The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
over
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...
(in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of the
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
and the establishment of the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
Wilayah of
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
.
During the caliphate of the sixth Umayyad caliph
al-Walid I (), forces led by
Tariq ibn Ziyad disembarked in early 711 in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = "Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gibr ...
at the head of an army consisting of
Berbers from north Africa. After defeating the Visigothic king
Roderic at the decisive
Battle of Guadalete
The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Christian Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces of ...
, Tariq was reinforced by an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
force led by his superior ''
wali''
Musa ibn Nusayr
Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa ( Ifriqiya), and dire ...
and continued northward. By 717, the
combined Arab-Berber force had crossed the Pyrenees into
Septimania. They occupied further territory in
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
until 759.
Background
The historian
al-Tabari transmits a tradition attributed to the Caliph
Uthman who stated that the road to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
was through Hispania, "Only through Spain can Constantinople be conquered. If 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
Walter Emil Kaegi (8 november 1937, New Albany, Indiana - February 24, 2022) was a historian and scholar of Byzantine history, professor of history at the University of Chicago, and a Voting Member of The Oriental Institute. He received his B. ...
says Tabari's tradition is dubious, arguing that conquest of the far western reaches of the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
was motivated by military, political and religious opportunities. He considers that it was not a shift in direction 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 contemporary Christian source, the ''
Chronicle of 754'' (which ends on that date), regarded as reliable but often vague. There are no contemporary Muslim accounts, and later Muslim compilations, such as that of
Al-Maqqari from the 17th century, reflect later ideological influence. Roger Collins writes that this paucity of early sources means that detailed specific claims need to be regarded with caution.
The Umayyads took control of Hispania from the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...
,
who had ruled for roughly 300 years.
At the time of the conquest, the Visigothic upper class 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 one or two percent of the population,
making it difficult to maintain control over a rebellious population.
The ruler at the time was
King Roderic but the manner of his ascent to the throne is unclear; there are accounts of a dispute with
Achila II
Achila II (also spelled Agila, Aquila, or Akhila; died ''c.'' 714) was the Visigothic king of Hispania from 710 or 711 until his death. The kingdom he ruled was restricted to the northeast of the old Hispanic kingdom on account of the Arabo-Berber ...
, 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 nearly 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 clear 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 help from
Tangier. However, these stories are not included in the earliest accounts of the conquest.
Musa ibn Nusayr
Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa ( Ifriqiya), and dire ...
's first reconnaissance missions to Hispania returned with reports of "great splendor and beauty" which increased Muslim desires to invade Hispania. During one of the multiple raids in 710, the Muslims “made several inroads into the mainland, which produced a rich spoil and several captives, who were so handsome that Musa and his companions had never seen the like of them.”
The natives of Hispania viewed the Berbers in a similar way as the Byzantines viewed the Arabs: as barbarians. They feared an atttack by them. According to al-Maqqari’s chronicle:
During an early raid, a Berber chieftain “set fire to their houses and fields, and burnt also a church very much venerated amongst them. He then put to the sword such of its inhabitants as he met, and, making a few prisoners, returned safe to Africa.”
Invasion
According to the later chronicler
Ibn Abd al-Hakam, the
Tangier governor
Tariq ibn Ziyad led a raiding force of approximately 1,700 men from North Africa to southern Spain in 711.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam reports, one and a half centuries later, that "the people of Andalus did not observe them, thinking that the vessels crossing and recrossing were similar to the trading vessels which for their benefit plied backwards and forwards". They defeated the Visigothic army, led by King Roderic, in a decisive
battle at Guadalete in 712. Tariq's forces were then reinforced by those of his superior, the
wali Musa ibn Nusayr
Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa ( Ifriqiya), and dire ...
, who planned a second invasion, and within a few years both took control of more than two-thirds of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
. The second invasion comprised 18,000 mostly Arab troops, who rapidly captured
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
and then defeated Roderick's supporters at
Mérida and met up with Tariq's troops at
Talavera. The following year the combined forces continued into
Galicia and the northeast, capturing
Léon,
Astorga and
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...
