Conquest or occupation? Was Tariq bin Ziyad eloquent? Legends of the conquest of Andalusia Amazigh
The series “Fateh Al-Andalus”, directed by Mohamed Al-Enezi, which is shown during the current Ramadan season on Moroccan Channel 1, continues to spark a wave of rejection and discontent, to the point of issuing explicit calls to stop its show on the pretext that it is full of “historical inaccuracies” and “changing facts.” Historic", ignoring the role of the Amazigh s in the process of conquest.
If the story of "The Conquest of Andalusia" becomes a motive for political tensions linked to contemporary identities, what about the origin? Is it an invasion or conquest? what about the conquerors; Are they Arabs or Amazighs? What are the contradictory narratives about this founding part of consciousness and history in Islamic societies?
?Conquest or invasion..and perhaps soft control
When talking about the history of the conquest - the Islamic invasion of Andalusia, or Spain today, we often find ourselves facing two contradictory points of view, each of which bears a clear national tendency, whether it is Arab or Amazigh. Both of these views have their own historical justification.
The "lost Andalusia" still lives today in the Arab collective imagination with an extravagant idealistic view, like a bygone glory, and as a civilization that Spain is still full of its monuments and monuments to our time, and the Arab features overshadowed it in language, thought, literature and philosophy, according to what Arab historical sources left us.
Accordingly, it embellished it as a "purely Arab achievement", driven by a nationalism in which many details and historical events were overlooked and the role of other nationalities, especially the Amazigh role that has the largest and decisive role in the process of military victory and expansion into Spain at the hands of the army led by the Amazigh leader, Tariq. Bin Ziyad Al-Zanati, year 92 AH.
The Arabs, even if they ruled Andalusia by the strength of the Umayyad authority in Damascus at first, and if their culture prevailed because Arabic was the language of religion, the Qur’an and culture, it remained an “elite” language, as it was the unifying Islamic association that was the strongest and most influential, according to the historical sources related to that era. This is evidenced by Muhammad Haqi, in his book "The Amazighs in Andalusia". Musa bin Naseer, and before him Uqba bin Nafi, who took charge of the Islamic conquests in Morocco, are seen as "murderers and criminals" from the point of view of the indigenous population.
Most of what the invasion-conquest left behind are palaces, most of which are North African urban monuments of a "Moorish" or Moorish (Moroccan) character, and within them are works of art, inscriptions, and Damascene tiles from the work of the skilled artisans who brought them from the Levant after Abd al-Rahman entered the interior to Andalusia, and established it. to complete the rule of the Marwanites. After that, Islamic rule lasted for eight hundred years, and different countries passed the rule of Andalusia, including the Almohad states, the Almoravids, and the kings of the sects.
In contrast to the foregoing, the Spanish researcher Ignacio Olaghi, in his book "The Arabs Did Not Colonize Spain - The Islamic Revolution", translated by Ismail Al-Amin, offers us a point of view that is "revolutionary" compared to what we know, denying the invasion-conquest event from the ground up, and he considered that the Arabs did not They traverse the Iberian Peninsula, but the subject is related to a soft cultural invasion, linked to the deep similarity between the Islamic religion and the erotic faith embraced by the indigenous population of Spain.
Olaghi says: "If the Iberian Peninsula had been invaded by Arabs in the year 711 AD, many historians who lived through that period would have witnessed that great event, and although the Spanish Civil War destroyed all testimonies, the news of the next eighth century should have indicated that. At least in one text, when it comes to an invasion, the role of the invaders cannot be so ambiguous!"
On the contrary, Levi Provence described in his book "History of Islamic Spain" the "Islamic conquest" as a miracle, and linked it to the internal conditions of the Gothic state at the time, saying: "There is not a single example in history that tells us that an organized state has left its lands recklessly usurped by some Valiant detachments of knights, if they are healthy and well framed, and their rulers are respected and obedient, great conquests have always met with the political and social dissolution of the nations upon which they descended. And this is what indeed happened to Visigothic Spain."
Amazigh and Arab Muslims
It is known historically that the final control - militarily - over Al-Aqsa Morocco lasted for seventy years. The reason is related to the difficult geographical nature of the country, and the fierce resistance shown by theAmazigh s to the Arabs, refusing their entry into their country. 35 for immigration.
The claims mentioned by modern Arab sources are evident in "the desire to rid the Amazighs- Amazighs of the Roman rule that wreaked havoc in the country, and to extend to the country known for its richness and strategic importance." However, the Moroccan researcher Ahmed Assid confirms that the Amazighs were people of resistance and rejection of any foreign presence. And that they rejected the Arabs and resisted them as they resisted the Romans before them, and this is documented by historical sources, even Arab ones.
"The news of the next eighth century should have indicated that, at least in one text, when it comes to an invasion, the role of the invaders cannot be so obscure!"
