The discovery of a dinosaur fossil in New Jersey in 1858 sparked a period of intense popular and scientific interest in dinosaurs called “Dinosaur Mania”. Competition between museums to collect specimens led to an oft-forgotten period and a professional rivalry between two men who helped change the face of paleontology - and destroyed each other in the effort.
The Reconquista, or Christian reconquest of Iberia, took nearly 800 years. The fighting did not come without great attempts by Muslim powers across the strait trying to reestablish their presence in mainland Europe. The last gasp of that effort came in the 1330s, when the powerful Marinid sultanate of what is modern Morocco invaded in an attempt to reverse Christian gains and secure the perilous position of the Sultanate of Granada.