In fact, we have very few written testimonies about the early days of the war in Spain. However, it is important to emphasize one essential fact. Most Arab  
historians agree on the low participation of Oriental and Arabic immigrants in Tārīq ibn Ziyād's expedition. These low numbers are undoubtedly explained by the engagement of a large part of the Caliphate armies in Sindh, Transoxiana, Khawārezm and Samarkand. Furthermore, the extent of military operations and the distance from his generals naturally increased the distrust felt by the Caliph al-Walīd ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwān (r. 86 AH/705 CE-96 AH/715 CE). What he feared most was to lose control of the prefects who were far from the centre of the Caliphate, separated from it by water and inaccessible mountains. Initially, he showed his hostility to such a distant venture, but on the insistence of the governor of the Maghreb, he changed his mind. It was not until 714 CE that he hurriedly dispatched eighteen thousand men to Mūsā ibn Nuṣayr.