Medieval History
Battle of Toulouse (721)
The Battle of Toulouse (721) was a victory of an Aquitanian Christian army led by the duke Odo of Aquitaine over an Umayyad Muslim army besieging the city of Toulouse, and led by the governor of Al-Andalus, Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani. The victory checked the spread of Umayyad control westward from Narbonne into Aquitaine and the Atlantic Ocean.
 |
| Al-Samh may have skipped heavily fortified Carcassone (conquered in 725) on his way to Toulouse. Photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont |
CONTEXT
After a relatively easy conquest campaign in Hispania, the expanding Ummayad force, who had broken into Hispania eight years before, crossed the Pyrenees on the east into Visigoth Septimania as early as 716. The last recorded Visigothic king Ardo tried to fend them off but was defeated, and died early on (721). In 719, Septimania was overrun by Al-Samh´s forces, and its most important stronghold, Narbonne, subdued despite ineffective local resistance. By 720, the city was made the head Muslim city in Septimania.
The Muslim conquest generated a sizable number of Visigoth refugees from north-eastern Iberia and Septimania, with duke Odo providing shelter to them. Probably as a consequence Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, the ''wali'' (governor) of Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) went on to set his eyes on the next realm on the north, the duchy of Aquitaine - Vasconia ruled by the duke Odo, formally suzerain to the Franks, but de facto independent.
The Muslim conquest generated a sizable number of Visigoth refugees from north-eastern Iberia and Septimania, with duke Odo providing shelter to them. Probably as a consequence Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, the ''wali'' (governor) of Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) went on to set his eyes on the next realm on the north, the duchy of Aquitaine - Vasconia ruled by the duke Odo, formally suzerain to the Franks, but de facto independent.
THE BATTLE
Al-Samh built up a strong army from Umayyad territories to conquer Aquitaine through the axis of the Garonne. In early spring 721, the Umayyad army arrived at the gates of Toulouse, the most important Aquitanian city at the time and bordering on Vasconia to the west, and launched an attack. Odo may have not been expecting this straight Umayyad thrust against the core of Aquitaine, which took the duke by surprise, and the Muslim army managed to lay siege to the Aquitanian stronghold. The Muslim troops included siege engines, infantry, a few horsemen and numerous mercenaries. Also, we hear, not without some surprise, that the Muslim troops were accompanied by redoubtable Basque slingers ? it should be remembered that Pamplona had surrendered to the Muslims with favorable conditions probably by 714.
Overwhelmed by the military expedition estimated at thousands or, possibly, tens of thousands, the duke Odo (also known as Eudes) immediately left to find help. In his quest, Odo asked the assistance of Charles Martel, with whom he had concluded a peace treaty finishing the Frankish civil war led by Charles against his Frankish rivals, the Merovingians. The Frankish leader then preferred to wait and see his southern rival struggle against the assailants. Undaunted, Odo returned three months later?just as the city was about to surrender? with a military force made up of Aquitanians and Franks.
The victory was essentially the result of a classic enveloping movement by Odo. After the duke originally fled, the Muslims became overconfident, and instead of maintaining strong outer defenses around their siege camp, and continuously scouting, did neither. Thus, when Odo returned, he was able to launch an almost totally surprise attack on the siege force, scattering it with the first attack, and slaughtering units that were resting or fled without weapons or armour.
AFTERMATH
The number of the warriors clashing in battle has been greatly pumped up to about 300,000 on Odo's side (Al-Maqqari) and a whopping death-toll of 375,000 on the assaulting Ummayaad troops. At any rate, the figures give a rough idea of the dimensions of the confrontation. Arab historians agree that the Battle of Toulouse was a total disaster. After the defeat, the fateful date would be still remembered in memorials by Muslims for the following 450 years.
Furthermore, the heroic victory was celebrated with gifts from the Pope, who declared the Aquitanian duke a Champion of Christianity and solidified his independence, providing him with a legitimacy that clearly didn´t go down well with rival leaders and enemies, especially the Catholic Charles Martel, for whom Odo´s victory and the Roman recognition may have come as a major setback, eager as Charles was of recognition and legitimacy for his tenure of office. The outcome of the engagement also earned the duke widespread popularity within Aquitaine, as attested by contemporary sources.
After the defeat, some Muslim officials and soldiers managed to escape, mainly to Narbonne, among them the future Muslim governor and main figure at the important Battle of Tours (732) Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani managed to get away with a fraction of his forces, but died shortly thereafter, leaving Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi (721-725) as governor and thus inaugurating a more aggressive period of hard exaction (taxation, etc.) imposed on the local Iberian and Septimanian population.
After the defeat, some Muslim officials and soldiers managed to escape, mainly to Narbonne, among them the future Muslim governor and main figure at the important Battle of Tours (732) Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani managed to get away with a fraction of his forces, but died shortly thereafter, leaving Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi (721-725) as governor and thus inaugurating a more aggressive period of hard exaction (taxation, etc.) imposed on the local Iberian and Septimanian population.
The clash halted probably further attempts by the Umayyad to expand northwards with territorial ambitions, preferring instead to focus on conquering the remains of the Visigothic kingdom in Septimania. Al-Andalus was at the time rife with inter-Ethnic disputes for power and reorganising into a new after-Gothic order. However, they kept the military initiative: in 725 the wali Anbasa ibn Suhaym managed to capture Carcassone, a Visigothic outpost on the borders of western Septimania, and went on to raid several times up the Lower Rhone valley (reaching Autun in 725), set to the east of the Rhone river in the semi-autonomous region of Provence but bordering on Burgundy. The kingdom of Burgundy was de facto a Frankish territory, a fact that may have made the Frankish commander Charles uneasy.
FURTHER READING
1. Collins, Roger. 1990. The Basques. Basil Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-17565-2.
2. Meadows, Ian. 1993. The Arabs in Occitania. Saudi Aramco.
3. Euskomedia Fundazioa. Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia
2. Meadows, Ian. 1993. The Arabs in Occitania. Saudi Aramco.
3. Euskomedia Fundazioa. Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia
4. Lewis, Archibald R. 1965. Expansion into Gascony and Catalonia. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718-1050. University of Texas Press.
- Vasconia, Independent With Aquitaine (660-769)
The Basques were brought to heel in 635 after a gigantic Franco-Burgundian expedition. The Basque leaders vowed loyalty to Frankish king Dagobert I, but after his death the Merovingian dynasty sank in a steady decline started with the so-called rois...
- Vasconia: Early Merovingian Period (602-660)
Prehistoric megalithic monuments like this, mainly dolmens and cromlechs, were important landmarks erected at crossroads and mountain passes. Still in the Early Medieval Ages, representatives of neighbouring tribes and valleys honoured their ancestors...
- The Duchy Of Vasconia: Extent And Organization
The Duchy of Vasconia (or Wasconia) was initially (AD 602) a polity created by the Franks aimed at holding sway over the Basques. The first dukes appointed were of Germanic stock, but Vasconia was far away from the Frankish heartland and despite its suzerainty...
- Fort Hood, Murder, And Islam
I don't have too much to say about this whole event, especially since nobody really knows anything about Maj. Hasan's motives at this time. They will, however, get to talk to him eventually. There's a lot of speculation, a lot...
- The Ancient Republic Of Rome Part 2: The Pyrrhic War Against Rome
My other blogs are:http://religion-by-kyle.blogspot.comhttp://astronomy-by-kyle.blogspot.comThe Pyrrhic War Against Rome The Ancient Republic of Rome Part 2:PYRRHUS OF EPIRUS- 319/318-272 B.C.: Who doesn't like the vast army of a frustrated Greek...