Throughout Europe, there remain family crests, statues, busts, and ornaments dedicated to the Moors who rescued Europe from the dark ages. The Moors brought enormous learning to Spain that over centuries would percolate through the rest of Europe.
The intellectual achievements of the Moors in Spain had a lasting effect; education was universal in Moorish Spain, while in Christian Europe, 99 percent of the population was illiterate, and even kings could neither read nor write. At a time when Europe had only two universities, the Moors had seventeen, located in Almeria, Cordova, Granada, Juen, Malaga, Seville, and Toledo. Source: Atlanta Black Star.
The Moors were in Spain from 711 - 1492, until the fall of Granada.
