The last Islamic state, Granada, fell in 1492. Over the next several hundred years, Arabs were driven out. Late in the 11th century, minor Christian states in the north of Spain began a campaign to retake the Iberian peninsula known as the Reconquista. Five hundred years previous to this, however, the territory of Spain itself was part of a larger Islamic world. When you look up great imperialist empires in the dictionary, there should be a picture of 16th century Spain pasted there.
