How did the Muslim conquest of Spain begin in 711?
The Muslim conquest
La conquista musulmana
711. In the spring of 711 Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber general serving the Umayyad caliphate, crossed from Africa with about 7,000 men.
Where: Spain, Cádiz, Andalusia
What happened
In the spring of 711 Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber general serving the Umayyad caliphate, crossed from Africa with about 7,000 men. The rock where he landed is still named after him: Gibraltar, from the Arabic Jabal Tariq, Tariq's mountain. In July he defeated the Visigothic king Roderic near the Guadalete river, though some historians place the battle elsewhere in the province of Cádiz. Roderic's body was never found, the kingdom collapsed, and within a few years most of the peninsula was under Muslim rule. The Muslims called it al-Andalus.
Say it
Gibraltar significa «la montaña de Tariq».
Gibraltar means 'Tariq's mountain'.
Why it matters
Eight centuries of Islamic presence begin here: al-Andalus gave Spanish some 4,000 words, from aceite to almohada, and gave Andalusia its name.
Read about it
Culture
Connected
- Arabic words in Spanish (711–1500)
- Arabic words in Spanish (711–1500)
- Pelayo at Covadonga (between 718 and 722)
- Pelayo at Covadonga (between 718 and 722)
- Abd al-Rahman I founds the emirate of Córdoba (14 May 756)
- Before: One law for Goths and Romans
- After: Pelayo at Covadonga
Sources
- Muslim Spain (711-1492) — BBC Religions
- Visigoth — World History Encyclopedia