.
According to the
Muslim historian Al-Tabari,
[See: '' History of the Prophets and Kings'' (''Tarikh al-Tabari)''] Iberia was first invaded some sixty years earlier during the caliphate of
Uthman (
Rashidun era). Another prominent Muslim historian of the 13th century,
Ibn Kathir, quoted the same narration, pointing to a campaign led by Abd Allah bin Nafi al Husayn and Abd Allah bin Nafi al Abd al Qays in 32
AH (654 CE), but there is no solid evidence about this campaign.
The first expedition led by Tariq consisted mainly of
Berbers, who had themselves only recently come under Muslim influence. It is probable that this army represented a continuation of a historic pattern of large-scale raids into Iberia dating to the pre-Islamic period,
and hence it has been suggested that actual conquest was not originally planned. Both the ''Chronicle of 754'' and later Muslim sources speak of raiding activity in previous years, and Tariq's army may have been present for some time before the decisive battle. It has been argued that this possibility is supported by the fact that the army was led by a Berber and that Musa, who was the Umayyad Governor of North Africa, only arrived the following year – the governor had not deigned to lead a mere raid, but hurried across once the unexpected triumph became clear. The historian Abd al-Wāḥid Dhannūn Ṭāhā mentions that several Arab-Muslim writers mention the fact that Tariq decided to cross the strait without informing his superior and wali Musa. The Chronicle of 754 states that many townspeople fled to the hills rather than defend their cities, which might support the view that this was expected to be a temporary raid rather than a permanent change of government.
The Chronicle of 754 stated that "the entire army of the Goths, which had come with him
odericfraudulently and in rivalry out of hopes of the Kingship, fled". This is the only contemporary account of the battle and the paucity of detail led many later historians to invent their own. The location of the battle, though not clear, was probably the
Guadalete River
The Guadalete River is located almost entirely in the Spanish Province of Cádiz, rising in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park at an elevation of about , and running for into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria, north of the city ...
.
Roderic was believed to have been killed, and a crushing defeat would have left the Visigoths largely leaderless and disorganized, partly because the ruling Visigoth population is estimated to have been a mere 1 to 2% of the total population. While this isolation is said to have been "a reasonably strong and effective instrument of government"; it was highly "centralised to the extent that the defeat of the royal army left the entire land open to the invaders". The resulting
power vacuum
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has r ...
, which may have indeed caught Tariq completely by surprise, would have aided the Muslim conquest. It may have been equally welcome to the Hispano-Roman peasants who were probably – as D.W. Lomax claims – disillusioned by the prominent legal, linguistic and social divide between them and the "barbaric" and "decadent" Visigoth royal family.
In 714, Musa ibn Nusayr headed north-west up the
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
river to overrun the western Basque regions and the Cantabrian mountains all the way to
Gallaecia, with no relevant or attested opposition. During the period of the second (or first, depending on the sources) Arab governor
Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa (714–716), the principal urban centres of Catalonia surrendered. In 714, his father, Musa ibn Nusayr, advanced and overran
Soria, the western Basque regions,
Palencia, and as far west as
Gijón or
León, where a Berber governor was appointed with no recorded opposition. The northern areas of Iberia drew little attention from the conquerors and were hard to defend when taken. The high western and central
sub-Pyrenean valleys remained unconquered.
At this time, Umayyad troops reached
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
, and the
Basque town submitted after a compromise was brokered with Arab commanders to respect the town and its inhabitants, a practice that was common in many towns of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
. The Umayyad troops met little resistance. Considering that era's communication capabilities, three years was a reasonable time spent almost reaching the Pyrenees, after making the necessary arrangements for the towns' submissions and their future governance.
New territorial and civil administration
A preference for treaties
In 713, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa subdued the forces of the Visigothic count
Theodemir (or ''Tudmir''), who had taken over southeastern Iberia from his base in
Murcia after the power vacuum following king Roderic's defeat. Theudimer then signed a conditional capitulation by which his lands were made into an autonomous client state under Umayyad rule ("the rule of God").
