Satellite view of the Iberian peninsula.

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small part of France. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra ( Catalan: Principat d'Andorra) is a small Landlocked country in western Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It is the western and southernmost of the three southern European peninsulas (the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas). A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. Th Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (Penisola italiana or Penisola appenninica) is one of the three Peninsulas of Southern Europe It is bordered on the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Pyrenees form the northeast edge of the peninsula, separating it from the rest of Europe. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés In the south, it approaches the northern coast of Africa. It is the second largest peninsula in Europe, with an area of 582 860 km². The name "Iberia" was also used since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome for another territory at the opposite corner of Europe, Caucasian Iberia, in modern day Georgia. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC This article is about the people of ancient Georgia For the Iberians of ancient Iberian Peninsula see Iberians. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between

Name

The term Iberia is the Greek equivalent of Latin Hispania. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar Surviving Roman texts always use Hispania for the peninsula (first mentioned in 200 BC by the poet Quintus Ennius) while Greek texts employ Iberia. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Quintus Ennius (239 - 169 BC was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman Poetry. It is believed that the root Iber is of Iberian origin, and could relate to the word ancient Iberians used to say river (which may have survived in the modern name or the Ebro river, which was named by the Romans Iberus Flumen, or River Iber). The Iberian language was the language of a people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian The Ebro ( Ebre) is Spain 's most voluminous river Its source is in Fontibre ( Cantabria)

Notice that substituting Spanish for Iberian or Spain for the Iberian Peninsula is anachronistic and potentially misleading, since the peninsula includes also Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, and a tiny French territory in the Pyrenees, and has not been under unified rule since the short-lived Iberian Union (1580-1640). Iberian Union is a modern day term that refers to the historical political unit that governed all of the Iberian peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640

One should also notice that the modern usage of Hispanic, if not used in a specific historical meaning, mostly refers to Spain or the Spanish speaking world. Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically The term Hispanophone ( hispanoparlante, hispanohablante or hispanófono, in Spanish) denotes Spanish-speakers and relation to the Spanish-speaking The equivalent term for Portugal or the Portuguese speaking world is Lusitanic (derived from the Roman Province of Hispania Lusitania). Europe Portugal Portuguese is spoken as a first language in Portugal by 10 Lusitanic ( Portuguese Lusitânico) from Latin Lusitanicus, adjective from Lusitania, the name of a Roman In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa This article concerns the Roman province For the ship see RMS Lusitania. Iberian, in modern usage, refers to the whole of the peninsula, that is, Portugal and Spain and to a lesser extent Gibraltar and Andorra.

History

Further information: Prehistoric Iberia, Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, Visigothic Kingdom, Spania, Al Andalus, Reconquista, History of Portugal and History of Spain. The Prehistory of the Iberian peninsula begins with the arrival of the first Hominins c This is a list of the Pre- Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania - modern Andorra, Portugal and Spain Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar The Visigothic kingdom was a Western European power from the fifth to eighth century one of the Successor states to the Western Roman Empire, originally Spania (Provincia Spaniae was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period Portugal is a European Nation whose origins go back to the Early Middle Ages. The History of Spain spans the period from Prehistoric Iberia, through the rise and fall of the first global empire, to Spain's current position

The Iberian Peninsula has been inhabited for at least 1,000,000 years as remains found in the sites at Atapuerca demonstrate. Among these sites is the cave of Gran Dolina, where six hominin skeletons, dated between 780,000 and one million years ago, were found in 1994. Experts have debated whether these skeletons belong to the species Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, or a new species called Homo antecessor. Homo erectus ( Latin: "upright man" is an extinct species of the genus Homo, believed to have been the first hominin Homo heidelbergensis ("Heidelberg Man" is an Extinct Species of the Genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor Homo antecessor is an extinct Hominin and a potential distinct species dating from 1 ^{[1] [2]}

Around 200,000 BC, during the Lower Paleolithic period, Neanderthals first entered the Iberian Peninsula. The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Around 70,000 BC, during the Middle Paleolithic period the last ice age began and the Neanderthal Mousterian culture was established. The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, "Last glacial" redirects here For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time see Last Glacial Maximum The last glacial period Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly Flint tools (or industry) associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis Around 35,000 BC, during the Upper Paleolithic, the Neanderthal Châtelperronian cultural period began. The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe Africa Châtelperronian was the earliest industry of the Upper Palaeolithic in central and south western France, extending also into Northern Spain. Emanating from Southern France this culture extended into Northern Iberia. Southern France (or the South of France) colloquially known as Le Midi, is a loosely defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that This culture continued to exist until around 28,000 BC when Neanderthal man faced extinction, their final refuge being present-day Portugal.