After Morocco was "conquered", and the Arabs succeeded in converting many Amazigh tribes to Islam, Dr. Noha al-Zeini mentions in her book "The Days of the Amazighs", the following: "As for the great leader Musa bin Naseer, who was appointed by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan over Africa in the year 86 AH corresponding to 705 AD, he realized that putting down the Amazigh
revolt and the stability of the Great Maghreb would not be achieved without teaching them the rules of Islam and without the careful and conscious application of the principles of Islamic brotherhood.
She continues, saying, "His political acumen, which is based on a solid Islamic foundation, was evident in the appointment of the barbarian commander Tariq bin Ziyad to Tangiers, and making him an emir over the army in the Far Maghreb." However, Ibn Khaldun in his history mentions that the Amazighs left Islam more than once during the Arab rule, and that Islam was not established in their souls except at the hands of the Almoravids.
In the year 90 AH, he arrived in the city of Tangier, so he conquered it and placed a garrison of 12,000 men under the leadership of Tariq bin Ziyad. According to what al-Dhahabi narrated, Musa bin Nusayr prepared his son Abdullah for the conquest since the year 86 AH, when he ordered him to conquer the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, which are located on the coast of Andalusia.
There is also another narration as well - narrated by Ibn al-Athir in "Al-Kamil in History" - which mentions that the Emir of the city of Ceuta, "Julian", called on Ibn Naseer himself to conquer Andalusia and rid him of the rule of the Visigoths as a result of his disagreement with Rodrigue, the king of the Goths, known as "Zadik", in the sources Arabia, and told him that the country was in a state of chaos and internal conflicts, and that it would not witness much resistance. Ibn Naseer Al-Khalifa sought permission to open, so he authorized him to confirm the good intentions of Julian, so he sent a reconnaissance campaign of 500 men led by Tarif bin Malik, who confirmed to him the words of Julian, so Tariq bin Ziyad sent 7,000 soldiers to Andalusia in the month of Rajab in the year 92 AH (May 711 AD).
On the opposite bank in Spain, the situation in the Iberian Peninsula was not stable, as the Dutch historian Reinhart Dozi mentions, in his book "Research in the Political and Literary History of Spain during the Middle Ages," that the Christian clergy were complaining about the spread of corruption and moral decay among the Gothic class. The ruler and her indulgence in luxury, while the middle and poor classes and slaves were suffering from exploitation. He mentions about the status of the slave class, saying: "The status of the slave class was unbearable in the days of the Goths, and this is evident when a person contemplates their harsh laws towards slaves."
Sir Thomas Arnold mentions, in his book “A Research in the History of the Spread of the Islamic Creed,” the tolerance of Muslims after the conquest of Andalusia: “In truth, the policy of religious tolerance shown by these conquerors towards the Christian religion had the greatest impact in facilitating their takeover of this country, and the only complaint What Christians complained about was the imposition of a tax on them, which amounted to 48 dirhams for the rich, 24 dirhams for the middle class, and 12 dirhams for workers in return for exempting them from military service, although this tribute was imposed only on able-bodied men, while women were exempted from it. Children, monks, the crippled, the blind, the poor, the sick, and slaves, bearing in mind that the officials in charge of collecting taxes were Christians themselves, which eased their burden on the people.
The riddle of Tariq bin Ziyad
Many academic and critical studies question the narrative of the conquest of Andalusia, which is derived from the Arab-Islamic heritage. While the Spanish researcher and writer Antonio Gala believes that the name Tariq is a modern name in the Farahidi Arabic language, if it is compared with other dictionaries older than it, such as the dictionary of Ibn Manzoor and the dictionary of Al-Muheet by Al-Fayrouz Abadi.
And he believes that it is unlikely that a person of "foreign" origins would be called by him, especially if he was a Amazigh, as the name Tariq, as Gala confirms, "is an abbreviation of the name of a dissident Gothic leader called (Tarix), on the weight of Rodrix (Lazdik), as it appears in Arab sources, He is the last king of the Visigoths in Spain.
While some Arab historical accounts, such as Ibn Khalkan's, confirm that Tariq bin Ziyad's origin is from the Yemeni Hadrami tribe of Sadaf, what is certain is that he is a Amazigh from a Moroccan tribe. Tariq bin Ziyad was a brave and enterprising knight, and when the barbarian pagan tribes converted to Islam, including the Tariq bin Ziyad tribe, that young knight who admired Musa bin Naseer with his courage, he entrusted him with the task of leading the armies of conquest.
And the owners of this opinion confirm that Tariq bin Ziyad was born in one of the cities of Morocco, which was inhabited by the Nafza tribe in the middle of the first Hijri century. As Al-Himyari mentions in “Al-Rawd Al-Matar fi Khabar Al-Aqatar”. Ibn Adhari al-Marrakshi, the author of the book “Al-Bayan al-Maghrib fi Akhbar al-Muluk al-Andalus and al-Maghrib,” mentions the lineage of Tariq bin Ziyad, and says : “There has been disagreement about his lineage. ... He is Tariq bin Ziyad bin Abdullah bin Rafhu bin Warfjum bin Yanzgasen bin Whalhas bin Yatoft bin Nafzaw.
?The legend of the conquering armies
Ibn Habib was the author of a book on history in which he included the information he heard about that invasion, and this book is considered the key to everything that was built after that in the issue of the Arab “conquest” of Spain.
