umayyad conquest of hispania
TRANSCRIPT
Umayyad conquest of
Hispania
Done by: Leandro Queiroz Rodeia
The Moors and Muslims The Moors were a nomadic people from North Africa, originally the
inhabitants of Mauretania.
The term of “Moors” has also been used in Europe in a broader
sense to simply refer Muslims, especially those of Arab or Berber
descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa.
During the Colonial Era, the Portuguese (16th century) introduced the
names of “Ceylon Moors” and “Indian Moors”, in Sri Lanka.
Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, but just a term
that Medieval and early Modern Europe applied to Arabs, Berbers,
Sub-Saharan Africans and most importantly, to the Umayyad Islamic
Caliphate.
The Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate* ( األمويةالخالفة ) was a major Islamic
Caliphate established after the death of Muhammad, Prophet of
Islam and Messenger of God.
The Umayyad Caliphate (661 – 750) begun the conquest of
Hispania in 711 ruled by the Visigothic People of the Kingdom of the
Visigoths (Present-day Portugal and Spain).
After Umayyad death, all his territories and the task to continue the
campaign, was given to his successor, the Emirate of Córdoba and
then, to the Caliphate of Córdoba.
*Caliphate: A person considered a political and religious successor to
the Prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim people.
Similar to the title of Emperor in Europe, which was as powerful as
the Pope himself, the religious head representing God in Europe.
The Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate at its maximum peak of territorial expansion around 750
Africa
EuropeHispania
Middle EastNorth Africa
(The white flag above
was the official flag of
the Umayyad Caliphate)
The star in the map
shows the Strait of
Gibraltar. The shortest
separation distance
between Europe and
Africa
The invasion of Hispania In 711, a raiding force from North Africa made of 1.700 soldiers
led by Tariq Ibn Ziyad landed south of Hispania at the Rock of Calpe
(Gibraltar), and the Visigoths didn’t observe the arrival, thinking that
the vessels crossing and recrossing the water, were simple trade
vessels.
The conquering army was made up 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 it was also been suggested that the actual conquest was
not originally planned.
The invasion of Hispania To make things even worse, the Visigoth kingdom had already
political internal problems with civil wars happening often, and
now, the pressure of the invasion, made the Visigoth kingdom split
into client-dominions of the Umayyad Caliphate.
Due to all this quick division and lack of any actual organized
force from the Visigoths, over the following decade, most of the
Iberian Peninsula was further occupied and brought under Umayyad
sovereignty.
In 714 Musa Ibn Nusayr led an army to the northwest, up the Ebro
river to overrun the western Basque regions and the Cantabrian
mountains as far as Gallaecia, with no major opposition.
The invasion of Hispania
Visigoth soldiers killed by the Moorish invaders
The invasion of Hispania During the campaign that lasted 8-9 years (711-719), most of the
Iberian Peninsula was brought under Muslim occupation, save for
remote areas in the northwest (Galicia and Asturias) and largely
Basque regions in the Pyrenees.
The almost conquered territory of Hispania, now under the Arabic
name al-Andalus, became part of the expanding Umayyad empire.
Though Muslim armies dominated the peninsula for centuries
afterward, Pelayo of Asturias's victory at the Battle of
Covadonga in 722 preserved at least one Christian principality in the
north. This battle later assumed major symbolic importance later-on
for Spanish and Portuguese Christians as the beginning of the
Reconquista occurred.
The invasion of HispaniaThe Muslims tried to take the
region of Asturias, but utterly
failed at it. This because
Asturias was a mountainous
region, and due to the
territorial advantage, its
defenders had a great
advantage over invaders.
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Asturias (718 – 924)
The Reconquista
Charles Martel on a white horse leading the Frankish Christian army
The Reconquista The Reconquista is a vast and long period in the history of the
Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) , spanning approximately 770
years, between the initial Islamic conquest of the peninsula in the
710’s and the fall of the Emirate of Granada, the last Islamic state on
the peninsula, to expanding Christian kingdoms in 1492.
In shorter words, The Reconquista is a series of multiple battles and
wars which occurred in the Iberian Peninsula, between Christians of
Europe, and Muslims of North Africa and the Middle East.
