"O people, there's no escape; your enemy is in front of you and the sea behind you"...?

Question

After crossing a sea strait that was later named after him, then burning all his ships, a mighty military commander said the above to his army before geting into the battle:

1. Who is the military commander?
2. What is his nationality?
3. What is the name of the strait
4. Who are the people he fought?

PS: People who are biased and agressively use foul languages are jackasses.So choose what kind of a person you want to be!

Answer 1

Ship burning
Western histories claim Tariq ordered his soldiers to burn their boats as soon as they had reached Spain. Chinese general Xiang Yu did the same thing to show his soldiers that they have no other options but to win almost a millennium earlier, in 208 BC , as did Hernan Cortez when he landed in Mexico to conquer the Mexica. Being of fierce chivalrous nature, this story states that Tariq's policy was either to conquer the enemy or to die in honor. His soldiers followed orders bravely. This lead to the Battle of Guadalete 711 CE.


[edit] Tariq's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE
Another more detailed account of the famous speech of Tariq is as follows: When Tariq had been informed of the approach of the enemy, he rose in the midst of his companions and, after having glorified God in the highest, he spoke to his soldiers thus:

"Oh my people, whither would you flee? Behind you is the sea, before you, the enemy. You have left now only the hope of your courage and your constancy. Remember that in this country you are more unfortunate than the orphan seated at the table of the avaricious master. Your enemy is before you, protected by an innumerable army; he has men in abundance, but you, as your only aid, have your own swords, and, as your only chance for life, such chance as you can snatch from the hands of your enemy. If the absolute want to which you are reduced is prolonged ever so little, if you delay to seize immediate success, your good fortune will vanish, and your enemies, whom your very presence has filled with fear, will take courage. Put far from you the disgrace from which you flee in dreams, and attack this monarch who has left his strongly fortified city to meet you. Here is a splendid opportunity to defeat him, if you will consent to expose yourselves freely to death. Do not believe that I desire to incite you to face dangers which I shall refuse to share with you. In the attack I myself will be in the fore, where the chance of life is always least.
"Remember that if you suffer a few moments in patience, you will afterward enjoy supreme delight. Do not imagine that your fate can be separated from mine, and rest assured that if you fall, I shall perish with you, or avenge you. You have heard that in this country there are a large number of ravishingly beautiful Greek maidens, their graceful forms are draped in sumptuous gowns on which gleam pearls, coral, and purest gold, and they live in the palaces of royal kings. The Commander of True Believers, Alwalid, son of Abdalmelik, has chosen you for this attack from among all his Arab warriors; and he promises that you shall become his comrades and shall hold the rank of kings in this country. Such is his confidence in your intrepidity. The one fruit which he desires to obtain from your bravery is that the word of God shall be exalted in this country, and that the true religion shall be established here. The spoils will belong to yourselves.
"Remember that I place myself in the front of this glorious charge which I exhort you to make. At the moment when the two armies meet hand to hand, you will see me, never doubt it, seeking out this Roderick, tyrant of his people, challenging him to combat, if God is willing. If I perish after this, I will have had at least the satisfaction of delivering you, and you will easily find among you an experienced hero, to whom you can confidently give the task of directing you. But should I fall before I reach to Roderick, redouble your ardor, force yourselves to the attack and achieve the conquest of this country, in depriving him of life. With him dead, his soldiers will no longer defy you."
(Tarik's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes').

The Battle of Guadalete took place July 19, 711, at the Guadalete River (or La Janda Lake) in the southern extreme of the Iberian peninsula. It was quite possibly a decisive defeat for the Visigoth king Roderic (or Rodrigo), who disappeared or fled and was not seen killed, and an important victory for the Muslim forces that defeated him, about 7,000-9,000 Arabs and Berbers led by Tariq ibn Ziyad.

It has been conjectured that most of the prominent members of the Visigothic establishment, including the royal court, were also killed along with the king. This may explain the absolute lack of organized resistance to the invaders after the battle by the Visigothic state. Only scanty remainders of the Visigothic army escaped the massacre and sheltered in Ecija, near Seville. Shortly after, the city was put under siege and it capitulated. The governor of Northern Africa, Musa ibn Nusayr, who had sent Tariq, followed the next year with an army of about 15,000. The Moors proceeded to conquer most of the Iberian peninsula within the next five years.

Pelayo of Asturias, a low level official of the Visigothic state, escaped the Moors and went on to found the Kingdom of Asturias, resisting Muslim overlordship from the northwest corner of the peninsula. It is not clear whether Pelayo fought at Guadalete, however most historians believe he was not present. Pelayo is credited with beginning the Reconquista at the Battle of Covadonga.

Answer 2

I feel very sorry for you dude , after reading the caption about jackasses. see there really are people like you out there who live in a public school induced trace called " zero tolerance". as a grraduate of this line of thinking and I know many , it is most likely that you are deviod of feeling or passion for anything, or you would realise that cussing while a bankrupt way of communication often occurs when passions are aroused and one feels strongly, about something.

this lack of feeling is dangerous, trends are indicating that it maybe the #1 cause of divorce and Dysfunctional , abusive families in america. this being owed to the fact the adults in question are so naive about them selves and thier own passionate ideologies they don't know how to cope with them and when the moment comes they over react.

i'm just giving you a reality check, going through live not feeling strongly about anything, is NOT living.

Answer 3

This is totally speculative but it could be Hernan Cortes (sometimes spelled Hernando Cortez), when he attempted to conquer Mexico and fight the aztecs in 1519.He did not burn but his ships but rather scuffle them, but it seems there was a legend that said he had burnt them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Mexico

The following link based on an old encyclopedia still says that he did burn them :
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Hernan_Cortes

Answer 4

Interesting you call people jackasses. but you are biased against foul aggressive language.