Latin translations of the 12th century were spurred by a major search by European scholars for new learning unavailable in Christian Europe at the time; their search led them to areas of southern Europe, particularly in central Spain and Sicily, which recently had come under Christian rule following their reconquest in the late 11th century. These areas had been under a Muslim rule for considerable time, and still had substantial Arabic-speaking populations to support their search. The combination of Muslim accumulated knowledge, substantial numbers of Arabic-speaking scholars, and the new Christian rulers made these areas intellectually attractive, as well as culturally and politically accessible to Latin scholars. A typical story is that of Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114–87), who is said to have made his way to Toledo, well after its reconquest by Christians in 1085, because he