It was the first biggest and longest period of conflicts between
Christians and Muslims, and also the reason for Europeans to
create religious orders such as the Templar Knights, and to call
for Crusades.
Battle of Covadonga Historians traditionally mark the beginning of
the Reconquista with the Battle of
Covadonga (718 or 722).
A small Christian army of 300 men, led by
the nobleman Pelagius, defeated an army of
the Umayyad Caliphate of 800 to 1400 men
in the mountains of northern Iberia which
followed by the creation of an independent
Christian principality in the mountains of
Asturias that grew into a powerful kingdom
in the north west of the Iberian Peninsula
and became a bastion of Christian
resistance to the expansion of Muslim rule.
Visigoth leader Pelagius, victor at Covadonga and first King of Asturias
Battle of Covadonga The Visigoths in 718 elected a nobleman named Pelagius as their
leader. He was a grandson of a former King in Hispania,
Chindasuinth, and son of Favila, who had been a dignitary at the
court of the Visigoth King, Egica.
After Pelagius refused to surrender to the Muslim forces, a Muslim
general named Al Qama sent his army to the mountainous region of
Asturias in order to kill all Christians and Pelagius himself. Due to the
lack of expertise in mountainous warfare, the Muslim led by alqama
army quickly finds itself under the rain of arrows, and is quickly
surrounded, killing not only his entire army, but Al Qama as well.
Despite only 10 Christians of 300 survived in that battle, numerous
Christian villagers, inspired by Pelagius success, have taken upon
arms to fight off the Muslim invaders out of the Peninsula.
Battle of Covadonga In the aftermath of Pelagius' victory, the people of the conquered
villages of Asturias now emerged with their weapons, and killed
hundreds of Al Qama's fleeing troops. Munuza, learning of the defeat,
organized another force, and gathered what was left of the survivors
of Covadonga.
At some later date, he confronted Pelagius and his now greatly
augmented force, near the modern town of Proaza. Again Pelagius
won, and Munuza was killed in the fighting.
And although the Muslims in their own histories called Pelagius and
his men "thirty Infidels left, what can they do", they never again
seriously challenged the independence of the Kingdom of Asturias.
The battle is commemorated at the shrine of Our Lady of
Covadonga.
Battle of Covadonga
Basilica and Shrine of Santa María la Real of Covadonga
Battle of Tours After failing to conquer the well defended mountainous region of
Asturias, the Moors now aimed at the Frankish Kingdom (Present-
day France) to continue their expansion into the depths of Europe,
but failed utterly against Charles Martel (A Frankish military leader) in
the battle of Tours in 734 which resulted in a permanent halt, to all
Muslim expansion in Europe.
The battle of Tours was fought in an area between the cities of
Poitiers and Tours, close to the present-day France territorial center.
Some estimates point out that the Frankish army was at a range of
30,000 to 50,000 men, while Arab sources point out that the Frankish
forces were about 400,000 while the number of the Moors invasion
army was also estimated to be around 50,000.
Battle of Tours After Charles Martel victory in Tours, he led a campaign with the
religious purpose and fervor to clear all moors out of European soil
while simultaneously trying to seek control over other regions in the
Frankish Kingdom such as Burgundy.
Sadly, Charles’s health began to fail in the late 730s, and in 741 he
retired to his palace at Quierzy-sur-Oise, where he died soon after.
Before his death he divided the Merovingian kingdom between his
two legitimate sons, Pepin III* and Carloman.
*Pepin III: Also know as Pepin the Short, he himself participated in the
Reconquista like his father, Charles Martel. He was also the father of
Charlemagne, who became one of the most powerful Emperors in
Europe and laid the foundations for modern France, Germany and
the Low Countries.
The Reconquista
Frankish cavalrymen charging on Muslim soldiers
Siege of Narbonne In 752, King of the Frankish Kingdom, Pepin III the Short, continued
his father crusade to the Iberian peninsula by laying siege (752–759)
to a major key stronghold defended by an Andalusian* garrison and
its Gothic and Gallo-Roman inhabitants forced to live under Muslim
rule.
