When the Umayyad Caliphate conquered most of Iberia, tiny Christian holdouts survived in the northern mountains.

Over the next two centuries, these kingdoms of Leon, Castile, Navarre and Aragon gradually expanded south, reclaiming territory and pushed Muslim rule out of Europe.

By 1212, the battle of Las Navas se Tolosa shattered the last great Muslim power in Iberia, making a decisive turning point in the Reconquista.