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historians of the time; by the Christian, with regret and shame, by the
Mohammedan, with all the exultation of victory.
After the surrender of the capital, Tarik, leaving the city in charge
of his faithful adherents, the Jews, at once advanced northward in
pursuit of the retreating Goths. The latter, in every instance when it
was possible, upon the appearance of the cloud of turbaned
horsemen, abandoned their burdens and took refuge in the mountain
fastnesses. Overtaking a body of fugitives a short distance beyond
Toledo, Tarik captured a magnificent table, or lectern—used to
support the Gospels—which had belonged to the cathedral; whose
origin the romantic credulity of that age attributed to Solomon, and
supposed to be a portion of the booty brought by Titus from the sack
of Jerusalem; but which more reliable accounts have demonstrated
to have been the handiwork of Visigothic artisans. The body and
framework of this precious jewel were of the purest gold. Into it were
inserted alternate rows of hyacinths, rubies, pearls, and emeralds,
and, as it was the custom of each monarch to contribute something
to its embellishment, royal emulation had exhausted itself to surpass
the efforts of preceding reigns in the decoration of an object whose
sanctity made it more priceless in the eyes of the superstitious than
even the inestimable value of its materials and ornamentation. It
stood upon four feet, the latter being so encrusted with emeralds as
to convey the impression that each was formed of a single stone.
This table, whose estimated value was five hundred thousand
crowns, and which has been described with such exaggeration as to
have even aroused the doubts of historical critics concerning its
existence, was set aside with the portion of the spoil destined for the
Khalif.
The capture of Toledo was the last important exploit of the Berber
general, whose success could not atone for the gross
insubordination of which he was guilty. A few other cities had been
taken, a large area of territory had been ravaged, when the news of
the approach of Musa, and the anticipation of his commander’s
wrath, suddenly checked the career of Tarik in the full flush of
conquest and glory.
 The fame and popularity of the latter as well as the report of the
vast riches amassed by him had excited, to the full measure of their
malignity, the envy and the hatred of Musa. The adventurers who
had hastened to Iberia to serve under the standard of Tarik had
depleted the garrisons of Africa, and it was fourteen months after the
main expedition had sailed before Musa was able to muster a
sufficient force to take the field in person. Crossing the strait with a
numerous body of troops—which included representatives of the
most distinguished families of Arabia, many of whom had enjoyed
the rare distinction of being friends of the Companions of the
Prophet, as well as the flower of the African soldiery—he
disembarked at Ghezirah-al-Khadra. His jealousy of the success of
Tarik, and the certainty that the Berbers had left no city or hamlet
unplundered in their march, led Musa to desire to proceed to Toledo
by a different route. Informed of his wish, his guides promised to
gratify him, and place within his power cities of far greater extent and
magnificence than those which had submitted to his rebellious
lieutenant. They conducted him first to Carmona, which, like most of
the other towns of Andalusia, had cast off the Moslem yoke as soon
as the departure of the army of Tarik had inspired its inhabitants with
confidence; and this well-fortified place, despite its strength, seems
to have at once yielded to the summons of the invader. Seville, then
as now one of the largest, wealthiest, and most beautiful cities of
Spain, was next besieged. One month sufficed to reduce it, but not
without many bloody engagements, in which the Moslems sustained
considerable loss. A garrison was left in the citadel, and Musa
marched upon Merida, famous from the days of the Romans for its
massive fortifications, its imposing public works, and the architectural
grandeur and richness of its temples. Founded by the veterans of
Augustus, and honored with his name, Merida still retained, in the
eighth century, a few of the stupendous memorials of her pristine
splendor, which nearly three hundred years before had so impressed
the astonished barbarians of Germany, and now exerted their awe-
inspiring influence upon the simple and superstitious tribesmen of
Africa and Arabia. The partiality of the Roman emperors had
lavished upon this provincial capital treasures that had enabled its
citizens to raise structures rivalling those of Rome itself. Bridges, of
such extraordinary length and huge proportions as to almost defy the
efforts of modern science to demolish them, crossed the sandy bed
of the sluggish Guadiana. Aqueducts, suspended upon tiers of
graceful arches, traversed, high in air, the populous and highly
cultivated plain. Monuments of the reigns of Hadrian and Trajan
spanned the streets and towered in the forum. In the suburbs stood
the theatre, the circus, and the naumachia; buildings worthy of the
taste and grandeur of any city of the empire. The population was one
of the most prosperous and opulent in the kingdom. The
archiepiscopal see of Merida vied in dignity and influence with the
primacy of Toledo. It had not been many years since the vassals and
slaves of the metropolitan, to the number of nearly a thousand,
glittering with jewels and cloth of gold, had dazzled the eyes of the
populace, and excited the envy of the nobles, while participating in
the ceremonial pageantry of the Church—exhibitions so well adapted
