<P> Moors are not a distinct or self - defined people, and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that "The term' Moors' has no real ethnological value ." Medieval and early modern Europeans variously applied the name to Arabs, North African Berbers, and Muslim Europeans . </P> <P> The term has also been used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa . During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors" in Sri Lanka, and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors . </P> <P> In 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from northern Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . The Iberian peninsula then came to be known in classical Arabic as Al - Andalus, which at its peak included most of Septimania and modern - day Spain and Portugal . </P> <P> In 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily, developing it as a port . They eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy . Differences in religion and culture led to a centuries - long conflict with the Christian kingdoms of Europe, which tried to reclaim control of Muslim areas; this conflict was referred to as the Reconquista . In 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera, which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300 . </P>

Where did the moors in spain come from