Abd Al-Aziz sent messages to the governors of the different Islamic provinces, denouncing non-Muslims:
His government and the Christian beliefs of his subjects were respected; in exchange, he pledged to pay a tax (''
jizya'') and to hand over any rebels plotting against Umayyad rule or the Islamic religion. In this way, the life of many inhabitants remained much the same as before Tariq's and Musa's campaigns. The treaty signed with Theudimer set a precedent for the whole of Iberia, and towns surrendering to Umayyad troops experienced a similar fate, including probably the ''
muwallad''
Banu Qasi based in the Ebro valley, and other counts and landowners.
In exception to this pattern, some towns (Cordova, Toledo, etc.) were stormed and captured unconditionally by the Umayyads, to be governed by direct Arab rule. In the area thought to be part of King Roderic's territory, Mérida also staged a prolonged resistance to the Umayyad advance, but was ultimately conquered in mid-summer 712. As of 713 (or 714), the last Visigothic king,
Ardo
Ardo (or ''Ardonus'', possibly short for ''Ardabastus''; died 720/721) is attested as the last of all Visigothic kings of Hispania, reigning from 713 or likely 714 until his death. The Visigothic Kingdom was already severely reduced in power and a ...
, took over from Achila II, with effective control just over
Septimania, and probably the eastern Pyrenean threshold and coastal areas of the
Tarraconense.
Islamic laws did not apply to all the subjects of the new rulers. Christians were ruled by their own Visigothic law code (''Forum Iudicum'') as before. In most of the towns, ethnic communities remained segregated, and newly arriving ethnic groups (Syrians, Yemenites, Berbers and others) would erect new boroughs outside existing urban areas. However, this would not apply to towns under direct Umayyad rule. In Cordova, the cathedral was partitioned and shared to provide for the religious needs of Christians and Muslims. This situation lasted some 40 years until Abd ar-Rahman's conquest of southern Spain (756).
Taxation
An early governor (wali) of al-Andalus,
al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi, spread the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate up to the Ebro valley and the northeastern borders of Iberia, pacifying most of the territory and initiating in 717 the first forays across the Pyrenees into
Septimania. In addition, he laid out the foundations of Umayyad civil administration in Iberia, by sending civil administration officials (''judges'') to conquered towns and lands guarded by garrisons established usually next to the population nuclei.
Moreover, al-Hurr restored lands to their previous Christian landowners, which may have added greatly to the revenue of the Umayyad governors and the caliph of Damascus, by increasingly imposing the
vectigalia
Octroi (; fro, octroyer, to grant, authorize; Lat. ''auctor'') is a local tax collected on various articles brought into a district for consumption.
Antiquity
The word itself is of French origin. Octroi taxes have a respectable antiquity, being ...
on the former; this was a tax applied on a specific region or estate, and not per capitation (''jizya''). Only non-Muslims were subject to taxation, apart from a Muslim subject's compulsory
alms-giving. The task of establishing a civil administration in conquered
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
was essentially completed by the governor
Yahya ibn Salama al-Kalbi 10 years later.
The period following al-Hurr's office saw the establishment of the Arabs in southern Septimania during
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani ( ar, السمح بن مالك الخولاني) was the Arab governor general of Al-Andalus from between 719 and 721. In 720, under his governorate he minted the first purely Arab coins in Al-Andalus as part of his ...
's tenure as wali. Narbonne fell (720), and no sooner had he garrisoned it than the Arab commander led
an offensive against Toulouse. During this Umayyad thrust or its aftermath, King Ardo died (721).
Ethnic groups and the rise of conflicting internal tensions
In the first stage of the invasion, the armies were made up of
Berbers from northern regions of North Africa, together with different groups of
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
from
Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...
. These peoples, clustered around the banner of the Umayyads did not mix together, remaining in separate towns and boroughs. The Berbers, recently subdued and
superficially Islamized, were usually in charge of the most difficult tasks and the most rugged terrains, similar to the ones found in their North African homeland, while the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
occupied the gentler plains of southern Iberia.
