Granada was the name of a kingdom (taifa) situated around the city of Granada. The city became the seat of the kingdom in 1238, when the Moors retreated during the Christian reconquest of Spain. It linked the commercial routes from Europe to Africa crossing the Sahara. On the 2nd of January 1492, the Moors surrendered to the Spanish, and the kingdom was incorporated into Castile. The fall of Granada holds an important place among the many significant events that mark the latter half of the 15th century. It ended, after an existence of eight hundred years, the Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula, and thus formed an offset to the progress of the Muslim power in Eastern Europe and the loss to the Christian world of Constantinople. In Granada, The Alhambra, a famous Moorish citadel and palace, is found. It is the most remarkable item of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian historical legacy that makes Granada a hot spot among cultural and touristic cities in Spain.