In
April 711 C.E. Tariq ibn Ziyad (el Moro) landed at what is now called Gibraltar
(Jebel al Tariq). Commanding an army of 7,000 Berbers from Morocco,, he
promptly burnt the fleet that had transported them and gave his troops
a rousing speech in which he told them that with the waters at their rear
they had nowhere to go but forward.With
5,000 re-enforcing troops the Moors met and routed a Visigoth army of 60,000
under King Rodrigo. By 712 the Moors hadreached
the Visigothcapital of Toledo which
threw open its gates to the invading army. Soon the Moors ruled all but
a small northern slip of the Iberian peninsula and Al Andalus (Moorish
Spain) had come into being.
The
reasons for the rapid advance and conquest are numerous but two stand out.
Following the initial battle and rout of the Visigoth army under King Rodrigo,
the King's body disappeared but his outer clothing was found at a riverside.
This
peculiar event created a superstitious fear in the minds of the Spaniards
about the magical powers of the Moors who could make the king's body disappear
right out of his clothes.
The
other reason was the generous terms the Moors offered which contrasted
markedly with the Visigoths' harsh rule. Approaching Toledo Tariq offered
that anyone who wished to leave could do so while those who stayed could
retain property, practice their religion freely and be governed by their
own rules and laws. .
There
have been unsubstantiated suggestions that the Moors may have been invited
into Iberia by disgruntled members of the oppressive Visigoth kingdoms.
Others suggest the conquest was quasi accidental in that Tariq was on a
limited expedition but that his unexpected defeat of King Rodrigo caused
a change in plans.