The kingdom of Granada falls to the Christian forces of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, and the Moors lose their last foot in Spain.
Located at the confluence of the Darro and Genil rivers in southern Spain, the city of Granada was a Moorish fortress that rose to prominence during the reign of Sultan Almoravid in the 11th century. In 1238, the Christian reconquest forced the Spanish Muslims south and the kingdom of Granada was established as the last refuge of Moorish civilization.
Granada prospered culturally and economically for the next 200 years, but at the end of the 15th century internal strife and a strengthened Spanish monarchy under Ferdinand and Isabella marked the end of Moorish civilization in Spain. On January 2, 1492, King Boabdil surrendered Granada to the Spanish forces, and in 1502 the Spanish crown ordered all Muslims to forcibly convert to Christianity. The following century saw many persecutions and, in 1609, the last Moors still adhering to Islam were expelled from Spain.
