THE CONQUEST OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

 Over the years, the Iberian Peninsula had been  given three names:  Iberia, by the Greeks; Hispania, by the Romans; and Andalucia, (Vandalucia) by the Vandals.   A myth, however has it that the name came after one of Noah's sons, Andalus, who had landed at the shores of the Iberian Peninsula when the floods receded, while his brother, Ceuta, landed on the north African coast, lending his name to the harbor town which now forms a Spanish  enclave  within  the  Moroccan  territory.    The Arabs used the name Al-Andalus for all of Spain.   The name Andalucia now covers the southern province  of modern Spain which embraces Almeria, Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Cadiz as far west as the Portuguese frontiers.

 On the eve of the Arab invasion of the peninsula, a Visigoth army officer by the name of Rodrigo usurped the throne after the death of Witiza, the king of the Visigoths, causing a deep division within the country  between his supporters  and those of the son of the deceased king, and aggravating the already chaotic and inhuman conditions which characterized the public and social life of the country.

The Visigoths, who had first invaded the Peninsula in 414, and had driven the Vandals south across the Straits to north Africa,  belonged to an Arian form of Christianity and were not able to enforce a political unity with the overwhelmingly Catholic indigenous population.  But when in 589 their king and his commanders converted to Catholicism, they were finally able to stabilize their rule and unify the whole Peninsula as well as the province of Septemanie, beyond the Pyrenees, into a kingdom, and their nobility soon merged with the local Hispano-Roman nobility in a privileged upper class.

 On the opposite shore, facing the Iberian coast, were two men, one in Tangier and the other in Ceuta.  Both were gazing at the horizon to the north where a faint line marked the Iberian coast.  The man in Tangier, Musa ibn Nuseir,  was pondering over his future and that of his troops.  Should he drop anchor once and for all, as was his original mandate, or should he pursue the sacred duty of jihad  for the spread of Islam while his troops were still absorbed by the exuberance of victory and conquest.

 For Musa there was one direction to consider and that was across the Straits northward , where word had it was land rich with water vegetation and treasures.  It was also a populated land where Islam might spread and flourish.

The man in Ceuta, Don Julian, the lord of the harbor city, not far from Tangier, was also looking at the opposite coast.  Some say he was a Visigoth, while others insist he was a Byzantine who was able to create his own little city kingdom in Ceuta, following the collapse of the Byzantine resistance in north Africa, and aligned himself with Witiza, the Visigoth king of the Iberian peninsula. When Rodrigo usurped the throne from the son of Witiza, he had two reasons for wanting to see Rodrigo punished. Julian had been the man of Witiza in north Africa and thus depended on him for support and protection.  He wanted to see Rodrigo punished also for a personal reason.  A matter of honor, his own daughter's honor.

The story has it that Julian's daughter had been in the court of Witiza as a maid of honour prior to the latter's fall. Rodrigo evidently could not resist the stunning beauty of the maid of honour, so he assaulted her and left her in grief over her blemished honor.  True or not, Julian, the lord of Ceuta was aspiring to see Akhila, the son of Witiza on the throne rather than Rodrigo. His political aspirations and his very existence were in jeopardy.

 It took little time for the two men to realize that their interests converged, and it took less time for them to forge a pact.  Two emissaries were sent off immediately, one by Musa to Damascus, and the other by Julian across the straits to the Peninsula.

 It was with reluctance that the Khalifa in Damascus approved Musa's proposal to invade the Iberian Peninsula, for he was mindful of the possible dangers of dispatching the army across the sea into the unknown and so far away from their bases.

 But the seventy year old governor had never intended to go through this venture without taking all the necessary precautions.  He had so much at stake.  So he dispatched a small detachment of five hundred  strong led by an officer named Tarif with view of exploring the area where the eventual thrust would take place. But Musa, in doing so, had another reason in mind.  He wanted to check the sincerity of Julian regarding the latter's claims of having influential and well informed contacts across the straits, and of the ability and willingness of those people to cooperate with his forces.

Tariq finally sailed with his men in April 711 and landed at the foot of the mountain which was later named after him, Jabal Tariq, Gibralter.  From there he led his troops to a nearby sea port and captured it with little effort giving it the name al-Jazirah al-Khadra', Algeciras.  Other fortifications around the area likewise fell to the invading forces with relative ease.

