Tariq ibn Ziyad (15 November 689 ??11 April 720) was a great Muslim Umayyad general who led the conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711 under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I. Tariq ibn Ziyad is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Iberian history. He was initially the deputy of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior from the north coast of Morocco to launch the first thrust of a conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom (comprising modern Spain and Portugal). The name 'Gibraltar' derives from the Arabic Jebel Tariq, or 'Mountain of Tariq', and is named for Tariq ibn Ziyad.