Consequently, the Berbers went on to stations in
Galicia (possibly including Asturias) and the Upper Marches (
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
basin), but these lands remained unpleasant, humid and cold. The grievances resented by the Berbers under Arab rulers (attempts to impose a tax on Muslim Berbers, etc.) sparked rebellions in north Africa that expanded into Iberia. An early uprising took place in 730 when
Uthman ibn Naissa
Uthman ibn Naissa () better known as Munuza, was a Berber governor depicted in different contradictory chronicles during the Umayyad conquest of Hispania.
Munuza in Asturias
One account says that he was the governor of Gijón (or possibly León) ...
(Munuza), master of the eastern Pyrenees (Cerretanya), allied with the duke
Odo of Aquitaine
Odo the Great (also called ''Eudes'' or ''Eudo'') (died 735–740), was the Duke of Aquitaine by 700. His territory included Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a ...
and detached from Cordova.
Those internal frictions continually threatened (or sometimes may have spurred) the ever-expanding Umayyad military effort in al-Andalus during the conquest period. Around 739, on learning the news of
Charles Martel
Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesm ...
's second intervention in
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...
,
Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj had to call off an expedition to the Lower
Rhone in order to deal with the
Berber revolt in the south instead. The following year, the Berber garrisons stationed in
León,
Astorga and other north-western outposts gave up their positions, and some of them even embraced the Christian religion. The Muslim settlement was thereafter established permanently south of the
Douro's banks.
The Berber rebellions swept the whole of
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
during
Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri's term as governor. Reinforcements were then called from the other end of the Mediterranean in a military capacity: the "Syrian" (actually Yemeni Arabs). The Berber rebellions were quelled in blood, and the Arab commanders came up reinforced after 742. Different Arab factions reached an agreement to alternate in office, but this did not last long, since
Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri (opposed to the Umayyads) remained in power up to his defeat by
Abd al-Rahman I in 756, and the establishment of the independent Umayyad
Emirate of Cordova
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
. It was in this period of unrest that the
Frankish king Pepin finally captured
Narbonne from the Andalusians (759).
In Yusuf's and Abd-ar-Rahman's fight for power in al-Andalus, the "Syrian" troops, a mainstay of the Umayyad Caliphate, split. For the most part, Arabs from the
Mudhar
The Mudar ( ar, مُضَر) are one of the most powerful northern Arab tribal groupings.
History
The Mudar and Rabi'a are recorded in central Arabia in the Arabic histories of the pre-Islamic period; the kings of the Kindah bore the title of ...
and
Qais Qais ( ar, قیس) is an Arabic given name. 'Qays' and 'Qai' are alternatives of Qais.
Notable people with the name include:
*Imru' al-Qais, Arabic poet in the 6th century
*Kais Saied (born 1958), Tunisian President
* Qais Ashfaq (born 1993), Briti ...
tribes sided with Yusuf, as did the indigenous (second or third generation) Arabs from northern Africa, while
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
i units and some Berbers sided with Abd-ar-Rahman, probably born to a North African Berber mother himself. By 756, south and central al-Andalus (Cordova, Sevilla) were in the hands of Abd-ar-Rahman, but it took another 25 years for him to hold sway over the Upper Marches (Pamplona, Zaragoza, and all the northeast).
Aftermath and consequences
The Iberian Peninsula was the westernmost tip of the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus and was under the rule of the
governor of Ifriqiya.
In 720, the caliph even considered abandoning the territory.
The conquest was followed by a period of several hundred years during which most of the Iberian peninsula was known as
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
, dominated by Muslim rulers.
Only a handful of new small Christian realms managed to reassert their authority across the faraway mountainous north of the peninsula.
In 756,
Abd al-Rahman I, a survivor of the recently overthrown Umayyad dynasty, landed in al-Andalus and seized power in
Cordova and
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
, and proclaimed himself ''
emir'' or ''malik'', removing any mentions of the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...
Caliphs from the Friday prayers. In the wake of these events, southern Iberia became ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' independent from the Abbasid Caliphate.
