The History of Spain Podcast

The History of Spain Podcast


Muslim Umayyad conquest of Spain

August 09, 2019

This is episode 20 called Muslim Umayyad conquest of Spain and in this episode you will learn:

SHOW NOTES

- Introduction to a new and complex era of the history of Spain, the Medieval Spain of Muslims and Christians
- What was Pre-Islamic Arabia like
- A brief history of the rise of Islam, from the reveleations of the Prophet Muhammad to the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates
- Why the conquest of Spain was the logical step to follow after the conquest of North Africa and what was the Iberian Peninsula like before their conquest
- Introduction to the main characters of the initial conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom: Tariq ibn Ziyad and Count Julian
- How the Muslim forces of Tariq crushed the Visigothic army of Roderic in the Battle of Guadalete, and the betrayal of the brothers of former King Wittiza, Oppas and Sisebut
- Why the weak military system was a cause of the abrupt fall of the Visigothic Kingdom
- How Tariq ibn Ziyad took advantage of his victory and transformed the expedition from a large-scale raid to a full-scale invasion
- The probably brief proclamation of Oppas as King and the fall of Toledo, that eliminated the possibility of a centrally organized resistance
- Why Musa ibn Nusayr, governor of Ifriqiya, prepared a second expedition to Spain
- The resistance of Mérida and the Treaty of Orihuela, as an example of the numerous treaties of capitulation signed between the Muslim conquerors and the Christian nobles, priests and towns
- The Muslim conquest of the Ebro Valley, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia under Musa and Tariq
- What was the strategy followed to conquer the Iberian Peninsula
- The unhappy ending of Musa and Tariq
- How was the success of the Muslim conquest interpreted by both Muslims and Christians
- Reflection on the common motivations that all conquests have