Welcome to a history of Europe, Key Battles, the Battle of Rio Salado, Part 2 of 3.

I will begin this episode with a brief recap of the history of the interaction between Spain and North Africa, especially the region around the street of Gibraltar.

For centuries, the straits served not so much as a barrier between Europe and Africa,

but as a bridge between the two continents. For example, in Roman times, Morocco was part of the

diocese of Spain. Later in the 6th century, the Visigoths, based in Toledo in central Spain, also asserted

claims to land across the Strait of Gibraltar, although it is difficult to know the extent

of their authority there.

Then in 7-11, the Muslims traversed the strait during their successful invasion of the peninsula.

Thereafter, communication between Al-Andalus and Morocco was continuous, with a steady

flow of warriors, farmers, craftsmen and merchants.

When the Christians began to gain the upper hand over the Muslims of Spain, after the

fall of Toledo in 1085, a tribe of North Africans named the Almoravids crossed the

Strait to attempt to reinvigorate Islam on the peninsula.

For a short time, the Almoravids were in charge of an empire that spanned both Al-Andalus and North Western Africa.

Having failed to successfully counter the Christian advance, the Anmaravids began to decline.

They were replaced by an equally phonetical tribe of Muslims named the Almohads,

who, like the Amaravids, before them, rose to power in Morocco before

invading Spain. For a while, it looked as if the Almohads would recreate a powerful

Muslim power in southern Spain, but they suffered a devastating defeat of the Battle of Las Nefas de Toulosa

in 1212. Two decades later, the Almohads were under serious threat

from internal revolt throughout their empire, especially from a rival tribe called the Benin

or Marinids. The Marinids initially submitted to the Almohads under whom they fought, including against the Christians of Spain.

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