Although this was not accepted outside al-Andalus and those North African territories with which it was affiliated, Abd al-Rahman, and especially his successors, considered that they were the legitimate continuation of the Umayyad caliphate, i.e. that their rule was more legitimate than that of the Abbasids.
It seems that Abd ar-Rahman never considered establishing a separate principality. (See
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and part ...
.)
During the unification of al-Andalus in the reign of Abd ar-Rahman before his death in 788, al-Andalus underwent centralization and slow but steady homogenization. The autonomous status of many towns and regions negotiated in the first years of the conquest was reversed by 778, in some cases much earlier (Pamplona by 742, for example). The Hispanic Church based in Toledo, whose status remained largely undiminished under the new rulers, fell out with the Roman Church during the
Adoptionist controversy (late 8th century). Rome relied on an alliance with
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
(in war with the Cordovan emirs) to defend its political authority and possessions, and went on to recognize the northern
Asturian principality (''Gallaecia'') as a kingdom apart from Cordova, and
Alfonso II as king.
The population of al-Andalus, especially local nobles who aspired to a share in power, began to embrace
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
and the Arabic language. However, the majority of the population remained Christian (using the
Mozarabic Rite), and Latin (
Mozarabic) remained the principal language until the 11th century. Historian Jessica Coope of
University of Nebraska argues that the pre-modern Islamic conquest was unlike
Christianization because the latter was "imposed on everyone as part of a negotiated surrender, and thus lacked the element of personal conviction that modern ideas about religious faith would require" while conquest of ''
dar al-harb'' was not motivated by a goal of converting the population to Islam, but by the belief that everyone was better off under Islamic rule.
Abd ar-Rahman I founded an independent dynasty that survived until the 11th century.
That line was succeeded by a variety of short and small emirates (''taifas'') unable to stop the push of the expanding northern Christian kingdoms. The Almoravids (1086–1094) and the Almohads (1146–1173) occupied al-Andalus next, and the Marinids in 1269, but that could not prevent the fragmentation of Muslim-ruled territory. The last Muslim emirate,
Granada, was defeated by the armies of
Castile (successor to
Asturias) and
Aragon under
Isabella and
Ferdinand in 1492.
The last wave of expulsions of Spaniards of Muslim descent took place in 1614.
Chronology
As discussed above, much of the traditional narrative of the Conquest is more legend than reliable history. Some of the key events and the stories around them are outlined below.
* 710 –
Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber ''
mawla'' of Musa ibn Nusayr, lands with 400 men and 100 horses on the tiny peninsula now called
Gibraltar
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, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
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(Jebel al Tarik : Mountain of Tariq), after his name.
* 711 –
Musa ibn Nusayr
Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa ( Ifriqiya), and dire ...
, Governor of Ifriqiya in North Africa, dispatches Tariq into the Iberian Peninsula.
* 711 (July 19) – King
Roderick's army utterly routed in the
Battle of Guadalete
The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Christian Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces of ...
somewhere in the
Guadalquivir valley.
* 712 – Musa ibn Nusayr joins Tariq after the
Battle of Guadalete
The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Christian Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces of ...
and both go on to attack towns and strongholds previously avoided.
Abu Zora Tarif lands in
Algeciras.
* 713 –
Theudimer Theodemir, Theodemar, Theudemer or Theudimer was a Germanic name common among the various Germanic peoples of early medieval Europe. According to Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel (9th century), the form ''Theudemar'' is Frankish and ''Theudemir'' is Goth ...
's conditional surrender, allowing him to remain lord of his south-eastern region around Murcia (Tudmir).
* 715 –
Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa announces first wali of Andalus and marries the widow of King Roderick,
Egilona.
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
becomes the capital.
* 717–18 –
Al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi starts the first military campaigns into Gothic
Septimania.
* 719 –
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani ( ar, السمح بن مالك الخولاني) was the Arab governor general of Al-Andalus from between 719 and 721. In 720, under his governorate he minted the first purely Arab coins in Al-Andalus as part of his ...