to impress the beholder with the greatness, the pomp, and the
resources of ecclesiastical power. Well might the enthusiasm of the
predatory Arab be excited by the architectural magnificence and
historic souvenirs of the far-famed capital of Lusitania! While the
gigantic proportions of its edifices called forth his admiration, and led
him to attribute their erection to giants and demons, his avarice was,
at the same time, stimulated by the thought of the booty to be
obtained by the pillage of a place of such extent and importance. But
the inhabitants, worthy of the renown of their ancestors, and
undismayed by the sudden appearance of an unknown foe, did not
hesitate to engage him on equal terms. A series of combats
followed, in which the valor of the besieged acquired for them a
temporary advantage. In the face of such determined resistance, and
wholly unacquainted with the methods of carrying on a siege, the
Moslems began to falter. But their veteran commander, confident in
his skill, now brought to bear the experience which he had acquired
in many hard-fought campaigns in Syria and Africa. The city was
completely blockaded. Every foraging party which issued from the
gates was intercepted and captured or cut to pieces. The stratagems
of Berber warfare were adopted to the confusion of an intrepid but
unwary enemy. Detachments which sallied forth to attack the
besieging lines were lured into ambush and annihilated. Military
engines familiar to that age were constructed, but the activity and
courage of the Visigoths were such that, although breaches were
made, no forlorn hope could effect a lodgment within the
fortifications; and one which succeeded in penetrating them—a
circumstance which gave to the place where it occurred the
suggestive name of the Tower of the Martyrs— was destroyed to a
man. Each day, with the rising of the sun, the battle was renewed,
and Musa saw with rage and apprehension his well-tried veterans
and the bravest of his officers perish before his eyes. The
fortifications appeared impregnable; and had it not been for the
opportune arrival of Abd-al-Aziz, the son of the Arab general, with a
reinforcement of seven thousand cavalry and five thousand
crossbow-men, the Moslems would have been compelled to
abandon the undertaking. Disheartened by this change in their
fortunes, and beginning to suffer from a scarcity of provisions, the
inhabitants of Merida now made overtures for a surrender. Although
in the position of suppliants, the envoys provoked the resentment of
Musa by their demeanor, and several conferences were necessary
before the citizens would condescend to accept the usual terms of
capitulation. When all had been arranged and hostages delivered,
the Moslem army took possession of the city. Great wealth fell into
the hands of the grasping Musa, who appropriated as his slave
Egilona, the captive widow of Roderick, a princess whose
subsequent marriage to his son Abd-al-Aziz was the source of many
calamities to his family and nation.
The heroic defence of Merida had inspired with the hope of
freedom the cities of the South, upon whom the Moslem yoke but
recently imposed sat lightly, and Seville, Malaga, Granada, and Jaen
rose simultaneously in revolt. The attention of Musa was first
directed to Seville, the latest and most valuable of his recent
acquisitions. The rebels of that city had massacred thirty men of the
garrison and put the rest to flight, while the Jews, true to the instincts
of a people long degraded by servitude, not only refused to assist
their allies, but hastened with cringing servility to make peace once
more with their old oppressors. For this defection, a terrible
retribution was exacted. Abd-al-Aziz carried the place by storm, and
put to death without mercy every Christian and Hebrew male who
was found within its walls. The Moslems, taught by experience the
imperative necessity of colonization, and being now in sufficient
numbers to justify a division of their forces, placed a strong garrison
in Seville; while the confiscated lands were partitioned among the
natives of Arabia the Happy present with the invading army, who
hastened to take possession of the luxurious estates of the Gothic
merchants and nobility. This was the first instance of the settlement
of conquered territory by the natives of a particular country,
afterwards so common under Mohammedan rule; a stroke of policy
whose effects are to this day apparent in the traditions, the dialects,
the customs, and the popular superstitions of the different provinces
of Spain. Abd-al-Aziz easily reduced to obedience the remaining
rebellious cities of Andalusia, which, colonized in like manner,
remained ever faithful to their allegiance. A portion of Murcia was
also occupied; and unusually advantageous terms were, at the
surrender of Orihuela, accorded to the Christians through the
address of the Gothic general Theodomir, whom, after the death of
Roderick, a faction of the Goths had invested with the supreme
command.
The authorities are so contradictory that it is impossible to
ascertain how far into the enemy’s country Tarik penetrated after the
capture of Toledo. It is probable, however, that his operations were
mere inroads, destitute of historical importance. The spirit of the
nation was broken; its armies were scattered; its leaders killed or
enslaved; its capital in the hands of the enemy. The subjugation of
the Peninsula was virtually ended, and the successful general could
well afford to rest upon his laurels and devise means to avert the just
indignation of his superior, provoked by flagrant disobedience to his
orders, an offence which under the strict regulations of military law
was punishable with death.
