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Let us leave for a season the bold Taric in
his triumphant progress from city to city, while
we turn our eyes to Muza ben Nozier, the renowned
emir of Almagreb, and the commander
in chief of the moslem forces of the west.
When that jealous chieftain had despatched his
letter commanding Taric to pause and await
his coming, he immediately made every preparation
to enter Spain with a powerful reinforcement,
and to take command of the conquering
army. He left his eldest son, Abdalasis, in
Caervan, with authority over Almagreb, or
Western Africa. This Abdalasis was in the
flower of his youth, and beloved by the soldiery
for the magnanimity and the engaging affability
which graced his courage.

Muza ben Nozier crossed the strait of Hercules
with a chosen force of ten thousand horse
and eight thousand foot; Arabs and Africans.
He was accompanied by his two sons,

[figure description] Page 184.[end figure description]

Meruan and Abdelola, and by numerous illustrious
Arabian cavaliers of the tribe of the Koreish.
He landed his shining legions on the coast of
Andalusia, and pitched his tents near to the
Guadiana. There first he received intelligence
of the disobedience of Taric to his orders, and
that, without waiting his arrival, the impetuous
chieftain had continued his career, and with his
light Arab squadrons had overrun and subdued
the noblest provinces and cities of the kingdom.

The jealous spirit of Muza was still more
exasperated by these tidings; he looked upon
Taric no longer as a friend and coadjutor, but
as an invidious rival, the decided enemy of his
glory; and he determined on his ruin. His
first consideration, however, was to secure to
himself a share in the actual conquest of the
land before it should be entirely subjugated.

Taking guides, therefore, from among his
christian captives, he set out to subdue such
parts of the country as had not been visited by
Taric. The first place which he assailed was
the ancient city of Carmona; it was not of
great magnitude, but was fortified with high
walls and massive towers, and many of the fugitives
of the late army had thrown themselves
into it.

The Goths had by this time recovered from
their first panic; they had become accustomed

[figure description] Page 185.[end figure description]

to the sight of moslem troops, and their native
courage had been roused by danger. Shortly
after the Arabs had encamped before their
walls, a band of cavaliers made a sudden sally
one morning before the break of day, fell upon
the enemy by surprise, killed above three hundred
of them in their tents, and effected their
retreat into the city; leaving twenty of their
number dead, covered with honourable wounds,
and in the very centre of the camp.

On the following day they made another
sally, and fell on a different quarter of the encampment;
but the Arabs were on their guard,
and met them with superior numbers. After
fighting fiercely for a time, they were routed,
and fled full speed for the city, with the Arabs
hard upon their traces. The guards within
feared to open the gate, lest with their friends
they should admit a torrent of enemies. Seeing
themselves thus shut out, the fugitives determined
to die like brave soldiers rather than
surrender. Wheeling suddenly round, they
opened a path through the host of their pursuers,
fought their way back to the camp, and
raged about it with desperate fury until they
were all slain, after having killed above eight
hundred of the enemy.[33]

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Muza now ordered that the place should be
taken by storm. The moslems assailed it on
all sides, but were vigorously resisted; many
were slain by showers of stones, arrows, and
boiling pitch, and many who had mounted with
scaling ladders were thrown headlong from the
battlements. The alcayde, Galo, aided solely
by two men, defended a tower and a portion of
the wall; killing and wounding with a cross-bow
more than eighty of the enemy. The attack
lasted above half a day, when the moslems
were repulsed with the loss of fifteen hundred
men.

Muza was astonished and exasperated at
meeting with such formidable resistance from
so small a city; for it was one of the few places,
during that memorable conquest, where the gothic
valour shone forth with its proper lustre.
While the moslem army lay encamped before
the place, it was joined by Magued the renegado,
and Count Julian the traitor, with one
thousand horsemen; most of them recreant
christians, base betrayers of their country, and
more savage in their warfare than the Arabs of
the desert. To find favour in the eyes of Muza,
and to evince his devotion to the cause, the
count undertook, by wiley stratagem, to put this
gallant city in his power.

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One evening, just at twilight, a number of
christians, habited as travelling merchants, arrived
at one of the gates, conducting a train of
mules laden with arms and warlike munitions.
“Open the gate quickly,” cried they, “we bring
supplies for the garrison, but the Arabs have
discovered, and are in pursuit of us.” The gate
was thrown open, the merchants entered with
their beasts of burden, and were joyfully received.
Meat and drink were placed before
them, and after they had refreshed themselves
they retired to the quarters allotted to them.

These pretenced merchants were Count Julian
and a number of his partisans. At the
hour of midnight they stole forth silently, and
assembling together, proceeded to what was
called the Gate of Cordova. Here setting suddenly
upon the unsuspecting guards, they put
them to the edge of the sword, and throwing
open the gates admitted a great body of the
Arabs. The inhabitants were roused from their
sleep by sound of drum and trumpet, and the
clattering of horses. The Arabs scoured the
streets; a horrible massacre was commenced,
in which none were spared but such of the females
as were young and beautiful, and fitted
to grace the harems of the conquerors. The
arrival of Muza put an end to the pillage and

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the slaughter, and he granted favourable terms
to the survivors. Thus the valiant little city of
Carmona, after nobly resisting the open assaults
of the infidels, fell a victim to the treachery of
apostate christians.[34]

eaf221v3.n33

[33] Abulcasim. Perdida de España, L. 1. c. 13.

eaf221v3.n34

[34] Cron. gen. de España, por Alonzo el Sabio. P.3 c. 1.

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