الزقاق وجبل طارق
الزقاق وجبل طارق
The strait and Jabal Tariq, named for Tariq b. Ziyad's landing in Sha'ban 92; the chroniclers report that Alexander's engineers, finding the Ocean higher than the Mediterranean, dug the channel between Tangier and al-Andalus with twin causeways six miles apart — the northern one still shows at low water and is called al-Qantara 1.
At a glance
- Era
- The Umayyad Period
- Region
- al-Andalus & Europe · Maghreb
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Overview
The Strait is the sea passage between al-Andalus and the Maghrib. Gibraltar is named after Tariq ibn Ziyad, because he landed there on a Saturday in Sha'ban 92 AH; the common people call it the Mountain of the Conquest. 2
The account of Alexander
Al-Maqqari reports that some historians said Alexander ordered engineers to weigh the surface of the Atlantic and the Syrian Sea, and they found the Atlantic slightly higher. He dug between Tangier and al-Andalus and built two quays between them, six miles apart, and then let the water in between, so it entered the Syrian Sea. The people of the two islands call the quay that lies by the land of al-Andalus the causeway. 2
This is the account of the historians as al-Maqqari gives it. The museum does not vouch for its truth.
Sources
- Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib — al-Maqqari, p. 171-172
- Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib — al-Maqqari, p.171-172
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “الزقاق وجبل طارق”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/gibraltar/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.