The seven hundred year period between 722 and 1492 has long been known to historians of Spain as the ‘Reconquista’ and the Spanish have organised their medieval history around the drama of this glorious event which over time has become a cherished feature of the self-image of the Spanish people. It has become embellished into a sort of organised Catholic national crusade and although there is some truth in this much of it in reality was simply due to the expansionist territorial ambitions of competing northern Spanish kingdoms such as Asturias and León.
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Have Bag, Will Travel 
Hello:
Your stories abou ”El Cid” are amazing and are very accurate. But there is part that is not exacly the true: ”In actual fact life under Moorish occupation wasn’t that bad and under Islam, the status of Christians and Jews was recognised, there was great religious and social tolerance and in return for a small tax they were free to practice their own religion.”
It is known that moors killed many cristians who lived in moor’s land (mozárabes). Many cristiand had gone to the north of Spain in order to not be killed. That happeneded some decades after the invasion of Spain. At the beggining(of the invasion), cristians had to pay really high taxes in order to live in their own cities.
Always your, Mazadelizana.
See you.
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Thanks for that – I will research and amend
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I HAVE THIS SWORD…TIZONA DEL CID. EXACT AS PICTURED IN YOUR PHOTO BUT MORE WORN. CAN YOU TELL ME THE APPROX. VALUE? Carole
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