Q 01/05

Which rocky headland at the mouth of the Mediterranean is named after the Moorish general Tariq ibn Ziyad?

A) Tarifa

B) Gibraltar

C) Trafalgar

D) Ceuta

Answer · why

B) Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a worn-down form of Jabal Tariq, Arabic for 'mountain of Tariq'. He landed at its foot in 711 to begin the Muslim conquest of Spain.

Q 02/05

Which Shakespeare tragedy about a general's jealousy over his wife Desdemona is subtitled 'The Moor of Venice'?

A) Othello

B) Macbeth

C) King Lear

D) Coriolanus

Answer · why

A) Othello

Othello was written around 1603. Its hero is a Moorish commander serving the Venetian republic, and his own ensign Iago tricks him into doubting his w...

Q 03/05

Which hilltop palace-fortress of Granada's Moorish sultans is named for the reddish colour of its rammed-earth walls?

A) The Alcázar

B) The Aljafería

C) The Alhambra

D) The Escorial

Answer · why

C) The Alhambra

The Alhambra means 'the red one' in Arabic, short for 'the red fortress'. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Q 04/05

Which explorer waited in the royal camp as the Moors surrendered Granada, then won backing for a voyage west?

A) Ferdinand Magellan

B) Juan Sebastián Elcano

C) Vasco da Gama

D) Christopher Columbus

Answer · why

D) Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp until Granada fell in January 1492. With the long war won, Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to spons...

Q 05/05

Which 11th-century Spanish knight fought for both Christian kings and Moorish Zaragoza before capturing Valencia?

A) El Cid

B) Roland

C) Pelayo

D) Tancred

Answer · why

A) El Cid

El Cid comes from the Arabic as-Sayyid, 'the Lord', an honour paid to Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar. He ruled Valencia from 1094 until his death in 1099.