On this page you will find information about and links to videos presenting important battles in Spanish history whether they were fought against foreign or domestic enemies. These battles are listed in chronological order to help you better understand Spanish history and the country’s development.
Guadalete (Andalusia) 711 AD
The Moors are coming!
Having conquered North Africa and mass-converted the local inhabitants, Muslim forces set their sights on Iberia. After scouting and raiding the coastal areas of these lands for some time, the Muslims readied a much more substantial force in 711 AD. Consisting mainly of Berbers, neighbors of the Visigoths from across the Strait of Gibraltar, and approximately 7,000 horsemen strong, the invaders crossed the narrow strait and made landfall near Algeciras.
Read the post on The Battle of Guadalete here.
Covadonga (Asturias) 722 AD
The legend of Don Pelayo begins
After Muslim forces led by the Berber army commander Tarik crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 AD, it did not take long before they had conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula. Asturias, located to the northwest on the Iberian Peninsula, is by nature a place where it is possible to withstand an invading force. Among the Visigoths seeking refuge here from the advancing Moors was Don Pelayo (also called Pelagius). His efforts to defend this relatively barren and mountainous region was about to make him a legendary figure in later Spanish history.
Read our article on The Battle of Covadonga and its impact on Spanish society later in history here.
Stopping the Muslim invasion of Europe
The Battle of Toulouse 721 AD
By 721 AD the Muslims had conquered the whole Iberian peninsula save some minor areas in the north and crossed the Pyrenees where they conquered Septimania. But at Toulouse they experienced their first major setback when Odo, the independent ruler of Aquitaine fought back.
The Battle of Tours 732 AD
Following the loss at Toulouse in 721 AD, the Muslims had to reorganize. In 732 AD they had gathered sufficient strength to once again move against the Frankish heartlands. But between Poitiers and Tours they met Charles Martel and his armies.
Stopping the invasion and the Frankish push-back into northeastern Iberia gave rise to a conflicted area later labelled Marca Hispanica or the Hispanic March. It is also the root of the historically very close relations between France and northeastern Spain, even to this day.
Read our article about The Battle of Toulouse and The Battle of Tours here.
