ANNIVERSARIES

DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in April in history

Danny Bird

27 APRIL AD 711 An Islamic army lands in Gibraltar The conquest of the Rock heralds centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia After hours at sea, a fleet of ships reached its destination – a rocky promontory stretching south into the Mediterranean. Departing from the northern shore of Africa, the ships had crossed the narrow strait separating the Maghreb from the Iberian peninsula. Merchants and armies had sailed this route for millennia, but this voyage was epoch-defining. Led by Tariq ibn Ziyad, the governor of Tangier, around 7,000 Berber and Arab troops now stepped onto foreign and very unfamiliar soil. The invasion had been set in motion by strife within the Visigothic kingdom in Iberia. After the death of King Witiza, Roderic seized the throne, but his rule was contested.…

You're reading a preview of

Bbc History (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.