Pepin finally lay siege to the Gothic-Andalusian Narbonne in 752
with a view to seizing it with no delay. However, Pepin suffered a
major blow when his main local, Gothic ally Ansemundus was killed
by a rival Gothic faction during the besieging operations in 754.
*Andalusian: Name given to the population living in the newly created
Islamic Kingdom of Al-Andalus, in the Iberian Peninsula. Today
terrorist groups like ISIS wish to conquer this portion of land that
rightfully belongs to both Europeans and Christians.
Siege of Narbonne In 759, Narbonne was not receiving reinforcements from Al-
Andalus, rife as it was with internal fights. Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Fihri, wali of al-Andalus, had to quash a rebellion in Zaragoza in
756, and immediately head south to fight Abd ar-Rahman I, who
defeated him. North-eastern Iberia and the remainder of Septimania
was left without any relevant commander in charge.
Finally, the defenders of Narbonne (made up of Muslims and non-
Muslims alike) surrendered to the Frankish forces after killing the
Andalusian garrison and opening the gates of the stronghold to the
investing forces of the Pepin III the Short.
Previously, the king Pepin had promised to uphold and respect the
Gothic laws and probably their own government, so garnering the
allegiance of the Gothic nobility of Septimania.
Siege of Narbonne
Arab-Berber defeated troops leaving Narbonne in 759
Emperor CharlemagnePainting of Charlemagne, the first Emperor of the Holy RomanEmpire, King of Italy, King of the Franks and the Lombardsand finally his main title, Emperor of the Frankish Empire.
The European continent around 814
Charlemagne and Saracens The conquest of Italy brought Charlemagne in contact with the
Saracens who, at the time, controlled the Mediterranean.
Pepin III the Short, which was Charlemagne father, was occupied
with Saracens in Italy. Charlemagne conquered Corsica and Sardinia
at an unknown date, and in 799 the Balearic Islands. The islands
were often attacked by Saracen pirates, but the counts of Genoa and
Tuscany kept them at bay with large fleets until the end of
Charlemagne's reign.
Charlemagne even had contact with the Caliphal court in Baghdad.
In 797 or 801, the Caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented
Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas and a
clock.
Charlemagne and Saracens
Harun al-Rashid receiving a delegation of Charlemagne in Baghdad
Charlemagne and the Moors In Hispania, the struggle against the Moors continued unabated
throughout the latter half of his reign.
Charlemagne’s son, Louis, was in charge of the Hispanic border. In
785, his men captured Girona permanently and extended Frankish
control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's
reign.
The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly
revolting against Cordovan authority, and they often turned to the
Franks for help.
The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Girona,
Cardona, Ausona, and Urgell were united into the new Spanish
March, within the old duchy of Septimania.
Charlemagne and the Moors Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks in 797
when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Cordova and, failing,
handed it to them.
The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of
Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees
and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when
it capitulated.
The Franks continued to press forward against the Emir. They took
Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811.
The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave
them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to
recognize their conquests in 813.
Charlemagne and the Moors In the late 9th century under Count Wilfred, Barcelona became the
de facto* capital of the region. It controlled the other counties
policies in a union, which led in 948 to the independence of
Barcelona under Count Borrel II.
These states were small and, with the exception of Navarre, did
not have the capacity for attacking the Muslims in the way that
Asturias did, but their mountainous geography rendered them
relatively safe from being conquered, and their borders remained
stable for two centuries.
*De facto: Something that is currently happening, exists and is real.
Opposite meaning of De jure*.
*De jure: Something that the law, tradition or right declares. The way
things should be and should happen like.
Military Culture in Iberia In an atmosphere of constant conflict, warfare and daily life were
strongly intertwined during this period. Small, lightly equipped armies
reflected the need for society to be on constant alert.
These forces were capable of moving long distances in short periods
of time, allowing a quick return home after sacking a target. Battles
were mainly waged between clans, expelling intruder armies or
sacking/ambushing expeditions.
In the context of the relative isolation of the Iberian Peninsula from
the rest of Europe, and the contact with Moorish culture,
geographical and cultural differences necessitated the use of military
strategies, tactics, and equipment that were markedly different from
those found in the rest of western Europe during this period.
