After the overthrow of the Umayyads, Muslim Spain was broken up into many petty states. The temporary interventions and unifications by the Almoravid and the Almohad dynasties from North Africa served only to delay the inevitable fall. The Christian states of the Iberian Peninsula took advantage of this and conquered each state one by one. Many Spanish national heroes flourished during this period with El Cid being among the most notable. Christian monarchs brought the Reconquista to full swing following the 1085 capture of the former Visigothic capital of Toledo.
| 1055 | Taking advantage of a disunited Muslim Spain, Ferdinand I drives many of the Muslims from various cities. The attacks at Bobastro are considered especially atrocious. Mutazid, ruler of Seville, agrees to pay tribute and saves his kingdom. Ismail ibn Naghzalah dies. This Jewish vizier of the Zirids in Spain wielded almost supreme authority in Granada. |
| 1063 | King Ramiro I of Aragon attacks al-Muqtadir of Saragossa and captures Graus. The King of Castile sends his son Sancho to help al-Muqtadir recover the city. In his first significant military affair Rodrigo Díaz--later known as El Cid, a national hero in Spain--fighting on the side of Sancho, sees action. The Aragonese meet defeat as King Ramiro falls in battle. |
| 1064 | A large French cavalry joins the Spaniards for the first time against the Muslims during attacks on Barbastro. |
| 1069 | Sancho IV of Navarre and al-Muqtadir of Saragossa (Zaragoza) negotiate a treaty. |
| 1070 | Abu Walid Ahmad ibn Zaydun (born 1003), the renowned Andalusian poet, dies. He was active in the Cordovan court affairs but had a falling out after he fell deeply in love with the Caliph al-Mustakfi's daughter, the poetess Walladah, which resulted in ibn Zaydun spending time in jail and exile. After several years in this state, al-Mutadid al-Abbadi appointed ibn Zaydun as vizier and commander of the troops with the title of dhu-al-wizaratayn, he of two vizierates (one of the sword and one of the pen). Under ibn Zaydun's influence, al-Mutamid sent an army in 1068 to take Cordova from Jahwarid control. |
| 1072 | Alfonso VI spends nine months in exile in Toldeo under Muslim protection of al-Mamun. |
| 1075 | Al-Mamun, ruler of Toledo and Valencia, now controls Cordova. He dies later this year. Mutamid, ruler of Seville, sacks Cordova and reduces Toledo. |
| 1081 | After a falling out, Alfonso VI of Castile banishes El Cid. The latter spends the next five years as a mercenary soldier of the Muslims in Zaragoza. |
| 1082 | Al-Muqtadir dies leaving his kingdom between his sons Yusuf al-Mu'tamin (who received the western half based on the capital Zaragoza) and Mundhir al-Hayib. El Cid defeats an attack by al-Hayib (whose allies included the Christian realms of Aragon and Barcelona) at Almenar. |
| 1084 | El Cid routs the attempted invasion of Zaragoza by the joint army of the kingdom of Aragon and al-Hayib. |
| 1085 | Al-Musta'in succeeds his dead father al-Mutamin as ruler of Zaragoza. Toledo falls to King Alfonso VI of Castile. Incidentally, Alfonso took a Muslim Queen named Zayda, who became mother of his son Sancho. |
| 1086 | Yusuf ibn Tashfin and the Almoravids cross into Spain from North Africa in October to aid the Muslims. At the battle of Zallaka, the forces of Mutamid and Yusuf ibn Tashfin crush Alfonso's army (which was three times larger). In the winter, Alfonso and El Cid reconcile. |
| 1087 | The poetess Walladeh, daughter of Spain's Umayyad Caliph Al-Mustakfi, dies. She owed her fame to her eloquence, as she could rival any poet in the court and also to her nobility. Her home in Cordova saw gatherings of poets, wits, and savants. Al-Zarqali (Arzachel, born 1028) dies. This Andalusian Muslim excelled in the field of astronomy developing an astrolabe and producing his Toledan Tables. |
| 1089 | At the request of Mutamid of Seville, Yusuf ibn Tashfin crosses into Spain for a second time to aid the ailing Muslim principalities. Many Spanish Muslims begin to rally around and defect to Yusuf seeing him as a unifier of the weakened regions. Alfonso banishes El Cid again, although the latter remained a subject of the king. Tribute from Muslim states normally going to the king ends up in the treasury of El Cid. |
| 1090 | El Cid exacts tribute from al-Hayib and al-Qadir of Valencia. Yusuf ibn Tashfin returns to Spain this time conquering it and annexing it to his African holdings. The Almoravids annex the states of Granada (the Zirid ruler is deported to Morocco) and Baza. |
| 1091 | Cordova and Seville fall to Yusuf ibn Tashfin. The Almoravids deport Mu'tamid, ruler of Seville, to Morocco where he remains until his death in 1095. Alfonso's forces fail in dislodging the Almoravids this year. |
