and aid him in the conquest of Spain. To
test the good faith of Julian, Musa demanded that he should first invade
Andalusia himself. This he did, taking over a small force in two vessels,
overrunning the coast country, killing many of its people, and returning
with a large booty in slaves and plunder.

In the summer of 710 a Berber named Tarif was sent over to spy out the
land, and in the spring of 711 the army of invasion was led over by Tarik
Ibn Zeyad, a valiant chief, who had gained great glory in the wars with
the Berber tribes. Who Tarik was cannot be told. He was of humble origin,
probably of Persian birth, but possessed of a daring spirit that was to
bring him the highest fame. He is described as a tall man, with red hair
and a white complexion, blind of one eye, and with a mole on his hand. The
Spanish historians call him Tarik el Tuerto, meaning either "one-eyed" or
"squint-eyed." Such was the man whom Musa sent to begin the conquest of
Spain.

The army of invasion consisted of seven thousand men,--a handful to conquer
a kingdom. They were nearly all Moorish and Berber cavalry, there being
only three hundred Arabians of pure blood, most of whom were officers.
Landing in Spain, for a time they found no one to meet them. Roderic was
busy with his army in the north and knew naught of this invasion of his
kingdom, and for two months Tarik ravaged the land at his will. But at
length the Gothic king, warned of his danger, began a hasty march
southward, sending orders in advance to levy troops in all parts of the
kingdom, the rallying place being Cordova.

It was a large army which he thus got together, but they were ill-trained,
ill-disciplined, and ill-disposed to their king. Ninety thousand there
were, as Arab historians tell us, while Tarik had but twelve thousand,
Musa having sent him five thousand more. But the large army was a mob,
half-armed, and lacking courage and discipline; the small army was a
compact and valorous body, used to victory, fearless, and impetuous.

It was on Sunday, the 19th of July, 711, that the two armies came face to
face on the banks of the Guadalete, a river whose waters traverse the
plain of Sidonia, in which the battle was fought. It was one of the
decisive battles in the world's history, for it gave the peninsula of
Spain for eight centuries to Arab dominion. The story of how this battle
was fought is, therefore, among the most important of the historical tales
of Spain.

Rod