When the armies drew nearer to each other, the princes began to spin
the web of their treason; and for this purpose a messenger was sent by
them to Tarik, informing him how Roderic, who had been a mere menial and
servant to their father, had, after his death, usurped the throne; that
the princes had by no means relinquished their rights, and that they
implored protection and security for themselves. They offered to desert,
and pass over to Tarik with the troops under their command, on condition
that the Arab general would, after subduing the whole of Andalusia,
secure to them all their father's possessions, amounting to three
thousand valuable and chosen farms, the same that received after this
the name of _Safaya-l-moluk_, "the royal portion." This offer Tarik
accepted; and, having agreed to the conditions, on the next day the sons
of Wittiza deserted the ranks of the Gothic army in the midst of battle,
and passed over to Tarik, this being, no doubt, one of the principal
causes of the conquest.
Roderic arrived on the banks of the Guadalete with a formidable army,
which most historians compute at one hundred thousand cavalry; although
Ibnu Khaldun makes it amount to forty thousand men only.
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