in Iberia.	Chronicles, treaties, coins and material record
1236	Cordoba conquered by Ferdinand III	Former Umayyad capital entered Castilian rule; the Great Mosque became a cathedral.	Royal, ecclesiastical, architectural and chronicle records
1248	Seville conquered by Ferdinand III	Castilian expansion left Nasrid Granada as the principal Muslim-ruled state in Iberia.	Chronicles, charters and material record
1340	Battle of Rio Salado	Defeat of Nasrid and Marinid forces reduced the prospect of major North African military support.	Arabic and Christian chronicles; modern synthesis
1482-1491	Granada War	Sustained campaigns, siege warfare and Nasrid dynastic division isolated the capital.	Royal accounts, chronicles, letters and material evidence
25 November 1491	Capitulations for Granada agreed	Negotiated articles set terms for surrender and initial protections for Muslim residents.	Spanish archival record and transmitted legal texts
2 January 1492	Nasrid Granada surrenders	Muhammad XII transferred sovereignty to Ferdinand and Isabella, ending the Nasrid state.	Royal, archival and chronicle records

FAQ

What does al-Andalus mean?

It is the Arabic historical name for changing Muslim-ruled territories and societies in the Iberian Peninsula. It should not be treated as one fixed modern border.

Was al-Andalus one country for nearly 800 years?

No. The period included a province, Umayyad emirate and caliphate, taifa states, Almoravid and Almohad rule, and Nasrid Granada, with borders and centers changing repeatedly.

Did Muslim rule begin everywhere in Iberia in 711?

No. The 711 crossing began a campaign whose military advances and negotiated settlements unfolded over several years, while northern regions followed different trajectories.

Was Cordoba always the capital of al-Andalus?

Cordoba was the leading center of the Umayyad emirate and caliphate. After 1031, political authority fragmented among taifa capitals and later dynastic centers.

Was convivencia complete religious equality?

No. Exchange and shared urban life existed alongside legal hierarchy, taxation, restrictions, conflict and conditions that varied by period and place.

Did all Muslims leave Spain in 1492?

No. Nasrid sovereignty ended in 1492, but most Muslims in the former kingdom initially remained. Forced conversion, Morisco history and final expulsion belong to a longer sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century chronology.

Sources

The Legacy of al-Andalus: History of al-Andalus
Overview defining al-Andalus as changing Iberian territories under Muslim power from 711 to 1492.
The Legacy of al-Andalus: Chronology
Institutional chronology for the major political periods and transitions.
Cambridge Core: Diversity in Medieval Spain
Used for changing Muslim control and a cautious account of religious and social plurality.
Cambridge Core: Spanish-Islamic Civilization
Used for the long chronology and cultural, economic and intellectual context.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Umayyad period in Spain
Material and political context for 711-1031.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Nasrid period
Material and political context for Nasrid Granada, 1232-1492.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Historic Centre of Cordoba
Surviving urban and architectural layers of Cordoba.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Caliphate City of Medina Azahara
The tenth-century caliphal city and its destruction in 1009-1010.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin
Nasrid and later urban layers in Granada.
PARES, Spanish Archives: Capitulations for Granada
Official archival description of the 1491 surrender agreement and confirmation.
UCL Discovery: Al-Andalus, a case of hybridization
Archaeological periodization and social interpretation.
Cambridge Core: Gharb al-Andalus
The 711 conquest and western Iberian chronology.