It was only then that Rodrigo, the new king of the Visigoths decided to confront the invading strangers rather than fight the
Basque in the extreme north.  At first he had thought that the invasion was no more than a mere raid soon to recede with no lasting effects. But with the fall of more strongholds, King Rodrigo decided to move south to check the advance of the invaders before spreading any further.  When news came back to Tariq about the movements of Rodrigo's forces, he sent word to his supreme commander Musa asking for reinforcement, and upon arrival of the new contingent of selected Berber troops, Tariq felt more confident and immediately pushed north in order to gain further depth and select a vintage point before coming to grips with the colossal army of Rodrigo which, word had it, numbered some one hundred thousand mounted and heavily armed troops.  Tariq set camp in the point where the Barbat river joined la Lajanda lake and waited for Rodrigo's army to arrive.

Tariq's confidence  began to fade out with every report brought to him by his scouts, and with twelve thousand infantry troops against that huge number of monster looking giants in armor, that was hardly self assuring.  But neither Tariq nor his troops had any choice but fight and fight bravely to the last man; and before the opposing troops had time to rest, let alone take positions, Tariq gave his orders to attack

The lightly equipped and rested troops of Tariq soon demonstrated their advantage of agility and maneuverability over the heavily armed and exhausted troops of Rodrigo, and as the battle proceeded, more and more of Tariq's troops became mounted as they overcame their opponents.  The duration of the battle was shortened, however by the disappearance of Rodrigo, the Visigoth king.  It had never been determined whether Rodrigo was killed in that battle or that he had fled and fell in a subsequent one.  But with his disappearance his troops became demoralized and fled the battlefield aimlessly in the vast expanses of the Peninsula.

Tariq wasted no time.  His troops were in excellent morale and nothing could stop them then.  They pushed north on the trail of the beaten army of the enemy, mopping up as they marched in order to avoid any possible re-grouping of enemy troops.

There was another important factor which helped the rapid disintegration of Rodrigo's army. His soldiers had little cause to die for.  The religious zeal alone seemed not enough to make them forget the servitude they were suffering under their cruel land lords who were thriving on their sweat and blood.  Another important factor was the help afforded by Julian's men who were instrumental within the ranks of the army, in convincing certain formations to change sides, or at least defect.

Tariq continued his thrust northward and soon captured Ecija where some elements of the enemy forces had re-grouped. From there he headed toward Cordoba where he hardly met any resistance.  After capturing Cordoba the troops were ordered north toward Toledo, the capital of the Visigoths and residence of the nobility of the peninsula as well as the treasure house of both the state and the church.  There again Tariq found little resistance; in fact, if anything, he was met with co-operation from two major elements: the leaders of Toledo who belonged to the old regime of Witiza and the Jewish community which had been suffering from oppression and unusually heavy taxation imposed upon them by the Visigoths. for in view of their primitive background, they had little appreciation of the importance of commerce, the traditional economic activity of the Jews.

 Furthermore, in view of the close involvement of the church in the running of state affairs and the view held by the church authorities that the Jews were in fact nothing but enemies, harsh rules were decreed in 693  rendering it virtually impossible for the Jews to pursue commerce.  A year later, another harsh measure was taken against the Jews namely, the enslaving of those among them who refused baptism. So upon the defeat of the Visigoth army by the Muslims, the Jews decided who to side with and thus gave the  Muslims all the help they could.

With Toledo safely within his grip, Tariq was on the march again to complete the mopping up operations in Wad al-Hijara, Guadalajara area.  Once this last phase of his plan was completed, Tariq returned to Toledo in order to plan the next phase in consultation with his supreme commander Musa ibn Nuseir who was following developments from his headquarters in Qairawan.

Less than a year had passed since Tariq sailed with his troops from Ceuta, during which time he was able to extend his control right up to the heart of the country. However, despite the sweeping victories achieved, and the apparent stability achieved in the new territory, the state of the army, which was very thinly spread in relatively small units deployed across that vast area, was causing some anxiety both in Qairawan, the Provincial  capital and Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate.  It was thus agreed that the supreme commander/governor, Musa ibn Nuseir should go with reinforcement in order to consolidate the position of the Muslim army in the new territory.

So in the year 712, Musa sailed with an army consisting of some eighteen thousand strong, mainly Arab troops, and landed in Algeciras.   After consultations with Julian, who was already residing, Musa started his march northward, taking a different route from the one Tariq had pursued.  His first stop was Sedona which fell with little effort.  From there he pushed on toward the strongly fortified town of Carmona and laid siege until it surrendered, following which he turned towards Seville, the most important position on his itinerary.

