Located in the bay of Gibralfaro on the Southern coast of Spain, Malaga was captured by the Moors in 711. Becoming Granada's main port, it developed into a prosperous fortified settlement with five city gates. Little architecture remains from Islamic rule in Malaga, however it is known for two powerful military castles, the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro, which overlook the city from its eastern hillside and date to this period. Constructed over Roman and Visigothic ruins, these citadels were built and expanded upon during the eleventh century under the Hammudids, and the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries under the Nasrids, with some additions made in the sixteenth century. The city was captured in 1487 by the Catholic monarch Ferdinand of Aragon and by 1586 its Muslim residents had all been expelled.
Sources:
Robertson, Ian. 1980. Blue Guide Spain: The Mainland. London and Tonbridge: Ernest Benn Limited, 504-7.
Goodwin, Godfrey. 1990. Islamic Spain. London: Penguin Group, 93-95.
