Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr ( عبد العزيز بن موسى ) was the first governor of Al - Andalus , in modern - day Spain and Portugal . He was the son of Musa ibn Nusayr , the governor of Ifriqiya . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr had a long history of political and military involvement along with his father . Origins of Power . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr accompanied his father in 712 to aid the Berber general , Tariq , in the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . It has been speculated that Musa ibn Nusayr and his son , both Arabs , did not want the glory of conquest to be claimed by a Berber . The conquest of the area was progressing smoothly under Tariq , Musa ibn Nusayr and ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr . With the success of the conquest apparent , Tariq and Musa ibn Nusayr were called back to Syria by the Umayyad caliph , Sulayman , in 714 . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was given the governorship of Al - Andalus by his father . Musa ibn Nusayr , upon his return to Damascus , fell into disfavor with the caliph and ended his days in Medina as an “ old and broken man . ” ‘ Musa ibn Nusayr outlived his son , ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa . Conquest and reign of Al - Andalus . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr chose the town of Seville as his capital city . Seville , located in the modern day province of Andalucía in southern Spain on the Guadalquivir River . Under ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr ’ s leadership after the departure of his father and Tariq , Islamic power , in what came to be known as Al - Andalus , expanded into modern day Portugal in the west and the sub - Pyrenean regions in the north . In one of the newly conquered lands , ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr signed a treaty with the Gothic lord of Murcia , Theodemir . His name in Arabic is Tudmir . The treaty , known as the Treaty of Tudmir , gave Visigothic Christians the right to continue to practice their religion , as long as they paid a special tax and remained loyal to their Muslim overlords . Personal life and influences . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr remained in power and even married the widow Egilon , the wife of the last Visigothic king , Roderic . Egilon took the name Umm ‘ Asim upon her marriage and conversion to Islam . In his marriage to Egilon , ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr set a trend of espousing local Visigothic women , due to the lack of Arab and Berber women . This lack was because Arab and Berber women did not accompany the army into Al - Andalus at the beginning of the conquest of Spain . The practice of taking conquered women as wives almost became a general rule for conquering Muslim leaders . Egilon ’ s influence over ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was not common . Some felt that she held too much influence and sway over ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr . Egilon coaxed ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr to wear a crown , and lower entrance ways to promote veneration of him and people bowing to him . Egilon even had ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr make the entrance to his audience chamber lower , so that upon entering , he would be bowing to her . These links to the Visigothic royalty and the influence of Egilon led to the misconception and rumors that ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr had converted to Christianity . These rumors even reached the Umayyad Caliph Sulaymān in Damascus . Troubled by these rumors , the caliph ordered ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr to be killed . Assassination and Al - Andalus after . Sources differ on the year , but ‘ Abd al - Aziz Ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was assassinated by Ziyad ibn ‘ Udhra al - Balawi on order of the Caliph Sulayman . However , Ibn Khaldun reports the order was received and carried out by Habib ibn Abi Obeida al - Fihri The caliph feared that he wanted to establish his own personal monarchy in Al - Andalus , separate from the Umayyad caliphate based in Damascus . Dates of his assassination vary between the years 715 , 716 , or 718 . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa was beheaded in the monastery of Santa Rufina , used during the time as a mosque . After his death , ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ’ s head was brought to Damascus and displayed publicly to an audience where the caliph knew that his father , Ibn Musa ibn Nusayr , was in attendance . ‘ Abd al - Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was succeeded by his cousin , Ayyub ibn Habib al - Lakhmi , who is thought to have played a role in his assassination . His tenure as governor did not last long and for a period of forty years following his assassination , Al - Andalus was filled with chaos and turmoil . Rival Arab factions continuously fought to gain power , and also to expand Islamic control in the area . Governors were appointed or chosen , but there were often deposed by rival groups or by the Umayyad caliph in Damascus . This pattern continued at least until 756 , when an independent Umayyad emirate was established in Córdoba . However , Abd - ar - Rahman I still found much resistance in Al - Andalus ( Toledo , Zaragoza , Barcelona . . . ) and had to struggle still 25 years for a total mastery over the territory . Islamic power remained in the region until 1492 , when Ferdinand and Isabella conquered the Islamic kingdom of Granada .