TAARIQ BIN ZIYAAD Conqueror of Spain-II

Our hero Taariq bin Ziyaad was chosen to lead the army of 5000 men under the pretence of saving the Spanish throne. Taariq bin Ziyaad was supported by group of experts, Arab and Berber alike. Julian was to supply the ship to transport the fighters and he was also to act as a guide for them on the Spanish land. It has been pointed by the historians that the move was a tactful one. For, if the Muslims used their own ships it would have attracted attention. The Mulim fighters crossed the strait in groups and gathered at the mount called later, the "mount of Taariq" (Gibraltar) after the name of their commander. This was achieved in 92 A.H. (711 A.D. July). In order to show his soldiers the seriousness of the situation, we are told our hero burnt the ships that carried them to the Iberian Peninsula and in his speech, he said:

"O people! Where is the flight? The sea is behind and the enemy is in front of you. By God you have no alternative except patience and sincerity..."
يہ غازي ، يہ تيرے پر اسرار بندے
جنھيں تو نے بخشا ہے ذوق خدائي
دو نيم ان کي ٹھوکر سے صحرا و دريا
سمٹ کر پہاڑ ان کي ہيبت سے رائي
دو عالم سے کرتي ہے بيگانہ دل کو
عجب چيز ہے لذت آشنائي
شہادت ہے مطلوب و مقصود مومن
نہ مال غنيمت نہ کشور کشائي
خياباں ميں ہے منتظر لالہ کب سے
قبا چاہيے اس کو خون عرب سے
کيا تو نے صحرا نشينوں کو يکتا
خبر ميں ، نظر ميں ، اذان سحر ميں
طلب جس کي صديوں سے تھي زندگي کو
وہ سوز اس نے پايا انھي کے جگر ميں
کشاد در دل سمجھتے ہيں اس کو
ہلاکت نہيں موت ان کي نظر ميں
دل مرد مومن ميں پھر زندہ کر دے
وہ بجلي کہ تھي نعرہ لاتذر ، ميں
عزائم کو سينوں ميں بيدار کردے
نگاہ مسلماں کو تلوار کردے

On Sunday 28th of Ramadan 92 A.H. (19th of July 711 A.D.) the battle started between the Muslim army under the command of bin Ziyaad and Spanish army under the command of Roderick. Naturally, by then the Muslim army recieved a new support of 5000 men carried this time by the Muslim fleet. Julian's men acted as agents for the conquerors by pointing out to Spaniards the truth about the Muslims; that they were not the colonizers or military invaders, but rather carriers of a message of peace and liberation. So a part of the cavalry deserted Roderick. This caused chaos in the army and many soldiers started running for their lives. However, the battle continued and the Muslims started winning the war. So Roderick fled, leaving behind his defeated army. Thus ended the first and most decisive battle on the Iberian Peninsula. which was followed by many others, many of which took place under the command of Mousa ibn Nusair himself who hurried to Spain to the rescue of our hero Taariq bin Ziyaad. In 14 months all the major towns of Toledo, Seville, Morda and others were under Muslim control and in two yers time almost whole of the Iberian Peninsula was already under Muslim rule which lasted for the next 800 years.




To the conquest of Spain by Muslims many historians attribute the cultural developments in Europe that led later to the Renaissance. For the Muslims brought to Spain the net products of many civilizations that extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the West to India and China in the East. It was in Muslim Spanish centres of learning that many influential European scholars had their education.