Tariq ibn-Ziyad

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Image:Tariq.jpg Tariq ibn Ziyad or Taric ben Zeyad (d. 720), known in Spanish history and legend as Taric el Tuerto (Taric the one-eyed), was a Berber Muslim and Umayyad general who led the conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711. He was initially the deputy of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to launch the first thrust of an invasion of the Iberian peninsula. Some claim that he was invited to intervene by the heirs of the Visigothic King, Wittiza, in the Visigothic civil war.

On April 30, 711, the armies of Tariq landed at Gibraltar (the name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic name Jabal Al Tariq, which means mountain of Tariq). Upon landing, Tariq is said to have made the following speech, well-known in the Arab world, to his soldiers:

أيّها الناس، أين المفر؟ البحر من ورائكم، والعدوّ أمامكم، وليس لكم والله إلا الصدق والصبر...

Hey People ! There is nowhere to run away! The sea is behind you, and the enemy in front of you: i swear to God, you have only sincerity and patience, and no minister but your swords (as recounted by al-Maqqari).

The Moorish armies swept through Iberia and, in the summer of 711, won a decisive victory when the Visigoth king, Roderic, was defeated and killed on July 19th at the Battle of Guadalete. Afterwards, Tariq was made governor of Hispania for a while but eventually was called back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Walid I because he did not authorize the Muslim invasion of Spain.

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Ship burning

Several European (though no Muslim) accounts say that Tariq ordered his men to burn their boats as soon as they had reached Spain. Being of fierce chivalorous nature,Tariq's policy was either to conquer or die. His men followed orders though some with reluctance.

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