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711 CEReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Tariq ibn Ziyad Crosses Into Iberia

A Berber general's victory at Guadalete opens Spain to Umayyad conquest

On the timeline · around 711 CE · The Umayyad CaliphateThe Umayyad CaliphateTariq ibn Ziyad Crosses Into Iberia690 CE695 CE700 CE705 CE710 CE715 CE720 CE725 CE730 CE735 CE

Quick facts

Commander
Tariq ibn Ziyad, with Musa ibn Nusayr
Opponent
Roderic, Visigothic king
Capital taken
Toledo
New province
Al-Andalus

What happened

By the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I, Muslim forces had already conquered Tunis and much of North Africa, converting Berber populations who then joined the armies pushing further west. In 711 CE the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula, where he defeated the Visigothic king Roderic. Tariq was reinforced by Musa ibn Nusayr, the governor of Ifriqiya, and by the time of Caliph al-Walid's death in 715 CE the two commanders had conquered most of Visigothic Spain, including the capital Toledo. The Umayyads organized the new territory into an administrative province they called Al-Andalus.

Why it matters

The conquest of Iberia extended Umayyad rule across the Strait of Gibraltar into Europe for the first time and created Al-Andalus, a Muslim-ruled territory that would persist in some form until 1492 CE, far outlasting the Umayyad Caliphate that founded it. It also set up the northward raids into Frankish territory that would culminate at the Battle of Tours two decades later.

How we know

The conquest and the resulting administrative organization of Al-Andalus are described in the World History Encyclopedia's overview of the Umayyad Dynasty and its territorial expansion under al-Walid I.

Sources

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Part of a timelineThe Rise of Islam30 events · From a trading town in the Arabian desert to a caliphate stretching from Iberia to Central Asia in under a centuryView all →