| 1092 | El Cid renews an alliance with Musta'in of Zaragoza and brings peace between the latter and the King of Aragon. King Alfonso makes alliance with maritime Italian cities for naval assistance against Valencia in return for trade concessions. Alfonso lifts the siege of Valencia to deal with an invasion of his territories by El Cid. Murcia and the castle Aledo fall to the Almoravids. The unpopular al-Qadir of Valencia is deposed and executed; Ibn Jahhaf takes the throne. |
| 1093 | El Cid begins attacks on Valencia which falls the next year. |
| 1094 | El Cid repulses an Almoravid attack, under Yusuf's nephew Muhammad, on Valencia at the Battle of Cuarte. The Almoravids meet defeat for the first time in Spain at this battle. |
| 1095 | In what was considered the harshest act of El Cid's regime, Ibn Jahhaf is burned alive for deceit and the crime of regicide. |
| 1097 | El Cid, with his ally King Pedro I of Aragon, defeats the Almoravids, again under Muhammad, at the Battle of Bairén. |
| 1098 | Murviedro falls to El Cid. Muslims participate in Count Roger's attacks on Amalfi and Capua. |
| 1099 | El Cid dies in Valencia; many mourn his demise. Even some of his Muslim enemies respected his ability as a soldier; the name El Cid is a derivative of the Arabic sayyid, meaning "master". |
| 1102 | Almoravids reconquer Valencia |
| 1104 | Peter I, king of Aragon, dies. It was said that he only knew how to write in Arabic script. |
| 1106 | Yusuf ibn Tashfin, the first Almoravid ruler, dies. His son Ali, known as Abul Hassan, ascends to power. |
| 1118 | The Christians capture Saragossa and other important strongholds. |
| 1122 | The confraternity of Belchite, an Aragonese town, comes into existence to thwart Muslim attack in eastern Spain. Historians know the order will exist up to 1136 and then fade as Christian power in the area becomes secure. |
| 1138 | The Andalusian philosopher Ibn Bajjah (Avempace, born 1106) dies. He was a physician, poet, astronomer, and vizier in the Almoravid court. |
| 1139 | The Count Alfonso Henriques of Portugal defeats the Muslims at the Battle of Ourique. |
| 1143 | The Almoravid Ali ibn Tashfin dies. Tashfin Ibn Ali succeeds him. |
| 1145 | The Almohades, another power out of North Africa, take control of the Moroccan empire after Tashfin is killed (incidentally, in 1160 they would be responsible for kicking the Normans out of North Africa). Abdul Moumin becomes their first ruler. |
| 1147 | Abdul Moumin sends troops to aid the Almoravids against the Christians and virtually annexes al-Andalus to his realms. The Almohad realms will extend from the border of Egpyt all the way to the Atlantic and southern Spain. |
| 1151 | Abdul Moumin takes Mahdieh from the Franks |
| 1163 | Abdul Moumin dies. His son Muhammad succeeds him but is deposed in favor of his brother Abu Yakub Yusuf. |
| 1169 | Muslim forces capture Alfonso Henriques at Badajoz. He is later released. |
| 1171 | Alfonso Henriques captures Santarem from the Muslims |
| 1184 | Abu Yusuf Yakub dies leaving the throne to his son, the celebrated Yakub. Almohade power attains its height. Alfonso Henriques repulses a Muslim attempt to recapture Santarem. |
| 1195 | Yaqub defeats Alfonso VIII of Castile at the Battle of Alarcos |
| 1196 | Yaqub besieges Toledo. He agrees to lift the siege after the mother of Alfonso IX of Castile implores him to spare the city. Yakub is moved by her emotions and sends her back with jewels and other valuables. |
| 1198 | Ibn Rushd, the famous Averroes, dies. He was the most original philosopher of the Andalus, and an influential scholar on medieval Europe. |
| 1199 | Yakub al-Mansur dies. He was a great ruler who fostered scholarship, established hospitals, and organized the army. Yakub was even in contact with the great Saladin. His son Muhammad succeeds him. |
| 1204 | The renowned Jewish thinker and native of Cordova Musa ibn Maymun dies. Amidst political turmoil, he had left Spain for the court of Saladin. |
| 1212 | Alfonso VIII with Crusaders from France, Germany, and Italy defeat the Almohades at the Battle of al-Aakab (known as Las Navas de Tolosa by the Spaniards). |
| 1214 | Almohade ruler Muhammad dies. His son Yusuf assumes power at age sixteen. Alfonso VIII founds the university at Palencia which employs Muslim and Jewish instructors. |
| 1223 | Sid (the title of the Almohade chief) Abu Muhammad Abdul Wahid comes to power after the death of Yusuf. |
| 1224 | Sid Abdul Wahid is assassinated. The Almohades elect Abu Muhammad to power. |
| 1227 | Yahya al-Mutasim becomes the Almohads' new ruler. |
| 1228 | Seville, under Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Hud, breaks away from the Almohades while Idris is on an expedition in Africa. More separation occurs as Zayyan assumes power in Valencia. |
| 1229 | Idris ascends to Almohad leadership. |
