The Spanish forces of the Christian monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile complete their conquest of Andalusia in 1492, eliminating the final Moorish kingdom, the emirate of Granada.

Spanish general Gonzalo Fernandez de Córdoba, known as el Gran Capitan (and sometimes referred to as Fernandez Gonzalo de Córdoba), having fought in the wars to drive the Muslims from Spain, helps negotiate the surrender of the kingdom.

Legend has it that as Muhammad XII went to exile, he reached a rocky prominence which gave a last view of the city of Granada.

He reined in his horse and, viewing for the last time the Alhambra and the green valley that spread below.

The place where this allegedly took place is today known as the Suspiro del Moro, the Moor's sigh.

He grieved his loss and continued his journey to exile with his mother.

The magnificent gardens, richly colonnaded courts, and fantastically vaulted halls of the lavishly decorated Alhambra, the spectacular fourteenth-century castle-palace of Granada’s defeated Nasrid Dynasty, will house Christian rulers from this point.

After the Catholic Monarchs complete the Christian reconquest of Iberia in 1492, they guarantee the vanquished Muslims freedom of religion.

Spanish Muslims who convert to Christianity during and after the expulsion of the Moors from Spain become known as Moriscos; although baptized, they continue to maintain their Arabic language and Islamic customs.

All professing Jews are forced by the Spanish government to choose between baptism and expulsion.

Most of them leave Spain in August 1492 in search of new homes.

Those who do not move to less intolerant Portugal or form communities in the lands of the Ottoman Empire—the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Those who remain in Spain and nominally convert to Christianity are vilified as Marranos ("pigs"), and subjected to continuing persecution.