They say that when the two armies were advancing upon each other, and the eyes of Roderic fell upon the men in the first ranks, he was horror-stricken, and was heard to exclaim:  “By the faith of the Messiah!  These are the very men I saw painted on the scroll found in the mansion of science at Toledo;” and from that moment fear entered his heart; and when Tarik perceived Roderic, he said to his followers, “This is the King of the Christians,” and he charged with his men, the warriors who surrounded Roderic being on all sides scattered and dispersed; seeing which, Tarik plunged into the ranks of the enemy until he reached the King, and wounded him with his sword on the head and killed him on his throne; and when Rodericks men saw their King fall, and his bodyguard dispersed, the rout became general, and victory remained with the Moslems.

The rout of the Christians was complete, for instead of rallying on one spot, they fled in all directions, and, their panic being communicated to their countrymen, cities opened their gates, and castles surrendered without resistance.

The preceding account we have borrowed from a writer of great note, but we deem it necessary to warn the readers that the assertion that Roderic died by the hands of Tarik has been contradicted by several historians, since his body, although diligently sought on the field of battle, could nowhere be found.

We shall proceed to recount in detail that memorable battle, when Almighty God was pleased to put King Roderic’s army to flight and grant the Moslems a most complete victory.  Several authors who have described at large this famous engagement state that Tarik encamped near Roderic, toward the middle of the month of Ramadan of the year 92 (September, A.D. 711), and although there is some difference as to the dates, all agree that the battle was fought on the banks of the Guadalete.  They say also that while both armies were encamped in front of each other, the barbarian King, wishing to ascertain the exact amount of Tarik’s forces, sent one of his men, whose valor and strength he knew, and in whose fidelity he placed unbounded confidence, with instructions to penetrate into Tarik’s camp, and bring him an account of their number, arms, accoutrements, and vessels.

The Christian proceeded to execute his commission, and reached a small elevation, whence he had a commanding view of the whole camp.  However, he had not remained long in his place of observation before he was discovered by some Moslems, who pursued him; but the Christian fled before them, and escaped through the swiftness of his horse.