The Visigoths ruled a large kingdom in southern France in the fifth century but often they make raids across the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain.
In both contexts that as rulers of their large southern kingdom in France and as raiders into Spain they are acting as allies of Rome.
Towards the end of the 5th Century in 475 AD the then Visigothic King, Euric, declares total independence from Rome and then begins to extend his own kingdom naturally for his own personal gain and benefit.
Spain initially when Euric declared independence from Rome was of only secondary importance to say .the territory already occupied and controlled by the Visigoths in France which was much larger and at that time of much more value to Euric’s empire.
But at the start of the 6th Century in the year 507 AD Euric's son is defeated by the King of the Franks, Clovis just north of Poitiers in France.
This effectively reduces the territory that they control to the strip from the mountains of the Pyrenees to the Rhône River.
Naturally having now lost a very considerable part of their original territorial Kingdom in the 6th Century they are now intent to extend and expand the territory that they control in Spain.
As with all rapidly growing powers and empires they have rises and falls in their expansion plans and there is a hold up in the south of Spain from 554 A.D. when the Byzantine emperor Justinian uses his military strength to re-capture the region from Cadiz on the Atlantic coast in the South west to Cartagena on the Mediterranean in the east.
This is a coastal strip that runs more or less West to East of the Southern tip of Spain and representing less than 5% of the Country.
But within the relative short time span of only some seventy years all the territory has been recovered.
Now all of Spain is controlled by the Visigoths during the seventh century.
They have an outstanding capital at Toledo just to the South and slightly to the West of the modern Capital Madrid.
During this time there are continuing hostilities between different tribes of Visigoth’s so they were having internal power struggles not only between fellow Visigoth’s but also with the original local population which would have included Huns and Christian Catholics. Undoubtedly these would have been interesting and some what turbulent times to say the least.
However history takes an interseying turn when the Moors are invited by the Byzantine General Julian for help in what was virtually a civil war between the various factions of the successors of the Visigoth King Wittiza.
The Governor of North Africa Musa agreed to Julian's request for help and sent his deputy commander Tariq bin Ziyad with a military army which landed at Gibraltar on April 30, 711.
As I have stated the Moors did not arrive in Spain initially simply to extend the territory that they controlled.
Tariq's major victory came later in September of 711 when the Umayyad army defeated Roderic of the Visigoths at the Guadalete River.
The Guadalete River is located in the Spanish province of Cádiz, the source lies in the Grazalema Mountains at an elevation of about 1000 m, and it f;lows for some 172 km into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria, which is to the south of the city of Cádiz.
The name derives from the arab "River of Forgefullness" it flows by some of the famous white villages including Arcos de la Frontera
As a result of that Victory and in accordance with the agreement that had been made by Julian they accepted land as a reward for their successful military service.
From here on in from relatively small toe hold in the South west tip of Spain Islam begins to expand over the majority of Iberia including Portugal.
The Algarve a beautiful part of Portugal derives its name from the Arabic for the west as it was the most western area in their sphere of influence.
The short journey across the water from Africa, bringing an army into Spain in 711, begins the first thrust of Arab expansionism in the west. In a frequently repeated pattern of history the invaders, invited to assist one side in a quarrel, rapidly take control and suppress both squabbling parties. Within a few months the Arabs drive the Visigoths from their capital at Toledo.
Soon governors are appointed by the caliph in Damascus Syria are now ruling much of Spain. The Arabs press on northwards.
Their armies move into Gaul in France, and here at last they are halted - near Poitiers in 732. The same city where some 200 years before the Franks defeated Euric’s son is 507.
In less than some 20 years the whole of the Iberian penisular had fallen.
In real terms it is fair to say that the Invasion and occupation of Spain was not really opposed. Indeed how can it of been an invasion when they where invited.
The Moslems respected the indigenous people as being people of the book meaning the bible. Jesus is regarded highly in the Muslim faith and there are many links between the three largest religions of the world if one cares to look a little beneath the surface.
Indeed in these times these three religions co-existed very well often sharing places of worship and attending each others festivals and holy days. After all most of them all work around very similar timing in their events.
The social intercourse between the various religious groups helps considerably to minimize tension in the early centuries.
However as years pass in later centuries it does unfortunately provide opportunities for persecution.
It is said that there were lower taxes and incentives to those who did actually convert.to Islam.
Also the indigenous people were probably more worried of the war like Franks who lived above the Pyrenees than they were of the Berbers from North Africa whom they had known for many years as trading partners and people of commerce.
Similar again in History to the Roman invasion of Southern England in Ad 43 where the local population whose leader was known by the adopted Roman name of Maximus had traded with and had known the Romans for some two hundred year as in indeed the Spanish population had known and traded with the noble Berbers for many hundreds of years.
Conquering the rest of Spain back to Christian rule was the intention of the Christians immediately from the time of the occupation of the Muslims from the beginning of the Eighth century.
This is when the Visigoths who were Christians were confined to Asturia a small Kingdom in the North.
The idea of regaining Spain as a Christian country becomes the sole aim of medieval noble knight hood in Spain.
It takes many hundreds of years in deed some seven hundred until Granada is finally handed over in 1492.
It is of course highly complicated by the integration which has occurred between the various religious groups in many parts of Spain.
This is but one in a series of articles and in a brief article such as this one can only highlight some of the key points.
The Author JJ writes many articles on a variety of topics and for further information one of his web sites is at Marbella Spain.
