In the late seventh and early eighth centuries, Julian, count of Ceuta in North Africa, held the African Pillar of Hercules for Christendom. ( 6th century - 7th century - 8th century - other centuries) Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Arabs subjugate Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Central Asia to Islam. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided politically from Sub-Saharan Africa. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided politically from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This T-and-O map, which abstracts the known world to a cross inscribed within an orb, remakes geography in the service of Christian iconography. ...

Luis Garcia de Valdeavellano writes that, during the Umayyad conquest of North Africa, in "their struggle against the Byzantines and the Berbers, the Arab chieftains had greatly extended their African dominions, and as early as the year 682 Uqba had reached the shores of the Atlantic, but he was unable to occupy Tangier, for he was forced to turn back toward the Atlas Mountains by a mysterious person" who became known to history and legend as Count Julian. Muslim historians have referred to him as Ilyan or Ulyan, "though his real name was probably Julian, or perhaps Urban or Ulbán or Bulian." Combatants Byzantine Empire Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Mohammed in 632 CE. By 640 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, had invaded Armenia, and were concluding their conquest of Byzantine Syria. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... The Amazighs (also called Berber people or Imazighen (ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⴻⵏ), free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group autochthonous to Northwest Africa and speak various Berber languages. ... Languages Arabic other languages (Arab minorities) Religions Predominantly Islam Some adherents of Druze, Judaism, Samaritan, Christianity Related ethnic groups Jews, Canaanites, other Semitic-speaking groups An Arab (Arabic: ); is a member of a Semitic group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to the... Uqba ibn Nafi (Arabic: ‎ translit: ) (also referred to as Uqba bin Nafe, Uqba Ibn al Nafia, or Akbah) (622–683) was an Arab general under the Umayyad dynasty, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day western Algeria and Morocco in North Africa. ... “Atlantic” redirects here. ... A view of Tangier bay at sunrise as seen from Cape Malabata Tangier(Tanja طنچة in Berber and Arabic, Tânger in Portuguese, and Tanger in French), is a city of northern Morocco with a population of 669,685 (2004 census). ... Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains (colored red) across North Africa The Atlas Mountains (Arabic: ‎) are a mountain range in northwest Africa extending about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and including The Rock of Gibraltar. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ...

Julian is generally regarded as having been a vassal of Roderic, king of the Visigoths in Hispania (modern Portugal and Spain). But Valdeavellano notes other possibilities. Look up vassal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Roderic (Roderick; Rodrigo in Spanish and Portuguese, see Rurik for etymology. ... Migrations The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe (the Ostrogoths being the other). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Iberian Peninsula. ...

We are not certain whether he was a Berber, a Visigoth, or a Byzantine; as a "count" he may have been the ruler of the fortress of Septum, once part of the Visigoth kingdom; or he may have been an exarch or a governor ruling in the name of the Byzantine Empire: or, as appears more likely, he may have been a Berber who was the lord and master of the Catholic tribe of Gomera.

According to the Egyptian historian Ibn Abd-el-Hakem, writing a century and a half after the events, Julian sent one of his daughters to Roderic's court at Toledo for education (and as a gauge of Julian's loyalty) and Roderic subsequently made her pregnant. Later ballads and chronicles inflated this tale, Christians making her out an innocent virgin who was ravished, Muslims making her a seductress. In Spanish she came to be known as la Cava Rumía. When Julian learned of the affair he removed his daughter from Roderic's court and, out of vengeance, sold out Hispania to the Muslim invaders, thus making possible the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was an essentially military viceroy who governed a part of the empire at some remove from the central (oriental) authorities, the Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople. ... An historian is someone who writes history, a written accounting of the past. ... Ibn Abd-el-Hakem (d. ... Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain, about 70 kilometers south of Madrid. ... Police often train to recover hostages taken by force, as in this exercise For the 2005 film, see Hostage (film). ... Rüm, also Roum or Rhum (in Arabic ar-Rum), is a very indefinite term used at different times in the Islamic world for Europeans generally and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rüm in Asia Minor, and for Greeks inhabiting Ottoman territory. ... The Umayyad conquest of Hispania (711–718) commenced when an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Moors, the Muslim inhabitants of North and West Africa, invaded Visigothic Christian Hispania (Portugal and Spain) in the year 711 CE. Under the authority of the Umayyad caliph at Damascus, and led...

