So important during the Ancient times, the Strait of Gibraltar gradually faded away in Arab sources after the Islamic conquest at the beginning of the eighth century. It was not until the late ninth century that the Umayyad state of Cordoba became interested in this strategic area. Ceuta’s conquest by caliph ‘Abd al-Rahman III (931) gradually led to the emergence of an imperial territory stretching from the Pyrenees to the edge of the Sahara. As a result, the Strait played a pivotal role in the traffic networks that connected the western Mediterranean’s two shores, particularly in terms of trade and economic activity. That is why the Strait of Gibraltar can be considered as a nodal point not only on a continental but also on a global scale.
Islamic West, Al-Andalus, Umayyads of Cordoba, territorial control, exchange networks.