In
the southern tip of Spain stands a giant monolith that became known as the
European side of the Pillars of Hercules where the Mediterranean Sea met the
Atlantic. This monolith, the Rock of Gibraltar, bears a legacy of Muslim Spain.
In fact, it bears the name of the man who started the Muslim conquest of the Iberian
Peninsula – Tariq ibn Ziyad.
The Governor of
Tagiers
Little
has been known about Tariq ibn Ziyad. But today, the widely accepted
information on the Muslim conquer was that he was an Amazigh or Berber Governor
of Tangiers and a subordinate to the governor of Ifriqiya Musa ibn Nusayr. As
Berber, he belonged to North African nomads who converted to Islam and fought
with great ferocity for the spreading of the religion. As Muslim governors,
they served the fastest expanding Empire at that time called the Umayyad Caliphate, centered in Damascus. The Empire they served threatened the
boundaries of the mighty Byzantine Empire and Europe itself that faced turmoil
after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century.
Visigoth Spain
Speaking
of turmoil, on the other side of Tangiers, Spain faced internal unrest. Back
then the Visigoths ruled Spain since the 7th century and maintained a culture
that combined Roman and German. Visigoth nobles elected their Kings rather than
hereditary primogeniture. They had a code of law and embraced the Catholic
faith at the expense of all other religion, most especially Jews who faced
tremendous persecution.
In
710, King Wittiza passed away. Different sources varied on the nature of his
death with some suggesting natural causes while others blamed the demise on
assassination. Whatever the case, his death resulted to a civil war. The
election of the King went contested and 2 claimant battled each other. In
Northeastern Spain, a region called Tarraconensis, Achila challenged the claim
of Roderic, Duke of Baetica, who ruled the rest of country and held the capital
city of Toledo. The 2 fought each other weakening the country and making it
ripe for conquest.
 |
| Coin with King Roderic's Name |
Umayyad Invasion
In
Africa, Tariq ruled the newly conquered city of Tangiers. As to how he went to
Spain remained also a contention. One story suggested that Tariq received a
request from the Lord of Ceuta, Julian, to attack Roderic’s kingdom as revenge to
the Visigoth king’s violation of the Lord’s daughter who went to Toledo to
study. Another suggested enemies of King Roderic requested Tariq’s assistance
in the civil war. Whatever the case, Tariq crossed the 14 kilometer strait that
separated Europe and Africa on May 711.
Tariq
and his 7,000 men made up of Berbers, Syrians, and Yemenis crossed the straits
and land on a coast near a giant limestone promontory. Later on, they called
the rock Jebel-al Tariq or Tarik’s Mountain. Later on, the name got translated
into English and became Gibraltar.
 |
| Gibraltar, 1852 |
After
their landing, Tariq’s army wasted to no time in making their presence felt.
Berber warriors raided cities in Baetica to the alarm of King Roderic who by
then fighting a rebellion in the Basque region of northern Spain. Tariq
received support from some local Jews who suffered from persecution and also noble
enemies of Roderic. With initial successes, Tariq received additional troops
that swollen his forces to about 10,000.
In
July 711, Tariq suddenly faced a tough army opposing him. Suddenly, he
discovered King Roderic marched against him in Baetica after ending his
campaign in the north. His adversary had mustered a huge army, and as to the
number, records once again failed to provide a detail or exact number. Some
suggested the Visigothic army numbered to 100,000. But certainly, Tariq faced a
numerically superior opponent. The 2 sides then met in an unknown location, but
most accepted the location of the battle to be Guadalete. In the Battle of
Guadalete, Tariq triumph against Roderic who fell in battle and became known as
the last Visigoth King of Spain.
Soon
none halted Tariq’s advance. His army captured Cordoba and then later marched
to capture the capital Toledo.
In
the following year, hearing the success of Tariq, his superior Musa ibn Nusayr,
Governor of Ifriqiya, also crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with reinforcements
numbering to 18,000. This army then moved to link up with Tariq and destroyed
in the process remnants of Roderick’s followers. Musa’s forces captured
Seville, Alcala de Guadaira, and Carmona. A part of his army sweep to the west,
to Lusitania (modern day Portugal), and captured Merida on June 713.
Finally,
Tariq met with Musa on Talavera and they continued to capture most of Spain.
Their conquest laid the foundation of the Al-Andalus region of Spain. As to the
name Al-Andalus, once again mystery shrouded its etymology. The most popular
explanation stated that it came from the word Vandals, the Germanic tribe that
dominated a part of Northern Africa and the first Germans that the Muslims
encountered.
The
2 Muslim leaders continued their conquest of Spain in 714. Musa led the capture
of Zaragoza and Galicia. Musa’s son, Abdulaziz, led the capture of Lisbon and
Algarve. Tariq, on the other hand, captured Aragon, Leon, and Astorga.
Tariq
and Musa almost conquered the whole Iberian Peninsula if not for a Visigoth
noble Pelayo (Pelagius) escaping to the mountains of Asturias, establishing a
Kingdom, and remaining as the leader of the last bastion of Christianity in the
region.
In
714, however, Tariq and Musa received an order from Caliph Walid I recalling
them to Damascus. Apparently, their conquest in Spain and establishing a
bastion for Islam in Europe went unauthorized from the great Caliph. Upon their
return to the capital, they were charged of misappropriating funds and
insubordination earning them imprisonment and removal from power. Both passed
away in obscurity, with Tariq, the conqueror of Spain, meeting his end in 720.
Impact of their
Conquest
Tariq’s
conquest changed the history of Europe. His opportunism and boldness to cross
the strait led to the addition of the rich Iberian Peninsula to the domains of
the fledgling Umayyad Caliphate. It gave future Muslim conquerors a foothold in
the continent plagued by division and political turmoil. It implanted in Spain,
Islamic culture that to this day remained in form of culture, music, arts,
language and palaces. But also, the mark of Islam’s crossing to Europe remains
to be epitomized with the rock named after the Tariq – Gibraltar – the strait
that today held immense strategic importance.
Bibliography:
Alkhateeb, Firas. Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past. London: C. Hurst & Co., 2014.
Curta, Florin & Andrew Holt. Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History, Volume 1: Prehistory to AD 600. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2017.
James, David. Early Islamic Spain: The History of Ibn al-Qutiya. New York, New York: Routledge, 2009.
Rogers, Clifford. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. New York, New York: 2010.
Websites:
"Tarik ibn Ziyad." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Encyclopedia.com. Accessed on November 11, 2017. URL: http://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/tarik-ibn-ziyad
Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Tariq ibn Ziyad." In Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on November 11, 2017. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tariq-ibn-Ziyad
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