But this is only a legend. Personal power politics were more likely at play, as better historical evidence points to a civil war among the Visigothic aristocracy. Roderic had been appointed to the throne by the bishops of the Visigothic Catholic church—this appointment snubbing the sons of the previous king, Wittiza, who died or was killed in 710. So Wittiza's relatives and partisans fled Iberia for Julian's protection at Ceuta (Septa), the Pillar of Hercules in North Africa on the northern shore of the Maghreb. There they gathered with Arians and Jews fleeing forced conversions at the church's hands. This article is about a title or office in religious bodies. ... Wittiza (Witiza) was son of Ergica, king of the Visigoths in Hispania, and ruled jointly with him from 693 to 701 CE. In the latter year Ergica died and Wittiza became sole ruler. ... // Events End of the Asuka period, the second and last part of the Yamato period and beginning of the Nara period in Japan. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ... Area  â€“ Total   28 km² Population  â€“ Total (2005)  â€“ Density  75,276  2688. ... The Algerian bay (view from the west). ... This article is about theological views like those of Arius. ...

At that time the surrounding area of the Maghreb had recently been conquered by Musa ibn Nusair, who established his governor, Tariq ibn Ziyad, at Tangier with a Moorish army of 1,700 men. So Julian approached Musa to negotiate the latter's assistance in an effort to topple Roderic. Musa bin Nusair (640 - 716) was a Yemeni Muslim governor and general under the Umayyads. ... Tariq ibn Ziyad (d. ... Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I of England The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal) as well as the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. ...

What is unclear is whether Julian hoped to place a son of Wittiza on the throne and gain power and preference thereby or whether he was really opening up Iberia to foreign conquest. The latter, though unlikely, isn't inconceivable, given that Julian may have long been on good terms with the Muslims of North Africa and found them to be more tolerant overlords than the Catholic Visigoths. Moreover, if Julian was the Greek commander of the last Byzantine outpost in Africa, he would only have had an alliance with the Kingdom of the Visigoths rather than been part of it. A military alliance is an agreement between two, or more, countries; related to wartime planning, commitments, or contingencies; such agreements can be both defensive and offensive. ...

Perhaps, then, in exchange for lands in al-Andalus (the Arab name for the area the Visigoths still called by its Roman name, Hispania), or perhaps to topple a king and his religious allies, Julian provided military intelligence, troops, and ships. Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ...

But Musa was initially unsure of Julian's project and so in July 710 directed Tarif ibn Malluk to lead a probe of the Iberian coast. Legend says that Julian participated as a guide and emissary, arranging for Tarif to be hospitably received by supportive Christians—perhaps Julian's kinsmen, friends, and supporters—who agreed to become allies in the contemplated battle for the Visigothic throne. Tarif ibn Malluk (Arabic: ‎) was a Berber commander under Musa ibn Nusair, the Muslim conqueror of North Africa. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ...

The next summer Julian provided the ships to carry Muslim troops across to Europe. Julian also briefed Tariq, their general. Then the latter left Julian behind among the merchants and crossed the Strait of Hercules with a force of some 1,700 men. He landed at Gibraltar on April 30, 711, and thus began the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... See also: phone number 711. ... The Umayyad conquest of Hispania (711–718) commenced when an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Moors, the Muslim inhabitants of North and West Africa, invaded Visigothic Christian Hispania (Portugal and Spain) in the year 711 CE. Under the authority of the Umayyad caliph at Damascus, and led...

