The Battle of the Court of the Martyrs (also known as the Battle of Poitiers or Tours) took place at the end of Sha'ban to the first Ramadan of 114 AH, which corresponds to October and November 732 AD, between the Islamic army of Andalusia and the European army.

The Muslims at that time had reached the most penetrating sites in European lands, and near the French capital, "Paris", during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik, and the battle ended with the victory of the Europeans, and since then it was the last Islamic campaign to open Western Europe.

The leader of the Muslims in the battle was the Tabi and governor of Andalusia, Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, who came out with the largest army to come out under the banner of Islam heading to conquer France since the conquest of Andalusia, causing tension on the European continent, which rose up after the Muslims subjected the southern half of France to their control within a few months.

The Frankish commander Charles Martel called for standing up to the Muslims, and he gathered a huge army from Europe that outnumbered the Muslims by several times, and they prevailed after 10 days of confrontation, and put an end to the Islamic expansion in Europe. The battle of Poitiers was called the court of martyrs because of the large number of martyrs from the Islamic army, including its commander Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

Reasons for the Battle of the Martyrs' Court

Some historians believe that one of the most important reasons for the direction of Muslims to the West in their conquests towards Europe is the will of the Caliph Companion Othman bin Affan, may God be pleased with him, in which he said, "Constantinople is opened by Andalusia, and if you open what you are going for, you are partners of those who open Constantinople in reward."

Historical context

Al-Ghafiqi Wali of Andalusia

Caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz Al-Samah bin Malik Al-Khawlani was appointed governor of Andalusia, so he made the state of "Septimania" a base for the departure of Muslim armies to Europe, and headed east to enter into battles in the province of "Actagania" (Aquitania) to control its capital, "Toulouse" (Tolocha), but he was martyred in it.

During the Battle of Toulouse, Al-Khawlani accompanied Abdul Rahman Al-Ghafiqi as a military commander, and there Al-Ghafiqi proved his courage, capabilities and military tactics when the Muslims were defeated in battle, as he withdrew the army after the death of the governor, adopting the tactic of retreat instead of confrontation, which he was famous for when studying the capabilities of the enemy and anticipating his superiority.

At that time, Al-Ghafiqi was appointed interim governor of Andalusia at the request of the soldiers, who testified to his goodness and ability, until he waited for the orders of the caliph, and within two months he was able to gather the Muslim diaspora in Andalusia and organize their ranks.

After that, Al-Ghafiqi came to the decision to dismiss the caliph, and he obediently implemented it, and worked faithfully under the command of 7 governors of Andalusia before finally being appointed governor by order of the caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik.

In his tenure, Al-Ghafiqi, who was a man of war and peace, was distinguished by his ability to stop tribal conflicts that those who were before him could not, so he was able to reduce tension between the Qaysi and Yemeni tribes, and united Andalusia with its Arabs and Amazighs under the banner of Islam.

The beginning of the battle

After the Duke of Catalonia Odo lost his capital, Bordeaux and saw the stability of the Muslim army in a fierce battle, he realized that he would not be able to regain the city or even stop the expansion of the Muslims except by changing his plan and methods of attack, so he first provoked strife and problems in Andalusia to destabilize its entity and its people.

The movements of the Franks began in the north of the Islamic sites to seize them, so Al-Ghafiqi declared the alarm for jihad, and prepared his army heading north to the province of "Actania" in southern France, which is ruled by Odo, in the hope of opening France after a plan prepared for two years, calling on Muslims from different countries of the caliphate to jihad.

Al-Ghafiqi set off in the first year 114 AH with an army of about 50 thousand mujahid, and was considered the largest army in Islamic history to enter France through the Albert Mountains, and conquered the city of "Arles" overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, then directed his army through the "Pyrenees" (Pyrenees) between France and Spain and opened the cities of southern "Gaul" (France), including Lyon (Loudoun) and Sans, all the way to Catalonia, where Odo met and defeated him decisively.

Place of the Battle of the Martyrs' Court (Al Jazeera)

When Al-Ghafiqi completely conquered southern France (formerly ruled by the provinces), Udo went out retreating with his defeated army, handing over "Bardal" to Al-Ghafri, and took refuge in his enemy, the head of the court of the Frankish kingdom, Charles Martel, who controls the King of France, his entourage and his state, and asked him for help, and warned him that the Muslim army might reach Paris.

Despite Martel's lack of interest in the progress of Muslims for his disagreement with Odo, he agreed to confront the conquerors, on the condition that he take cottonia and annex it to him, and he also received promises from the Pope to become the king ahead of the kings of Europe and Christianity, and accordingly Martel prepared a large army, the number of his fighters reached 200 thousand fighters, and it was said 400 thousand, and for his relations in Europe he was able to convince its countries to join him, so the Catholic Church announced "crowd shouts", and Martel persuaded Viking fighters to join in exchange for some money and land in northern France.

Confrontation in the Battle of the Martyrs' Court

Between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, the Muslims camped, and did not notice the Martel army, which approached them near the "Loire" coming from the north, and when Al-Ghafiqi wanted to storm the "Loire" River to meet his opponent, he was surprised by the large forces of Martel, so he returned to the plain in which he had previously camped, and Martel's army continued to march until the river and camped miles from the place of the Muslims.

There the two armies met in the plain, and although the exact location of the battle is not known, it is said that it took place near a Roman road connecting the cities of Poitiers and Tours in a place 20 kilometers north of Poitiers called "court", which in Andalusia means palace or fortress surrounded by gardens, and in modern times there are Arab swords in that area, which is likely to occur there.

