By the beginning of the 6th century the Visigothic
elite carved out a large kingdom in the former Roman province of Hispania and parts of southern Gaul,
thus becoming a major political player in Western Europe. They carried on the legacy of Rome in Iberia,
maintaining cultural traditions, minting Roman coins, and organizing Roman-style feasts and
games. Over time, the ethnic and cultural distinction
between the Gallo-Roman population of Iberia and their Visigothic rulers had largely diminished,
the revised legal codex known as the Visigothic Code doing much to bring all subjects together
under one legal system. However, by the turn of the 8th century the
kingdom was in decline. Competing interests between the Visigothic
kings and the Germanic tribal aristocracy that administered the state led to frequent
civil wars. And, when King Wittiza, the last rule of a
united Visigothic realm, died in 710, the kingdom descended into turmoil. After a palace coup in Toledo, Roderic emerged
as the new King in 711. His accession was not accepted by all, however, and within months
a pretender, Achila II, proclaimed himself King. Achila took control of the mountainous regions
in the northeast, allying himself with the Basque peoples in the Pyrenees. But, to the south, another threat loomed. By the start of the 8th century, the armies
of the rapidly expanding Umayyad Caliphate were completing the conquest of North Africa. Musa ibn Nusayr was appointed by the caliph
as the emir of the Maghreb, a region encompassing much of Northwest Africa. The new governor continued the subjugation
of the Berber tribes in the desert interior, giving Tariq ibn Ziyad command of the operation,
whilst he returned to his headquarters in the city of Kairouan. The provincial forces were predominantly Berber
recruits, so placing them under the command of Tariq, himself a Berber, secured the loyalty
of the troops to the Umayyad Caliphate. By 710, Tariq began small scale forays into
the Iberian Peninsula. One such attack was led by one of his officers,
Malik ibn Tarif. Landing near moder-day Tarifa with a force
of 100 horsemen and 400 infantry, his mission was to scout inland and gather information
on King Roderic’s armies, as well as look for landing areas suitable for a larger sea
borne invasion. His task complete, Malik made way for Africa. Upon meeting with his subordinate, Tariq sent
the spoils and captives to Governor Musa, along with valuable intelligence, an indication
of a successful reconnaissance mission. Pleased, Musa appointed Tariq Commander of
the planned expedition to Iberia. In April 711, Tariq embarked from Cueta with
no more than 3,000 riders and made way to the pre-selected landing area in the Bay of
Gibraltar. Wasting no time, Tariq moved east along the
coast, capturing towns and villages, before reaching Malaga and turning north towards
Cordoba. News of the Muslim landing reached Cordoba,
its governor swiftly mustered a host to oppose the invaders. Somewhere on the Roman road that connected
Cordoba and Cartagena, the Muslims met and routed the Visigothic army from the field,
then proceeded to plunder the surrounding area. Meanwhile, King Roderic was busy fighting
the Basques under Achila, only learning of the Umayyad invasion two to three weeks after
it began. He immediately broke off, leaving a token
force to block Achila, and marched for Toledo, sending riders ahead of the army to issue
orders for levies to assemble near the city and wait for his arrival. Encumbered with plunder, Tariq withdrew his
forces towards the coast of Cadiz, sending reports back to Ifriqiya. Governor Musa promptly dispatched reinforcements
of 7,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. By now Roderic reached Cordoba, where his
host was further bolstered by the troops from the local nobles, before hurrying to check
the invaders. The King’s host swelled to 33,000 troops,
many of these contributed by the brothers Sisberto and Oppa and their allies, all loyal
supporters of Roderic’s rival, the late King Wittiza. It seemed that the hostility among Visigothic clans had halted,
if only temporarily, to deal with the Berbers. Tariq’s reinforcements came in late July,
increasing his numbers to 12,000, just as the Visigothic army appeared in the Sidonia region. Tariq positioned himself on a location of
his choosing – an undulating plain through which ran the Guadalete River, more of a dry
riverbed during the summer. The much smaller Berber army adopted a defensive
posture, building earthworks and digging in. Tariq hoped to hold off the enemy and use
