It started in 476 and finished in 1492, when Columbus travelled to America.In the 5th century, tribes from the North and Central Europe invaded the very weak Roman Empire and it ended.The Visigoths were a powerful Germanic tribe. They conquered Spain in the 6th century and ruled for 200 years.

In 711, Muslim armies from the North of Africa invaded Spain and defeated the Visigoths. They called this region AL-ANDALUS. They ruled for over 800 years.

The Muslims created their own independent kingdom (Muslim Caliphate of Córdoba), but some people in northern parts of the Iberian Peninsula resisted and created their kingdoms.

Al-Andalus was a rich, prosperous territory.There was a lot of agriculture, with many large farms. There were also large cities, like Córdoba, the biggest city in Europe.

The people of Al-Andalus usually lived in towns and cities. They were very civilised. The towns and cities had walls around then. Usually they had a fort called alcazaba and a palace called alcázar

In

The medina was the centre of the city, there lived many craftspeople (pottery, leather goods, jewellery...). People went to the market called souk to buy vegetables, perfumes, meat, fruit,...

People went to mosques to pray, they had got domes, courtyards and tall towers

Most cities and towns had a water system, hospitals, libraries, universities and public baths

Houses were simple on the outside. Inside they had luxurious furnitures, rugs and cushions, there were beautiful tiles on the walls. They had gardens with fruit trees, small fountains and flowers

Muslims slowly lost their lands in wars with the Christians. Granada was the last Muslim kingdom.

Christians kingdoms formed in the North (Leon, Castilla, León, Navarra,..). People lived under a feudal system, with very clear social groups:

The king was at the top of the feudal system. He owned all the lands and made the laws.

The noble were below the king. He gave them land, in return, they protect the king and gave him knights for his armies

The kinghts were below the nobles, the nobles gave them land and, in return, they fought in battles for the king.

The peasants were below the knights. They worked on the land of the nobles, knights or king. They gave them a part of their crops as a tax. In return, the knights and nobles protected them.

Some peasants were serfs, they couldn´t leave the land. They were at the bottom of the feudal system

In feudal society most people lived in small villages, the peasant worked on the land. They grew crops and raised animals, they made their own houses and made their tools and clothes.

Their houses were very simple, there was one room for the family and one room for the animals. Upstairs there was one bedroom.They ate very simple food like bread, eggs and vegetables. They ate very occasionally meat and cheese.

Life was dangerous, kings and nobles built castles and walls around the new cities to protect thenselves from the enemy.

THE END