The two sides faced off in late Sha'ban 114 AH, and the fighting lasted 9 days until the beginning of the month of Ramadan, and despite the predominance of the Muslims in the first days, neither army achieved a decisive victory in its favor. On the tenth day, the great battle broke out, in which both teams showed steadfastness and fortitude, until fatigue appeared on the Franks, and the heralds of victory loomed for the Muslims.

A squad of enemy knights surprised Muslims from the back, after they discovered a gap in their ranks, some Muslims took with them their wives and children, based on the plan of Al-Ghafiqi, who intended to settle them in the French country, so the Franks targeted the civilian camp and booty stores in the background of the Islamic army, which surprised Muslims and led to the withdrawal of some of them from their positions to protect their families and booty, but this led to a defect in the system, and turmoil among Muslims.

Al-Ghafiqi tried to restore order in the ranks of the army, and to restore enthusiasm in the hearts of his soldiers for jihad, but he rose as a martyr with an arrow that hit him, so the turmoil increased among the Mujahideen, but they soon gathered their diaspora and fixed until nightfall, and decided to withdraw to "Septimania", the starting point of conquest, leaving their spoils behind and a fire that deludes the opponent of their presence.

When the morning came, the Franks prepared to fight, they did not find anyone, so they went to the tents, thinking that it was a deception, and they found them empty except for some wounded people who were unable to move, so they slaughtered them immediately, and Martel was satisfied with the withdrawal of the Muslims and did not dare to catch them for fear of another deception planned by the conquerors, so he returned to the north from where he came.

Charles Martel nicknamed the Hammer after the Battle of the Court of the Martyrs by the Pope of Italy (Shutterstock)

Results of the Battle of the Martyrs' Court

Muslims did not have another opportunity after the battle of the martyrs' court to enter the heart of Europe, despite the battles that followed and the ongoing skirmishes a year later between Muslims and the Franks, they dispersed and disputes flared between them, at a time when the power of the Christians united, and the movement of "Reconquista and Seizure" began what Muslims opened in Andalusia of cities and bases.

The battle contributed to the establishment of the Carolingian Empire and the domination of Europe by the Franks, which divided historians on the importance of this battle to stop Islamic expansion and consider it a "victory for Christianity," as some European historians say.

From that day, Martel acquired the nickname of the hammer, and was named by it Pope of Italy, because he was tough on his enemies and one of the most powerful rulers of France, especially after he managed to stop the Islamic advance.

The reasons for the defeat of the Muslims in the battle of the martyrs' court

The sources that wrote about the battle are relatively scarce, as they were not mentioned by Western sources, and most of them were dated in Arab books, and what came later were analyses of its facts, one of which is:

Al-Ghafiqi wrote to the governor of southern France and the prince of the "Nafar region" Othman bin Abi Nasa in order to occupy the enemy with military skirmishes, and he replied to him reviewing his order, and says that he is associated with a covenant with his son-in-law, Duke Odo and cannot revoke it, which is considered a betrayal of the Muslims, so Al-Ghafiqi sent a battalion to punish him, and did not delay in killing him.

It was also said that the heterogeneity of the Islamic army was a reason, as it had two different elements, although there was no disagreement or discord between them, namely the Arab element and the Amazigh element, in addition to sensitivities and differences, especially between the Qaisis and the Yemenis.

Another reason mentioned was that Martel decided to let the Muslims penetrate into the area until they settled there and their supplies were scarce, and this was what happened, as the rear bases of the Muslim army were a thousand kilometers away from the camp on the battlefield.

Another influencing factor is the flat nature of the battlefield, the size of the French army, which is several times higher than the Islamic army, the rainy and cold period in which the battle took place and the resulting difficult mud of march and movement.

Moroccan intellectual Idrissi Abou Zeid said that intelligence weakness led to a miscalculation of the number and equipment of Charles Martel's army, while Zine El Abidine al-Husseini said that Martel had an intelligence power that kept him constantly informed of the details of the Islamic army.

While some Western writers insist that concern for the spoils is the reason why Muslims are defeated because of their abundance, weight and entry into their souls, the method of withdrawal, which saw Muslim fighters abandon their booty, refutes this.

On the other hand, Arab historians believe that the defeat left something in the hearts of Muslims, as the Islamic conquests stopped and did not later extend to those areas, some of them considered the spoils a definite reason, and considered that the battle of the martyrs' court took place in it, like what happened in the Battle of Uhud with the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, which Muslims lost because of the haste of some of them to obtain the spoils.

Europe considers the battle of the "martyrs' court" a victory for Christianity (Shutterstock)

Europe.. Victory or loss?

European historians consider that the victory in this battle saved the Christian presence on the European continent, and that without it, the sciences of the Qur'an and Hadith would have been taught in universities in European capitals, and to open the door to the Islamic conquest of the extension north to include the European continent.

On the other hand, some historians believe that this "alleged victory" has delayed Europe centuries of civilization and civilization, including the opinion of the English researcher and pastor Joseph Martin, who said that "teachers in our schools still praise Charles Martel when he met the Arabs in the plains of France and repelled them from it and saved the world from civilization, as there is no teacher in the world at a university or school who dares to tell his students that the Arabs have established a civilization of the greatest civilizations in the world."

Similarly, the French novelist and critic Anatole France said, "If only Charles Martel had his hand cut off and did not triumph over Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, as his civil victory had delayed several centuries."

French philosopher and historian Gustave Le Bon said, "If the Arabs had taken over France, Paris would have become a center of civilization and science ever since, as the man in the street in Spain wrote, read, and sometimes even lent poetry, at a time when the kings of Europe did not know how to write their names."