(a History Of Spain) | Visigothic Spain 409 - 711

: Internal aristocratic infighting and military weakness led to a swift collapse when Tariq ibn Ziyad led a Berber-Arab force across the Strait of Gibraltar. King Roderic was defeated and killed at the Battle of Guadalete . Governance and Society 2 Visigothic Spain 409–711 - Oxford Academic

The Visigothic period in Spain (409–711 CE) represents a critical bridge between the collapse of Roman authority and the Islamic conquest, characterized by the first political unification of the Iberian Peninsula. Visigothic Spain 409 - 711 (A History of Spain)

: Under King Leovigild (r. 569–586), the kingdom annexed the Suevic territories and pushed back Byzantine enclaves, effectively uniting the peninsula for the first time. : Internal aristocratic infighting and military weakness led

The period began with the invasion of the Alans, Sueves, and Vandals in , which signaled the end of Roman imperial rule. The Visigoths, initially Roman allies ( foederati ), gradually expanded their control over the peninsula, officially establishing an independent kingdom in 475 CE . Political Evolution : : Under King Leovigild (r

: After losing their territories in Gaul to the Franks in 507 CE, the Visigoths moved their center of power to Toledo.