📜 722–1249 | The Reconquista | Part II What you’re seeing: After Covadonga, small Christian kingdoms survived in the north while Muslim al-Andalus ruled most of Iberia. Over the next five centuries, the balance of power slowly changed. What was Córdoba? By the 900s, Córdoba was the capital of an independent Umayyad caliphate and the largest city in Western Europe. In 1031, the caliphate collapsed into rival Muslim kingdoms. What was Castile? Castile was a growing Christian kingdom on Iberia’s central plateau. In 1085, Alfonso VI captured Toledo, the old Visigothic capital. The Muslim rulers then called on the Berbers of North Africa for help. Who were the Berbers? Berbers are indigenous peoples of North Africa. The Almoravids, a Berber Muslim empire, crossed into Iberia, defeated Castile in 1086, and absorbed the divided Muslim kingdoms. They were later replaced by another Berber Muslim power, the Almohads. How did Portugal emerge? Portugal became a Christian kingdom on the Atlan...