Moors And The Aztecs Essay

The Downfall of the Moors and the Aztecs In what are commonly regarded as two of the greatest conquests in early history, the Moors of Spain and the Aztec Empire were both dethroned by invading empires. The Moors by the White armies of the Goths and later the Spanish looking for revenge, and the Aztecs by the Spanish themselves, in search of riches in the new world. What began in 711 A.D. and lasted for over seven centuries can be described as the largest race war in history. The Moors had overrun Northern Africa up to the Straight of Gibraltar, and lay siege to the Spanish city of Ceuta, which lay on the southern coast of Spain. In less than a year, the Moors had gathered an army and conquered much of Spain. While small Gothic resistance remained, it was centered in the northern quarter of the country. These Spaniards were only able to maintain their sovereignty by a tribute of 100 white virgins per year to the Moorish leaders, with which they did as they pleased. After eighty long years of this, the Goth's finally gained enough strength to break free of their treaty. This was not enough for the Moors however, as they soon began their conquest of France, crossing the Pyrenees in 722 and in 732 launching a massive and brutal attack on Gothic France under the command of Abd arRahman.
Charles "The Hammer" Martel, King of the Franks at the time, knew that if the Moors proceeded any further in their conquest, it would be the collapse of White sovereignty in Europe.
Charles mounted one of the most impressive counter-attacks to date, meeting the Moors in southern France and stopping them cold. In a battle that lasted for seven days, Charles the Hammer and his forces were able to dispel the non-whites, sending them into retreat, back south into Spain. The Moors awaited a further push south by the Franks, but it did not come as the gathering of such a large army had exhausted the wealth of the Frankish
Empire. Of the locales able to hold of the Moorish spread was Barcelona, which along with several other regions of the North, was able to band together and build power during the northern conquest of the Moors. Over the next several hundred years, this anti-Muslim alliance was able to push further and further south, driving back the invaders. Finally in 1212, the Whites defeated the non-Whites at Toledo, barring the Moors to the Southern regions of Spain, and giving the North time to build its strength once again. It was not until the marriage of Ferdinand V and Isabella I that the Moors would be driven from Spain entirely. This reconquest began with the taking of Alhama from the Moors in 1482, and from there Ferdinand and Isabella moved on (personally commanding the hundred thousand men they had risen) to the final Moor stronghold, Granada. After taking Granada in a battle that lasted for nearly a month, the Spaniards had, for the first time in just shy of eight hundred years, completely expelled the Moors from Spain. Despite the fact that the Moors had so quickly taken control of Spain, and charged it's remaining members with the price of 100 virgins per year, the Spanish treated the Moors considerably well, especially in comparison to the Jews in their country. They allowed them to practice their own religion for many years, up until around 1610