us through his successes and his campaigns more then anything he wrote or was written of him by those who knew him. Charles was born to nothing, a bastard son of the Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia. The Kingdoms of the Franks were perennially split and reforged and split again and power had, for the last hundred

years, passed from the hands of the reigning kings into their mayors of the palace. As Figure 1 shows, Austrasia was hardly the greatest of these kingdoms, long since eclipsed by the unified thrones of Neustria and Burgundy, with the Frankish dukes of Aquitaine defying both kingdoms and their puppet kings. Nor was Charles accepted easily in Austrasia either. It took the young Frankish leader five years to defeat his rivals in Austrasia and a further five to subdue Neustria, and the nobles of Burgundy resisted his leadership for another 15 years. After defeating the Neustrians, he immediately turned to expanding his rule over other Germanic (or perhaps slavic) tribes like the Bavarians. Thus, we have a brief picture of the man who would build a dynasty, forged in battle, not particularly well liked by the church for his bastardy and his habit of confiscating Church lands to pay his soldiers.

The Umayyads do not have as easy a figure to draw out of history for their clashes with the Franks. The reigning Caliph ruled from far away Damascus

(most of the time), reigning over the largest empire in human History to that point. Figure 2 helps show the explosive expanse of the Islamic Caliphate under the Umayyads and their immediate predecessors.

CharlesMartel

The Fall of the Umayyads & the Rise of the Franks

IntroductionIn 750, the Umayyad Caliph Marwan II dies after fleeing defeat in the Battle of the Zab by the rival Islamic family of the Abbasids. Fifty years Later Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Romans or, as he preferred it, most serene Augustus crowned by God, the great, peaceful emperor ruling the Roman empire. These events might not seem to have much in common, but at one time it seemed, at least to the people living in that time that it would be an Islamic empire that came to rule over Europe, just as it came to rule over Syria, North Africa, and Iberia. So, what happened? How was the destiny of the Umayyads thwarted? How was it Franks and not Arabs that come to define the Middle ages and Europe?

Setting the Stage and Introducing the PlayersThis paper will focus on a period of roughly three decades in which the fortunes of the Umayyads wane and the fortune of the Frankish Carolingians rise. Leading this tale is a figure well known for his victories over the Muslims, but leaves little in the way of sources about him. Charles Martel comes to

Figure 1: Frankish Kingdoms upon Charles’ Ascension to Mayor of the Palace

When Charles Martel was fighting his rivals in Austrasia, the Umayyads were campaigning in India and Spain. Under the Umayyads, Most of North Africa, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, Most of Iberia, and parts of northwest India fell under Islamic rule. The foes that Charles Martel

and the Franks faced were the Islamic governors of Al-Andalus, a title that was not hereditary, and did change rapidly, and did change rapidly, though the most famous and prominent governor would be Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi.

A third side is represented in this story, that of Duke Odo ‘the great’ of Aquitaine. An independent Frankish ruler, Odo opposed the ascension of Martel until his allies’ defeat in 718, and it was Odo who first fought, and defeated the Muslims for a time. Odo’s realm was squished between these two extremely ambitious empires, and he was already under invasion before Charles even secured his own realm, and the Frankish Mayor

Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi

Figure 2: Comparative sizes of the major powers of the Mediteranean courtesy of http://gohighbrow.com/the-umayyad-ca-liphate/rebuffed his southern counterpart when asked for aid. The Islamic conquerors were halted in the Battle of Toulouse in 721, where the besieging Islamic forces ended up ambushed by Odo leading a relief force against the Muslims under the Arabic governor Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, who died shortly thereafter in Narbonne in Muslim controlled Septimania of his wounds.

The Battle that Everyone Thinks Saved the World (but Probably Didn’t)This grievous defeat would help keep keep the Umayyads out of Aquitaine for the next nine years, with the clever alliance made with a rebellious Berber leader in northern Iberia. In 731, though, it was Martel’s turn to attack, marching an army into Aquitaine, defeating Odo, and sacking the city of Bourges before returning to his realm to the north. At the same time the Umayyads under the most famous of their generals and governors, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, defeats the rebel Berber and subsequently moves a large raiding army into Aquitaine, sacking the city of Bordeaux and engaging Odo on the banks of the river Garonne, where Odo is decisively defeated, forcing the Aquitaine leader to retreat and ultimately accept Charles’ overlordship, setting the stage for the one of the most celebrated battles in European history.

Figure 3 shows us the primary Frankish kingdom

Figure 3: Charles Martel’s realm, Aquitaine, and tours overlayed over modern borders, courtesy ofhttp://www.classichistory.net/ar-chives/battle-of-tours

led by Charles Martel, the Frankish realm of Aquitaine, and the rough location of the battle of Tours (The precise location is not known) overlayed over modern geographic boundaries. The Frankish kingdom at this time was very large, and while some still resisted Martel’s rule. Charles has had seventeen years since he first rose to prominence to solidify his rule, and almost the entirety of that time was spent in battle unifying the Franks. He is one of the most tested battle commanders in the world leading on of the most battle hardened and well trained armies in the world, paid for largely in

Figure 4: Map of successful berber and other Rebellions in Morocco and Algiers courtesy of Georges Duby, Atlas Historique Mondial

land and thus likely highly motivated. On the other side we have the Umayyad armies of Al-Andulus led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. The two forces met on the banks of a river. Contemporary sources like the Chronicle of Isadore and the Mozarabic chronicle give us a rough picture of the battle, “Near the river Owar [Loire], the two great hosts of the two languages and the two creeds were set in array against each other. The hearts of Abderrahman, his captains and his men were filled with wrath and pride, and they were the first to begin to fight. The Moslem horsemen dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks, who resisted manfully, and many fell dead on either side, until the going down of the sun. Night parted the two armies: but in the grey of the morning the Moslems returned to the battle. Their cavaliers had soon hewn their way into the center of the Christian host. But many of the Moslems were fearful for the safety of the spoil, which they had stored in their tents, and a false cry arose in their ranks that some of the enemy were plundering the camp; whereupon several squadrons of the Moslem horsemen rode off to protect their tents. But it seemed as if they fled; and the entire host was troubled. And while Abderrahman strove to check their tumult, and to lead them back to battle, the warriors of the Franks came around him, and he was pierced through with many spears, so that he died. Then all the host fled before the enemy, and many died in the flight”