The two captains met at Talavera, whither Tarik in his anxiety had
advanced, attended by his officers and loaded with costly presents,
the choicest spoil of the Visigothic capital. The envious spirit of
Musa, however, was not to be appeased by gifts whose splendor
only served to suggest the greater value of the plunder which he had
lost. He assailed his insubordinate lieutenant with bitter reproaches,
and, forgetting the magnitude of his recent services, even went so
far as to remind him of his former servile condition by striking him in
the presence of the entire army. Then placing him under arrest, he
hurried to Toledo, and ordered him instantly to collect and deliver all
the booty which had fallen into his hands at the surrender of the city.
Of the latter, the so-called table of Solomon, whose fame had long
before reached Musa, was by far the most valuable. Tarik,
thoroughly cognizant of the baseness and injustice of his
commander, and suspecting that he would appropriate as his own
the credit of this important prize, with an astuteness worthy of his
Berber origin, had secretly removed one of its emerald-studded feet.
In this condition it was delivered to Musa, who, being assured that it
was thus mutilated when found, had the missing foot replaced with
one of gold; no jewels of corresponding size being obtainable,
although the collections of individuals and the coffers of the Gothic
treasury were diligently ransacked for that purpose. Musa, having
secured the coveted booty, now deprived Tarik of his command, and
threw him into a dungeon. The keen foresight of the Berber chieftain,
who knew that such a step was only the prelude to assassination,
did not abandon him in this trying emergency. Having, through the
mediation of his friends, succeeded in bribing a messenger whom
Musa despatched to Damascus, a special envoy was sent by the
Khalif ordering the immediate release of the illustrious captain and
his restoration to authority. With unconcealed reluctance Musa
complied with the orders of his sovereign, and Tarik, relieved of his
chains, resumed his duties amidst the acclamations of the troops. A
temporary and apparent reconciliation was effected between the
antagonistic leaders, who in public treated each other with courtesy,
but in whose hearts smouldered the inextinguishable fires of mutual
hatred, kindled by unpardonable wrong and baffled enmity. With
united forces, eager for glory, they invaded Aragon. Each horseman
was provided with a small copper pot, a leathern bag for provisions,
and a bottle for water; the infantry carried nothing but their arms. The
camp equipage was loaded on trains of pack-mules. Military and
political considerations required and enforced the observance of the
strictest discipline. Non-combatants were unmolested. Pillage was
forbidden under pain of death, save in actual battle and during the
storming of cities. The religious prejudices of the people were
respected, and no property was destroyed except when resistance
or violence was offered the troops. The province was overrun, and
its capital, Saragossa, taken and settled by adventurers from Africa.
Upon the inhabitants of this city Musa imposed a fine new in the
annals of Islam, denominated the Contribution of Blood, which was
exacted before the army entered the gates and exempted the
conquered from annoyance. The Valley of the Ebro pleased the
colonists, who intermarried with the people, and the governor,
Hanash-Ibn-Ali, signalized his administration by the erection of a
splendid mosque, vestiges of which still remain. Catalonia and
Valencia next submitted to the common fate, and then the two
generals, reversing their course, marched to the wild region of the
West where, among the mist-enshrouded sierras of Galicia and the
Asturias, the remnant of the Visigothic nation, led by its honored
prelates and indomitable chieftains, had borne its venerated relics
and its household gods; to lay under such unpromising auspices the
foundations of a far grander and more powerful empire, destined in
after years to command the admiration and the terror of the world.
The reports of Musa to the Khalif show that the Arabs fully
appreciated the value and importance of their conquest. “In the
clearness of the sky and the beauty of its landscape it resembles
Syria; in softness of climate even Yemen is not its superior; in
profusion of flowers and delicacy of perfumes it suggests the luxury
of India; it rivals Egypt in the fertility of its soil, and China in the
variety and excellence of its minerals,” wrote the experienced
veteran to whom the wealth and resources of both Asia and Africa
were familiar. The multitude of captives acquired by the Moslems
struck the old general with surprise. “It is like the assembly of nations
on the Day of Judgment,” he exclaimed; although he doubtless
remembered that Mauritania had yielded its prisoners by the
hundred thousand, and human chattels were so cheap that it was
not an unusual occurrence for an able-bodied man to be sold in the
bazaar of Kairoan for a handful of pepper. A female merchant, who
dealt in trinkets and perfumes, left Toledo after its surrender with five
hundred slaves in her train. Thirty thousand Christian maidens,
selected for their beauty, were destined for the markets of the East.
