8th century – 8th century
Maghrib and Iberian Peninsula
Tariq ibn Ziyad was a Berber Muslim commander who led the first major conquest of Iberia in 711. From his governorship at Tangier, he crossed the straits with an army largely composed of Sanhaja, defeated the Visigothic army and King Roderick, captured Toledo, and extended Muslim rule across northern Iberia and Old Castile.
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The Story
Tariq ibn Ziyad was appointed governor of Tangier, the province identified as al-Maghrib al-Aksa. From this western base he commanded an army of 17,000 men, mainly Sanhaja, supported by additional Arab troops. His expedition carried the forces of the Maghrib across the straits and established the military bridgehead from which the conquest of Iberia proceeded.
In Shawwal 92, corresponding to August 711, Tariq landed near a rocky promontory that thereafter bore his name, Djabal Tariq, or Gibraltar. He defeated the Visigothic army in a battle in which the last Visigoth king, Roderick, was killed. The precise battlefield remains uncertain in the account, with possible locations including the Guadelete, Laguna de la Janda, Jerez de la Frontera, and the Guadarranque River.
Tariq then advanced rapidly to Toledo, the Gothic capital, completing a forced march of more than 500 kilometers. By September 711, Visigothic rule in the peninsula had ended. In 712, after meeting Musa ibn Nusayr at Talavera, Tariq and his Berber troops conquered territory north of the Ebro to the Pyrenees, the Basque country, and later parts of Old Castile including Amaya, Astorga, and León.
8th century – 8th century
Maghrib and Iberian Peninsula
Tariq ibn Ziyad was a Berber Muslim commander who led the first major conquest of Iberia in 711. From his governorship at Tangier, he crossed the straits with an army largely composed of Sanhaja, defeated the Visigothic army and King Roderick, captured Toledo, and extended Muslim rule across northern Iberia and Old Castile.
Continue exploring
The Story
Tariq ibn Ziyad was appointed governor of Tangier, the province identified as al-Maghrib al-Aksa. From this western base he commanded an army of 17,000 men, mainly Sanhaja, supported by additional Arab troops. His expedition carried the forces of the Maghrib across the straits and established the military bridgehead from which the conquest of Iberia proceeded.
In Shawwal 92, corresponding to August 711, Tariq landed near a rocky promontory that thereafter bore his name, Djabal Tariq, or Gibraltar. He defeated the Visigothic army in a battle in which the last Visigoth king, Roderick, was killed. The precise battlefield remains uncertain in the account, with possible locations including the Guadelete, Laguna de la Janda, Jerez de la Frontera, and the Guadarranque River.
Tariq then advanced rapidly to Toledo, the Gothic capital, completing a forced march of more than 500 kilometers. By September 711, Visigothic rule in the peninsula had ended. In 712, after meeting Musa ibn Nusayr at Talavera, Tariq and his Berber troops conquered territory north of the Ebro to the Pyrenees, the Basque country, and later parts of Old Castile including Amaya, Astorga, and León.
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