Dark era of the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula, located in the area that today covers Spain, Portugal and the passage of Gibraltar; It has been a scenario of different conflicts during history, such as the Second Punic War, Germanic invasions, along with the arrival of the Visigoths and the arrival of Muslims in the area in 711.
With the arrival of Muslims to the Peninsula, a period of "darkness" emerged, from which there are no sources written by the Visigoths of the area; Because of that, today it is a mystery to most researchers, not knowing what happened in the period in which Muslims ruled, 711 until 756, at which time some sources written by chroniclers from Mozarabic chroniclers of area.
This is why, then, a construction and analysis of what happened during the year in which Muslims arrived, which would be in 711 until 756 will be carried out below. For this, various primary and secondary sources will be used, such as: "Occupation of Toledo by Muslims", which belongs to a Mozarabic chronicle, that is, someone from Christian religion who lived with Muslims and the Islamic religion present in The area at that time, that is why the source is anonymous. Also, Asturian chronicles will be used, which consist of primary sources for the study of the Kingdom of Asturias, some may have been manipulated idiologically, the chronicles include dates, names and events that triggered the creation of the Asturian kingdom such as “ Calamities of Spain before Muslim emergence ”and" Muslims invade the Visigothic kingdom ". The source will also be occupied: “The Teodomiro Pact with Abd Al-Aziz.”In addition, history books and articles that deal with the subject.
To begin with, the context of the Iberian Peninsula must be understood; How the Muslims arrived at the Peninsula and what was the situation of the Visigoths at the time of their arrival.
Islam arises in the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century, with Muhammad, its prophet. Before Muhammad, the Peninsula and the Arabic world was an area of abundant trade, influenced by the Silk Route, in addition, at that time, "the pre -bands spoke different languages and practice various religions". Mecca, was the Cultural Center of the Arabian Peninsula, then Muhammad, with its beliefs about the new religion, had to flee from Mecca and took refuge in Medina in 622 for its new beliefs. After his death in 632, Islam expanded throughout the area thanks to his successors, the caliphs. His mission was to invite people to the new religion, so in some cases they were tolerant to be able to influence the different areas.
Later, in 644 "Muslims conquered the entire Persian Empire", then they faced the Byzantine empire in the current area of Turkey and Armenia, so the expansion by the north stopped due to the forces of the Byzantines , although, they continued their expansion in North Africa. In the Umayyas dynasty, Muslims arrived at the Iberian Peninsula in 711.
At the time the Muslims arrived at the Peninsula, the Visigoth kingdom was going through a crisis. In 589, with King Recaredo, the kingdom became Catholicism after the development of the Council III of Toledo.
Then, the king “Witiza, who would have 20 years scarce at the beginning to reign as a single monarch, died young: he would not have turned 30 when he died at the beginning of 710.”, So in the kingdom there was a civil war, since, there were no suitable successors for the throne, which is why an assembly was organized in which Rodrigo was declared as king.
It is here where Muslims initiate the invasion of the Peninsula, according to diverse, Fuentes, the invasion was a political strategy, since the clan of King Witiza did not want to recognize the new king, so they went to the governor of the area of the area of the area of Gibraltar, Julian, to let the Muslims pass, "the Witizanos request that the Arabs intervened in Spain in favor of their political claims", so in 711, Muslims, under the command of Tarik, crossed The Strait and went to the capital.
At the time this happened, the king was in the north fighting the Basques, so he left the northern campaign and marched south, to be able to stop the Muslims. They had a confrontation in the battle of Guadalete, in which King Rodrigo died along with his entire army. After the defeat, the Muslims had free access to the peninsula, since there were no forces that stopped them and the Visigothic kingdom no longer had a representative, it is here that the period begins in which there are no sources of what happened by Catholic populations against Muslims.
The sources, as stated above, addresses the issue of invasion as terror and the "end of the world" for the Visigoths. This is reflected in the second source: "The calamities of Spain in the face of Muslim irruption" and in the third: "Muslims invade the Visigothic kingdom". These sources belong to Asturian Chronicles, written about the thirteenth century, since in the sources they refer to Spain, so it follows that this source is after the Muslim invasion. Therefore, several visions about Muslims for the Goths are highlighted.
