Almanzor in the context of "Reconquista"

The Emirate of Córdoba, and from 929, the Caliphate of Córdoba, was an Arab Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 756 to 1031. Its territory comprised most of the Iberian Peninsula (known to Muslims as al-Andalus), the Balearic Islands, and parts of North Africa, with its capital in Córdoba (at the time Qurṭubah). From 756 it was ruled as an independent emirate until Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself as caliph in 929.

The state was founded by Abd al-Rahman I, an Umayyad prince who fled the defeat and persecution of the Umayyad clan in Bilad Al-Sham (Levant) and across the caliphate after the Abbasid revolution. The polity then flourished for the best part of three centuries, before disintegrating in the early 11th century during the Fitna of al-Andalus, a civil war between the descendants of caliph Hisham II and the successors of his hajib (court official), Almanzor. In 1031, after years of infighting, the caliphate collapsed and fractured into a number of independent Muslim taifa (kingdoms).

The Fitna of al-Andalus (Arabic: فتنة الأندلس, romanized: Fitnat al-Andalus) (1009–1031), sometimes referred to as the second fitna of al-Andalus, was a civil war in the Caliphate of Córdoba. It began in the year 1009 with a coup d'état which led to the assassination of Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, the son of Almanzor, the deposition of the Caliph Hisham II al-Hakam, and the rise to power of Muhammad II of Córdoba, great-grandson of Abd al-Rahman III. The conflict would eventually divide all of Al-Andalus into a series of Taifa Kingdoms. The Fitna finally ended with the definitive abolition of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031, although various successor kingdoms would continue to claim the Caliphate for themselves. The added pressures of financial collapse were present due to the large tax burden placed on the populace to finance the continuous war.

The Emirate of Córdoba, and from 929, the Caliphate of Córdoba, was an Arab Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 756 to 1031. Its territory comprised most of the Iberian Peninsula (known to Muslims as al-Andalus), the Balearic Islands, and parts of North Africa, with its capital in Córdoba (at the time Qurṭubah). From 756 it was ruled as an independent emirate until Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself as caliph in 929.

The state was founded by Abd al-Rahman I, an Umayyad prince who fled the defeat and persecution of the Umayyad clan in Bilad Al-Sham (Levant) following the Abbasid revolution. The polity flourished for nearly three centuries, before disintegrating in the early 11th century during the Fitna of al-Andalus, a civil war between the descendants of caliph Hisham II and the successors of his hajib (court official), Almanzor. In 1031, after years of infighting, the caliphate collapsed and fractured into a number of independent Muslim taifa (kingdoms).

Astorga (Spanish: [asˈtoɾɣa] , Estorga in the Leonese dialect of Maragatería) is a municipality and city in Spain, located in the Province of León, within the autonomous community of Castile and León. Situated at the transition between the Páramo Leonés and the Montes de León, it serves as a central hub for the regions of Maragatería, La Cepeda, and the Ribera del Órbigo. The city is the seat of one of Spain's oldest and most extensive dioceses, with jurisdiction over half of the province of León and parts of the provinces of Ourense and Zamora. It is also the head of the judicial district number 5 of the province of León.

Founded as a Roman military camp for the Legio X Gemina in the late 1st century BC, it soon transitioned into a civilian settlement known as Asturica Augusta and became the capital of the Conventus Asturum. It developed as a key communication hub in northwestern Iberia and enjoyed prosperity during the first two centuries of the Common Era due to gold mining, earning the description vrbs magnifica from Pliny the Elder. By the mid-3rd century, it likely became an episcopal see, with Basílides as its first bishop. Following the barbarian invasions, it was part of the Kingdom of the Suebi and was captured by Muslim forces under Tariq in 714, though it was reconquered by the Asturian monarchy later that century. In the late 10th century, it faced repeated Muslim assaults led by Almanzor.

The Reconquista (Spanish and Portuguese for 'reconquest') or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns by Northern Christian polities against Muslim-ruled al-Andalus, which had previously been part of the Visigothic Kingdom before the Muslim Conquest of 711. The Reconquista concluded in 1492 with the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, thereby ending the presence of any Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula.

The beginning of the Reconquista is traditionally dated to the Battle of Covadonga (c. 718 or 722), approximately a decade after the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula began, in which the army of the Kingdom of Asturias achieved the first Christian victory over the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the military invasion. By the early 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba endured state collapse into a series of petty successor states known as taifas. The northern kingdoms advanced further against these fiefdoms and often made them subject to tribute.