his swift-riding light cavalry to exploit any tactical opportunities during the fighting. Roderic arrived on the plain, ordered the
heavy cavalry to form in the front, with retinues on the flanks, and infantry in the center
of the second line, personally commanded by the King. Once in position, Roderic ordered the attack! The heavy cavalry was tasked with punching
through the enemy formation, after which the infantry would pour through the gaps and sow
chaos among the Muslim ranks. Oppa likely commanded the left, while Sisberto
led the retinues on the right, the plan being to press the Muslim flanks while the heavy
cavalry breached the center. But before they could close in, the Visigothic
charge suddenly slowed to a crawl, disrupted by a massive barrage of javelins and arrow
volleys from Tariq’s light skirmishers, arrayed in front. Visigothic infantry mixed in with the heavy
cavalry and joined the attack, braving the hail of projectiles, before clashing with
the Muslim line. Far less numerous, the Berber infantry held
their positions on the earthworks, locking their shields as the heavy melee erupted along
the battleline. The men clashed to and thro for much of the
early afternoon. It may have not been apparent, but Tariq had successfully
blunted the massive Visigothic charge and once Roderic’s men began to tire, Tariq ordered his
light cavalry to counterattack around the flanks. Sections of Visigothic retinues on the flanks
turned to receive the attack. Berber riders hit their lines but were unable to
break the more heavily armored cavalry, and were soon repulsed. The sight of the Umayyad cavalry retreating
back around their flanks raised the morale of Roderic’s men to such a degree that they
pressed and pushed back Tariq’s center. Using their numerical strength, the Visigoths
pushed their way among the enemy line, as the Berbers began losing ground. Tariq barked orders at the men to hold the
line! But little did Roderic know that the slow
retreat of the Muslims was a ruse. Their line bending inwards gave the impression
that the center was about to break, but Tariq planned this precarious formation beforehand. As more and more Visigoths poured into the
center of the bending Muslim line, much of Roderic’s armored cavalry was now committed. Tariq began moving all available cavalry to
the flanks, waiting for the critical moment to push back Roderic’s flanks and envelop
his center. At some point during the battle - the sources
don’t specify when – Oppa and Sisberto deserted, possibly as revenge for Roderic’s
usurpation of the throne, leaving the Visigothic army’s flanks unprotected. Sources are unclear on whether or not the
pro-Wittizan contingents then attacked Roderic, but they likely simply pulled their forces
from the field. Whatever the case, by now the Berber light
cavalry was already pushing back the Visigothic flanks and attacked the mass of Roderic’s
men in the center from both sides. Tariq ordered a general assault, telling his
exhausted infantry that victory is within their grasp. The Muslim push finally broke the resolve
of Roderic’s footmen, who began to flee in disarray. Visigothic cavalry tried to maintain formation,
but they were gradually overwhelmed and cut down almost to a man. Roderic’s fate in the battle is left unknown. Some scholars suggest that he was killed in
the thick of the battle, with some writers even believing he was killed by Tariq himself
in personal combat. Others write that he drowned while trying
to escape across the river. But we may never know what truly happened
to the King of the Visigoths on that day. The Muslims lost some 3,000 men, while the
Visigoths were shattered, with around 16,000 men dead or wounded, over half of their entire
army. Tariq had achieved a decisive victory for
the Umayyads, a victory that will echo down the centuries. After the Muslim victory at Guadalete, Tariq
split his army into three marching groups. One column went to Lusitania, another into
Andalusia while he himself marched a contingent to the Visigothic capital of Toledo. After hearing the news of Tariq’s victory,
Musa mustered a new army of 18,000 men and moved to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, seeking
to assert control over the whole of Iberia. However, the rivalry between Tariq and Musa
saw the former stripped of his command, and sent back to Africa, signaling the end of
his military career. The Umayyad Conquest of Spain was to be continued
by Musa and his three sons, in a campaign that would last another decade. The final vestiges of the 300-year-old Visigothic
Kingdom were extinguished by 721. In its place rose Al-Andalus.
