Why did the Muslims conquer Spain?
There was an ongoing civil war in Spain between two Visigothic princes, and one of them decided that he'd try to get the help of the powerful Umayyad army that had recently overrun all of north Africa. Well, they came across the Strait of Gibraltar, saw just how weak and divided that the Visigoths were, and decided they'd just take Spain for themselves. The Umayyads were basically the first jihadists anyway, so they didn't need any encouragement. Most of the Visigothic nobility either surrendered or fled to Frankland (what we now call France). One of the Visigothic leaders, a man named Pelayo, refused to surrender to the invaders. He established a small Christian kingdom in the mountains of Asturias, and rallied many of the Visigoths to his side. When the Umayyads attacked him in 722, he was able to defeat them in the Battle of Covadonga--the start of the Christian resistance to Islamic rule in Spain. His small kingdom was the springboard for the Reconquista of Spain in later centuries. The Umayyads dismissed Pelayo and his men as "wild donkeys" and invaded Frankland 10 years later. They got their butts kicked by Charles Martel and figured out that their conquering days were over.
Islam in Europe – When Muslims Ruled in Europe Part 1/11
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