Background
After the Muslim conquest of Hispania, the first steps in what has become known as the Christian Reconquista, was begun by bands led by Pelagius of Asturias. Amid several steps back and forward, the Christian kingdoms of Asturias, and later León, Navarre, Aragon, Galicia and Castile managed to increasingly control larger parts of the peninsula, starting from the north.
The Kingdom of Asturias was established in 718 and lasted until 925. During some of this time, it ruled over territory that extended as far south as today's northern northern Portugal, as part of Galicia. Alfonso II of Asturias expanded the Kingdom, and sents parties deep into Moorish controlled territory, sacking Lisbon in 798. The Moors recovered from the raid and retained hold of Lisbon until 1147. The Moors pushed back and soon recovered most of the territory they had briefly lost, except for what is now northern Portugal.
Read more about this topic: Counts Of Portugal
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)