How the Muslims lost Spain – The Rise of Muslims Episode 3
Based entirely on the book by Ali Mahmood titled “Muslims” – Purchase using this link – https://www.kjreports.com/product/muslims/
Welcome to Episode 3 of our Rise of Muslims Documentary based on a book called Muslims by Ali Mahmood.
In the first episode Ali talked about how the Prophet Muhammed led the Muslims to the conquest of Makkah and the reigns of the first four caliphs. In the second episode, Ali discussed the rise and fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the Abbasid dynasty. In this episode Ali discusses the rise and fall of Islamic Spain and Egypt.
At the start of the 8th century Roderick, the Visigoth king ruled Spain. His able general, Count Julian protected the kingdom, keeping the Muslims of North Africa at bay. When Julian left for Africa, he left his beautiful daughter, Florinda, under the protection of the king. Roderick was fired when he saw Florinda. He raped her, and she became pregnant. She confessed to her father who resolved to take revenge.
In Africa Julian met Tarik bin Ziyad and offered to take the Muslim troops into Spain. Tarik crossed over from Africa to Spain with an exploratory force of 7000 men, stopping midway at a rock which was named after him – the Rock of Tarik, Jebel Tarik (Gibraltar).
Having crossed, Tarik burned his boats to show his men that there was no going back, it was victory or death. The small Muslim army won complete and total victory over the much larger Spanish force, Spain was conquered and remained under Muslim rule for almost eight centuries.
Musa, the Umayyad governor of North Africa was green with envy when he heard of Tarik’s astounding victories. He rushed to Spain to share in the glory and the booty. He also struck Tarik and for a while had him arrested.
The Muslims spread over the fertile south and named their land Al-Andalus. Andalusia was a land of rivers and valleys, perfect for cultivation, to which the Arabs applied their techniques of agriculture and irrigation. These farms laid the foundation for the wealth of Andalusia. The Muslims governed mildly, justly and wisely. Low taxes and a high level of religious freedom kept the people content. It was a happy time.
