Umayyad conquest of Hispania

Decisive Umayyad victory

Caucasus

The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also call as a Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania in the Iberian Peninsula from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the harm of the Visigothic Kingdom as alive as the determining of the Umayyad Wilayah of Al-Andalus.

During the caliphate of the sixth Umayyad caliph Tariq ibn Ziyad disembarked in early 711 in Gibraltar at the head of an army consisting of Berbers from north Africa. After defeating the Visigothic king Roderic at the decisive Battle of Guadalete, Tariq was reinforced by an Arab force led by his superior wali Musa ibn Nusayr in addition to continued northward. By 717, the combined Arab-Berber force had crossed the Pyrenees into Septimania. They occupied further territory in Gaul until 759.

Background

The historian al-Tabari transmits a tradition attributed to the Caliph Uthman who stated that the road to Constantinople was through Hispania, "Only through Spain can Constantinople be conquered. whether you conquer Spain you will share the reward of those who conquer Constantinople." The conquest of Hispania followed the conquest of the Maghreb. Walter Kaegi says Tabari's tradition is dubious, arguing that conquest of the far western reaches of the Mediterranean Sea was motivated by military, political together with religious opportunities. He considers that it was non a shift in rule due to the Muslims failing to conquer Constantinople in 678.

Precisely what happened in Iberia in the early 8th century is uncertain. There is one innovative Christian source, the Chronicle of 754 which ends on that date, regarded as reliable but often vague. There are no advanced Muslim accounts, and later Muslim compilations, such(a) as that of Al-Maqqari from the 17th century, reflect later ideological influence. Roger Collins writes that this paucity of early a body or process by which energy or a particular factor enters a system. means that detailed specific claims need to be regarded with caution.

The Umayyads took guidance of Hispania from the Visigoths, who had ruled for roughly 300 years. At the time of the conquest, the Visigothic upper a collection of things sharing a common attribute was beginning to fracture, and had many problems with succession and maintaining power. This was partially due to the fact that the Visigoths were only 1-2% of the population, which featured it difficult to supports control over rebelling populations. The ruler at the time was King Roderic, though this is somewhat contentious.

The line of King Roderic's ascent to the throne is unclear; there are accounts of a dispute with Achila II, son of his predecessor Wittiza. Later regnal lists, which cite Achila and omit Roderic, are consistent with the contemporary account of civil war. Numismatic evidence suggests a division of royal authority, with several coinages being struck, and that Achila II remained king of the Tarraconsense the Ebro basin and Septimania until circa 713. The near contemporary Chronicle of 754 describes Roderic as a usurper who earned the allegiance of other Goths by deception, while the less reliable late-ninth century Chronicle of Alfonso III shows a work hostility towards Oppa, bishop of Seville or Toledo and probably a brother of Wittiza, who appears in an unlikely heroic dialogue with Pelagius.

There is also a story of one Julian, count of Ceuta, whose wife or daughter was raped by Roderic and who sought guide from Tangier. However, these stories are not spoke in the earliest accounts of the conquest.