Al-Andalus, also known as Moorish Iberia or Islamic Iberia, is a medieval Muslim state occupying at its peak most of what are today Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and part of southern France.

The name more generally describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims (given the generic name of Moors) at various times between 711 and 1492, though the boundaries changed constantly in wars with Christian kingdoms.

[ Following the Muslim conquest of Hispania, Al-Andalus is divided into five administrative units, corresponding roughly to modern Andalusia, Galicia and Portugal, Castile and León, Aragon and Catalonia, and Septimania.

As a political domain, it successively constitutes a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I (711–750); the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750–929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); and the Caliphate of Córdoba's taifa (successor) kingdoms.

Rule under these kingdoms sees a rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Muslims and Christians, with Christians and Jews consider as protected people who pay a tax to the state but enjoy internal autonomy.

Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus is a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba becomes one of the leading cultural and economic centers in both the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world.For much of its history, Al-Andalus existsin conflict with Christian kingdoms to the north.

After the fall of the Umayyad Andalusian kingdom, Al-Andalus is fragmented into a number of minor states and principalities, most notably the Emirate of Granada.

Attacks from the Christian Castillians intensify, led by Alfonso VI.

The Almoravid empire intervenes and repels the Christian attacks on the region, deposing the weak Andalusian Muslim princes and including Al-Andalus under direct Berber rule.

In succeeding centuries, Al-Andalus becomes a province of the Berber Muslim empires of the Almoravids and Almohads, both based in Marrakesh.Ultimately, the Christian kingdoms of the north overpower their Muslim neighbors.

In 1085, Alfonso VI captures Toledo, starting a gradual Muslim decline.

With the fall of Córdoba in 1236, the Emirate of Granada is the only Muslim territory in what is now Spain.

The Portuguese Reconquista culminates in 1249 with the conquest of the Algarve by Afonso III.

In 1238, the Emirate of Granada officially becomes a tributary state to the Kingdom of Castile, ruled by King Ferdinand III.

Finally, on January 2, 1492, Emir Muhammad XII surrenders the Emirate of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile, who along with her husband King Ferdinand II of Aragon are known as the "Catholic Monarchs."

The surrender ends Al-Andalus as a political entity, though aspects of Islamic culture are still evident in the region.