Battle of tours 732. Frankish Gaul (486 2019-01-18
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Frankish Gaul (486
However, the French army, made up of foot soldiers armed with swords, shields, axes, spears and daggers was very well trained. Western historians, beginning with the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754, stressed the macrohistorical impact of the battle, as did the Continuations of Fredegar. The victory led to the creation of a buffer zone between the Frankish Kingdom and the Muslim , known as the Marca Hispanica or Spanish March, which would ultimately develop into Catalonia. Forming a large square, his men surprised Abdul Rahman, forcing the Umayyad emir to pause for a week to consider his options. He conquered Umayyad fortresses and destroyed their garrisons at the and the. They had come together in a last ditch effort to stop the Muslim invasion of Western Europe. After taking time to secure his borders, Charles won a decisive victory at Soissons over Chilperic and the Duke of Aquitaine, Odo the Great, in 718.
With the Frankish lands secured, Charles next began to prepare for an anticipated attack from the Muslim to the south. This would point to the battle surely being a great victory, but not a crushing one as Charles still had to fear a possible ambush. As Martel surveyed the battlefield afterwards, even the hardened commander was appalled. At the passage of the river, Abderrahman overthrew the count, and the count retired into his stronghold, but the Muslims fought against it, and entered it by force, and slew the count; for everything gave way to their scimitars swords , which were the robbers of lives. The Battle of Tours was also known as the Battle of Poitiers Formation of Battle Lines The key advantage that the invading Moorish army had over the Franks was its highly mobile cavalry. No such later attempts however were made as conflict between the Umayyad Emirate of Iberia and the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad prevented a unified assault on Europe.
The war was far from over. The reason why Odo was defeated so easily at Bordeaux and Garonne, but had won 11 years earlier at the Battle of Toulouse is simple. Other relevant evidence of the importance of this battle lies in Islamic expansion into all other regions of the old Roman Empire -- except for Europe, and what was retained by Byzantium, the Caliphate took all of the old Roman and Persian Empires. The Franks resumed their phalanx, and rested in place through the night, believing the battle would resume at dawn the following morning. Shortly before his death in 714, Pippin's first wife, Plectrude, convinced him to disinherit his other children in favor of his eight-year old grandson Theudoald.
In one of the rare instances where medieval infantry stood up against cavalry charges, the disciplined Frankish soldiers withstood the assaults, though according to Arab sources, the Arab cavalry several times broke into the interior of the Frankish square. It was fought in an area between the cities of and , in the of west-central France, near the village of , about 20 kilometres 12 mi northeast of Poitiers. According to Arab sources, the Franks drew up in a large square, with hills and trees in their front to diminish or break up Muslim cavalry charges. He drew up his host, and he fought as fiercely as the hungry wolf falls upon the stag. Though not a crushing victory it was a definite turning point for the push of Islam into Europe.
Decisive Battles of the World revised ed. Contemporary analysis Had Martel fallen at Tours the long term implications for European Christianity may have been devastating. Charles re-formed his troops expecting another attack the next day, but to his surprise, it never came as the Umayyads continued their retreat all the way to Iberia. Charles was that rarest of commonities in the dark ages: a brilliant stategic general, who also was a tactical commander par excellance, able in the crush and heat of battle to adapt his plans to his foes forces and movement -- and amazingly, defeated them repeatedly, especially when, as at Tours, they were far superior in men and weaponry, and at Berre and Narbonne, when they were superior in numbers of brave fighting men. The Muslim conquests were not inherently about religion, especially seeing as the conquerors allowed freedom of religion in conquered territories, but their presence and culture was a direct threat to Western Christianity. Charles Martel, commander of the Franks, who were largely infantry based, and likely equal in number to the Muslim army, would fight General Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, who commanded the Umayyad army that had a large amount of cavalry. The Battle of Tours was over.
The Battle of Tours often called the Battle of Poitiers, but not to be confused with the Battle of Poitiers, 1356 was fought on October 10, 732 between forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel and a massive invading Islamic army led by Emir Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al Rahman, near the city of Tours, France. Illustration from the 19th century. Agreeing, Martel began raising his army to meet the invaders. His ability to coordinate infantry and cavalry veterans was unequaled in that era and enabled him to face superior numbers of invaders, and decisively defeat them again and again. Their tireless hands drove their swords down to the breasts of the foe.
Combatants Franks, led by Charles Martel. Few Empires emerged as quickly as that of the Muslim Caliphates. He defeated the Umayyad forces and killed their leader, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. Your article will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. And that army went through all places like a desolating storm. Originally published August 7, 2015 Sources: Bulfinch's Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch Welcome new readers! The Battle of Tours Once his army had gathered, he marched to the fortified city of Tours, on the border with Aquitaine, to await the Muslim advance.
Coming before Charles Martel, the Frankish mayor of the palace, Odo was promised aid only if he promised to submit to the Franks. In 736, he led his forces in reclaiming Montfrin, Avignon, Arles, and Aix-en-Provence. No good general, and Abd er Rahman was one, liked to let his opponent pick the ground and conditions for battle -- and Martel had done both. Crusading Peace: Christendom, the Muslim World, and Western Political Order. This included subduing Burgundy in 739. This Charles Martel was practically overlord of Europe north of the Alps from the to Hungary.
