The Reconquista is a period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula dominated by almost constant warfare between Muslims and Christians and followed by the Spanish Inquisition.
Under the rule of the Habsburg dynasty, Spain became the first modern global empire and the most influential state in Europe only to be reduced to a second-rank power by the time the last Spanish Habsburg died in 1700.
Extreme commitment to champion Catholicism against both Protestantism and Islam shaped both domestic and foreign policies of Philip II, who was the most powerful European monarch in an era of religious conflict.
The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish: Siglo de Oro) is a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the political rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.