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This story is based on the fate of Queen Isabella of Castile, who dedicated her life to the unification of Spain and finally succeeded in breaking the rule of the Muslim Moors, who by 1482 controlled only the Emirate of Granada. But in order to complete the centuries-long process of The Reconquista, Isabella must first stake her claim to the Castilian throne and unite the fractious and divided kingdoms of Spain. To this end, she manages to enlist a powerful ally, Ferdinand of Aragon, and their marriage forges a powerful alliance against common enemies.
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  • jirihracek This story is based on the fate of Queen Isabella of Castile, who dedicated her life to the unification of Spain and finally succeeded in breaking the rule of the Muslim Moors, who by 1482 controlled only the Emirate of Granada. But in order to complete the centuries-long process of The Reconquista, Isabella must first stake her claim to the Castilian throne and unite the fractious and divided kingdoms of Spain. To this end, she manages to enlist a powerful ally, Ferdinand of Aragon, and their marriage forges a powerful alliance against common enemies. King Henry IV of Castile died in December 1474, setting off the War of the Castilian Succession between Henry's daughter Joanna la Beltraneja and Henry's half-sister Isabella. The war raged from 1475–1479, pitting Isabella's supporters and the Crown of Aragon against Joanna's supporters, Portugal, and France. During this time, the frontier with Granada was practically ignored; the Castilians did not even bother to ask for or obtain reparation for a raid in 1477. Truces were agreed upon in 1475, 1476, and 1478. In 1479, the Succession War concluded with Isabella victorious. As Isabella had married Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469, this meant that the two powerful kingdoms of Castile and Aragon would stand united, free from the inter-Christian strife which had allowed the Emirate of Granada to survive. To complete the reconquista, Isabella and Ferdinand had to conquer Granada. The Emirate of Granada was protected by natural barriers and fortified towns and had resisted the reconquista process for many decades. On February 1, 1482, the king and queen arrived at Medina del Campo, and thus began the Granada War. While Isabella and Ferdinand's involvement in the war was evident from the outset, the Granadan leadership was divided and unable to unite. Nevertheless, the conquest of Granada took ten years, culminating in 1492. The siege of Granada itself began in the spring of 1491 and Muhammad XII finally surrendered at the end of the year. Isabella and Ferdinand succeeded in uniting the whole of Spain and became the first Spanish queen and king. Their actions led to the completion of the Reconquista and the founding of the establishing Spanish Empire, making Spain a major power in Europe and the world and ultimately ushering in the Spanish Golden Age.

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