The Jews especially reaped a rich harvest from the misfortunes of
their former oppressors. Profiting by the ignorance of the soldiers,
they purchased for trifling sums the sacred utensils of the altar, the
jewels which had graced the beauties of the court, and all the rich
and costly appliances of Gothic luxury. From the Saracen conquest,
with the enormous wealth it afforded them, dates the prominence
subsequently attained by the Hebrews in the political and financial
affairs of Europe.
The strange fatality which preserved for future greatness and
renown the broken fragments of the Visigothic monarchy, even now
at the very outset, when it seemed inevitable that the entire
Peninsula should become Mohammedan, asserted its mysterious
power. Tarik had reached Astorga and Musa was still at Lugo, when
a message was delivered from the Khalif Al-Walid ordering both
generals to return to Damascus. This step had been resolved upon,
not so much on account of the mutual hostility of the two leaders
which, manifested even in their despatches, seriously impaired the
prestige of the Moslem arms and menaced the stability of the
Moslem conquests, as from fear lest the ambition of Musa might lead
him to usurp the sovereignty of the newly acquired possessions.
Prudential considerations also prevented the appointment of Tarik as
governor of the Peninsula. His popularity was even greater than that
of Musa, and the remote situation of the conquered territory was but
too favorable for the establishment of an independent monarchy,
whose subjection in case of rebellion would be difficult, if not
impossible. The aspiring genius of the veteran commander had
formed a vast scheme of conquest, a project so grand as at first
sight to appear extravagant, yet which, after careful examination,
might be considered far from impracticable. It was his wish to
emulate the example and surpass the achievement of Hannibal by
traversing Europe, and to meet before the walls of Constantinople an
army which could co-operate with him in the siege and capture of the
Byzantine capital. Had this gigantic design been realized, the domain
of the Khalifate of Damascus would have far exceeded the limits of
the Roman Empire. He had seen with what ease the Visigothic
kingdom, possessed of incalculable wealth, and animated by the
military traditions of three centuries, had been subverted in a day.
The unprecedented success of their recent military operations had
induced the fanatical and credulous soldiery to regard themselves as
the special favorites of Allah. It was moreover a matter of common
notoriety that the able chieftain who had crushed, and then
converted, the hitherto independent tribes of the Libyan Desert and
the Atlas Mountains, and swept resistlessly over the plains of the
Peninsula, had, in campaigns which extended over an entire
generation, never failed in an enterprise or lost a battle. The very
mention of a crusade against the infidel roused the wildest passions
in the Moslem’s heart. Unlimited treasure was available for any
undertaking, however extensive; a consideration of but little moment,
however, with a force accustomed to be paid in booty, and whose
subsistence was wrested from the enemy. The barbarian monarchy
of France, perpetually vexed by internal dissensions, was not likely
to offer more serious impediments to invasion than those which had
vanished before the tempest of the Guadalete. Was it then
chimerical for Musa to hope that, with the combined aid of his own
genius and the invincible prowess of his veterans, he might add to
the domains of the successor of Mohammed the fairest regions of
Europe, in the very seat of the Papacy proclaim from the towers of
the Eternal City the doctrines of Islam, and, passing eastward,
exchange greetings upon the shores of the Bosphorus with his
friends and brethren of Syria? This plan of conquest, doubtless
suggested by the invasion of the Carthaginian general, but which
promised far more important results, owing to the thoroughly
disorganized condition of the provinces once constituting the Roman
Empire, an enterprise worthy of the ambition and daring of any
military leader, was unhesitatingly condemned by the suspicious
Khalif, who saw in its successful execution the portentous menace of
a rival monarchy. With inexpressible grief and vexation, yet, to some
degree, sustained by the hope that a personal interview might
accomplish what written explanation had failed to do, Musa prepared
to obey the mandate of his sovereign. In furtherance of this
resolution, and to gratify a not unreasonable vanity, he determined to
parade before the court and populace of Damascus the trophies of
Africa and Spain with a pomp proportionate to the splendor of those
conquests.