The historian Olaghi, in his commentary on Ibn Habib's book, is skeptical about the issue of Tariq bin Ziyad's army crossing the strait based on Ibn Habib's narration, saying: "To reach Iberia, the Arabs had to cross the sea strait separating Africa from Europe, but the Amazighs of North Africa were not They have naval ships, and even if they had the necessary ships, they had to find skilled captains, especially since the Strait of Gibraltar connects between the Mediterranean Sea (devoid of tides) and the Atlantic Ocean, which forms a passage for strong currents in both directions, and it was historically famous for being a “cemetery.” for ships'".
According to what was mentioned in the news of the group attributed to Ibn Habib, the so-called "Yulian", "the attackers", lent four boats, and on this also Olaghi comments, saying: "The maximum load of one boat of that model was fifty 50 men, and according to this ( Tariq) and his men needed to make thirty-five (35) trips to transport his army, that is, it would have taken him approximately seventy (70) days, because that type of boat needed a full day to travel that distance, in addition to the bad weather calculations in which it stops. voyages, and in that case he had to make at least a hundred voyages to transport his seven thousand men, and the only skilled sailors who could do that were the sons of the coastal city of Cadiz, which lies in southern Spain, but why do the sons of Cadiz render this ?service to those who came to conquer them
And the Spanish historian confirms analyzing that even if we accept that Tariq deceived them and did not show them his intentions, why did he help those leaders who followed Musa bin Al-Naseer after several months of providing support to Tariq? Then why does Tariq burn the ships after completing this landing process, and did not leave them anchored on the shore or order the sailors to return to the coast of Morocco? And how does he burn boats that are not originally his, but had borrowed them from (Julian) as we learned ?from Ibn Habib's narration
Legendary sermon
In “Nafah al-Tayyib” by al-Maqri, what is described as the sermon delivered by Tariq bin Ziyad after he burned his ships to put himself and his soldiers in the face of the siege and the enemy at the same time: “O people, where is the escape? The sea is behind you and the enemy is in front of you, and you have and God only Truthfulness and patience, and know that in this island you are more insignificant than orphans at the banquet of meanness.”
Where did Tariq Ibn Ziyad the Amazigh get this rhetoric in classical Arabic? And how was he addressing soldiers who were mostly Amazighs who did not understand anything of the Arabic language? As Dr. Mustafa Shaker says, who goes on to say: "She is eloquent, beautiful, and popular, but doubts surround her in turn. From where did Ibn Ziyad get this eloquence? How does he address a soldier who was in their majority of the Amazighs who do not understand Arabic?!".
Abd al-Latif Aknoush, a professor of political science, commented on this in an article on this topic: “This sermon appears to be impudently Arabic, so how can a Amazigh man who is new to Islam and his Arabic language be able to weave a sermon of this level of language with its strange revelations and vocabulary?” And its syntax and the like?
Aknoush connects with what is reported by al-Tabari, al-Dhahabi and Ibn al-Athir, about Saif bin Dhi Yazan’s seeking help from Chosroes of Faris to fight the Ethiopians, and Chosroes placed at the head of those who sent them a man called “Bahram ibn Rustam”, and he was a Persian man who did not understand Arabic, and when his ships docked on the coasts of Yemen He burned the ships and went to his army with a sermon in which he said - as the translators of his sermon later mentioned: “Oh people, where is the escape?! The sea is behind you and the enemy is in front of you.
This is what that Persian commander said in Farsi, and it completely matches the sermon that was later attached to a man who, according to accounts, was a Goth, a Amazigh, or even a Persian, with a difference of two centuries, meaning that the sermon of Bahram bin Rustam preceded the time of Tariq bin Ziyad by about two hundred years.
Commenting on the topic
First: As a free Amazigh, I consider this attack as an invasion as long as it is with the point of the sword for the purpose of shedding the blood of the innocent in order to take the captives and slaves, so it is an occupation, not a conquest.
Secondly: Tariq bin Ziyad does not represent the free Amazighs, as he is an invader who orders from his Arab masters
Third: The Arab presence in North Africa and Andalusia is just grains of sand in the desert, and their presence is limited to rulers and some military personnel.
Fourth: There is no Levantine or Gulf gene in the population of Andalusia, and there are no genes for Arabian or Levantine horses in Spain and Portugal, and this is after the analyzes conducted there. Therefore, the Arab civilization in Andalusia is just an illusion.
Fifth: When Rome built and established its theaters and urbanization in its colonies, it was built first on its land. And did the Arabs build Andalusia on their land in Najd, Hijaz, and the Empty Third?
Sixth: There are no Arabs in Andalusia, but there are Amazighs and Spanish Muslims of varying degrees of Arabization who have impersonated Arab lineage in the desire to obtain social and religious privileges.
Seventh: The Spaniards themselves originally deny the existence of an Arab invasion, and the evidence is that the Muslims of Andalusia, after its fall, called them the Morisques, in relation to the Moorish-Moroccan Amazigh race.
Source: websites