Charles Martel and the defense of Europe at the Battle of Tours

After the collapse of Roman control in the west, the Franks took hold of Gaul and established themselves as one of the most powerful successor kingdoms.

Their rule began under Clovis I, who founded the Merovingian dynasty in the late fifth century, although royal authority weakened over time as real control passed to the mayors of the palace, who ran the court and commanded the armies.

Among these powerful officials, Pepin of Herstal became the leading figure in Frankish politics by the end of the seventh century and he served as mayor of the palace in Austrasia.

He increased his influence over both Austrasia and Neustria by securing military victories and arranging alliances. 

Soon after Pepin’s death in 714, the Frankish kingdom fell into disorder. Without naming a legitimate heir, Pepin left behind a uncertain succession.

His only capable son Charles had been born to his concubine Alpaida, and even with the support of many nobles for Plectrude and her young grandson Theudoald, Plectrude's authority quickly collapsed.

Plectrude had imprisoned Charles in Cologne in an attempt to remove him from power, yet that decision backfired as unrest spread across the kingdom. 

Within a year, Charles had escaped captivity and had begun to gather supporters from the Austrasian nobility, many of whom resented Neustrian meddling and feared the collapse of Frankish unity.

After he had organised a trained army, Charles crushed the Neustrians at the Battle of Amblève in 716 and again at Vincy in 717, where he forced them to retreat.

He pursued his enemies relentlessly and defeated the Frisians and Saxons, who took the chance to break free from Frankish control.

By 718, Charles had taken control of most of Francia and forced Plectrude into retirement, which left him in clear control of the kingdom. 

Once he held military power, Charles refused to claim the kingship. He instead continued to rule as mayor of the palace and he used the Merovingian monarchy to maintain legitimacy.

To strengthen his control, he installed Chlothar IV in 718 as a ceremonial king and later replaced him with Theuderic IV, who held the crown while Charles governed without meddling. 

At the same time, he turned his attention to securing Frankish borders. First, he launched campaigns against the Frisians, who had remained hostile.

After their leader Radbod had died, Charles expanded Frankish control to the northern coastal regions and imposed his rule when he installed loyal local officials.

Then, he marched east to confront the Saxons, who had long resisted Frankish rule.

His campaigns in Saxon territory included the destruction of settlements and forced the Saxons to submit, which reduced rebellion in the region. 

Later, he addressed unrest in the south, including the Duchy of Aquitaine and parts of Burgundy, which had refused to follow Merovingian leadership for years.

In 731, Charles led a military expedition into Aquitaine, seized Bordeaux, and forced Duke Odo to accept his command.

That agreement would prove vital, as Odo soon faced a far greater danger: an invading army from al-Andalus. 

Since 711, the Umayyad Caliphate had controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula.

Their army crossed the Pyrenees in 732 and launched a rapid campaign deep into Gaul under the leadership of Abdul Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

Towns fell quickly, monasteries were looted, churches were destroyed, and at the Battle of the River Garonne near Bordeaux, Odo’s forces were crushed.

His army had scattered, and he had fled north to appeal to Charles Martel. This invasion followed earlier Umayyad raids, including the sack of Autun in 725, which demonstrated the growing aims of Muslim commanders in the region. 

Soon after receiving Odo’s plea, Charles had begun preparations for war. He had assembled a trained Frankish army composed of veteran infantry and had refused to rely on cavalry manoeuvres.

Instead, he chose defensive terrain near Tours, where forested high ground between the rivers Clain and Vienne gave his men an advantage.

His soldiers formed tight shield walls and used the terrain to restrict enemy movement and many of them carried round shields, spathae, and throwing axes such as the francisca.

When the Umayyad army faced them, it relied heavily on swift cavalry units that were skilled in mobile raiding tactics. 

Fighting began in October and continued for several days. The Muslim cavalry launched repeated attacks, but Charles’s forces held their position in their formations.

His strategy focused on resisting enemy charges rather than engaging in open pursuit.

As the Umayyad forces pressed forward, confusion began to spread. At one point, a rumour reached the Muslim camp that Frankish raiders were looting the baggage train, and this caused panic among the rear guard and drew some troops away from the front lines. 

As the Umayyad formations lost cohesion, Charles ordered a counterattack. Abdul Rahman was killed during the fighting, which threw the remaining Muslim forces into greater disorder and led them to withdraw silently from the battlefield during the night.

Charles did not pursue because he suspected a trick, and he waited until scouts confirmed their retreat before announcing victory.

His soldiers began to call him Martellus, or “The Hammer,” as a sign of their admiration. 

Although the victory at Tours did not end Umayyad control of Iberia, it prevented the Caliphate from expanding deeper into Frankish lands.

The defeat of Abdul Rahman’s army sent a message across Europe that the Christian kingdoms could resist Islamic conquest.

Later chroniclers such as the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754 and Paul the Deacon described the battle as an important moment in defending Christian Europe.

By the nineteenth century, historians such as Edward Gibbon had spread the view that Tours had "saved" Christendom from destruction, although modern historians now question that claim. 

After the battle, Charles focused on reforms that strengthened the Frankish military.

He had rewarded soldiers with land taken from the Church and had created a system where loyalty depended on service.

As a result he had laid the basis for the feudal order that would control the region for several centuries.

He also won the support of the papacy by protecting Christian missions and encouraging conversions among the Germanic tribes.

Charles died in 741, and before his death he had divided the kingdom between his sons, Carloman and Pepin the Short, who worked together to maintain the stability he had built.

In 751, Pepin overthrew the last Merovingian king and claimed the throne for himself, which is considereed to be the beginning of the Carolingian dynasty.

His son, Charlemagne, would later be crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800.