Karl Martel,
King of Austrasia:
34th great-grandfather
Charles
Martel re-established Frankish authority in southern Gaul, where the local
authorities could not cope with the Islamic threat; he stopped the Muslims
near Poitiers (Battle of Tours; 732) and used this opportunity to subdue
Aquitaine (735-736). The Muslims then turned toward Provence, and Charles
Martel sent several expeditions against them and stopped their advance
in Europe.
This is how it is usually presented, but actually it was duke Eudes, once an ally of Charles, who had become disloyal and promptly called to his aid the Saracens, Moors from Africa, who, entering Spain in 711, had soon conquered it and were now (732) threatening Gaul. Led by their king, 'Abd ar-Rahman, they marched for Bordeaux, burning churches and plundering. From Bordeaux they went across Aquitaine to Poitiers. It was outside here that Charles Martel came upon them and put them to flight. |
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