Almighty in permitting that the conquest of
Andalusia should be achieved by Tarik. Directly after his landing on the
rock Musa's freedman brought his forces upon the plain, and began to
overrun and lay waste the neighboring country. While he was thus
employed, an old woman from Algesiras presented herself to him, and
among other things told him what follows: "Thou must know, O stranger!
that I had once a husband, who had the knowledge of future events; and I
have repeatedly heard him say to the people of this country that a
foreign general would come to this island and subject it to his arms. He
described him to me as a man of prominent forehead, and such, I see, is
thine; he told me also that the individual designated by the prophecy
would have a black mole covered with hair on his left shoulder. Now, if
thou hast such a mark on thy body, thou art undoubtedly the person
intended."

When Tarik heard the old woman's reasoning, he immediately laid his
shoulder bare, and the mark being found, as predicted, upon the left
one, both he and his companions were filled with delight at the good
omen.

Ibnu Hayyan's account does not materially differ from those of the
historians from whom we have quoted. He agrees in saying that Ilyan,
lord of Ceuta, incited Musa Ibn Nosseyr to make the conquest of
Andalusia; and that this he did out of revenge, and moved by the
personal enmity and hatred he had conceived against Roderic. He makes
Tarik's army amount only to seven thousand, mostly Berbers, which, he
says, crossed in four vessels provided by Ilyan. According to his
account, Tarik landed on a Saturday, in the month of Shaban, of the
year 92, and the vessels that brought him and his men on shore were
immediately sent back to Africa, and never ceased going backward and
forward until the whole of the army was safely landed on the shores of
Andalusia.

On the other side, Ibnu Khaldun reckons the army under the orders of
Tarik at three hundred Arabs and ten thousand Berbers. He says that
before starting on his expedition, Tarik divided his army into two
corps, he himself taking the command of one, and placing the other under
the immediate orders of Tarif An-najai. Tarik, with his men, landed at
the foot of the rock now called _Jebalu-l-fatah_, "the mountain of the
entrance," and which then received his name, and was called
_Jebal-Tarik_, "the mountain of Tarik"; while his companion, Tarif,
landed on the island afterward called after