The Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the future territory of Portugal and Spain, was conquered by the Arabs between the years 711 — with the victory of the Berber Tarique ibn Ziyad, in the battle of Guadalete or Guadibeca — and 713 The invaders called the new space al-Garb al-Andalus.
Islamic domination did not have the same duration, nor the same repercussions, in all areas. It was weak in Beiras, north of the Douro River, mainly in the region where the Condado Portucalense would become. Nor did it bring about any major change, although Muslim tribes settled there, in greater or lesser numbers, especially those of Berber origin.
The small Christian kingdom of Asturias — formed by Asturians, Cantabrians and Hispano-Goths — managed, in 754, to definitively expel the Muslims to the south of the Douro. In fact, it was in the south of Portugal that Islam left deep marks, comparable to the contribution of the Roman presence in the structure of what would later become Portuguese civilization.
In Estremadura, the urban centers of al-Usbuna (Lisbon) and Santarin (Santarém) were developed. In Baixo Alentejo, the cities of Baja (Beja) and Martula (Mértola) and, in the Algarve — where the Muslim presence remained for six centuries — appeared Silb (Silves) and Santa Mariya al-Harum (Faro). The Arabs — a generic designation for a group of Berber, Syrian, Egyptian and other populations — replaced the former Visigoth lords. In general, they were tolerant of local customs and customs, admitting the religious practices of the subject populations and creating conditions for the fruitful economic and cultural contacts that were established between Christians and Muslims.
The material vestiges of the long Muslim stay fall short of expectations, mainly because the Christian reconquest policy was that of "scorched earth". Each locality taken back to the Arabs was destroyed and objects and buildings burned in fires that burned for days. But there are still some elements that attest to this period of Portuguese life, mainly in the walls and castles, as well as in the layout of alleys and alleys of some cities in the south of the country. There were no major monuments left, a fact that is explained by the peripheral situation of the Portuguese territory in relation to the great Islamic cultural centers in the south of the peninsula.
Mértola's mother church is the only structure in which the traces of a mosque can be recognized. Testimonies of Arab descent are the terraces of Algarve houses, decorative arts, tiles, wrought iron and luxury objects:rugs, leather and metal work. With the translation of numerous scientific works, chemistry, medicine and mathematics were developed, the Western numbering system being of Arabic origin. The Arab influence was particularly important in rural life, with the development of irrigation techniques based on peninsular and Roman uses being decisive. Through the introduction of new plants — the lemon tree, the sour orange tree, the almond tree, probably rice, and the development of the olive tree, the carob tree and the planting of large orchards (the figs and grapes of the Algarve and the apples of Sintra) reinforced the agricultural vocation of the Mediterranean region.
The Islamic occupation did not cause alterations in the linguistic structure, which remained Latin, but contributed with more than 600 words, mainly nouns referring to clothing, furniture, agriculture, scientific instruments and various utensils.
The constant infighting, in addition to the cyclical attempts to break up the Islamic state in the peninsular, contributed to the Christian advance that slowly pushed Muslims south. The struggle between Christians and Muslims dragged on, with advances and setbacks, over six centuries, with the Algarve being added to Portuguese territory in 1249, during the reign of Afonso III.
The numerous descendants of the Arabs who, after the Reconquista, remained in Portugal, lived in the Mourarias, semi-rural outskirts close to the walls of cities and towns, whose memory is preserved, in the names and plans of more than twenty localities, such as Lisbon and many others south of the Tagus.
Near Lake Titicaca, in the Bolivian altiplano, more than 3,800 meters above sea level are the ruins of an abandoned prehistoric city:TIAHUANACO. Evoking wild speculation, these ruins have been called the cradle of American civilization, and imagination has taken hold of them as few other places have