 A general rendezvous was appointed at Seville, now designated
as the capital of the kingdom, by reason of its proximity to the sea,
and its ease of access to the Moslem settlements of Africa. There
were assembled the spoil of palaces, the sacrilegious plunder of
churches, the booty of many a battle-field, the throngs of noble
captives, the insignia of fallen royalty. Ponderous vehicles were
constructed for the conveyance of this treasure, whose value for
once exceeded the wildest estimates of Oriental exaggeration. When
all was ready, Musa, having appointed his son Abd-al-Aziz viceroy
during his absence, crossed over to Ceuta. In obedience to orders
issued previously to his arrival, every town of Al-Maghreb in the line
of march contributed its contingent to increase the magnificence of
the triumph. The fierce chieftains of Mauritania trooped after the
victor in the character of warriors, proselytes, or slaves. Heaped in
picturesque confusion upon endless strings of camels were the
primitive spoils of the Desert—rude weapons, defensive armor,
wearing apparel, and coarse trappings upon which had been
lavished all the resources of barbaric decoration. Hundreds of the
wild and beautiful Kabyle maidens, selected for their superior charms
and fettered with chains of gold, toiled wearily along the dusty roads
which ultimately led to the distant harems of Syria. Four hundred
Gothic nobles, in whose veins coursed the royal blood, clothed in
gorgeous robes secured by golden girdles, and crowned with
diadems, represented the departed fortunes of the dynasties of
Iberia. Thirty wagons hardly sufficed to convey the enormous
quantities of gold, silver, and precious stones—objects of public
ostentation, private luxury, and personal adornment—the gem-
encrusted receptacles of the Host, the costly vessels of the mass,
besides other and innumerable mementos of the most finished
efforts of Visigothic opulence and Byzantine art. Among the guards
of Musa, splendidly equipped, rode descendants of the proudest
families of the Koreish, and the most distinguished officers of the
Moslem army. In the rear of this brilliant cavalcade followed, to the
number of more than a hundred thousand, the less important
captives taken in the campaigns of Africa and Spain.
Arrived at Kairoan, Musa divided the government of Africa among
his three sons Abdallah, Abd-al-Melik, and Abd-al-Ala, in the hope of
perpetuating in his family the authority which he realized that he now
held by an uncertain tenure, and then resumed his journey.
Tidings of his approach having preceded him, the wanderers of
the Desert and the inhabitants of the cities of the coast alike poured
forth in countless multitudes to do him honor. It was a strange and
impressive spectacle, one which had not been seen since the laurel-
crowned victor, preceded by his trophies and his captives, had
traversed the streets of Rome amid the acclamations of the
populace, to deposit his offerings upon the shrine of the Capitoline
Jupiter. With the progress of the triumphal procession the number of
curious spectators increased, reaching its culmination at Cairo,
where the way was blocked by the teeming myriads from the banks
of the Nile. During the course of the journey, Musa, elated beyond
measure by the adulation heaped upon him, was prompted to the
commission of an act of tyranny which seriously prejudiced his
fortunes. Desirous of neglecting no opportunity of magnifying his
importance, and utterly unscrupulous in appropriating the credit due
to others, he demanded of Mugayth-al-Rumi the captive governor of
Cordova, whom the latter held as his slave, and designed as a
present to the Khalif. Upon the refusal of that officer to comply with
his demand, Musa ordered the immediate execution of the Gothic
prince, and by this deed of violence and injustice increased the
enmity of Mugayth-al-Rumi, whose sympathies had already been
enlisted on the side of Tarik, his friend and former comrade in arms.
Hardly had Musa passed the borders of Syria, when there was
placed in his hands a secret message from Suleyman, heir
presumptive of the Khalifate, announcing the fatal illness of his
brother Al-Walid, and desiring him not to advance further until he
received authentic information of the death of his sovereign.
Suleyman was induced to make this request, not only on account of
the prestige which his accession to the throne would derive by the
public exhibition of the vast plunder of the nations of the West, but
also because the personal gifts presented to the family of the Khalif,
presumably of immense value, would be lost to his successor. Musa,
however, whose native tact and shrewdness seem to have been
diminished by age and disappointment, paid no attention to the
representations of Suleyman; and without an hour’s delay marched
on to Damascus. He entered the city on Friday, and proceeding to
the great mosque, where Al-Walid was at prayer, entered at the head
of the captive nobles and chieftains, all of whom were clothed in the
costumes of their respective countries and adorned with the insignia
of their rank. After the service the Khalif embraced Musa, clothed
him with his own robe, and presented him with fifty thousand dinars,
in addition to pensioning his sons and the most worthy of his
subordinates. The inferior captives and the royal fifth were then
placed in the custody of the officers of the Treasury. The wonderful
table was, as Tarik had conjectured it would be, claimed by Musa,
who, on being interrogated concerning the golden foot, declared it
was in that condition when he found it. Thereupon, Tarik, who was
present, advanced, claimed the honor of the capture, and after
relating the stratagem he had practised, produced the missing
portion in corroboration of his testimony, to the speechless rage and
confusion of his rival. Al-Walid, who estimated this work of art solely
by the value of its materials, caused the jewels to be removed, and
then sent the frame of the table as an offering to the temple of
Mecca.
