- published: 04 Feb 2016
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The Reconquista (Spanish: [rekoŋˈkista], Portuguese: [ʁɛkõˈkiʃtɐ], Galician: [rekoŋˈkista], Catalan: Reconquesta [rəkuŋˈkɛstə], "Reconquest"; Arabic: الاسترداد trans. al-ʾIstirdād, [æl ʔɪstɪrˈdæːd], "the Recapturing") was a period of almost 800 years (539 years in Portugal) in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus. The Reconquista of Al-Andalus began soon after the Islamic conquest with an Asturian rebellion under the leadership of the nobleman Pelagius (also Pelayo).
The Islamic conquest of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom in the 8th century (begun 711) extended over almost the entire peninsula. After more than 700 years, the Reconquista was completed in 1492, when the last remaining Muslim government, the Nasrid dynasty of the Kingdom of Granada in southern Iberia, was defeated. With the Nasarid defeat, the entire Iberian Peninsula had been brought back under Christian rule.
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043 – July 10, 1099), known as El Cid Campeador (Spanish pronunciation: [el ˈθið kampeaˈðor], "The lord-master of military arts"), was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat. Exiled from the court of the Spanish Emperor Alfonso VI of León and Castile, El Cid went on to command a Moorish force consisting of Muladis, Berbers, Arabs and Malians, under Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, Moorish king of the northeast Al-Andalus city of Zaragoza, and his successor, Al-Mustein II.
After the Christian defeat at the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086, El Cid was recalled to service by Alfonso VI, and commanded a combined Christian and Moorish army, which he used to create his own fiefdom in the Moorish Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia.
Rodrigo Díaz was educated in the royal court of Castile and became the alférez, the chief general, of Alfonso VI, and his most valuable asset in the fight against the Moors.
The name El Cid (Spanish: [el ˈθid]) comes from the article el (which means "the" in both Spanish and Arabic), and the dialectal Arabic word سيد sîdi or sayyid, which means "Lord" or "The Master". The title Campeador means "champion" or "challenger" in Spanish. Because of his exceeding prowess in arms, he was the natural challenger in single combats. In Spanish warfare, it was common for leaders of armies to pit two Champions against each other (similar to the story of David and Goliath) to determine the outcome of the conflict. This way neither side would lose a great number of men. The Cid was the champion of King Alfonso VI of Castile. He had gained the title of "Campeador" when he won victory on behalf of Alfonso against the forces of Granada.