A Short History of the Moors

Granada, the word in Spanish means pomegranate, a fruit brought to Spain by Moslem tribes from North Africa, in the 8th century.

They were known as the Moors and they came to Europe from what is now known as Morocco.

For nearly 800 years the Moors ruled in Granada. And for nearly as long in a wider territory of that became known as Moorish Spain or Al Andalus.

In Granada, where the Moors first came in 711, they built a fortress palace , the Alhambra. It was never conquered by their enemies but in 1492 the Moors surrendered their citadel, by then the last outpost of Moorish Spain, to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel.

It would bring to an end an era and mark the beginnings of the Spanish Inquisition.

But much of what the Moors built on the Iberian Peninsula and in their North African homelands, has survived, and can still be visited today.

In this episode of Short History of the World, we explore the rich architectural legacy of the Moors, the dynasties that built an empire, and what they left behind.