Forty days after Musa’s arrival at Damascus Al-Walid died, and
Suleyman ascended the throne. The latter, notorious for the ferocity
of his disposition and the vulgarity and gluttony of his tastes, lost no
time in imposing upon Musa the full weight of his displeasure. The
first judicial act of his administration was the arraignment of the
veteran general, now more than eighty years of age. The evidence of
corruption, extortion, and tyranny, to which Musa could make but a
feeble defence, having been presented, he was found guilty,
sentenced to be stripped of his property, and required to pay a fine of
two hundred thousand pieces of gold. In addition to this severe
penalty, he was also forced to remain chained to a post under a
blazing sun, as a punishment for having publicly reproached the
Khalif for his ingratitude. Through the intercession of friends he was
released after many hours of torture, and permitted to retire from the
court, accompanied by a single faithful slave. His remaining years
were passed in poverty; dependent upon alms, he begged his bread
from the Bedouin tribes, putting aside every dirhem he could obtain
to be applied to the payment of his fine, until he died in abject
wretchedness at Wada-al-Kora, a remote settlement of Arabia. Such
was the miserable end of one of the greatest military leaders Islam
ever produced. His courage was dauntless, his sagacity almost
amounted to inspiration, his resources were inexhaustible. His zeal,
which bordered upon fanaticism, assured him of the favor of Allah,
and infused into his troops the most unbounded confidence in his
genius. The bursts of his oratory rivalled in eloquence and
enthusiasm the rhetorical efforts of the greatest preachers of the
age. He observed the ceremonial of his faith with scrupulous
diligence. His prudence and the accuracy of his perceptions were
proverbial. In all his experience, where he held command in person,
no enemy ever prevailed over him. His suspicious nature and
intuitive knowledge of mankind made him more than a match for
statesmen whose lives had been passed in the atmosphere of
courts. Increasing his wealth by the most questionable methods, he
excluded his companions from all participation in his prosperity, and
under his incessant peculation the royal revenues were sensibly
diminished, an offence which more than all others insured his ruin.
Thus, in spite of his extraordinary talents, his avarice—whose
gratification no bond of friendship, no obligation of loyalty, no precept
of religion, and no fear of punishment could restrain—proved his
destruction, and the famous commander who had acquired
kingdoms, and accumulated wealth which excited the envy of
princes, died poor and despised; an outcast in the centre of a barren
and lonely region far from the scenes of his glory, and an object of
curiosity and compassion to the barbarian shepherds and brigands
of the Desert. History is silent as to the fate of Tarik after the
settlement of his controversy with Musa. Had he been prominent
thereafter in either good or evil fortune, it is certain that the Arabian
chroniclers would have mentioned the fact. It is probable that he was
permitted to pass the remainder of his life in obscurity and comfort, if
not in luxury; and it is beyond question that he was not intrusted with
any important employment; for the jealous court of Damascus feared
the ambition and the ability of the distinguished general who had
achieved the most splendid conquest of his time. And thus
disappeared from the stage of the world the second of those noted
characters to whom was due the acquisition of the beautiful land of
Iberia by the crown of the Khalifate. Of Count Julian, the third and
last of them, whom the undiscerning prejudice of monkish writers
and the animosity of churchman and Spaniard, intensified by baffled
ambition and injured pride, have for thirty-six generations branded
with the name of traitor, we have accounts but little less
unsatisfactory. His nationality, his antecedents, his relations to the
Goths, the origin of his appointment as governor of Ceuta, the scope
of his authority, his obligations to the court of Toledo, are, for the
most part, matters of conjecture. Even the story of the outrage to his
family, the immediate cause of his defection, though supported by
the testimony of almost every Arab chronicler, has been disputed.
There are excellent reasons for presuming that he occupied the
position of a mere tributary of the King of the Visigoths, and had
voluntarily surrendered his daughter as a pledge of his fidelity. Under
these circumstances his allegiance could not have been deeply
grounded; and his conduct appears under a less odious aspect than
the treason of an hereditary vassal would have done, especially
when it is remembered that he was not the aggressor. The general
and unqualified abhorrence with which his name is associated can
be traced to ecclesiastical writers, who have neglected no
opportunity to blacken the character of every political adversary,
heretic, and apostate in the eyes of posterity.
After the Conquest, Count Julian retired to Ceuta, which city, with
a portion of the contiguous territory, was erected into a principality
and bestowed upon him as a reward for his services.
Notwithstanding his intimate Mohammedan associations, he and his
immediate descendants remained steadfast in the Christian faith.
The preponderating influence of Islam was, however, shown in the
second generation of his descendants; and his great-grandson Abu-
Suleyman-Ayub, who lived in the tenth century, and had studied
under the greatest doctors of the time, became famous as one of the
most acute and learned expounders of Moslem jurisprudence. The
posterity of Tarik was known and esteemed for several centuries in
Spain, until his identity and remembrance were finally lost in the civil
wars and proscriptions which accompanied the establishment of the
dynasty of the Almohades.
