Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-24
MOSlEM'S AMBITION.
Story of the Conquest of Spain BY the
Moors.

NO country mas so many faSclnat-
| ing stories of ambition, achievement,
downfall disgrace and death as Spain
and none is more picturesque than
that of Musa Ibn Nosseyr-Moses
the son Of Nosseyr-the great mos
lem general who laid the foundations
of eight centuries of Arab rule in
| Spain. and died a pauper and an out
cast in a village near Damascus.
Ambition to claim glory that he
, might have shared had he been will
| ling to divide it. giving Tarik FL Tu-
erto his due. caused the collapse OF
| Musa's visions of limitless honor and
power when the dream was about to
| be realized. Musa's father was
maui of Abdul-l-aziz, brother of
the Khalif Abdul-l-malek. A "mauli"
was a man of inferior rank and i'm
portance who placed himself under
| the patronage of a powerful chieftain
or ruler. When Abdul-l-aziZ was ap-
pointed viceroy Of Africa he made
Musa commander of western Africa.
The moslem dominions had then been
extended to the straits of Gibraltar,
and across the strait lay the Iberian
peninsula, known to the Moslems as
country Of marvellous riches held by
the 'infidel"
Musa solidfied the Moslem domin-
ion in northwest Africa, known as
Mauretania. A diplomat as well as a
warrior, he not only sent thousands
of Rerber slaves to Cairo to keep
himself in favor with the viceroy, but
also showed clemency to the conquer
ed tribes, converted them to the Mos
lem faith and enlisted them under his
banners.
The Romans applied to the vari-
|-ous tribal divisions found in Maure-
tania the general term "Mauri." 1t
is from this name that the Spaniards
got the word Moore" which has been
applied indiscriminately to Arabs and
North African Aaborigines since the
Arab conquest. Welding them togeth-
er and teaching them to pray in
mosques, for the great general was
also a great preacher, Musa rose to
the position of Amir of Africa, taking
orders from the khalif at Damascus
instead of the viceroy of Cairo.
The banner of Islam floated from
the towers of Tangiers, and a verita-
BILE congress Of Asian and African
races swarmed down into the Bar
barry coast to bear the crescent into
Andalusia where the Gothic kings had
upheld the cross for 800 years. Among
the valued retainers of Musa Ibn Nos
seyr was Tarik Ell Tuerto, a man Of
| obscure origin who had risen to the
m RI
ing to some accounts he was a red
haired Persian, while others contend
| that he was a Berber. He was dub
bed "El Tuerto" because of missing
or disfigured eye.
When the treason Of Julian against
the Gothic king, Roderik, was occa-
| stoned by Roderick's seduction, or
violation, of Julian's daughter, Flor
india, maid Of honor to the queen,
Julian held Ceuta on the African
coast, the only Spanish outpost be-
yond the strait of Gibraltar Julian's
proposal to lead the Moslems into
Spain afforded the opportunity for
which the Arab Moors had been wait
ing. After Tariff Abu Zarah had been
sent Ito reconnoiter, landing at the
island Of Tarifa, which was named in
| his honor, and returning with cap
tives and spoils, the conduct Of the
| invasion was placed in the hands Of
| Musa's trusted maui" Tarik. BY
the appointment of so gallant a SOL
| dier and so clement conqueror,
Musa paved the way for his own
| eclipse as a general and overthrow as
| favorite Of the khalif.
On the way across the "Bahr-Z-zok-
| hak," or narrow sea, as the Arabs
| called the strait, Tarik fell asleep.
When he awoke he told his subordi-
nate officers that he had seen a vision
| in which Mahomet, surrounded by
warriors with barred swords and drawn
bows, pointed toward fair Andalusia
and bade him to accomplish its con-
quest In the name Of Allah and his
prophet, and in the cause of Islam.
The expedition was altogether a pious
enterprise, looting the infidel being
| regarded as assuring especial favor in
heaven. and Musa had knelt at the
beach and prayed for the success Of
Tarik, little dreaming how great that
success would be.
When Roderik massed his men
upon the field of Gaudalete he ad
dressed them from a moving throne
Of ivory, telling them that a horde of
deluded infidels, puffed up with the
victories they had achieved over
eunuchs and naked barbarians in
Africa had been delivered by their
pride into the hands Of the servants
Of God. Tarik. no less pious than
Roderik, made an address to his men
in which he said that Allah COM
manded them to overcome the infidel,
who had sent against them countless
warriors, and that as the sea was be-
hind the Moslem army the hosts Of
the prophet faced death or victory.
When Roderik was defeated, after
eight days fighting, Tarik hit upon a
scheme to awe the Spaniards. In the
presence of Christian captives he or
dered a large number Of their fell
lows who had fallen in battle to be
cut up and cooked in kettles as If for
a feast The prisoners were then al
lowed to escape. They scattered and
spread the news that Spain had been
invaded by cannibals.
Musa received the news of Tarik's
victory and became alarmed lest his
impetuouS maui should conquer
Spain and get all Of the glory Of the
achievement. He ordered him to pitch
camp and await reinforcements. But
Tarik and his subordinate officers
held a council and decided to ad-
vance. Cordova had been taken,
Granada had submitted, Toledo, for
titled by Julius Caesar and Emperor
-
Goths, had made terms and turned
over its treasures to Tarik before
Musa managed to catch up with him.
One Of the greatest treasures of
Toledo was called the table Of Solo
mon. It's discovery had history as
romantic as the story Of the part 1t
was destined to play in the tragedy OF
Musa. According to the legend there
was a secret chamber In Roderik's
palace that had been kept locked by
many Of his predecessors. 1t had been
prophesied that when it should be
opened the downfall of the Gothic
kingdom would result. Roderik's GU
riosity led him to break the locks. He
found the table Of Solomon and upon
the wall a picture of men in strange
garb armed with scimitars and riding f,
horses. Below the picture was an in
scriptiOn to the effect that when the
chamber should be opened Spain
would be invaded and lost to barba-
rianS. |
The table was of gold inlaid with
precious stones, and each Of its many