In the summer of 1303, 64 year old King Edward I of England was on campaign in Scotland, when a courier brought shocking news from home. Tens of thousands of pounds worth of gold and jewels had been taken from the royal treasury, from what was recognized as the most secure room in the kingdom.
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.