 The engagements entered into with their allies were performed by
the Moslems with scrupulous fidelity. Oppas was rewarded with the
government of Toledo. The royal demesnes, amounting to three
thousand of the richest estates of the kingdom, were restored to the
House of Witiza. Many benefits at once resulted to the masses from
the Arab conquest. The condition of the serfs was greatly improved.
Tribute was regulated by law, and ceased to be dependent upon the
capricious demands of avarice. The burdens of taxation were,
however, still excessive; the cultivator paid four-fifths of the products
of the land to the owner; from those who tilled the public domain—
which comprised a fifth part of the conquered territory—one-third of
the results of all manual industry was exacted. The tax of the landed
proprietor was approximately twenty per cent. of his income, that of
the tributary Christian varied from twelve to forty-eight dirhems—
sixteen to sixty-four dollars—a year. A treaty, whose provisions
determined the obligations of lord and serf, of subject and sovereign,
and signed by Tarik and the representatives of the Gothic nobility
before the arrival of Musa, was subsequently ratified by the
government of Damascus. Upon this treaty were based all the laws
which governed the tributaries in the Peninsula during the long
period of Moslem dominion.
Less than fourteen months sufficed for the complete and
irrevocable overthrow of the Visigothic empire. Within two years, the
authority of the Moslem was firmly established from the
Mediterranean to the Pyrenees. History presents no similar instance
of the celerity, the completeness, the permanence of conquest.
Political discord, social disintegration, the uncertainty of government,
the insubordination of the noble, the rapacity of the priest, the
despair of the slave, were among the most important aids to
Mohammedan success. The aspirations of all not included in the
privileged orders were repressed by the inexorable tyranny of caste.
The middle class, from whose exertion and industry is necessarily
derived the prosperity of a nation, had long been absorbed by the
vast body of serfs whose labors contributed to the wealth, and
whose numbers swelled the retinues, of the palatine and the bishop.
The same conditions prevailed which had three centuries before
heralded the fall of the Roman Empire. Force dominated everything.
The spirit of individual freedom, the most prominent feature of the
Teutonic constitution, had become extinct. The royal prerogative was
subordinated to the claims of the nobility, the latter—not, however,
without protest—had fallen under the dominion of the priesthood.
The prospect of affluence, the enjoyment of power, the indulgence of
luxury, were most easily obtained through the avenues of
ecclesiastical preferment. A long peace, attributable largely to
geographical isolation, had removed alike the necessity for martial
exercises and the incentives to military distinction. Concentration of
power, in spite of apparent anarchy, in the end tending to the
exercise of absolute despotism, had become the controlling principle
of government. Yet all of these evidences of national decadence are
scarcely adequate to explain the sudden collapse of a great
monarchy. Disappointed ambition, organized treason, the wholesale
defection of the Jews, contributed their weighty influence to hasten
and complete the catastrophe. Among the Visigoths, patriotism, a
quality necessarily dependent upon individual attachment to one’s
country, was unknown. Public spirit had been supplanted by a thirst
for authority, in the gratification of which all moral considerations
were ignored. The facility with which the Peninsula was won offers a
suggestive contrast to the enormous difficulties which attended its
reconquest. The fate of the Visigothic domination was determined in
a week. After two short years, nothing remained of its greatness but
the melancholy souvenirs of an enslaved people. The conquerors, in
their turn, underwent the same experience. The irreconcilable
elements of which they were composed, from the very beginning
disclosed the defects of their polity which portended inevitable
destruction. These elements were far more active and dangerous
than those that had undermined the strength of the Gothic state.
Nevertheless, it required many centuries of conflict to expel from
Western Europe the race whose light-armed horsemen had, almost
without resistance, swept the country from Bætica to Provence, from
the mountains to the sea.
