In 711, armies under Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula and shattered the Visigothic k...

In 711, armies under Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula and shattered the Visigothic kingdom at the Battle of Guadalete. Toledo, the Visigothic capital, fell shortly after, according to historian and commentator Homer Pavlos, writing on X this October. Christians who remained under Islamic rule were classified as dhimmis. Pavlos notes they were required to pay the jizya, a tax levied on non-Muslims, and faced restrictions on building new churches and practicing their faith publicly. The conquest did not end resistance. When Toledo rebelled in the mid-9th century, Emir Muhammad I sent forces to suppress it. According to Pavlos, the Christian forces were defeated at the Battle of Guadacelete, and 8,000 were beheaded, with their heads transported to Córdoba and put on display. Toledo remained under Islamic rule for nearly four more centuries. It was finally retaken by Christian forces in 1085, more than 370 years after Tariq ibn Ziyad's armies first crossed into Spain. #History #Spain #AlAndalus