Tariq ibn Ziyad
Roderic was a Visigothic king who ruled Hispania from 710-712 AD, which was later referred to by the Arabs as "Al-Andalus". The Umayyad Empire had previously conducted small raids on the southern tip of Spain against the Visigoths, but full scale conquest did not begin until April of 711, when an army led by Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the narrow channel that separated southern Hispania from North Africa; the area is today known as Gibraltar, from the Arabic (), meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq".