THE MOHAMMEDANS IN SPAIN (711-1492 A.D.)

W1ithin four years after the landing of Tarik in Spain, the whole peninsula, except the mountainous districts in the north, is in the hands of the Mohammedans. The first forty years of the occupation is a period of discord, and a number of emirs succeed each other in rapid succession. The Mohammedans fight with the Christians in the north, and penetrate into France, whence they are driven back by Charles Martel, in 732. The Arab power is on the eve of falling to pieces, when Abd ar-Rahman, the sole survivor of the Omayyad massacre in Arabia, arrives in Spain. In 755 Abd ar-Rahman is elected king of Mohammedan Spain.