 Following invasions from the Visigoths, Merida remained an important city of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the 6th century.In the 713, the city was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate, and remained under Muslim rule.The Mozarabic people of the island rebelled repeatedly against the Caliphate authorities in the 9th century and the city began a slow decline.