Reconquista
Reconquista is the Spanish and Portuguese word for Reconquest. This series of battles is an integral part of the religious influence that represents Spain today. The Islamic forces had previous conquered all of Iberian Peninsula. The launching of the Reconquista was a massive attempt to retake the territories lost to the Spain's Islamic empire and restore Christian ruling throughout. The first signs of the effort could be identified during the year 722, when formations were being constructed and groups of Christian soldiers were providing aid in an attempt to resolve their sins. Charlemagne, known as the king of Franks, struck the first blow by reclaiming the Pyrenees and Septimania; he then constructed the Marca Hispanica as a defense for the French against Moorish troops.
Inevitable complications arose throughout this time as the Islamic forces wanted to reclaim the territories that were being taken and this occured whilst several attempts and peace periods and truces had been agreed or theorised. Another spanner thrown into the mix was soldiers of the population who were neither inclined to fight for the Moors and weren't won over by the ideologies of the Reconquista; this meant that they were essentially up for sale as mercenaries and would commense battle for whomever paid them the highest sum. The battles raged down south with fights not just caused between the two sides but at times within themselves, further causing issues needing to be addressed. The Reconquest was almost at its end in 1238, when all territories across the Iberian Peninsula had been reclaimed with the exception of Granada, the Islamic Empire's final stronghold. An attack two hundred and fifty years later in 1492 put an end to the last trace of Islamic ruling within Peninsula.