Poitiers Ad 732: Charles Martel Turns The Islamic Tide (campaign)
by David Nicolle /
2008 / English / PDF
13.4 MB Download
In the early decades of the 8th century AD, Islamic forces were
flooding into Europe through the Iberian peninsula, threatening
Frankish and Burgundian territory and raiding it with
ever-increasing ferocity. At the battle of Poitiers, also known as
Tours, Christian forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel
"The Hammer" (grandfather of Charlemagne) confronted a massive
invading Islamic army. The Franks were victorious, effectively
halting the northward advance of Islam and preserving Christianity
as the dominant faith in Europe. Expert medievalist David Nicolle
draws on contemporary sources to reconstruct this turning-point
battle, places it in its historical context and reviews its
background and immediate and longer-term historical consequences.
In the early decades of the 8th century AD, Islamic forces were
flooding into Europe through the Iberian peninsula, threatening
Frankish and Burgundian territory and raiding it with
ever-increasing ferocity. At the battle of Poitiers, also known as
Tours, Christian forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel
"The Hammer" (grandfather of Charlemagne) confronted a massive
invading Islamic army. The Franks were victorious, effectively
halting the northward advance of Islam and preserving Christianity
as the dominant faith in Europe. Expert medievalist David Nicolle
draws on contemporary sources to reconstruct this turning-point
battle, places it in its historical context and reviews its
background and immediate and longer-term historical consequences.
