The Moorish Period

The Moorish Period The Rock was occupied by the Phoenicians , Carthaginians and Romans , but remained uninhabited until the invasion of the Iberian Peninsular by the all - conquering Moorish and Arab armies of Islam in AD 711 under the command of Tarik - ibn - Zeyad , whose name gave rise to Gibraltar . Gibraltar remained under Moorish control from AD 711 to AD 1309 and from AD 1340 to AD 1462 , a total of 720 years .