October 10, 732 Charles Martel leads his Burgundian and Frankish forces against Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi's Moorish forces at Poitiers, France. I recall to this day teaching my students fifty years ago that this battle was the turning point in the religious conflict between Islam and Christianity. The spread of Islam into Europe was halted.While this point of view was generally held by historians well into the twentieth century, there are those today who are reevaluating and rewriting this position. That this battle had great significance to the development of Western history is unquestioned.
Charles the Hammer consolidated the power of the Carolingian Empire, and the Franks dominated Europe for the next century.
The Battle of Tours, or the Battle of Poitiers is known in Arabic as the Battle of the Court of the Martyrs. 732 A.D. is a date that should be remembered by all. The battle, at least, was won. The war, nearly thirteen centuries later, in the opinion of some, is not over.
6 comments:
Interesting how (way too often) history is rewritten.
Vee, that seems to be an industry in today's world.
All I can say is THANK THE LIVING GOD (not the moon god, allah) for the Battle of Tours.
I homeschool my kids. History is often the most important subject for homeschools. Thank God that in this country, we are free to homeschool.
Rebeccam agreed, And while it is true we can never know every detail, the benefit to Western development is clear. I'll stick with Gibbon.
I had sure forgotten that battle.
Shark, always happy to provide a review lesson. ;-)
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