Moorish architecture is a variation of Islamic architecture. There are many motifs, or repeated patterns, in Moorish architecture. Moorish architecture is named after the Moors, North African people who conquered the Iberian Peninsula and many islands in the Western Mediterranean beginning in the 700s. The Moors controlled what is now Spain, Portugal, and the Pyrenees region of France for hundreds of years.
The Moors were Muslim and influenced by the Islamic architecture that developed in the Middle East. Although mosques are the most common examples of Moorish architecture, motifs spread to the design of homes and places of businesses. Few of the most famous examples of Moorish architecture are the Grand Mosque of Cordoba, the Alahambra palace of Granada and the palace of Seville.