Tariq ibn Ziyad Tariq ibn Ziyad ( , died 720 ) was a Muslim general who led the Islamic conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711 - 718 A . D . He is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Iberian history . Under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al - Walid I he led a large army from the north coast of Morocco , consolidating his troops at a large hill now known as Gibraltar . The name " Gibraltar " is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name " Jabal Tāriq " ( جبل طارق ) , meaning " mountain of Tariq " , named after him . Origin . Most medieval historians give little or no information about Tariq ' s origins or nationality . Ibn ' Abd al - Hakam , Ibn al - Athir , Al - Tabari and Ibn Khaldun do not say anything , and have been followed in this by modern works such as the " Encyclopedia of Islam " and " Cambridge History of Islam " . There are three different accounts given by a few Arabic histories which all seem to date from between 400 and 500 years after Tariq ' s time . These are that : Most historians , Arab and Spanish , seem to agree that he was a slave of the emir of Ifriqiya ( North Africa ) , Musa bin Nusayr , who gave him his freedom and appointed him a general in his army . But his descendants centuries later denied he had ever been Musa ' s slave . The earliest reference to him seems to be in the " Mozarab Chronicle " , written in Latin in 754 , which although written within living memory of the conquest of Spain , refers to him erroneously as " Taric Abuzara " . Tariq ' s name is often associated with that of a young slave girl , Umm Ḥakīm , who is said to have crossed to Spain with him ; but the nature of their relationship is left obscure . History . Musa bin Nusayr appointed Tariq governor of Tangiers after its conquest in 710 - 711 , but an unconquered Visigothic outpost remained nearby at Ceuta , a stronghold commanded by a nobleman named Julian . After Roderic came to power in Spain , Julian had , as was the custom , sent his daughter to the court of the Visigothic king to receive an education . It is said that Roderic raped her , and that Julian was so incensed he resolved to have the Arabs bring down the Visigothic kingdom . Accordingly he entered into a treaty with Tariq ( Musa having returned to Qayrawan ) to secretly convey the Muslim army across the Straits of Gibraltar , as he owned a number of merchant ships and had his own forts on the Spanish mainland . About April 29 711 , the army of Tariq , composed of recent converts to Islam , was landed at Gibraltar by Julian . ( the name " Gibraltar " is derived from the Arabic name " Jabal at Tariq " , which means " mountain of Tariq " ) . Tariq ' s army contained about 7000 men , and Musa is said to have sent an additional 5000 reinforcements . Roderic , to meet the threat , assembled an army said to number 100 , 000 . Most of the army was commanded by , and loyal to , the sons of Wittiza , whom Roderic had brutally deposed . Tariq won a decisive victory when the Visigothic king , Roderic , was defeated and killed on July 19 at the Battle of Guadalete . On the advice of Julian , Tariq split his army into various divisions which went on to capture Cordoba , Granada and other places , while he remained at the head of the division which captured Toledo and Guadalajara . Tariq was de facto governor of Hispania until the arrival of Musa a year later . Both Tariq and Musa were simultaneously ordered back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Al - Walid I in 714 , where they spent the rest of their lives . Tariq vs . Musa . In the many Arabic histories written about the conquest of Spain , there is a definite division of opinion regarding the relationship between Tariq and Musa bin Nusayr . Some relate episodes of anger and envy on the part of Musa , that his freedman had conquered an entire country . Others do not mention , or play down , any such bad blood . The most extreme episode is in the earliest Arabic history , that of Ibn Abd al - Hakam ( 9th century ) . He stated that Musa was so angry with Tariq that he imprisoned him , and was going to execute him , were it not for the intervention of Mugith ar - Rumi , a freedman of the caliph Al - Walid I . It was for this reason that the caliph recalled Tariq and Musa . And in the " Akhbār majmūa " ( 11th century ) it states that after Musa arrived in Spain and met up with Tariq , Tariq dismounted from his horse as a sign of respect , but Musa struck him on the head with his horsewhip . On the other hand , another early historian al - Baladhuri ( 9th century ) merely states that Musa wrote Tariq a " severe letter " and that the two were later reconciled . Solomon ' s Table . The most widespread story regarding the enmity between Tariq and Musa concerns a fabulous piece of furniture , reputed to have belonged to the Biblical Solomon . Said to have been made of gold , and encrusted with precious gems , this important relic was noted even in pre - Islamic times to be in the possession of the Spanish Visigoths . Tariq took possession of the table after the surrender of one of Roderic ' s nephews . Most stories say that , fearing duplicity on the part of Musa , he removed one leg of the table and ( in most accounts ) replaced it with an obviously inferior one . The table was then added to Musa ' s collection of booty to be taken back to Damascus . When both men appeared before the caliph , Musa gave out that he was the one who had obtained the table . Tariq drew the caliph ' s attention to the inferior ( or missing ) leg , for which Musa ' s only explanation was that he had found it like that . Tariq then produced the real leg , leading to Musa ' s disgrace . There is none of the above story in al - Baladhuri ' s account , which simply mentions the table being presented to the caliph .