History of Spanish Muslims

611 A very important year in the history of Islam. In the same year, Generals Musa ibn Nusayr and Tariq ibn Jihad led the Muslim-led campaign in Spain. The conquest of Spain was one of the great conquests in the history of the Muslims. Walid bin Abdul Malik (705-815 AD) was the caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, the center of the then Muslim Empire. This victory was achieved during the reign of Caliph Walid.

The then North Africa

Seventy years before the conquest of Andalusia, northern Africa fell to Muslim rule. This region of Africa was inhabited by a tribe called the Amazighs. They were a very stubborn, warlike and brave nation. They apostatized after converting to Islam more than once. As a result, many wars took place between them and the Muslims. Islam was finally established in the region in 605 AD and the war ended.

Musa ibn Nusayr

Musa bin Nusayr was a skilled general. It was during his reign that the Umayyad base in North Africa was strengthened. He held many important positions in the Umayyad administration. During the reign of Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik in 6 AH, he became the administrator of Africa (present-day Tunisia) and the Maghreb (present-day Morocco, Algeria and western Libya). As soon as he became an administrator, Moses emphasized the stability of his territory. Through him the Umayyad rule was established in the whole Maghreb region except Siuta.

Tariq bin Ziad

Tariq bin Ziad is the one whose words and heroism really come to our notice about the conquest of Spain by the Muslims. He was not of Arab descent. He was of Amazigh (Barber) descent from North Africa. This is why some people consider them European in terms of descent. The tall Tariq bin Ziad was endowed with extraordinary leadership qualities. Although he was a non-Arab, he could speak Arabic fluently. As a result, he was the worthy commander of the combined army of the Amazigh and the Arabs. By appointing him general, Musa ibn Nusayr showed his foresight.

The advance of the Muslims in Spain under the leadership of Tarif bin Malik

Moses did not sit down and ask the caliph for permission. As soon as he got permission, he started forming an army so that he could start the operation. Then, with the permission of the caliph, Moses sent an army of five hundred men. One hundred of them were cavalry and four hundred were infantry. Their job was to monitor the environment in Andalusia for the expedition. Finally, in 610 AD, they set foot on the land of Andalusia under the leadership of Tarif bin Malik. At the end of the expedition, Tarif presented to Musa ibn Nusayr his visual experience and the landscape of Andalusia. The main purpose of this operation was to gather all the intelligence information about Andalusia. On the basis of the information they gathered, Musa ibn Nusayr decided on his next tactic.

Tariq bin Zia's Andalusian expedition

About a year after the expedition to Tarif, in June 611, a Muslim force of only 7,000 men, led by Tariq bin Zia, set out for Andalusia. Most of these troops were of Barbarian descent, and there were about 300 Arab soldiers. The famous general Mugis Rumi was in this force as Tariq's ally.

The place where Tariq landed in Andalusia with his army was called Linejarak. It was later renamed Jabalut Date or Gibraltar.

Tariq bin Ziad in the land of Andalusia

The first resistance was encountered when the Muslim forces reached the nearby Algeciras from the date of Jabalut. The resistance force was a regional patrol of the main force, led by General Tudmir. The Muslims easily defeated this force.

The commander of the defeated Andalusian army, Tudmie, sensed imminent danger and immediately sent an urgent message to Roderick, the ruler of Andalusia. But Roderick was not too upset at the news of this newcomer to his empire. He thought they might loot the border. But Roderick woke up when he heard Muslim forces advancing on C দিকেrdoba. He rallied very quickly and sent a strong army to resist the Muslims, led by his nephew and one of Spain's best generals, Bencio.

This force was also defeated by Tariq. It goes without saying that the loss of Muslims in these two wars was not so great. News of the defeat struck Roderick in the head like lightning. He prepared another huge force to deal with this force. The number of troops in this new force was about one lakh. Tariq was disturbed by the news of this huge force. He sent a message to Musa bin Nusair asking for help. Upon receiving the message, Musa bin Nusayr sent another five thousand troops under the command of Tarif bin Malik. As a result, the number of Muslim forces increased to about twelve thousand.