In both contexts that as rulers of their large southern kingdom in France and as raiders into Spain they are acting as allies of Rome.
Towards the end of the 5th Century in 475 AD the then Visigothic King, Euric, declares total independence from Rome and then begins to extend his own kingdom naturally for his own personal gain and benefit.
Spain initially when Euric declared independence from Rome was of only secondary importance to say .the territory already occupied and controlled by the Visigoths in France which was much larger and at that time of much more value to Euric’s empire.
But at the start of the 6th Century in the year 507 AD Euric's son is defeated by the King of the Franks, Clovis just north of Poitiers in France.
This effectively reduces the territory that they control to the strip from the mountains of the Pyrenees to the Rhône River.
Naturally having now lost a very considerable part of their original territorial Kingdom in the 6th Century they are now intent to extend and expand the territory that they control in Spain.
As with all rapidly growing powers and empires they have rises and falls in their expansion plans and there is a hold up in the south of Spain from 554 A.D. when the Byzantine emperor Justinian uses his military strength to re-capture the region from Cadiz on the Atlantic coast in the South west to Cartagena on the Mediterranean in the east.
This is a coastal strip that runs more or less West to East of the Southern tip of Spain and representing less than 5% of the Country.
But within the relative short time span of only some seventy years all the territory has been recovered.
Now all of Spain is controlled by the Visigoths during the seventh century.
They have an outstanding capital at Toledo just to the South and slightly to the West of the modern Capital Madrid.
During this time there are continuing hostilities between different tribes of Visigoth’s so they were having internal power struggles not only between fellow Visigoth’s but also with the original local population which would have included Huns and Christian Catholics. Undoubtedly these would have been interesting and some what turbulent times to say the least.
However history takes an interseying turn when the Moors are invited by the Byzantine General Julian for help in what was virtually a civil war between the various factions of the successors of the Visigoth King Wittiza.
The Governor of North Africa Musa agreed to Julian's request for help and sent his deputy commander Tariq bin Ziyad with a military army which landed at Gibraltar on April 30, 711.
As I have stated the Moors did not arrive in Spain initially simply to extend the territory that they controlled.
Tariq's major victory came later in September of 711 when the Umayyad army defeated Roderic of the Visigoths at the Guadalete River.
The Guadalete River is located in the Spanish province of Cádiz, the source lies in the Grazalema Mountains at an elevation of about 1000 m, and it f;lows for some 172 km into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria, which is to the south of the city of Cádiz.
The name derives from the arab "River of Forgefullness" it flows by some of the famous white villages including Arcos de la Frontera
As a result of that Victory and in accordance with the agreement that had been made by Julian they accepted land as a reward for their successful military service.
From here on in from relatively small toe hold in the South west tip of Spain Islam begins to expand over the majority of Iberia including Portugal.
The Algarve a beautiful part of Portugal derives its name from the Arabic for the west as it was the most western area in their sphere of influence.
The short journey across the water from Africa, bringing an army into Spain in 711, begins the first thrust of Arab expansionism in the west. In a frequently repeated pattern of history the invaders, invited to assist one side in a quarrel, rapidly take control and suppress both squabbling parties. Within a few months the Arabs drive the Visigoths from their capital at Toledo.
Soon governors are appointed by the caliph in Damascus Syria are now ruling much of Spain. The Arabs press on northwards.
Their armies move into Gaul in France, and here at last they are halted - near Poitiers in 732. The same city where some 200 years before the Franks defeated Euric’s son is 507.
In less than some 20 years the whole of the Iberian penisular had fallen.
In real terms it is fair to say that the Invasion and occupation of Spain was not really opposed. Indeed how can it of been an invasion when they where invited.
The Moslems respected the indigenous people as being people of the book meaning the bible. Jesus is regarded highly in the Muslim faith and there are many links between the three largest religions of the world if one cares to look a little beneath the surface.
Indeed in these times these three religions co-existed very well often sharing places of worship and attending each others festivals and holy days. After all most of them all work around very similar timing in their events.
The social intercourse between the various religious groups helps considerably to minimize tension in the early centuries.
However as years pass in later centuries it does unfortunately provide opportunities for persecution.
It is said that there were lower taxes and incentives to those who did actually convert.to Islam.
Also the indigenous people were probably more worried of the war like Franks who lived above the Pyrenees than they were of the Berbers from North Africa whom they had known for many years as trading partners and people of commerce.
Similar again in History to the Roman invasion of Southern England in Ad 43 where the local population whose leader was known by the adopted Roman name of Maximus had traded with and had known the Romans for some two hundred year as in indeed the Spanish population had known and traded with the noble Berbers for many hundreds of years.
Conquering the rest of Spain back to Christian rule was the intention of the Christians immediately from the time of the occupation of the Muslims from the beginning of the Eighth century.
This is when the Visigoths who were Christians were confined to Asturia a small Kingdom in the North.
The idea of regaining Spain as a Christian country becomes the sole aim of medieval noble knight hood in Spain.
It takes many hundreds of years in deed some seven hundred until Granada is finally handed over in 1492.
It is of course highly complicated by the integration which has occurred between the various religious groups in many parts of Spain.
This is but one in a series of articles and in a brief article such as this one can only highlight some of the key points.
The Author JJ writes many articles on a variety of topics and for further information one of his web sites is at Marbella Spain.
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