But the power of the Moors, after seven centuries, was broken. In 1492, that date we all know, Ferdinand and Isabella not only saw Columbus set sail.
Much more important to them at the moment was their final ousting of the Moors from that fabulous stronghold, Granada.
The Christians were at last in possession of the golden halls of the Alhambra, while the remaining infidels were allowed to settle in the mountain valleys of the South.
From this time, carpet weaving in Spain began to decline, though many handsome pieces were made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, probably by Moors working under Spanish masters.
These two hundred years of Moorish craftsmanship under Christian authority are known as the Mudejar period.
