among the Companions.

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd said, “There is no disagreement over this.” Al-Bukhārī and others, however, stated that he died in 88 AH; Allah knows best (1).

[Then came the year 92 AH]

In this year Maslama and his nephew ʿUmar ibn al-Walid campaigned in Byzantine territory, captured many fortresses, took great spoils, and drove the Romans to the remotest parts of their land (2).

That same year Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, the freedman of Mūsā ibn Nuṣayr, set out for al-Andalus with twelve thousand men. Its king, Adhrīnūq (3), confronted him with massive forces, wearing his crown and accompanied by his royal throne. Ṭāriq fought him, defeated him, and plundered his camp—among the booty was the throne itself—and he took possession of the whole of al-Andalus.

Al-Dhahabī says (4): “Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād was governor of Tangier, the farthest outpost of the Maghrib, acting as deputy for his master Mūsā ibn Nuṣayr. The ruler of Algeciras (5) wrote to him seeking help against his enemy. Ṭāriq crossed into the island of al-Andalus through the Strait of Ceuta, seizing the opportunity because the Franks were engaged in internecine fighting. Ṭāriq pressed deep into al-Andalus, captured Córdoba, and killed its king Adhrīnūq (6). He wrote to Mūsā ibn Nuṣayr announcing the conquest, but Mūsā envied him for having achieved it alone. He therefore wrote to al-Walid congratulating him on the victory while attributing it to himself, and he wrote to Ṭāriq threatening him for entering without permission and ordering him not to move beyond his position until he arrived. Mūsā then hastened toward him with his armies, entered al-Andalus accompanied by Ḥabīb ibn Abī ʿUbayda al-Fihrī, and for years (7) continued opening cities and seizing wealth (8), killing the men and taking the women and children captive, amassing booty beyond measure, description, or count, of