Pico Almanzor is the highest mountain in central Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Situated in the Sierra de Gredos

Sierra de Gredos

The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, located between Ávila, Cáceres, Madrid and Toledo. It has been declared a regional park. Its highest point is Pico Almanzor, at 2,592 metres....

 in the province of Ávila

Ávila (province)

Ávila is a province of central-western Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Toledo and Cáceres, on the west by Salamanca, on the north by Valladolid, and on the east by Segovia and Madrid. Ávila has a...

, Almanzor is 2592 metres (8,504 ft) high. It is made of granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

. The mountain is also known as Pico de Almanzor and Moro Almanzor.

History

The mountain got its name from Al-Mansur (Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 for "the victorious"). Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir

Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir

Abu Aamir Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abi Aamir, Al-Hajib Al-Mansur , better known as Almanzor, was the de facto ruler of Muslim Al-Andalus in the late 10th to early 11th centuries. His rule marked the peak of power for Moorish Iberia.-Origins:He was born Muhammad Ibn Abi Aamir, into a noble Arab...

 was a general and statesman in Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 (Caliphate of Cordoba

Caliphate of Córdoba

The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...

) during the late 10th century. Muhammad bin Abi Amir was his real name; the Moors

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 in Spain gave him the title of Al-Mansur due to his victories over the Christians.

During his many campaigns, Al-Mansur passed near this mountain and he was captivated by its beauty.

Pico Almanzor was climbed for the first time in September 1899 by M. González de Amezúa and José Ibrián. Espada, Ontañon and Abricarro made the first winter ascent in 1903. In 1960, a 1 metre-tall iron cross was placed on the summit.