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Al-Andalus

The name of Al-Andalus is derived from the Vandals, the Germanic tribe who settled in southern Iberia and Northern Africa. This is the Arabic term for Muslim Iberian Peninsula, both the Caliphate proper and the period of Muslim rule (711 - 1492).

Andalus is considered to have ceased to exist with the fall of the last Spanish-Muslim kingdom, the Amirate of Ghranatah (Granada, Spain) in 1492.

Today, Andalus is an important cultural icon in both Western and Muslim culture. In Muslim culture, Andalus today is a nostalgic symbol of an earlier "Golden period" of Islam.

The name of today's Andalucia comes from "Al-Andalus"

See History of Spain, History of Portugal