Spain was first invaded by muslim armies in 711 AD. By 756 AD, the Iberian Peninsula was essentially conquered. It stayed under Islamic rule until the end of the Reconquista in 1492, the same year Columbus discovered America.
Spain served as a beachhead for the Islamic invasion of Europe. Islamic armies marched north into France and East into Italy, until they were stopped by Charles Martel, known as Charles the Hammer, at the battle of Poitiers in central France.
