The Muslim presence in Gibraltar began on 27 April 711 when the Berber general Tariq ibn-Ziyad led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Moorish force under the command of Musa ibn Nusayr, Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya.

Gibraltar was subjected to several more sieges before its final fall on 20 August 1462 (feast of St. Bernard) to Christian forces under the 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia.

[1] However, according to one early Islamic account, Tariq "cast anchor close to a mountain which received his name", rather than actually landing at Gibraltar.

Another account, by the 9th-century Egyptian historian Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam, describes Gibraltar as lying between the points of departure and disembarkation rather than being the actual landing place.

[2] According to this account, the possibly legendary Julian, Count of Ceuta – an ally of Tariq who was estranged from Roderic, the Visigothic king of Hispania – transported the Muslim forces in ships which "in no way seemed different from" those which "plied across the Strait for trade.

According to the 13th century Kurdish historian Ali ibn al-Athir, Tariq built a fort on The Rock, but this was "only for temporary use, and after he had captured the area of Algeciras, he abandoned it ...

The kingdom's ruler, Abbad II al-Mu'tadid, was conscious that the Almoravids could repeat Tariq's feat of three centuries earlier and bring an invasion force across the Strait before the garrison at Algeciras could react.

[9] Abd al-Mu'min's order, issued on 19 March 1160, charged two of the most important architects of the day with the task of building Madinat al-Fath.

[14] It is unclear how much of Madinat al-Fath was actually built, since after the death of Abd al-Mu'min, his son and successor Abu Yaqub Yusuf preferred Seville as his capital.

[16] In fact, there is no mention of any settlement in Gibraltar either in Arabic or Spanish contemporary sources between the project of Madinat al-Fath and the capture of the town by the Christians in 1309.

[17][18] In the late thirteen and early fourteenth centuries, Castile, the Marinids of Morocco and the Nasrids of Granada fought for the control of the Strait of Gibraltar.

With the implosion of the Almohad Caliphate and the Reconquista onslaught of the 1220–40s, the north shore of the Strait of Gibraltar came under the jurisdiction of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, a reduced successor state to al-Andalus.

After the capture of the city, it was expected that Sancho would lay siege to Algeciras (it did not eventually happen) in order to sever the most direct links of the Marinids with the Iberian peninsula.

[25] The population of Spanish Christians was reduced to eating their own shoes and belts before the town's governor, Vasco Pérez de Meira, surrendered on 17 June 1333.

Following the restoration of peace, Abu al-Hasan ordered a refortification of Gibraltar "with strong walls as a halo surrounds the crescent moon".

[24] Many details of the rebuilt city are known due to the work of Abu al-Hasan's biographer, Ibn Marzuq, whose Musnad (written around 1370–1) describes the reconstruction of Gibraltar.

The city was expanded, and a new defensive wall was built to cover the western and southern flanks, with towers and connecting passages added to strengthen them.

A hamam or bath-house, similar to examples in Fez in Morocco, was built in the lower town; its remnants can still be seen today incorporated into the Gibraltar Museum.

[9] A small mosque was built near Europa Point at the southern tip of Gibraltar and was later converted into the Christian Shrine of Our Lady of Europe.

Marinid Morocco subsequently went into internal convulsions, too busy for active intervention in Spain, clearing the way for a renewed attempt by the Castilians on Algeciras and Gibraltar.

[24] In 1410, however, the Moorish garrison revolted and declared their allegiance to Morocco, leading to the sixth siege in 1411 when the Granadan Nasrids stormed the city with assistance from sympathisers within the walls.

The Seventh Siege of Gibraltar ended in disaster on 31 August 1436 when a landing led by Enrique resulted in his drowning at the Red Sands along with 40 knights and men-at-arms.

[36] Finally, on 20 August 1462,[24] Enrique's son Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia succeeded in capturing Gibraltar after launching a surprise attack.

His success in the brief Eighth Siege of Gibraltar was due to the garrison being greatly depleted after its men of rank had left for Granada, with their retinues, to pay homage to the newly enthroned sultan Abu l-Hasan Ali.

They offered to surrender on condition that the garrison and inhabitants of Gibraltar would be allowed to leave with their wives, children and movable goods, with compensation to be paid for the property that they left behind.