Feudalism did not have such a dominant impact in Spain and Italy as it had in North West Europe. Both these lands had unique factors which affected the conduct of warfare. In 1050, more than half of the Iberian peninsula was under the rule of Islamic states, an area known as Andalusia. After the demise of the Umayyad Caliphate in 1031, Andalusia was divided into several small Muslim states, known as the Taifa emirates. The Taifas often fought amongst themselves, leaving them unable to match the larger Christian Kingdom of Castile that was created in 1037 with the…