This important city, which lies along the banks of Wadi al- Kabir, Guadalguivi,proved not so easy to overcome. It had been, prior to the Visigoth invasion, the seat of government, and was still, at the time of the Arab invasion, the strong-hold of the church.  When the attack on the city started, the clergy spared non of their eloquence to kindle the fighting spirit among the defenders who fought with great zeal in defense of their honor and creed.  The siege, which lasted several months finally led to the fall of the fortified city, thanks, in part, to the co-operation of the Jewish community which gave a hand, from within, to the Muslim invaders, and later joined the defense contingent of the city consisting mainly of Berber troops.

The next difficult task to face Musa was the capture of Merida which, in view of it's strong fortifications, took six months before finally falling into his hands.  The garrison assigned to Merida by Musa was entirely composed  of Arab elements, signaling the beginning of the arabization of the administration in the new territory.
Having accomplished that phase of his plan, Musa headed toward Toledo where he was met by Tariq at Talaveras .  Little time was wasted in formalities.  Plans were soon drawn up for the forthcoming operations, and the first expedition was a joint operation against Zaragoza, the regional capital of Aragon in the north east of the country.

After the fall of Zaragoza, Musa and Tariq parted ways, Musa heading east where he captured Lerida then Tarragona on the coast, while Tariq headed north-west toward Leon and Astorga, mopping up, as he proceeded, the remnants of resisting forces.

However, in the midst of these sweeping victories, and while the banners of Islam were being hoisted in new places almost every day, a messenger arrived from Damascus with a letter  from the Khalifa al-Walid ibn Abdul-Malik to Musa summoning him to Damascus, together with his general Tariq. This was, no doubt, the very last thing they had expected at that stage of fervent desire for conquest,  and at a time when the fighting spirit was at it's zenith.  In addition to this, there was still so much to accomplish in the way of administration and organization,  and many a  critical military task still to be undertaken in the mountain areas of the north,  where the defeated army of the Visigoths was taking refuge, and beyond, where the Merovingian forces in Gaul (France) were being alerted against possible hostilities on their side of the Pyrenees.  And that was where Musa's eyes turned after reading the Khalifa's letter.  Being a soldier, Musa had no alternative but to obey, but  not immediately.  There were things to be attended to before his departure.

This important city, which lies along the banks of Wadi al- Kabir, Guadalguivi,proved not so easy to overcome. It had been, prior to the Visigoth invasion, the seat of government, and was still, at the time of the Arab invasion, the strong-hold of the church.  When the attack on the city started, the clergy spared non of their eloquence to kindle the fighting spirit among the defenders who fought with great zeal in defense of their honor and creed.  The siege, which lasted several months finally led to the fall of the fortified city, thanks, in part, to the co-operation of the Jewish community which gave a hand, from within, to the Muslim invaders, and later joined the defense contingent of the city consisting mainly of Berber troops.

The next difficult task to face Musa was the capture of Merida which, in view of it's strong fortifications, took six months before finally falling into his hands.  The garrison assigned to Merida by Musa was entirely composed  of Arab elements, signaling the beginning of the arabization of the administration in the new territory.
Having accomplished that phase of his plan, Musa headed toward Toledo where he was met by Tariq at Talaveras .  Little time was wasted in formalities.  Plans were soon drawn up for the forthcoming operations, and the first expedition was a joint operation against Zaragoza, the regional capital of Aragon in the north east of the country.

After the fall of Zaragoza, Musa and Tariq parted ways, Musa heading east where he captured Lerida then Tarragona on the coast, while Tariq headed north-west toward Leon and Astorga, mopping up, as he proceeded, the remnants of resisting forces.

However, in the midst of these sweeping victories, and while the banners of Islam were being hoisted in new places almost every day, a messenger arrived from Damascus with a letter  from the Khalifa al-Walid ibn Abdul-Malik to Musa summoning him to Damascus, together with his general Tariq. This was, no doubt, the very last thing they had expected at that stage of fervent desire for conquest,  and at a time when the fighting spirit was at it's zenith.  In addition to this, there was still so much to accomplish in the way of administration and organization,  and many a  critical military task still to be undertaken in the mountain areas of the north,  where the defeated army of the Visigoths was taking refuge, and beyond, where the Merovingian forces in Gaul (France) were being alerted against possible hostilities on their side of the Pyrenees.  And that was where Musa's eyes turned after reading the Khalifa's letter.  Being a soldier, Musa had no alternative but to obey, but  not immediately.  There were things to be attended to before his departure.