, 4th wali, transfers the seat of Governor from Seville to
Cordova.
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and
Narbonne captured.
* 721 – An Umayyad army led by Al-Samh crushed by duke
Odo's Aquitanian army at the
Battle of Toulouse ("Balat Al Shuhada" of Toulouse).
* 722 – An Umayyad patrol defeated by
Pelagius
Pelagius (; c. 354–418) was a British theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by his opponents) which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius and his followers abhorred the moral ...
at the
Battle of Covadonga
The Battle of Covadonga took place in 718 or 722 between the army of Pelagius the Visigoth and the army of the Umayyad Caliphate. Fought near Covadonga in the Picos de Europa, either in 718 or 722, it resulted in a victory for the forces of Pel ...
in the mountains of Asturias.
* 725 –
Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi subdues all
Septimania, raids the Lower Rhone, and captures
Autun and
Sens.
* 731 –
Munuza defeated in
Cerdanya by
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi
Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah Al-Ghafiqi ( ar, عبدالرحمن بن عبداللّه الغافقي, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghāfiqī; died 732), was an Arab Umayyad commander of Andalusian Muslims. He unsuccessfully led int ...
.
* Spring 732 – An expedition led by the wali
Al Ghafiqi vanquishes duke Odo at the
Battle of the River Garonne.
* October 732 – Al Ghafiqi totally routed by
Charles Martel
Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesm ...
(
Mayor of the Palace at the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gaul ...
court) at the
Battle of Tours ("Balat Al Shuhada" of Poitiers).
* 734 – Count
Maurontus calls Umayyad forces on a military capacity into
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...
,
Avignon, and probably
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
.
* 740–42 –
Berbers in northern Iberia (Galicia, Leon, Astorga, upper Ebro) give up their positions to join the
Berber Revolts.
* 743–757 –
Alfonso I of Asturias
Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic (''el Católico''), (c. 693 – 757) was the third King of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and L ...
raids the territory between the rivers
Duero
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
and
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
but doesn't retain it.
* 743 –
Mudarites and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
ites agree on choosing alternately one of their numbers each year to rule Al–Andalus.
* 747 – Governor
Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, a Mudarite and descendant of
Uqbah ibn Nafia, refuses to give turn to the Yemenite candidate and rules autonomously.
* 755 – Rebellion in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...
quashed, and Yusuf's detachment annihilated by the
Basques near
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
.
* 755 –
Abd Al-Rahman Al Dakhel ("''Saqr Quraysh''") lands on the southern coast, taking in a quick succession
Granada,
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
and Cordova.
* 756 – After refusing to compromise with Yusuf, Abd ar-Rahman I independent Umayyad emir of Córdova. Yusuf defeated.
* 759 –
Narbonne captured by the Frankish king
Pepin the Short.
* 763 – Pro-Abbasid army defeated by Abd ar-Rahman I in
Carmona
Carmona may refer to:
Places Angola
* the former name of the town of Uíge
Costa Rica
* Carmona District, Nandayure, a district in Guanacaste Province
India
* Carmona, Goa, a village located in the Salcette district of South Goa, India
...
.
* 778 –
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
repelled in Zaragoza by Muslim local lords.
* 779 – Abd ar-Rahman I campaigns to the Upper Marches and subdues its main city, Zaragoza.
* 781 – Pamplona and the Basque lords south of the Pyrenean fringes subdued. All of
Al Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mu ...
unified.
* 788 – Abd ar-Rahman I dies.
See also
*
Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula
This is a timeline of notable events during the period of Muslim presence in Iberia, starting with the Umayyad conquest in the 8th century.
Conquest (711–756)
* 711A Muslim force consisting of Arabs and Berbers of about 7,000 soldiers under ge ...
*
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
References
Sources
*
{{Umayyad Caliphate topics
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...
Invasions of Europe
8th-century conflicts
8th-century military history
8th century in the Visigothic Kingdom
8th century in Al-Andalus
8th century in the Umayyad Caliphate
Wars involving the Goths
Islam in Portugal
Islam in Spain
Invasions of Spain