Incited by the prospect of absolute success, Muza collected in the following year a well-equipped army of 12,000 men, to the command of which Tarik was appointed. Embarking on board a large flotilla, he once more crossed the Strait, and, this time, landed on the sandy isthmus which connects the Rock with the Spanish mainland. Before entering on the conquest of the country, he deemed it advisable to secure his communication with Africa, by establishing a strong military position on the coast; and his keen eye having at once detected the value of the Rock, he ordered a castle to be raised upon it. Some portions of this ancient structure still remain; and an inscription discovered over the principal gate, before it was demolished, recorded the completion of the work in 725. “Thou, Calpe, saw’st their coming; ancient rock Renowned, no longer now shalt thou be called From gods and heroes of the years of yore, Kronos, or hundred-handed Briareus, Bacchus or Hercules; but doomed to bear The name of thy new conqueror, and thenceforth To stand his everlasting monument. Thou saw’st the dark-blue waters flash before Their ominous way, and whiten round their keels; Their swarthy myriads darkening o’er thy sands. There on the beach the Misbelievers spread Their banners, flaunting to the sun and breeze; Fair shone the sun upon their proud array, White turbans, glittering armour, shields engrailed With gold, and scymitars of Syrian steel; And gently did the breezes, as in sport, Curl their long flags outrolling, and display The blazoned scrolls of blasphemy. Too soon The gales of Spain from that unhappy land Wafted, as from an open charnel-house, The taint of death; and that bright sun, from fields Of slaughter, with the morning dew drew up Corruption through the infected atmosphere.” Leaving a small force at the foot of Jebel-Tarik, as the Saracens named the Rock, in honour of their leader, Tarik pushed forward to the westward, captured Carteia, and encountered the Goths, under King Roderick, near Xeres in Andalusia. The battle was fiercely contested. The Goths fought with all their old valour, and victory might have rested with King Roderick, had not some of his nobles, with their followers, deserted him at the crisis of the fight, and joined the invaders. The Goths then gave way, and the Moors pressing them closely, their retreat soon became a headlong flight.