Iberian Late Bronze Age since c. 1300BC.

At about the 40th millennium BC Modern Humans make way into the Iberian peninsula, coming from Southern France. The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe Africa Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra Southern France (or the South of France) colloquially known as Le Midi, is a loosely defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that Here, this genetically homogeneous population (characterized by the M173 mutation in the Y chromosome), developed the M343 mutation, giving rise to the R1b Haplogroup, still common in modern Portuguese and Spanish populations. Population genetics is the study of the Allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four evolutionary forces Natural selection, Genetic In biology mutations are changes to the Nucleotide sequence of the Genetic material of an organism The Y chromosome is the sex-determining Chromosome in most Mammals including Humans In mammals it contains the gene SRY, which triggers In Human genetics, Haplogroup R1b is the most frequent Y-chromosome Haplogroup in Western Europe In Human genetics, Haplogroup R1b is the most frequent Y-chromosome Haplogroup in Western Europe In the study of Molecular evolution, a haplogroup, from "ἁπλο-" (Greek haplo-: simple or single + "group" is a group of similar Haplotypes The Portuguese people (os Portugueses literally the Portuguese) are the Ethnic group or Nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west In Iberia, Modern Humans will develop a series of different cultures, such as the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian cultures, some of then characterized by complex forms of Paleolithic art. Aurignacian is the name of a culture of the Upper Palaeolithic located in Europe and southwest Asia. The Gravettian was an industry of the European Upper Palaeolithic. The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Palaeolithic. The Magdalenian, also spelled Magdalénien refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Palaeolithic in Western Europe. --> In the history of art prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory beginning somewhere in very late geological history

During the Neolithic expansion, various megalithic cultures had developed in Iberia. Neolithic Europe is the time between roughly from 7000 BC (the approximate time of the first farming societies in Greece) to ca An open seas navigation culture from the east Mediterranean, called the Cardium culture, had also extended their influence to the eastern coasts of Iberia, possibly as early as the 5th millennium B. Cardium Pottery, Printed-Cardium Pottery or Cardial Ware is a Neolithic decorative style that gets its name from the imprinting of the clay with the C. These people may have had some relation to the subsequent development of the Iberian civilization. The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources (among others Hecataeus of Miletus, Avienus, Herodot and Strabo

In the Chalcolithic or Copper Age (c. The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos ' Copper stone' period or Copper Age period known as the '''Eneolithic''' ('''Æneolithic''' is a 3000 BC. in Iberia) a series of complex cultures developed, that would give rise of the first civilizations in Iberia and of extensive exchange networks that would reach to the Baltic, the Middle East and North Africa. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Since c. 2150 BC the Bell Beaker culture intrudes in Chalcolithic Iberia, of quite clear Central European origin. The Bell-Beaker culture (sometimes shortened to Beaker culture, Beaker people, or Beaker folk; Glockenbecherkultur) ca Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Bronze Age cultures eventually developed since c. 1800 BC, where the civilization of Los Millares was followed by that of El Argar - from this center, bronze technology spread to other areas, such as those of the Bronze of Levante, South-Western Iberian Bronze and Cogotas I. Los Millares is the name of a Chalcolithic occupation site 17km north of Almería, in the municipality of Santa Fe de Mondújar, Andalusia El Argar is the Type site of an Early Bronze Age culture called the Argaric culture, which flourished from the town of Antas, Almería Bronze of Levante (Bronce de Levante is the name of the proto-Iberian culture extending approximately by the Land of Valencia in the 2nd millennium BCE The South-Western Iberian Bronze is a poorly defined Bronze Age culture of Southern Portugal and nearby areas of SW Spain ( Huelva, In the Late Bronze Age the clearly urban civilization of Tartessos would develop in the area of modern western Andalusia, characterized by Phoenician influence and Tartessian script of its Tartessian language (a language isolate not related to the Iberian language)

Early in the first millennium BC, several waves of Pre-Celts and Celts migrated from central Europe, thus partially changing the ethnic landscape of Iberia into a clearly Indo-European space in its northern and western regions. Tartessos (also Tartessus) was a harbor city and its surrounding culture on the south coast of the Andalusia (Andalucía is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest in terms of land area The southwest script or southwestern script, also known as Tartessian or South Lusitanian is a paleohispanic script that was the mean of written The Tartessian language, also known as southwestern or South Lusitanian is a paleohispanic language once spoken in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula A language isolate, in the absolute sense is a Natural language with no demonstrable genealogical (or "genetic" relationship with other living languages that is The Iberian language was the language of a people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and

Main language areas in Iberia circa 200BC.

