Who Conquered Spain? The Role of the Berbers in the Conquest of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Who Conquered Spain?The Role of the Berbers in the Conquest of the Iberian Peninsula "For a century, Arabs' tribes gave Islam the first of these victories.Then the rough mountain peoples of North Africa, the Berbers, helped it to conquer Spain…" (Braudel 1995: 54

Shrouded in history: Unveiling the ways of life of an early Muslim population in Santarém, Portugal (8th– 10th century AD)

“…In Spring and Autumn, however, the sun rises approximately in the east and sets approximately in the west of Santare ´m which would reduce the accuracy of predicting the direction of Mecca, regardless of whether the sunrise or sunset was used. [76,141], the paucity of grave goods leaves no indication of wealth or social status for those buried at the time. Indeed, it is…”

“…Medieval Islamic burials are typically sparse by nature. While it is generally accepted that the Muslim conquest of Iberia brought with it a largely Berber population along with an Arab ruling elite class [ 76 , 141 ], the paucity of grave goods leaves no indication of wealth or social status for those buried at the time. Indeed, it is only in exceptional cases that status can be inferred from medieval Islamic burials at all, for example in São Jorge Castle, Lisbon, where the location of burial was strong evidence of importance [ 20 ].…”

“…The Berber armies, under the rule of the Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty and united by their Islamic faith, crossed from Tangiers into Gibraltar. What may have begun as raids rapidly escalated into a full-on conquest of the peninsula [ 76 , 77 ]. After defeating the Visigoth king, Roderic, the Muslim armies, reinforced by Arabs under the command of Musa ibn Nusayr, met little resistance and swiftly conquered Córdoba, Toledo (the Visigothic capital) and Mérida in 713 AD.…”

“…The newly settled population consisted of mainly North African Berbers with Arabs making up the higher social status [ 76 ]. The Umayyad dynasty was primarily concerned with military expansion and the conquering of territories rather than proselytisation.…”

“…In the mid 8 th century, following Berber Revolts and civil unrest, the Umayyad Caliphate was brought down by the Abbasids who shifted the main seat of control from Damascus to Baghdad [81]. Most of the Umayyad's were slaughtered in the coup, with the exception of Abd al-Rahman, who fled to Spain and founded a new branch of the Umayyad Dynasty, the "Emirate of Co ´rdoba" in 756 AD which continued to rule Iberia independently for a further three centuries [76]. In the 10 th century, control of al-Andalus was divided amongst the taifa kingdoms (the most important being Badajoz, Toledo, Zaragoza and Seville), followed by the respective rules of the Berber Almoravids and the Almohads [78,80].…”