The Islamic Conquest of Spain

The theme that I got out of this reading was the fact that they were constantly trying to take over other people for power and authority.  Although it is stated that this story is mainly one of a mythical basis, the main concepts behind this reading still apply. The Islamic communities were only concerned with gaining power by defeating any foreign population they could attack.

Several things that came to mind when I was reading this was that first of all, I just found it very, hard to understand the text due to the fact that there were so many names. I had to break the story down and look up and find out who these people were exactly and in doing so I was able to better understand the relationship or well the bond between Musa and Tarik. I also learned that the years stated were fairly accurate due to the fact that during that time Muslims forces began a seven year battle that resulted in the conquest of Spain. However, I was confused when the time went from year 92 to 711 until it was explained to me that it was because the muslim calendar was different. So, that is also another thing that came to mind. Another thing that came to mind was how this reading involved a story within a story, which later made complete sense as to why I couldn't quite grasp the story. But, although it seemed like their reasonings for going into Spain didn't seem to quite add up to me, the Muslims did what they intended and were able conquer Spain for the possession of more territory and authority.

After reading this I found it very disturbing when the reading said, and I quote, "they took one of the vinedressers, slaughtered him, cut him in pieces, and boiled him while the rest of his companions looked on." I know that they did not actually eat the body but that they just fooled the other vinedressers into thinking that, but it is still disturbing. I feel like this was intended to be the mythical part of the reading.

Reading this story made me think about our own country. When I read how Ilyan had sent his daughter to be taught by Roderic and how Roderic treated his daughter poorly, I felt so bad. I found it very noble of Tarik to set out to protect Ilyan's daughter. This showed how Tarik took control as well as practically doing what was noble and right. He did this because he was basically "filling in" for Musa at the time when Musa was away. This made me think about how our country is fighting a war in Middle East right now defend our nation and to protect it and the people involved. I also thought about how much are people willing to do to gain power or authority. Like, in example, gangs in inner cities; what is their reasoning for killing or fighting, is it just to gain control, authority, or money? Or, is it some psychological thinking of protection? These were just some modern parallels that I noticed while reading.

This reading relates to the text because I noticed that throughout the reading and throughout our text, there are always going to be people from many places who would do anything for power in some sort of way. It is hard to think that cannibalism would still be an issue but this goes to show how history still is passed on and some things are still carried on. This reading also relates to the text in the fact that it involves conquering territory and Kings and the government.