About 1300 years ago, the invaders who conquered Spain were the Muslim Moors, specifically the Umayyad Caliphate forces. In 711 AD, the Berber Muslim army led by Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula, defeating the Visigothic King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete. This conquest led to the establishment of Muslim rule over much of Spain, known as al-Andalus, which lasted for several centuries until the Reconquista completed in 1492. The Moors were a mix mainly of Berbers and Arab Muslims from North Africa who dominated Spain starting in the early 8th century.