With a POD after 1000 AD, make the Iberian peninsula divided between two major polities, one in the north, the other in the south. Bonus points if the southern one is a successor to Al-Andalus.
Hmm, well the issue here is that in the west, there is little to block N-S expansion. In fact, even Kings of Asturias in the 800s IIRC raided into the Merida area.