By the Iron Age, starting in the 7th century BC, the global panorama in Iberia was one of complex agrarian and urban civilizations, either Pre-Celtic or Celtic (such as the Lusitanians, the Celtiberians, the Gallaeci, the Astur, or the Celtici, amongst others), the cultures of the Iberians in the eastern and southern zones of Iberia and the cultures of the Aquitanian in the western portion of the Pyrenees. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. The Lusitanians (or Lusitani in Latin) were an Indo-European people living in the western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman The Celtiberians (or Celt-Iberians were a Celtic people of Hallstatt culture The Gallaeci, Callaeci, or Callaici were a Pre- Roman Celtic single or various tribes living in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula The Astures were the original Indo-European inhabitants of the northwest area of Hispania that now comprises almost the entire modern Autonomous community The Celtici were a Celtic tribe of the Iberian peninsula, akin either to the Lusitanians and Gallaecians or the Celtiberians, living The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources (among others Hecataeus of Miletus, Avienus, Herodot and Strabo The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine (approximately between the Pyrenees and the Garonne, the region later known as Gascony The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés

The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading colonies there over a period of several centuries. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Around 1100 BCE Phoenician merchants founded the trading colony of Gadir or Gades (modern day Cádiz) near Tartessos. Cádiz ( Spanish:) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of the same name, a province which is one of eight Cádiz ( Spanish:) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of the same name, a province which is one of eight Tartessos (also Tartessus) was a harbor city and its surrounding culture on the south coast of the In the 8th century BCE the first Greek colonies, such as Emporion (modern Empúries), were founded along the Mediterranean coast on the East, leaving the south coast to the Phoenicians. Colonies in antiquity were City-states founded from a mother- City Empúries ( Catalan name in Spanish: Ampurias) is a town on the Mediterranean coast of the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà (Spain The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia, after the river Iber (Ebro). The Ebro ( Ebre) is Spain 's most voluminous river Its source is in Fontibre ( Cantabria) In the 6th century BCE the Carthaginians arrived in Iberia while struggling with the Greeks for control of the Western Mediterranean. Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Their most important colony was Carthago Nova (Latin name of modern day Cartagena). Cartagena ( is a Spanish Mediterranean city and naval station in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula in the autonomous community of Region of Murcia Cartagena ( is a Spanish Mediterranean city and naval station in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula in the autonomous community of Region of Murcia

Roman conquest of Hispania.

In 219 BCE, the first Roman troops invaded the Iberian Peninsula, during the Second Punic war against the Carthaginians, and annexed it under Augustus after two centuries of war with the Celtic and Iberian tribes and the Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian colonies, resulting in the creation of the province of Hispania. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Second Punic War (referred to as "The War Against Hannibal" by the Romans lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar It was divided into Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior during the late Roman Republic, and during the Roman Empire, it was divided into Hispania Taraconensis in the northeast, Hispania Baetica in the south and Lusitania in the southwest. During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior (English Further Spain) was a region of Hispania roughly located the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior (English Hither Spain) was a region of Hispania roughly located in the northeastern coast and in the Ebro The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, (modern Iberia) This article concerns the Roman province For the ship see RMS Lusitania.

Iberia in 560.

Hispania supplied the Roman Empire with food, olive oil, wine and metal. The emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Theodosius I, the philosopher Seneca and the poets Martial and Lucan were born from families living in Iberia. Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24 76 &ndash July 10 138 as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after Flavius Theodosius (January 11 347 – January 17 395 also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great ( Greek: Θεοδόσιος Α΄ Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca, or Seneca the Younger; Σένεκας in Ancient Greek literature (c Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial) (March 1 40 AD - ca Marcus Annaeus Lucanus ( November 3, 39 AD – April 30, 65 AD better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman

In the early 5th century, Germanic tribes invaded the peninsula, namely the Suevi, the Vandals (Silingi and Hasdingi) and their allies, the Sarmatian Alans. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic The Suebi or Suevi (from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- meaning "one's own" The Silings or Silingi (Latin Silingae, Greek Σιλίγγαι - Silingai) were an East Germanic tribe probably part of the larger The Hasdingi were the southern tribes of the Vandals, an East Germanic tribe. The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες The Alans or Alani (occasionally but more rarely termed Alauni or Halani) were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people Only the kingdom of the Suevi (Quadi and Marcomanni) would endure after the arrival of another wave of Germanic invaders, the Visigoths, who conquered all of the Iberian peninsula and expelled or partially integrated the Vandals and the Alans. The Suebi or Suevi (from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- meaning "one's own" Quadi were a smaller Germanic tribe, about which little definitive information is known Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Visigoths eventually conquered the Suevi kingdom and its capital city Bracara (modern day Braga) in 584-585. Braga (ˈBrag-uh a city and municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the district of Braga, the oldest archdiocese Braga (ˈBrag-uh a city and municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the district of Braga, the oldest archdiocese They would also conquer the province of the Byzantine Empire (552-624) of Spania in the south of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa Spania (Provincia Spaniae was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean

In 711 CE, a North African Moorish Umayyad army invaded Visigothic Christian Hispania. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent The Umayyad conquest of Hispania ( 711 – 718) began as an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Berbers inhabitants The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar Under their leader Tariq ibn-Ziyad, they landed at Gibraltar and brought most of the Iberian Peninsula under Islamic rule in an eight-year campaign. Tariq Ibn Ziyad or Taric bin Zeyad (طارق بن زياد d 720 known in Spanish history and legend as Taric el Tuerto (Taric the one-eyed was Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Al-ʾAndalūs (Arabic الإندلس : Land of the Vandals) is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors and its subsesquent inhabitants. Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion

The Reconquista, 790-1300.

From the 8th to the 15th centuries, parts of the Iberian peninsula were ruled by the Moors (mainly Berber with some Arab) who had crossed over from North Africa. The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Many of the ousted Gothic nobles took refuge in the unconquered north Asturian highlands. The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Kingdom of Asturias was the first Christian political entity to be established in the Iberian peninsula after the collapse of the Visigothic From there they aimed to reconquer their lands from the Moors: this war of reconquest is known as the Reconquista. The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period Christian and Muslim kingdoms fought and allied among themselves. The Muslim taifa kings competed in patronage of the arts, the Way of Saint James attracted pilgrims from all Western Europe and the Jewish population of Iberia set the basis of Sephardic culture. A taifa (from طائفة ṭā'ifa, plural طوائف ṭawā'if) in the history of Iberia was an independent Muslim -ruled principality The Way of St James or St James' Way ( Galician O camiño de Santiago, Spanish name El Camino de Santiago) For the period of Spanish cultural flourishing in the 17th century see Spanish Golden Age. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural

18th century map of Iberia.

In medieval times the peninsula housed many small states including Castile, Aragon, Navarre, León and Portugal. Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. Aragon ( Spanish: "Aragón") is an autonomous community of Spain. The Kingdom of Navarre (Reino de Navarra Nafarroako Erresuma Royaume de Navarre originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The peninsula was part of the Islamic Almohad empire until they were finally uprooted. The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i The last major Muslim stronghold was Granada which was eliminated by a combined Castilian and Aragonese force in 1492. Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous region of Andalusia, Spain. The small states gradually amalgamated over time, with the exception of Portugal, even if for a brief period (1580-1640) the whole peninsula was united politically under the Iberian Union. Iberian Union is a modern day term that refers to the historical political unit that governed all of the Iberian peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640 After that point the modern position was reached and the peninsula now consists of the countries of Spain and Portugal (excluding their islands - the Portuguese Azores and Madeira Islands and the Spanish Canary Islands and Balearic Islands; and the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla), Andorra, French Cerdagne and Gibraltar. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The Azores ( Açores ɐˈsoɾɨʃ or) is a Portuguese Archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1500 km (950  mi) from History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African coast Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra ( Catalan: Principat d'Andorra) is a small Landlocked country in western French Cerdagne is the northern half of Cerdanya, which came under French control as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, while the southern Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar

Modern Countries & territories

The positions of the different countries/territories of Iberia.

Political divisions of the Iberian Peninsula sorted by area:

• Spain, occupying most of the peninsula, including the north, centre, east and northwest
  • Area: 504,030 km² (493,519 in the Peninsula)

• Portugal, occupying most of the west of the peninsula
  • Area: 92,345 km² (89,261 in the Peninsula)

• French Cerdagne, a small French territory in the Pyrenees Mountains technically on the Iberian peninsula
  • Area: almost 540 km²
• Andorra, a microstate at the northern edge of the peninsula in the Pyrenees between Spain and France
  • Area: 468 km²
• Gibraltar, a tiny British overseas territory near the southernmost tip of the peninsula, bordering Spain
  • Area: almost 7 km²

See also

• Iberian languages
• Mainland Portugal
• Gibraltar
• Nationalities in Spain
• Sephardi Jews
• Spanish people
• Portuguese people
• Forests of the Iberian Peninsula
• Iberian Federalism

References

External links

• Iberianature A guide to the environment, geography, climate, wildlife, natural history and landscape of Iberia
• Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)