Sicily, Malta, and Syracuse from 827 until the
Norman conquests in 1090–91. Islamic rule lasted
longest in Iberia, reaching its zenith during the
Umayyad caliphate (912–1031) and ending with
the fall of granada (1492). Felipe III expelled the
remaining Moriscos (forcibly baptized Muslims
who remained in Spain after 1492) from Spain
in 1609–14. In eastern Europe, Anatolian Turks
invaded the Balkans during the mid-13th century,
and Islam continued to spread with the Ottoman
conquests of the 14th century. The Ottomans cap-
tured Constantinople (later istanbUl), the capital
of the Byzantine Empire, in 1453, and Poland,
Lithuania, Hungary, and Budapest came under
Muslim rule during the 15th to the 17th centuries.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire early in the
20th century, the two World Wars, the dissolu-
tion of Yugoslavia, and the more recent Balkan
wars decimated Muslim populations in Poland
and Hungary, but significant numbers remain in
the Balkans. In western Europe, Islam has grown
since the 1950s due to conversion and immigra-
tion from the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and
the Middle East to Britain, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, Italy, and Spain.
cordoba, the capital of andalUsia, was the
largest, wealthiest, and most advanced city in
medieval Europe. It had paved, illuminated streets,
running water, textiles, paper and glass factories,
public baths, numerous libraries, and free schools.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba rivaled its coun-
terparts in cairo and baghdad and was Europe’sSuburban London mosque, formerly a church ( J. Gordon Melton)
K 218 Europe