The Conquest of Toledo

فتح طليطلة

c. 93 AH

In the year 93 Musa dismissed Tariq and sent him against Toledo ¹. In al-Baladhuri: Musa ibn Nusayr wrote Tariq ibn Ziyad a harsh letter — for his hazarding the Muslims and presuming on his own judgment in the raid — ordering him not to pass Cordoba; Musa marched to Cordoba of al-Andalus, Tariq appeased him and he was pleased, and Tariq opened the city of Toledo — the kingdom-city of al-Andalus on the Franks' side — seizing there a great table which Musa ibn Nusayr presented to al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik at Damascus when he returned in year 96, al-Walid being ill.

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At a glance

Era: The Umayyad Period
Region: al-Andalus & Europe
Review: Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In space

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

al-Tabari reports that Musa ibn Nusayr removed Tariq ibn Ziyad from al-Andalus in 93 AH and sent him to Toledo. ¹

al-Baladhuri's account

al-Baladhuri relates that Musa wrote a harsh letter to Tariq for having deceived the Muslims, and ordered him not to go beyond Cordoba. Musa then marched to Cordoba, and Tariq placated him and he was content with him, and Tariq conquered Toledo. There he found a great table, which Musa had sent as a gift to al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik in Damascus in 96 AH. ²

al-Maqqari reports from some history books that many treasures were found in Toledo, among them the table of Solomon. ³

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: طارق بن زياد· موسى بن نصير· al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik
Occurred at: Toledo

People and things also explored

Conquest of al-Andalus· The Sibayn Reclamation and Maslama's Estates· Building of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus· The Conquest of Tangier· The Franks' taking of Toledo· The Founding of al-Ramla· The Fitting-out of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim· The Battle of Wadi Salit (c. 240 AH)

Sources

Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.6 p.481
Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib — al-Maqqari , p.325

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Conquest of Toledo”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/conquest-of-tulaytula/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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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.