At the source: "The calamities of Spain in the face of Muslim emerge. The author also names several facts that have changed history, showing disasters of humanity "leaving aside the innumerable disasters that from Adam until today caused". Also, in the third source: "Muslims invade the Visigothic kingdom" refers to what was previously appointed, since, the author tells what happened after Rodrigo’s death and at the moment when Muslims take Toledo, the capital of the kingdom of the kingdom Visigoth, saying that: "According to their sins, Spain collapsed in 380 of the Goths". It is here that he takes up the idea of divine punishment. Since, when the kingdom became Catholicism for King Recaredo, the thought of the kingdom was changed and the king was used as a representative of God, that is why Rodrigo died in the battle of Guadalete, the kingdom collapsed easily , because people did not have the king, who represented God and was the administrator of the kingdom.
On the other hand, in the councils were issues that somehow protected the King, since, being a Catholic kingdom, the king, as stated above, was the "representative" of God, so that, if someone was He went against the king, would also go against God. This idea is reflected in the conflicts that happened after Recaredo died; For example, what happened with Witiza, when Rodrigo was chosen, who did not want him to be the king, went against, so when the Muslims arrived, it was believed that they would only kill the king and leave, but It was not so, they stayed on the peninsula. That is why it was a divine punishment, since they did not respect the laws created in the councils, the same with Rome, the people of the empire concentrated on wealth and left God aside, so that the invasions of the barbarians were Your punishment.
Also, the first source: "Occupation of Toledo for Muslims" talks about the vision of the villagers in the face of the arrival of Muslims and their occupation in the Peninsula. This source was written approximately 754 and in it the situation in which some areas of the Peninsula in front of the Muslim domain were highlighted, showing a dark side in front of the invaders, since the author says that “they refuse to Obey, terrified by fear, and try to flee to lots, die of hunger and various deaths ”. This shows that the population was afraid of the actions that Muslims had taken, although, in the fourth source, called: “The Teodomir the citizens of the kingdom, following the same logic that the kingdom already had before the arrival of the invaders.
A personal tribute consisting of a metallic dinar, four wheat and four barley, four must, four vinegar measures, two honey and two of oil must be paid a year. This rate will be reduced to the unit for slaves.
This source was written in 713, two years after the arrival of Muslims to the Peninsula, so the tolerance of these is reflected in front of the Visigoth treaties, since at the end of the source, he names All witnesses present in the treaty. In addition, the resources that are requested, are mostly commercial and easy to obtain from the earth, so that any citizen could obtain it without complications, also, being an annual pay, the collection was facilitated. But unlike the first source: "Occupation of Toledo for Muslims", this was written in 754, for that time, Muslims had already conquered most of the Peninsula and had already faced the francs in the North, "the progress of Muslim armies in Europe was slowed by the Franks in 732". After the battle of Poitiers, the Muslims were defeated by Carlos Martel, so the expansion stopped and dedicated themselves to governing the Peninsula, in addition, the Muslims initially were tolerant to the Christians but after the defeat with the Franks, It is speculated that the presence of Christianity became more radical. It may be that when fighting with a Christian kingdom that faced them, some kind of resentment was created towards the Christian or calex unable to expand more in Europe, they decided to “squeeze” everything they could of the peninsula, so they turned to Measures to persecute Christians, which is why most of the sources present have no authors, because if Muslims came to find someone who spoke ill of them, the author could be executed or persecuted by Muslim authorities.
In conclusion, the period in which Muslims ruled on the Peninsula (711-756), was an uncertain period in terms of how the Christian society lived the invasion. Since, as stated at first, the few sources that are available, show Muslims such as demons and the divine punishment sent by God and the writings are mostly after the arrival of these and in which period that period that period The writings emerged, the Church was in charge of writing the texts, therefore, those in charge of writing were influenced by the Catholic religion, which is why they show Muslims as the punishment sent by God, as happened with Rome and Jerusalem taking.
Although, it was not always like that, since the first years since the arrival of Muslims, these were tolerant in front of the population, this is reflected in the fourth source of 713, showing the treaties that they had with the populations of the kingdom , but with the battle of Poitiers in 732, Muslims began to take more radical measures in front of populations, and there are few writings, because they were not created more treated with the population, which is why in The first source, written in 754, the source talks about the terror of populations in front of Muslims. Although this would end in 756, with the rebellion produced in the province of Al-Andalus, in which the Muslim empire began to deteriorate and the control of the Iberian Peninsula began to fall, so it is here where they are found more writings, not having so much repression of Muslims. It is in this period that the second and third source arises, having clear what is the enemy of the Peninsula and that they should expel them, since they were considered the demons of the Christian world.
Leave feedback