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| − | The '''Umayyad conquest of Hispania''' (711–718) began as an army of the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliphate]] consisting largely of [[Berber people|Berber]]s, inhabitants of [[Northwest Africa]] recently converted to [[Islam]], invaded the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Visigothic Kingdom]] located on the [[Iberian peninsula]] ([[Hispania]]). Under the authority of the Umayyad [[Caliph]] [[Al-Walid I]] of [[Damascus]], and commanded by [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]], they disembarked in early 711, perhaps at [[Gibraltar]], and campaigned their way northward. Tariq's forces were reinforced the next year by those of his superior, the [[Emir]] [[Musa ibn Nusair]].
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| − | During the eight-year campaign, most of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was brought under [[Muslim]] occupation, save for remote areas in the northwest ([[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and [[Asturias]]) and largely [[Basque people|Basque]] regions in the [[Pyrenees]]. The conquered territory, under the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name [[al-Andalus]], became part of the expanding Umayyad empire.
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| − | The invaders subsequently moved northeast across the Pyrenees, but were defeated by the [[Franks|Frank]] [[Charles Martel]] at the [[Battle of Tours]] ([[Poitiers]]) in 732. Muslim control of [[France|French]] territory was intermittent and ended in 975.
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| − | Though Muslim armies dominated the peninsula for centuries afterward, [[Pelayo of Asturias]]'s victory at the [[Battle of Covadonga]] in 722 preserved at least one Christian principality in the north. This battle later assumed major symbolic importance for Spanish Christians as the beginning of the [[Reconquista]].
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| − | ==Background==
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| − | {{seealso|Protofeudalism}}
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| − | Precisely what happened in Iberia in the early 8th century is subject to much uncertainty. There is one contemporary Christian source, the [[Chronicle of 754]] (which ends on that date), regarded as reliable but often vague. There are no contemporary Muslim accounts. What Muslim information there is comes from later compilations, which are much coloured by the writers' sense of what was proper, and by contemporary politics—the most prominent such compilation is that of [[Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari|Al-Maqqari]], which dates from the 17th century. This paucity of sources means that any specific or detailed claims need to be regarded with caution.
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| − | What are available are a number of stories that might more properly be described as legends. The manner of King [[Roderic]]'s ascent to the throne is unclear; there are accounts of dispute with the son of his predecessor [[Wittiza]], and accounts that Wittiza's family fled to [[Tangier]] and solicited help from there. [[Numismatics|Numismatic]] evidence suggests some division of royal authority, with several coinages being struck. There is also a story of one [[Julian, count of Ceuta]], whose daughter was raped by Roderic and who also sought help from Tangier. However, these stories probably date from several hundred years later.
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| − | As to the initial nature of the expedition, historical opinion takes four directions: (1) that a force was sent to aid one side in a civil war in the hope of plunder and a future [[military alliance|alliance]]; (2) that it was a [[reconnaissance]] force sent to test the military strength of the Visigothic kingdom; (3) that it was the first wave of a full-scale invasion; (4) that it was an unusually large raiding expedition with no direct strategic intentions.
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| − | ==Invasion==
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| − | What is clear is that in the early 8th century, a modest army estimated at some 10,000-15,000 people<ref>[http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Sefardies/moriscos/siguen/elpepisoc/20081205elpepisoc_7/Tes]</ref> led by one [[Tariq Ibn Ziyad]] crossed from North Africa. [[Ibn Abd-el-Hakem]] reports, one and a half century later, that "the people of Andalus did not observe them, thinking that the vessels crossing and recrossing were similar to the trading vessels which for their benefit plied backwards and forwards." It defeated the Visigothic army, led by King Roderic, in [[Battle of Guadalete|a decisive battle]] in 712 and went on to take control of most of Iberia. The Chronicle of 754 states that 'the entire army of the Goths, which had come with him fraudulently and in rivalry out of hopes of the Kingship, fled'. This is the only contemporary account of the battle, and the paucity of detail led many later historians to invent their own. The location of the battle is not totally clear, but was probably the [[Guadalete River]].
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| − | Roderic and the great majority of the Visigothic elite are believed to have been killed. Such a crushing defeat would have left the Visigoths largely leaderless and disorganized. In this regard, the ruling Visigoth population is estimated at a mere 200,000 people out of an estimated seven or eight million total population<ref>[http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Sefardies/moriscos/siguen/elpepisoc/20081205elpepisoc_7/Tes]</ref>, something which facilitated the nearly instant demise of the Visigothic kingdom. The survivors fled north to [[Écija]], near [[Sevilla (province)|Seville]]. The resulting power vacuum, which may have indeed caught Tariq completely by surprise, would have aided immensely the Muslim conquest.
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| − | The conquering army was made up mainly of [[Berber people|Berbers]], who had themselves only recently come under Muslim influence and were probably only lightly Islamised. It is probable that this army represented a continuation of a historic pattern of large-scale raids into Iberia dating to the pre-Islamic period, and that actual conquest was not originally planned. Both the Chronicle and later Muslim sources speak of raiding activity in previous years, and Tariq's army may have been present for some time before the decisive battle. It has been proposed that the fact that the army was led by a Berber, and that the [[Ummayad]] Governor of North Africa, [[Musa ibn Nusayr]], only arrived the following year, supports this possibility—the governor had not stooped to lead a mere raid, but hurried across once the unexpected triumph became clear. The Chronicle of 754 states that many townspeople fled to the hills rather than defend their cities, which might support the view that this was expected to be a temporary raid rather than a permanent change of government.