Military Culture in Iberia
Umayyad warriors on the left side and Frankish soldiers on the right side
Military Culture in Iberia Iberian cavalry tactics involved Knights approaching the enemy,
throwing javelins, then withdrawing to a safe distance before
commencing another assault.
Once the enemy formation was sufficiently weakened, the knights
charged with thrusting spears (lances did not arrive in Hispania until
the 11th century). There were three types of Knights: Royal Knights,
Noble Knights, and Commoner Knights.
There were peasants who went to battle in service of their feudal
lord. Poorly equipped, with bows and arrows, spears and short
swords, they were mainly used as auxiliary troops. Their function in
battle was to contain the enemy troops until the cavalry arrived and
to block the enemy infantry from charging the knights.
Military Culture in Iberia Armor was typically made of leather, with iron scales but full coats
of chain mail were extremely rare. Head protections consisted of a
round helmet with nose protector (influenced by the designs used by
Vikings, who attacked during the 8th and 9th centuries) and a chain
mail headpiece.
Shields were often round or kidney-shaped, except for the kite-
shaped designs used by the royal knights. Usually adorned with
geometric designs, crosses or tassels, shields were made out of
wood and had a leather cover.
Steel swords were the most common weapon. The cavalry used
long double-edged swords and the infantry short, single-edged ones.
The spears and javelins were up to 1.5m long and had an iron arrow
shaped tip.
Military Culture in Iberia
Iberian and Frankish soldiers fighting off the Muslim/Moor invaders
Crusades and Military Orders Around the
11thcentury, thanks to
the Frankish military
achievements in
Iberia, strong and
new independent
kingdoms were
created such as the
following:
Kingdom of
Portugal
Kingdom of León
Kingdom of
Asturias
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Navarre
Crusades and Military Orders In the High Middle Ages, the fight against the Moors in the Iberian
Peninsula became linked to the fight of the whole of Christendom.
The Reconquista was originally a mere war of conquest. It only
later underwent a significant shift in meaning toward a religiously
justified war of liberation.
The papacy and the influential Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy not
only justified the acts of war but actively encouraged Christian
knights to seek armed confrontation with Moorish "infidels" instead of
with each other.
Crusades and Military Orders
Christian Knights charging upon Muslim horsemen
Crusades and Military Orders From the 11th century onwards indulgences were granted: In 1064
Pope Alexander II promised the participants of an expedition against
Barbastro (Tagr al-Andalus, Aragon) a collective indulgence 30
years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade.
Papal interest in Christian-Muslim relations in the peninsula are not
without precedent — The following Popes: Leo IV (847–855), John
VIII (872–882) and John XIX (1024–33) are all known to have
displayed substantial interest in the region.
Not until 1095 and the Council of Clermont did the Reconquista
amalgamate the conflicting concepts of a peaceful pilgrimage and
armed knight-errantry.
Crusades and Military Orders But the papacy left no doubt about the heavenly reward for knights
fighting for Christ (militia Christi): in a letter, Urban II tried to
persuade the Reconquistadores fighting at Tarragona to stay in
the Peninsula rather than joining the armed pilgrimage to conquer
Jerusalem, saying that their contribution for Christianity was equally
important.
The pope promised them the same indulgences that he had
promised to those who chose to join the First Crusade.
Military orders like the Order of Santiago, Order of Montesa, Order
of Calatrava, Order of Alcântara and the Knights Templar were
founded and called to fight in Iberia.
Crusades and Military Orders
Example of five religious military orders created to defend against the Islamic
invasion
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
A portrayal of the battle of Las Novas de Tolosa
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, took place on 16 July 1212 and
was an important turning point in the Reconquista and in the
medieval history of the kingdom of Portugal and the future Kingdom
of Spain.
The Christian forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile were joined
by the armies of his rivals, Sancho VII of Navarre, Peter II of Aragon
and Afonso II of Portugal, in battle against the Berber Almohad
Muslim rulers of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Caliph al-Nasir led the Almohad army, made up of people from
the whole Almohad empire. Most of the men in the Almohad army
came from the African side of the empire.
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa Th