Tariq ibn Ziyad
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| Tariq ibn Ziyad Tariq ibn Ziyad conquered Hispania in 711 CE | |
| Nickname(s) | Taric el Tuerto |
| Allegiance | Umayyad Caliphate |
Tariq ibn Ziyad or Taric bin Zeyad (Arabic: طارق بن زياد, died 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 under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I. According to the historian Ibn Khaldoun, Tariq Ibn Ziyad was from a Berber tribe of Tlemce(Algeria). Tariq ibn Ziyad is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Iberian history. He was initially the deputy of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to launch the first thrust of a conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom (comprising modern Spain and Portugal). Some claim that he was invited to intervene by the heirs of the Visigothic King, Wittiza, in the Visigothic civil war.
Some others claim that his name Tariq ibn Ziyad (meaning Tariq son of Ziyad) was more a nickname given to him by historians than a real name, because he was a Berber with probably a Berber non-Arab name, and he converted to Islam shortly before he invaded Hispania. To change his name to Tariq and especially to change his father's name to Ziyad is seriously doubted.
On April 29, 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, or the more obvious Gibr Tariq, meaning rock of Tariq).
The 17th century Muslim historian Al Maggari wrote that upon landing, Tariq burned his ships and then made a speech, well-known in the Muslim world, to his soldiers. The historical accuracy of this Arabic speech is rejected by a number of historians because the Berber warriors (fresh Islam converts) and probably Tariq himself were not proficient in the Arabic language in any possible way; let alone understand an Arabic constructed speech, very well written, and full of metaphors and rhetorical devices. While the most probable scenario is that Tariq gave a short and simple speech in Berber. This speech was translated to Arabic and edited and re-edited over centuries to produce the following literary piece:
Oh my warriors, whither would you flee? Behind you is the sea, before you, the enemy. You have left now only the hope of your courage and your constancy. Remember that in this country you are more unfortunate than the orphan seated at the table of the avaricious master. Your enemy is before you, protected by an innumerable army; he has men in abundance, but you, as your only aid, have your own swords, and, as your only chance for life, such chance as you can snatch from the hands of your enemy. If the absolute want to which you are reduced is prolonged ever so little, if you delay to seize immediate success, your good fortune will vanish, and your enemies, whom your very presence has filled with fear, will take courage. Put far from you the disgrace from which you flee in dreams, and attack this monarch who has left his strongly fortified city to meet you. Here is a splendid opportunity to defeat him, if you will consent to expose yourselves freely to death. Do not believe that I desire to incite you to face dangers which I shall refuse to share with you. In the attack I myself will be in the fore, where the chance of life is always least.
Remember that if you suffer a few moments in patience, you will afterward enjoy supreme delight. Do not imagine that your fate can be separated from mine, and rest assured that if you fall, I shall perish with you, or avenge you. You have heard that in this country there are a large number of ravishingly beautiful Greek maidens, their graceful forms are draped in sumptuous gowns on which gleam pearls, coral, and purest gold, and they live in the palaces of royal kings. The Commander of True Believers, Alwalid, son of Abdalmelik, has chosen you for this attack from among all his Arab warriors; and he promises that you shall become his comrades and shall hold the rank of kings in this country. Such is his confidence in your intrepidity. The one fruit which he desires to obtain from your bravery is that the word of God shall be exalted in this country, and that the true religion shall be established here. The spoils will belong to yourselves.
Remember that I place myself in the front of this glorious charge which I exhort you to make. At the moment when the two armies meet hand to hand, you will see me, never doubt it, seeking out this Roderick, tyrant of his people, challenging him to combat, if God is willing. If I perish after this, I will have had at least the satisfaction of delivering you, and you will easily find among you an experienced hero, to whom you can confidently give the task of directing you. But should I fall before I reach to Roderick, redouble your ardor, force yourselves to the attack and achieve the conquest of this country, in depriving him of life. With him dead, his soldiers will no longer defy you.[1]
The Muslim armies swept through Hispania and, in the summer of 711, won a decisive victory when the Visigothic king, Roderic, was defeated and killed on July 19 at the Battle of Guadalete. Afterwards, Tariq was made governor of Hispania but eventually was called back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I, where he spent the rest of his life in a prison.
Namesakes
- Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, in Inver Grove Heights and Blaine, Minnesota.
See also
- List of military commanders
- Umayyad conquest of Hispania
- Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula
- Al-Andalus
- Moors
- Musa ibn Nusair
- Tarif ibn Malluk
- History of Gibraltar
External links
