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The name derives from the ancient Berber tribe of the Mauri and their kingdom, Mauretania, which became a Roman province after its last king Bocchus II willed it to Octavian in 33 BC. Mauretania lay in present day Morocco and Western Algeria. The name of Mauri was applied by the Romans to all non-romanized natives of North Africa still ruled by their own chiefs, until the 3rd century2nd century 3rd century 4th century other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. 230 232 AD). Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire Emperor Valerian I is taken captive by the Pe ADAnno Domini ( Latin: "In the year of the Lord"), or more completely Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi ("in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ"), commonly abbreviated AD or A. is the designation used to number years in the dominant Christian Era in the world.

In AD 711See also: phone number 711. Events April 30 Ummayad troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar and begin their invasion of Spain. July 19 Ummayad Moors conquer the Iberian peninsula after the Battle of Guadalete Philippicus incites a revolt against J, some Moors invaded VisigothThe Visigoths originally Tervingi or Vesi ("the noble ones"), one of the two main branches of the Goths (of which the Ostrogothi were the other), were one of the loosely-termed " Germanic peoples" that disturbed the late Roman Empire. After the "fall" of ChristianChristian is: a follower of the faith of Christianity a popular first name and surname, especially in Northern Europe According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their f SpainThe Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It inc. Under their leader Tariq ibn-ZiyadTariq ibn Ziyad (d. 720) was a Berber Muslim general who led the conquest of Visigoth Spain in 711. He was initially the deputy of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to Spain in order to intervene at the request of the heirs of they brought most of Spain and Portugal under Islamic rule in an eight-year campaign. They attempted to move northeast across the PyreneesFor other meanings see: Pyrenees, Victoria and Montes Pyrenaeus. The Pyrenees ( Spanish Pirineos French Pyrenees Catalan Pirineus Basque Aunamendi are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separ Mountains but were defeated by the Frank Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. The Moors ruled in Spain and Portugal, except for small areas in the northwest and largely Basque regions in the Pyrenees, and in North Africa for several decades. The Moorish state suffered civil conflict in the 750s.

The country then broke up into a number of mostly Islamic fiefdoms, which were consolidated under the Caliphate of Cordoba. Christian states based in the north and west slowly extended their power over Spain. Galicia, León, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia or Marca Hispanica, Portugal and eventually Castile became Christian in the next several centuries. This period is known for the tolerant acceptance of Christians, Muslims and Jews living in the same territories. Although, the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed in 1031 and the Islamic territory in Spain came to be ruled by North African Moors.

In 1212 a coalition of Christian kings under the leadership of Alfonso VIII of Castile drove the Muslims from Central Spain. However the Moorish Kingdom of Granada thrived for three more centuries. This kingdom is known in modern times for such architectural gems as the Alhambra. On January 2 1492, Boabdil, the leader of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada surrendered to armies of a recently united Christian Spain. The remaining Muslims were forced to leave Spain or convert to Christianity. These descendants of the Muslims were named moriscos. They were an important portion of the peasants in some territories, like Aragon, Valencia or Andalusia, until their systematic expulsion in the years from 1609 to 1614. Henre Lapeyre has estimated that this affected 300,000 out of a total of 8 million inhabitants at the time. The expelled Moors mostly went to Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and helped to develop their culture.

In heraldry the Moor is shown as Sub-Saharan African.

See also: Islamic architecture, Othello, the Moor of Venice

Not to be confused with moor land.