  the moors were the medieval muslim inhabitants of the maghreb, iberian peninsula, sicily and malta. the moors invaded the iberian peninsula in 711 and called the territory al-andalus, an area which at its peak included what is today gibraltar, most of spain and portugal, and parts of southern france. there was also a moorish presence in what is now southern italy, primarily in sicily. they occupied mazara on sicily in 827 and in 1224 were expelled to the settlement of lucera, which was destroyed in 1300. the religious difference of the moorish muslims led to a centuries-long conflict with the christian kingdoms of europe, called in spain the reconquista. the fall of granada in 1492 saw the end of muslim rule in iberia.   the term "moors" has also been used in europe in a broader sense to refer to muslims,menocal, marÃ­a rosa (2002). "ornament of the world: how muslims, jews and christians created a culture of tolerance in medieval spain". little, brown, & co. isbn 0-316-16871-8 page 241 especially those of arab or berber descent, whether living in spain or north africa. during the colonial era the portuguese introduced the names "ceylon moors" and "indian moors", in sri lanka. the bengali muslims w
Al-Andalus Arab_people Arabs_in_Portugal Arabs_in_Spain Berber_people Berbers_in_Portugal Berbers_in_Spain History_of_Algeria History_of_Islam History_of_Morocco History_of_North_Africa History_of_Spain Medieval_Portugal Moors