Sasanian EmpireThe Sasanian Empire (səˈsɑːniən,_səˈseɪniən), officially known as Eranshahr ("Land/Empire of the Iranians"), was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th–8th centuries AD. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).
Balearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands (Illes Balears ˈiʎəz bəleˈas; Islas Baleares ˈislas βaleˈaɾes ˌbæliˈærɪk or bəˈlɪərɪk ) are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago conforms a province and autonomous community of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca being its capital and largest city. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Mallorca, the islands conformed a province in the 19th century provincial division, which in 1983 received a Statute of Autonomy.
ExtremaduraExtremadura (e(ɣ)stɾemaˈðuɾa; Estremaúra; Estremadura; Fala: Extremaúra) is a landlocked autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it is crossed from east to west by the Tagus and Guadiana rivers. The autonomous community is formed by the two largest provinces of Spain: Cáceres and Badajoz. Extremadura is bordered by Portugal to the west and by the autonomous communities of Castile and León (north), Castilla–La Mancha (east) and Andalusia (south).
AlgecirasAlgeciras (alxeˈθiɾas) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar (Bahía de Algeciras). The Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and the world in three categories: container, cargo and transshipment. The urban area straddles the small Río de la Miel, which is the southernmost river of continental Europe.
MuqarnasMuqarnas (مقرنص; مقرنس, or آهوپای), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of Islamic architecture, integral to the vernacular of Islamic buildings. It was most likely first developed in eleventh-century Iraq, though the earliest preserved examples are also found outside this region. The muqarnas structure originated from the squinch.
Aftasid dynastyThe Aftasid dynasty (Arabic: بنو الأفطس Banu al-Aftas) was an Arabized Iberian-Berber dynasty that ruled the Taifa of Badajoz in Al-Andalus. When the Caliphate of Cordoba broke up into the Taifa kingdoms, the Berber mercenary Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Maslamah ibn al-Aftas (1022–1045) took control of Badajoz, by death of Sabur al-Khatib (a Slavic serf, previously serving at the court of Caliph al-Hakam II, that had proclaimed himself Lord of Badajoz in 1009, and that Ibn al-Aftas served).
