The Battle of Guadalete (river), near present-day Jerez, took place in the year 711 and confronted the army of the Visigoth king Don Rodrigo and the Muslims (mostly Berbers) of North Africa led by Tarik, lieutenant of the governor Muza.
In the year 710 the Visigothic king Witiza died, a confrontation took place between two factions of the Visigoths:on the one hand Ágila, son of Witiza, supported by his brothers and his uncle Oppas, archbishop of Seville, descendants of Wamba, and on the other side Don Rodrigo, Duke of Bética, descendant of the Chindasvinto family. Civil wars were frequent among the Goths, since their monarchy was elective and not hereditary. After a brief battle, the hosts of Don Rodrigo win, proclaiming himself king in Toledo.
At this point, we need to make a parenthesis to insert some “legend” . There are two legends about the background of the entry of the Muslims in the peninsula.
- Count Don Julián, governor of the plaza of Ceuta, kept Muslims at bay in North Africa. He had a daughter named Florinda, the Cava for Muslims, who was sent to the court of Toledo for her education. In Toledo Don Rodrigo fell in love with her, but since it was not reciprocated, he forced her. Florinda, outraged, returned to Ceuta where she told her father what had happened, he swore revenge against the king. He contacted Muza and proposed handing over the plaza and facilitating access to the peninsula with transport ships. The Muslim governor reported it to Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, and the caliph ordered him to make an incursion before embarking on the conquest. He was sent to Tarif with a small group in 2 Gothic ships - they landed in Tarifa, hence its name -, the result of the raid confirmed everything Don Julián had said. They also contacted Ágila, an enemy of Don Rodrigo, to get him involved in this plot in exchange for the Toledo throne.
- There was a cave in Toledo in which, according to the Visigothic tradition, each new monarch had to add a padlock so that it would not be profaned, since inside it housed a curse. Don Rodrigo's curiosity was stronger than tradition and he ordered the cave to be opened to check what it contained. To everyone's surprise, there was no treasure or relic, only a buried chest. Inside, a piece of tapestry showing some warriors on horseback, dressed like the Muslims, cutting off heads and destroying everything. In the lower margin a legend "whoever dares to desecrate this chest will be guilty of the loss of the kingdom." The chest was ordered to be closed and the entrance to the cave plugged.
Not to make this post longer, tomorrow the resolution of the Battle of Guadalete.
