Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād
طارق بن زياد
AllegianceUmayyad Caliphate
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsConquest of Hispania
 • Battle of Guadalete
Other workGovernor of Tangier
Governor of Al-Andalus

Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād (Arabic: طارق بن زياد) also known simply as Tarik in English, was a Berber Umayyad lieutenant who under command of Musa ibn Nusayr was sent to lead the Muslim conquest of Visigothic Hispania (Present day Spain and Portugal) in 711–718 A.D. He led a large army and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from the North African coast, consolidating his troops at what is today known as the Rock of Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq",[1] which he named after himself.

Origins

Medieval Arabic historians give contradictory data about Tariq's origins or nationality. Some conclusions about his personality and the circumstances of his entry into al-Andalus are surrounded by uncertainty.[2] The vast majority of modern sources state that Tariq was a Berber mawla of Musa ibn Nusayr, the Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya.[2][3][4][5]

History

The Moorish Castle's Tower of Homage, symbol of the Muslim rule in Gibraltar.

Musa ibn Nusayr appointed Ṭāriq governor of Tangier after its conquest in 710-711 according to Ibn Abd al-Hakam (803-871),[6] but an unconquered Visigothic outpost remained nearby at Ceuta, a stronghold commanded by a nobleman named Julian, Count of Ceuta.

After Roderic came to power in Spain, Julian had, as was the custom, sent his daughter, Florinda la Cava, to the court of the Visigothic king for education. It is said that Roderic raped her, and that Julian was so incensed he resolved to have the Muslims bring down the Visigothic kingdom. Accordingly, he entered into a treaty with Ṭāriq (Mūsā having returned to Qayrawan) to secretly convoy the Muslim army across the Straits of Gibraltar, as he owned a number of merchant ships and had his own forts on the Spanish mainland [citation needed].

About April 26, 711, the army of Ṭāriq, composed of recent converts to Islam, was landed on the Iberian peninsula (Spain) by Julian.[7] They debarked at the foothills of a mountain which was henceforth named after him, Gibraltar (Djabal Tarik).[8]

Tariq's army contained about 7,000 Berber horsemen, and Mūsā is said to have sent an additional 5,000 reinforcements after the conquest.[9] Roderic, to meet the threat of the Berbers, assembled an army said to number 100,000.[10] Most of the army was commanded by, and loyal to, the sons of Wittiza, whom Roderic had brutally deposed.[11] Ṭāriq won a decisive victory when Roderic was defeated and killed on July 19 at the Battle of Guadalete.[2][12]

Tariq split his army into four divisions which went on to capture Córdoba under Mughith al-Rumi, Granada and other places, while he remained at the head of the division which captured Toledo. Afterwards, he continued advancing towards the north, reaching Guadalajara and Astorga.[2] Ṭāriq was de facto governor of Hispania until the arrival of Mūsā a year later.

Both Tariq and Musa were simultaneously ordered back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I in 714, where they spent the rest of their lives.[12] The son of Musa, Abd al-Aziz who took the command of troops of Al-Andalus was assassinated in 716.[3] In the many Arabic histories written about the conquest of southern Spain, there is a definite division of opinion regarding the relationship between Ṭāriq and Musa bin Nusayr. Some relate episodes of anger and envy on the part of Mūsā, that his freedman had conquered an entire country. Others do not mention, or play down, any such bad blood. On the other hand, another early historian al-Baladhuri (9th century) merely states that Mūsā wrote Ṭāriq a "severe letter" and that the two were later reconciled.[13]

Speech

The 16th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari, in his The Breath of Perfume, places into Ṭāriq's mouth a long speech to his troops before Guadalete.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ "History of Gibraltar". Government of Gibraltar. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  2. ^ a b c d Molina 2000, p. 242.
  3. ^ a b Abun-Nasr 1993, p. 71.
  4. ^ Kennedy 1996, p. 6.
  5. ^ Nicolle 2009, p. 64.
  6. ^ Alternatively, he was left as governor when Mūsā's son Marwan returned to Qayrawan. Both explanations are given by Ibn Abd al-Hakam, p. 41 of Spanish translation, p. 204 of Arabic text.
  7. ^ There is a legend that Ṭāriq ordered that the ships he arrived in be burnt, to prevent any cowardice. This is first mentioned over 400 years later by the geographer al-Idrisi, fasc. 5 p. 540 of Arabic text (Arabic: فٱمر بإحراق المراكب), vol. 2 p. 18 of French translation. Apart from a mention in the slightly later Kitāb al-iktifa fī akhbār al-khulafā (English translation in Appendix D of Gayangos, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain) this legend was not sustained by other authors.
  8. ^ Molina 2000, p. 243.
  9. ^ Akhbār majmūa, p. 21 of Spanish translation, p. 6 of Arabic text.
  10. ^ Akhbār majmūa p. 8 of Arabic text, p. 22 of Spanish translation.
  11. ^ According to some sources, e.g., al-Maqqari p. 269 of the English translation, Wittiza's sons by prior arrangement with Ṭāriq deserted at a critical phase of the battle. Roger Collins takes an oblique reference in the Mozarab Chronicle par. 52 to mean the same thing.
  12. ^ a b Reilly 2009, p. 52.
  13. ^ P. 365 of Hitti's English translation.
  14. ^ Falk, Avner (2010). Franks and Saracens: Reality and Fantasy in the Crusades. p. 47.
  15. ^ McIntire, E. Burns, Suzanne, William (2009). Speeches in World History. p. 85.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Charles Francis Horne (1917). The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East: With Historical Surveys of the Chief Writings of Each Nation... Vol. VI: Medieval Arabia. Parke, Austin, and Lipscomb. pp. 241–242.

Sources

Primary sources

Secondary sources

New title Governor of Al-Andalus 711–712 Succeeded byMusa ibn Nusayr
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