The Conquest of Tangier

فتح طنجة

89? AH

In al-Baladhuri on al-Waqidi's report: Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan sent Musa ibn Nusayr — a mawla of Banu Umayya whose origin was Ayn al-Tamr, or, some say, of Arasha of Bali, or of Lakhm — as governor over Ifriqiya; others say he held it in al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik's day in year 89. He opened Tangier and settled it — the first to lodge there — laying out khittas for the Muslims, and his cavalry reached Sus al-Adna — between which and Sus al-Aqsa lie some twenty-odd days — where he settled them, took captives, and they submitted to him.

Overview

al-Baladhuri, on the authority of al-Waqidi, relates that Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan sent Musa ibn Nusayr as governor of Ifriqiya. It is also said that he appointed him in the time of al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik in 89 AH. ¹

The conquest

He conquered Tangier and settled in it, and he was the first to settle there, and he laid out the Muslims' quarters in it. His horsemen reached al-Sus al-Adna, where he settled them and took captives from them, and they submitted to him. The date of the conquest is disputed. ¹

The commander on one account: Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan.

Conquest of al-Andalus

Tabari reports under the year 91 that Musa ibn Nusayr raided al-Andalus and that towns and fortresses were opened at his hands. The index heading 'Conquest of al-Andalus' falls under the year 92. According to al-Baladhuri, on the authority of al-Waqidi, Tariq ibn Ziyad, Musa's deputy, raided al-Andalus; he was the first to raid it, in the year 92. Alyan, governor of the strait to al-Andalus, met him, and Tariq granted him safe-conduct on condition that he carry Tariq and his companions to al-Andalus in ships. When they arrived, its people fought them and he conquered it, also in the year 92; its king, they claim, was of the al-Ashban, whose origin was Isfahan. The book notes that the conquest came after a reconnaissance raid led by Tarif ibn Malik in Ramadan 91 AH (July 710 CE), then Tariq ibn Ziyad's crossing in Rajab 92 AH, and that the book rejects the reports that make booty the cause of the conquest. The book says that Musa set out from al-Qayrawan in 93 AH and took Carmona, then Seville and Merida; he met Tariq at Toledo in late 94 AH, then reached Galicia and the Asturias; and that al-Walid summoned him to Damascus, where he arrived in 96 AH before al-Walid's death.

The Conquest of Tangier

At a glance

Overview

The conquest

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Time

Conquest of al-Andalus