Al-Hurr inherits a mess on the Iberian Peninsula, but he’s determined to make the most of it. Come hear about taxes, pocket protectors, and cleaning house in Governor Al-Hurr’s episode!
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Categories
Conquistadores
We do know, however, that al-Hurr is walking into a less than ideal situation. The peninsula has been conquered, true, but there are still big parts of the northeast of the country still under Christian control, and then there’s all of Septimania. As a matter of fact, remember Achila II? The other king in the north when Roderic was ruling? Well, he has finally died, and he actually had a successor: a guy named Ardo.
Finally, he turns to the north.
- 717: Initial campaign in Tarraconensis, takes Pamplona
- 718: Takes Barcino and Tarragona
- 719: attempts on Septimania
Score
Peter: 2
Sarah: 3
Total: 5
No Me Digas
Then, he turns to the tax situation
- Restores Christian lands to those who remain
- Punishes Berbers who had not handed over spoils from the conquest.
Score
Peter: 2
Sarah: 2
Total: 4
Ortodoxia
Score
Peter: 3
Sarah: 3
Total: 6
El Rey-sto
Length of Reign: 3 years
Children: None known
Death: Unknown
Score
Peter: 5
Sarah: 4
Total: 9
¿Fuero o Fuera?
Sources
Primary
The Chronicle of 754. As translated in Wolf, Kenneth Baxter (1999). Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain.
The History of the Conquest of Spain, al-Hakam. As translated in Jones, John Harris (1858). History of the Conquest of Spain.
Book of the Conquest of Countries, al-Baladhuri. As translated in Hitti, Phillip K. (1916). The Origins of the Islamic State.
The History of the Conquest of Al Andalus, Ibn al-Qutiyya. As translated in James, David (2009). Early Islamic Spain: The History of Ibn Al-Qutiyah
The Collected Accounts. As translated in James, David (2012). A History of Early Al-Andalus: The Akhbar majmu’a.
Secondary
Collins, Roger (1989). The Arab Conquest of Spain: 710-797.
O’Callaghan, Joseph F. (1975). A History of Medieval Spain.
Recommendations
The La Portada Podcast (@LaPortadaPod on Twitter)
My Favorite Year, directed by Richard Benjamin
The Spanish ArPodA 