From the year 711 to 1492 Spain, as it is now known, was ruled by the Moors. The etymology of the word ‘Moor’ is black, or dark. Moors were a mix of African and Arabic Muslims who ruled Spain and the rest of the Iberian peninsula during this period.
The Moors were constantly defending against invading Christian Europeans from the north. This period as we are brainwashed at school is called the Reconquista, or the reconquest, during the Christian/Muslim war of the Crusades.
Nevertheless, Al-Andalus, or Moorish Iberia, flourished in the arts, sciences, medicine, religion, culture, and architecture. Córdoba was one capitol of the several caliphates on the peninsula, and was one of the most advanced and populous cities in the world at the time, as well as a great cultural, political, financial and economic center.
Moorish contributions to Western Europe and especially to Spain were almost incalculable—in art and architecture, medicine and science, and learning (especially ancient Greek learning).