Thus passed into the hands of another branch of the Semitic race
a country which, in former ages, had long flourished under the rule of
Tyre and Carthage. Its attractions had been for centuries the theme
of every poet, its wealth the aim of every conqueror. Despite
repeated changes of government, invasions, conspiracies,
revolutions, in its inaccessible fastnesses, its autochthons, the
Basques, had preserved unimpaired their liberty and their national
characteristics, a fate which distinguished them from all the other
nations of Europe. On the fields of the Peninsula the most renowned
soldiers of Rome had learned the art of war. The highest civilization
of the Teutonic race had been attained in its cities. In its tribunals the
most complete system of jurisprudence the world had until then
known was perfected. The dignity of its ecclesiastical councils had
maintained their independence, and enabled the Spanish hierarchy
to withstand alike the insidious plots and the aggressive usurpations
of the Papacy. But, of the many races of strangers which had
established themselves within its borders, none had been of such a
pronounced and original type as that which now occupied all but a
small corner of its ample domain. The causes which led to, and the
results which proceeded from, this national catastrophe present one
of the most curious phases of civil organization and mental
development. That an exotic people should at one blow overturn a
monarchy of three centuries’ duration is certainly extraordinary. But
that this same people, who possessed nothing in common with the
vanquished, no acquaintance with the arts, no knowledge of
civilization, should, in a few years, found an empire whose
inhabitants had already become eminent in every accomplishment
which renders nations learned, illustrious, and powerful, and be able
to take precedence of all their contemporaries, is far more
extraordinary. For an extended period, the affairs of the Peninsula
had been ripe for a domestic upheaval. Little respect remained
among the masses for the traditions of a monarchy once elective,
now nominally hereditary, but whose crown was always obtainable
by purchase, assassination, or intrigue. The piety of the priesthood
had been supplanted by an insatiable thirst for temporal power. In
every part of the body politic flourished antagonistic religious
doctrines, racial prejudices, factious opinions, and discordant social
interests. The military spirit had disappeared. The authority of the
civil magistrate was despised. The enforcement of the laws was
regulated according to the rank and influence of the offender rather
than by the measure of his guilt. Rival candidates for the throne
contended for the glittering prize with all the infamous arts of the
conspirator and the demagogue. Organized bands of robbers preyed
upon the defenceless; and their chieftains, disdaining disguise,
stalked insolently through the streets of the great cities. Boundless
luxury and misgovernment had brought in their train a degree of
corruption which equalled that caused by the worst excesses of the
Cæsars. The labors of the husbandman for two successive seasons
had been fruitless, and hunger and disease in their most fearful form
contributed in no small degree to the accumulated misery of the
nation. In every community the members of a united and isolated
sect under the ban of sanguinary laws, yet still powerful in intellect,
in wealth, and in political craft, labored as one man for the
humiliation of their enemies and their own emancipation. At first the
invasion was considered as a mere inroad, and no one supposed
that the occupation of the country would be permanent. With the
settlement of colonies, the opening of seaports to the commerce of
the East, the partition of lands, and the erection of mosques,
however, the Visigoths recognized the full extent of the calamity
which had befallen them. But the moderation of their new rulers
tempered the bitterness of defeat. The payment of tribute,
proportioned to the degree of resistance or obedience to the laws,
insured protection to the humblest peasant. The orthodox zealot was
allowed to perform the ceremonies of his ritual without interference;
the heretic could offer his petitions without apprehension from the
furious efforts of sectarian hatred. Ecclesiastical dignitaries
exercised in peace the functions of their calling, and the monkish
chronicler penned fierce anathemas against his indulgent masters
within hearing of the call to prayer from a hundred minarets. The
accounts of Catholic writers, in which the most flagrant outrages are
attributed to the Saracens, are manifestly exaggerations or
falsehoods. Still, there can be no doubt that the inevitable accidents
of warfare were productive of much suffering. An inconsiderable
number of monks, whose clamors and insulting demeanor made
them conspicuously offensive, were martyred. A few hundred nuns
exchanged the orthodox companionship of canons and bishops for
the delights of the seraglio. Fields of grain were given to the torch.
Magnificent villas were levelled with the ground. Altars were
despoiled of their treasures and sacred relics trodden under foot. But
no pledge of security was violated; and absolute immunity in person,
property, and religion was afforded by timely submission—a privilege
appreciated by the majority of the people, and contemned only by
intemperate fanatics who cursed the generous enemy whose
prosperity they shared and whose indulgence they abused.
The ancient judicature was respected, and its regulations,
subordinated to the legal procedure of the ruling power, were
permitted to prevail among the vanquished, so far as they did not
directly conflict with those of the Code of Islam. By its example of
equity, toleration, and mercy, the new government rapidly gained the
attachment of its subjects; the Jew prospered, the Christian forgot
his bigotry, and the slave eagerly repeated the formula which
released him from bondage and placed him on an equality with
kings.
In the dark recesses of the cloister, without knowledge of the outer
world, without gratitude for the clemency which permitted him to live,
without appreciation of the increasing benefits of civilization, the
surly friar, alone in his malice and his ignorance, nourished a spirit of
sullen animosity, and with scourge and haircloth performed his
frequent penance; listening, with a vague foreboding of even greater
evil to his Church and order, to the muezzin’s daily repetition of that
ominous monotheistic maxim—ever before the eyes of the fanatic
Moslem, whether it appeared carved amidst the marble foliage of his
temples, or, emblazoned upon his banners in letters of gold, it
glittered in the van of his victorious armies—“There is no God but the
Immortal, the Eternal, who neither begets nor was begotten, and
who hath neither companion nor equal.”