For his victory in battle, Charles earn the name Martel, though it is possible that this was a later 9th century appellation. This battle has a massive effect on both the psyche of Christian Europe and the Muslim Umayyads. It receives by far the most prominent descriptions in the primary sources, from both Arabic and Christian chroniclers. And it was a battle that proved to be ultimately as unimportant as the Umayyad’s defeat at Toulouse was ten years previously.

The Battles No One RememberIn less then two years, Islamic forces under the leadership of Yusuf ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri had taken Avignon, invited in by the local count

to aid against Charles, who was at this time likely campaigning against Duke Odo’s heir, Hunald, in Aquitaine. Shortly after that, Arles was also taken. The loss at Tours was barely even a speed bump for the aggression of the Umayyads, and in 737 a large force was being gathered by the new governor of Al-Andalus, Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj. Charles responded by sending his brother Childebrand to besiege Avignon, while Charles raised more forces to join him. When Charles arrived, he assaulted the city and destroyedthe Muslim forces therein before retaking Arles, destroying another Muslim army outside its walls, and both forces continue into Septimania, sacking a great number of towns and cities and destroying their Islamic Garrisons before settling in for a brief siege. Here Uqba sent a large relief force to the city, which was intercepted and destroyed on the river Berre, though Charles retreated soon after to return to Frankia, now fully unified under his rule. Again, it would seem that by force of arms Europe was saved from the Umayyads, in several battles eclipsing the importance of Tours. Yet, in 739 Charles was again campaigning against Muslim forces in Provence, barely two years after crushing the relief force of Ubqa in a campaign that we know relatively little about.

The Limits of Empire and Concluding thoughtsSo, why did the Umayyads stop? Four major campaigns and a fifth army gathered south of the Pyrenees, but 739 would be the last date for Muslim forces attacking into Frankish territory in any numbers. Figure 5 reveals perhaps the real answer. In 740 the Berbers revolted. The Berbers were a north African people that have likely been around for millenia. When the Umayyads conquered North Africa, a large amount of effort was spent of Islamic prosetelization of these semi nomadic peoples. This was, apparently, quite successful, as the Berbers seem to have taken to Islam rapidly. Yet texts evidence that the Berbers were treated often as lessers to their Arab overlords, despite making up a large amount of the armies the Umayyads had used to invade Iberia and Frankia in the first place. The Berber revolts started in western Africa, in Morocco and Algeria, and spread up into Al-Andalus. These

Aquitaineand Gascogne

Bourgogne

Neustria

Austrasia

Ummayad Cordoba

Paris

Rennes

Tours

Bordeaux

Touleuse

Narbon

ne

Oleans

Poiters

Arles

Troyes

Verdun Metz

Worms

Nevers

Koln

Treves

Geneve

Chalon

Avignon

721: Touleuse

731-2: Sack of Bordeauxand River Garonne

732: Tours

736-7: Siege of Avignon

737: Sack of Arles

737 Siege of NarbonneAnd battle of River Berre

Works Cited1. Fouracre, Paul. The Age of Charles Martel. Har-low, England ; New York: Longman, 2000.2. Wolf, Kenneth Baxter. Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain. 2nd ed. Translated Texts for Historians ; v. 9. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1999. Especially his English translation of the “Mozarabic Chronicles of 754”

Figure 2: http://gohighbrow.com/the-umayyad-ca-liphate/Figure 3: http://www.classichistory.net/archives/battle-of-toursFigure 4: Georges Duby, Atlas Historique Mondial, Ed. Larousse (2000), pp.220 & 224. Accessed via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_Revolt

Cutouts of Charles Martel and Abdul Rahmen Al Ghafiqi from Charles De Steuban’s Bataille de Poitiers, en octobre 732, Palace of Versailles, 1837

About the AuthorErin Ackerman is a Graduate Student in the History Department of George Mason University. He focuses on Late Antique European History, and especially Late Roman History. He lives in Alexandria Virginia and pursues a variety of history related hobbies.

Figure 5: Important battles and campaigns of the Umayyad invasion of Frankia And Charles Martel’s counter attack

revolts were very successful in Africa and Figure 5 shows the kingdoms that resulted. They were less successful in Iberia, though the governor there died fighting it. Shortly after the Berber revolts, civil war erupted in the Arabic homelands, eventually leading to the defeat of the Umayyads in the Middle East and the rise of the Abbasids, though Umayyad rule lasted in Al-Andalus for another two hundred years. The truth is that the Umayyads spread too quick, too fast, and fell apart because of the strain of ruling such a large empire with so many diverse peoples inside it.

So, if Charles Martel was not really important in preventing Islamic occupation of Europe, then why write about his campaigns against he Muslims at all? These campaigns formed the nucleus of a united Frankia that would later go on to dominate Western Europe and create the basis of medieval society. Referring back to figure 3, you can see just how much territory Martel controlled, and this empire would only grow, though the gravelkind successions preferred by the franks would ensure that every successive generation would have to reinforce their rule each time. It is doubtless though, without Martel, Aquitaine and Provence would have fallen under Islamic control, at least briefly, and Europe would look far far different today then it does.