Umayyad invasion of Gaul

The Umayyads invaded Gaul, which is modern-day France, after taking control of the Iberian peninsula from 711 to 718. The invasion happened in two main times, starting in 719 and then again in 732. The Umayyads controlled a place called Septimania in the south, but they could not go further north into areas like the Loire and Rhône valleys. By 759, the Christian Frankish Empire took back Septimania, and the Muslim forces returned to the Iberian Peninsula, which they called al-Andalus.

The invasion in 719 was part of the Umayyads' taking over the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania. Septimania was the last part of the Visigothic Kingdom not taken. Muslim armies, made up of Arabs and Berbers, started campaigns in Septimania in 719. After taking Narbonne, the main city of the remaining Visigothic area, in 720, they moved north towards Aquitaine. Their advance was stopped at the Battle of Toulouse in 721, but they still did raids in the southern half of Gaul, reaching as far as Avignon and Lyon.

A big raid by the Umayyads towards Tours was defeated in the Battle of Tours in 732. After this battle, the Franks started to control Aquitaine and Burgundy, but it was not until 759 that they took the southern area of Septimania. This happened because the Muslim leaders were not paying much attention and people in the Visigothic area were not happy.

After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate and the start of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750, there were inner problems in al-Andalus, such as uprisings and the making of the Emirate of Córdoba by Abd al-Rahman I. Because of this, the Muslim leaders focused more on fixing their own areas. Still, they did send out some soldiers to go into Gaul from time to time.

In the ninth century, a Muslim attack on Gaul led to the building of a place called Fraxinetum in Provence. This fortress stayed there for almost 100 years.

Umayyad conquest of Septimania

By 716, the Kingdom of the Visigoths had become small, only including the area around Narbonensis, which is now part of Languedoc-Roussillon. In 717, leaders from the Umayyad Caliphate came across the mountains into this area for the first time. Over the next few years, they tried to take control of the land.

The new leader from the Umayyad Caliphate, al-Samh, entered the area in 719 and took over the city of Narbonne in 720. Even though there were some battles, like the Battle of Toulouse (721), they kept control of Narbonne and other cities. They made agreements with local leaders. These leaders could keep some freedom if they paid taxes and agreed to Umayyad rule. Many leaders agreed, thinking this was better than fighting or being taken over by others.

Raid into Aquitaine and Poitou

Uthman ibn Naissa's revolt

By 725, all of Septimania was under Umayyad rule. Uthman ibn Naissa, the ruler of the eastern Pyrenees, broke away from Cordova and made his own small kingdom. He allied with the Aquitanian duke Odo and married Odo's daughter. Uthman killed Nambaudus, the bishop of Urgell, who was acting for the Church of Toledo.

The new Umayyad governor in Cordova, Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, led an expedition to stop Uthman. Uthman was surrounded and killed in Cerdanya.

Umayyad expedition over Aquitaine

Al-Ghafiqi attacked Uthman's ally, Duke Odo of Aquitaine. Odo had recently fought a big attack from Charles Martel on Bourges and northern Aquitaine. Odo gathered soldiers and fought Al-Ghafiqi's forces as they moved north through the western Pyrenees. Odo was defeated at the Battle of the River Garonne in 732. The Umayyad force then moved north to invade Poitou and tried to take the Basilica of Saint-Martin-de-Tours.

Battle of Tours (732)

Odo warned the Frankish commander Charles Martel about the danger to the important Frankish city of Tours. Umayyad forces were defeated in the Battle of Tours in 732, which many consider a key moment that stopped further expansion into Gaul. After Odo died in 735 and Charles Martel dealt with other areas, the Umayyad threats in this region ended.

Expansion to Provence and Charles Martel

In 734, forces led by Abd el-Malik el Fihri took control of cities such as Avignon, Arles, and likely Marseille. These cities were ruled by a local leader named Maurontus, who asked for help to protect against Charles Martel's strong army.

Charles Martel faced challenges from local leaders who did not support him. He worked with the Lombard King Liutprand to fight back. In 737, Charles destroyed Avignon and a fleet, but his brother Childebrand could not capture Narbonne. Charles also attacked and destroyed walls in cities like Beziers, Agde, Maguelone, Montpellier, and Nîmes that had worked with the invaders. Before leaving, Charles defeated all opposition in the area, and Count Maurontus of Marseille fled to the Alps.

Muslim loss of Septimania

The Muslim leaders controlled Septimania for about 15 years. But after their main government fell in 750, they had many problems in their own lands. In 752, the new Frankish king Pepin, the son of Charles, decided to attack Septimania. He used the Muslim leaders’ problems and the unhappiness of local nobles. That year, Pepin captured Nimes and took most of Septimania, reaching the gates of Narbonne.

Pepin faced opposition from Waiffer, the Duke of Aquitaine. Waiffer attacked Pepin’s troops with Basque soldiers during the siege of Narbonne. Pepin took Narbonne in 759 by promising to follow local laws and gaining support from the nobles. This ended Muslim control in southern Gaul. Pepin then turned his attention to the Duchy of Aquitaine.

Later, Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, worked to expand the Frankish Empire beyond Septimania and the Pyrenees. He created a protected area called the Spanish March as a buffer between the Frankish lands and the Muslim rulers. Over time, this area, together with the Kingdom of Asturias, helped support the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Controversial Issues

Some historians talk about the damage that happened when Muslim forces moved through parts of France. They say that many important Christian places like monasteries and churches were destroyed. But others think differently. They say this was a time of much conflict, with Christian groups also fighting and causing damage. Even leaders like Clovis, a famous Frankish king, destroyed churches and monasteries in fights.

There are also different ideas about how the local people reacted to the Muslim forces. Some say the people did not welcome them, except for a few who did not have strong beliefs or ties to a homeland. Others argue that many people in these areas were not yet strong Christians and did not feel a deep connection to the land. Some even suggest that Roman people in the area saw the Muslim forces as protection from the Franks, whom they did not trust or respect.

Legacy

Some French words come from Arabic. For example, the word tordjman, meaning translator, became drogoman in an old language of Provence. Another word, charaha, meaning to discuss, turned into "charabia." Some place names also have Arabic origins, like Ramatuelle and Saint-Pierre de l'Almanarre, which was named after a lighthouse called al-manar.