Later, in the Battle of Guadalete on July 19, Roderic's army of around 25,000 men was defeated by Tariq's force of approximately 7,000, largely due to a reversal of fortune when the wings commanded by Roderic's relatives Sisbert and Osbert deserted or switched sides—which legend would later attribute to a deliberate plan developed by Julian. Combatants Visigoths Muslim forces of the Ummayad Commanders Roderic Tariq ibn Ziyad Strength 20,000-30,000 7,000-9,000 Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Guadalete took place July 19, 711, at the Guadalete River (or La Janda Lake) in the southern extreme of the Iberian peninsula. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ...

Afterwards Julian was apparently granted the lands he was promised by the Muslims but, as the story goes, lived on friendless and full of guilt for having become a traitor to his country. In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. ...

Literary treatments

• ^  In Part I, Chapter 41, of Don Quixote (1605), Miguel de Cervantes writes:

Meanwhile, the wind having changed we were compelled to head for the land, and ply our oars to avoid being driven on shore; but it was our good fortune to reach a creek that lies on one side of a small promontory or cape, called by the Moors that of the "Cava rumia," which in our language means "the wicked Christian woman;" for it is a tradition among them that La Cava, through whom Spain was lost, lies buried at that spot; "cava" in their language meaning "wicked woman," and "rumia" "Christian;" moreover, they count it unlucky to anchor there when necessity compels them, and they never do so otherwise. (Spanish text.)

The English writers Walter Scott, Walter Savage Landor, and Robert Southey handle the legends associated with these events poetically: Scott in "The Vision of Don Roderick" (1811), Landor in his tragedy Count Julian (1812), and Southey in Roderick, the Last of the Goths (1814). (IPA: , but see spelling and pronunciation below), fully titled (The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha) is an early novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. ... 1605 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Don Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (IPA: . September 29, 1547 – April 23, 1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. ... Portrait of Sir Walter Scott, by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe during his time. ... Walter Savage Landor (January 30, 1775 - September 17, 1864), English writer, eldest son of Walter Landor and his wife Elizabeth Savage, was born at Warwick. ... Robert Southey, English poet Robert Southey (August 12, 1774 – March 21, 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called Lake Poets, and Poet Laureate. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... For the overture by Tchaikovsky, see 1812 Overture; For the wars, see War of 1812 (USA - United Kingdom) or Patriotic War of 1812 (France - Russia) For the Siberia Airlines plane crashed over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, see Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 1812 was a leap year starting... Year 1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The American writer Washington Irving retells the legends in his 1835 Legends of the Conquest of Spain, mostly written while living in that country. These consist of "Legend of Don Roderick," "Legend of the Subjugation of Spain," and "Legend of Count Julian and His Family." Washington Irving (April 3, 1783–November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Expatriate Spanish novelist Juan Goytisolo takes up the legends in Count Julian (1970, 1971, 1974), a book in which he, in his own words, imagines "the destruction of Spanish mythology, its Catholicism and nationalism, in a literary attack on traditional Spain." He identifies himself "with the great traitor who opened the door to Arab invasion." The narrator in this novel, an exile in North Africa, rages against his beloved Spain, forming an obsessive identification with the fabled Count Julian, dreaming that, in a future invasion, the ethos and myths central to Hispanic identity will be totally destroyed. Juan Goytisolo is a Spanish poet and novelist. ...

References

• Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter 51.
• Luis Garcia de Valdeavellano, Historia de España. 1968. Madrid: Alianza. (Quotes are translated from the Spanish by Helen R. Lane in Count Julian by Juan Goytisolo. 1974. New York: The Viking Press, Inc. ISBN 0670244074

Juan Goytisolo is a Spanish poet and novelist. ...

External links

• Ibn Abd-el-Hakem, Medieval Sourcebook: The Islamic Conquest of Spain
• Spanish-language traditional versions of the romance of the seduction of La Cava.
• Leyenda y nacionalismo: alegorías de la derrota en La Malinche y Florinda "La Cava", Spanish-language article by Juan F. Maura comparing La Cava and Mexican Malinche.