Tariq ibn Ziyad
General; Conqueror of Hispania
"The sea is behind you, and the enemy before you."
Biography
A Berber commander and freedman in Umayyad service, Tariq ibn Ziyad led the invasion of Visigothic Spain in 711, crossing the strait from Africa and landing at the great rock that ever after bore his name — Jabal Tariq, Gibraltar. With a mostly Berber army he met and destroyed the army of the Visigothic king Roderic at the Guadalete, exploiting the treachery of Roderic's rivals. Legend has him burning his own ships on landing and telling his men that the sea was behind them and the enemy before — there could be no retreat, only victory. He drove north with astonishing speed, taking Toledo, the Visigothic capital, and within a few years almost all of Iberia had fallen. His conquest founded al-Andalus, one of the most brilliant civilisations of the medieval world. His later fate is obscure — recalled to Damascus, he passed out of the record.
Did you know?
The name Gibraltar is a corruption of the Arabic 'Jabal Tariq' — 'Tariq's Mountain' — named for his landing there in 711, one of the few places on earth named after the general who conquered it.
Key Battles
Battle of Guadalete
The Caliphate (Rashidun & Umayyad) victoryJuly 711 · 15,000 total casualties
Guadalete destroyed the Visigothic kingdom and opened almost all of Spain to conquest within a few years, establishing al-Andalus — Muslim Iberia — which would endure in some form for nearly 800 years and become one of the great civilisations of the medieval world.
Life Journey
Timeline
c. 670
🌅 Birth
Born in North Africa
711
⚔️ Battle
Lands at Gibraltar and defeats the Visigoths
c. 720
✝️ Death
Recalled to Damascus; his fate obscure