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| − | ==Aftermath==
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| − | The conquest led to a period of several hundred years in which the Iberian peninsula was [[Al-Andalus]], dominated by Muslim rulers, and with only a handful of small Christian states surviving in the mountainous north. In 756 [[Abd ar-Rahman I]], a survivor of the [[Umayyads#Insurrection|recently overthrown]] Umayyad Dynasty, seized power in the province, founding an independent dynasty that survived until the 11th century. Muslim domination lasted longer: until the defeat of the [[Almohads]] in the 13th century, after which the Christian [[Reconquista]] became irresistible.
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| − | ==Chronology==
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| − | {{History of al-Andalus}}
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| − | As discussed above, much of the traditional narrative of the Conquest is more legend than reliable history - some of the key events and the stories around them are outlined below.
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| − | *6th century - Visigothic [[Nobility|noblemen]] had grown into [[Feudalism|territorial lords]].
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| − | *612 - Royal decree issued enjoining all Jews to be baptized under penalty of banishment and confiscation of property.
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| − | *710 - Tarif ibn Malluk with 400 men and 100 horses landed on the tiny peninsula of the [[Europe]]an continent now called isle of [[Tarifa]] after his name.
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| − | *711 - Musa ibn Nusair, Governor of North Africa, dispatched his Berber freedman Tariq ibn Ziyad into the Iberian Peninsula encouraged by the success of Tarif and the dynastic trouble in the Visigoth Kingdom of Hispania.
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| − | *July 19, 711 - Tariq ibn Ziyad, with 7,000 men, and [[Julian, count of Ceuta]], with 12,000 men, confronted King Roderick, with 25,000 men, by the Barbate River (now called Salado River) on the shore of a lagoon. Roderick's army was utterly routed.
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| − | *June 712 - [[Syria]]ns rushed to Hispania and attacked towns and strongholds avoided by Tariq ibn Ziyad.
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| − | *February 715 - Musa ibn Nusair, Governor of [[Ifriqiya]], entered [[Damascus]] with the Visigoth kings and princes and for the first time hundreds of western royalty and thousands of European captives were seen offering homage to the commander of the Muslims in Damascus. Musa the Conqueror of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula died in [[Hejaz]], while performing the [[Hajj]]. His son [[Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa]] was announced first Amir of Andalus and married the widow of King Roderick, [[Egilona]] [[Balti dynasty|Balthes]]. [[Seville]] became the Capital.
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| − | *717-718 - Lured by the rich treasures of convents and churches of France and encouraged by the internal dissension between the chief officers of the [[Merovingian]] court and the dukes of [[Aquitaine]], [[Al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi]] invaded [[Septimania]].
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| − | *719 - [[Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani]], 4th Amir, transferred the seat of Governor from Seville to [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]].
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| − | *Spring 732 - Emir [[Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi|Abd Al-Rahman ibn Abdullah Al-Ghafiqi]] advanced through the western Pyrenees, crossed it, and vanquished [[Duke]] [[Odo of Aquitaine]] on the banks of the [[Garonne]]. [[Tours]] was a sort of religious capital for [[Gaul]], the resting-place of the body of [[Martin of Tours|St. Martin]], the apostle of Gaul.
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| − | *October 732 - [[Battle of Tours]] (Balat Al Shuhada`). Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ghafiqi, the Arab leader, met [[Charles Martel]], [[Mayor of the Palace|Mayor]] at the [[Merovingian]] court. After seven days of waiting anxiously to join the battle, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ghafiqi took the initiative in the attack. Charles' army hewed the attackers down with their swords. Among the victims was Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ghafiqi. Under cover of night the Muslims had quietly vanished, and Charles came off victorious.
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| − | *734-742 - Open revolt from [[Morocco]] to [[Kairouan|Al-Qayrawan]] spread to the Iberian peninsula. [[Mudari]]s and [[Yemen]]is agreed on choosing alternately one of their numbers each year to rule Al-Andalus.
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| − | *Governor [[Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri]], a Mudarite and descendant of [[Uqba ibn Nafi|Uqbah ibn Nafiaa`]], refused to give turn to the Yemenite candidate and ruled for nine years, 747-756.
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| − | *755 - Advent of the Umayyad [[Abd ar-Rahman I|Abd Al-Rahman Al Dakhel]], "''Saqr Quraysh''." In late 755, he landed on the southern coast, in [[Granada]], and was on his way to conquer al-Andalus.
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | *[[Crusades]]
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| − | *[[History of Portugal]]
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| − | *[[History of Spain]]
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| − | *[[Muslim conquests]]
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| − | *[[Timeline of the Muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula]]
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| − | *[[Timeline of Portuguese history]]
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| − | ==References and Bibliography==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | *{{cite book |last=Kennedy |title=Muslim Spain and Portugal}}
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| − | *{{cite book |last=Collins |first= R |title=The Arab Conquest of Spain}}
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| − | *{{cite book |last=AD Taha |title=The Muslim conquest and settlement of North Africa and Spain}}
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | *{{cite book |last=Gibbon |first=Edward |title=History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire |url=http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/g/gibbon/edward/g43d/chapter51.html |chapter=51}}
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| − | [[Category:8th century conflicts]]
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| − | [[Category:Invasions]]
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| − | [[Category:History of Portugal]]
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| − | [[Category:History of Spain]]
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| − | [[Category:Early Middle Ages]]
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| − | [[Category:Al-Andalus]]
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| − | [[Category:Islamic conquests]]
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| − | {{Credit|256419735}}
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