The Battle of Poitiers or Battle of Tours, which took place in 732, was considered one of the most important conflicts between Christianity and Islam, that is, between the Franks led by Charles Martel, and the Muslims, led by Abd ar-Rahman, which put an end to the Islamic invasion. in Western Europe.
The Battle of Poitiers lasted about a week and gets its name from the fact that it took place in the city of Tours, near the French city of Poitiers. It was very important in history, resulting from the victory of Catholics and the expulsion of Muslims from European territory. It is important to remember that there is another battle with the same name, “Battle of Poitiers”, which took place in 1356, in the context of the Hundred Years War, between France and England.
Abstract
After conquering North Africa and part of the Iberian Peninsula, the Muslims belonging to the Emirate of Cordoba (present-day Spain), founded by them in 711, advanced to Western Europe, in order to spread their customs and conquer more territories.
However, although the Muslims had a vast army and an armed cavalry, when advancing in the French region between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, they were surprised by the well-trained and prepared army of Charles Martel, being defeated by a smaller number of soldiers without horses and with different types of weapons from shields, daggers, spears, hammers, axes.
Previously, Muslims had already passed through the Pyrenees and penetrated into the Aquitaine region. Therefore, when the Battle of Poitiers began, they had already conquered the cities of Lyon, Bourdeaux, Avignon, Viviers, Valence and Vienne, in French territory. Interesting to note that the Islamic cavalry was a differential for them to conquer other territories in Europe, however, it was not enough in the Battle of Poitiers.
One of the battle tactics used by the King of the Franks, Charles Martel, was called “phalanges” (ancient Greek infantry model), where the army men were arranged in a rectangular shape, and were hidden on the slopes of the hills waiting for the arrival. of the enemy. This method proved to be very effective in preventing Muslim expansionism in Europe.
However, during about seven days of battles, the Franks managed to contain the Muslim attack in the region, thus preventing the expansion of their troops by the European continent. The defeat of the Muslims was proved by the death of their leader Abd al-Ghafiqi (Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi), amir of al-Andalus, in one of the conflicts, and with the return of his army to the Iberian Peninsula.
Interesting to note that the name “Martel” was a nickname that the King of the Franks, Charles, received after winning the Battle of Poitiers, since the word means “one who strikes with a hammer”, one of the weapons used against Muslims.