Gharb Al-Andalus (Arabic: غرب الأندلس, trans. gharb al-ʼandalus; "The West of Al-Andalus"), or just Al-Gharb (Arabic: الغرب, trans. al-gharb; "The West"), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day Portugal during their rule of the territory, from 711 to 1249. This period started with the fall of the Visigothic kingdom after Tariq ibn-Ziyad's invasion of Iberia and the establishment of the Umayyad control in the territory. The present day Algarve derives its name from this Arabic name. The region had a population of about 500,000 people.
After a small civil war in the already Christianized Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania, King Roderic (Rodrigo in Portuguese and Spanish) had a strong position in the peninsula. His opponents, exiled in Ceuta, asked Musa ibn Nusair, Umayyad Muslim governor and general, for help. The initially skeptical general sent an experimental expedition mainly consisting of Moors from North and West Africa, led by Tariq ibn Ziyad, thus initiating the Muslim conquest of Iberia. Tariq utterly defeated Roderic's Visigothic army in the Battle of Guadalete, and soon after captured Toledo and Córdoba. With Tariq's success, Musa joined the expedition and established himself as governor of the new territories.