BU £5 Tariq Ibn Ziyad

Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād was a North African Berber General, he was a mawla (which translates to Lord/Guardian) to Musa Ibn Nusayer, who was Unmayyad governor of Ifriqiya which consisted of parts of Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria. In 711 Tariq was sent to conquer Visgothic Kingdom of Hispania (present day Spain and Portugal) which Gibraltar was part of since the collapse of the Roman Empire. He led an army of 700 men and crossed the strait of Gibraltar landing near the famous rock that has immortalized his name, Jabal al-Tariq (Mountain of Tariq).

On the 19th of July 711, he defeated the Visigoth King Roderick and went on to conquer half of Spain. The name Gibraltar was later derived from his name. Gibraltar was permanently by settled for the first time by the Moors and was under Moorish rule from 711ad-1309 and again from 1333 -1462.