Battle of Guadalete

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Battle of Guadalete

Date	July 19, 711
Location	Near the Guadalete River
Result	Decisive Muslim victory

Combatants

Commanders

Strength

20,000?-50,000?

7,000?-12,000?

Casualties

20,000?-30,000?
^{[citation needed]}

1000?-1,500?
^{[citation needed]}

Umayyad conquest of Hispania
Guadalete – Toulouse – Covadonga – Tours

The Battle of Guadalete took place July 19, 711, at the Guadalete River (or La Janda Lake) in the southern extreme of the Iberian peninsula. It was quite possibly a decisive defeat for the Visigothic king Roderic (or Rodrigo), who disappeared or fled and was not seen killed, and an important victory for the Muslim forces that defeated him, about 7,000-12,000 Arabs and Berbers led by Tariq ibn Ziyad.

It has been conjectured that most of the prominent members of the Visigothic establishment, including the royal court, were also killed along with the king. This may explain the absolute lack of organized resistance to the invaders after the battle by the Visigothic state. Only scanty remainders of the Visigothic army escaped the massacre and sheltered in Ecija, near Seville. Shortly after, the city was put under siege and it capitulated. The governor of Northern Africa, Musa ibn Nusayr, who had sent Tariq, followed the next year with an army of about 18,000. The Moors proceeded to conquer most of the Iberian peninsula within the next five years.

Pelayo of Asturias, a Visigothic nobleman, escaped the Moors and went on to found the Kingdom of Asturias, resisting Muslim overlordship from the northwest corner of the peninsula. It is not clear whether Pelayo fought at Guadalete, however most historians believe he was not present. Pelayo is credited with beginning the Reconquista at the Battle of Covadonga.

[edit] See also

Collins, Roger, Early Medieval Spain. Unity and Diversity (400-1000), The McMillan Ltd, London, 1983.
Martin, Laiy, Arab Conquests, Penguin Books, New York, 1933