During the Battle of Avignon in 737 Charles Martel expelled Muslim forces which had occupied the city in 734 after it had been surrendered to Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, Umayyad governor of Narbonne, by Duke Maurontus of Provence.^[1] For the 13th century titular King of Hungary, see Charles Martel dAnjou. ... The Battle of Amblève took place in 716. ... Combatants Franks Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Charles Martel Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd er Rahman† Strength 15,000-75,000 60,000-200,000 Casualties about 1500 reported in western history, but probably heavier; unknown, but reported massive, notably Emir Abd er Rahman 1. ... For the 13th century titular King of Hungary, see Charles Martel dAnjou. ... Events Births Deaths Bilge Khan, Gokturk emperor Categories: 734 ... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... Cathedral in Narbonne. ... Provence is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Frances border with Italy. ...

Martel's forces used rope ladders and battering rams to attack the walls of Avignon, which was burned to the ground following its capture.^[2][3] View over the Rhône River to North-East with Mt Ventoux at the rear Palais des papes Square below the Palace of the Popes Paul Vs coat-of-arms on the Palais des papes The Notre Dame des Doms cathedral is located in the heart of Avignon, near...

This battle was part of the campaigns of 736-737 during which Charles Martel for the second time kept invading Muslim armies from expanding across the Pyrenees. Unlike the invasion of 732, this time the Muslims came by sea, and forced Charles Martel to come to them. Come he did, and reduced their strongholds, all but Narbonne, which he left isolated and for his son to take in 751. Notable at these battles were the use of heavy cavalry in addition to Charles vaunted veteran Frankish infantry. Though he had some catapults, the city of Avignon was basically taken by a simple, brutal, frontal assault using rams to smash through the gates, and ladders to scale the walls. Charles believed it was vital to prevent any Muslim expansion into the European heartland. Professor Anthony Santosuosso, an expert in the Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, said these campaigns, which ended with the complete destruction of a huge Muslim army at the River Berre in 737, crushed any hope of expansion of the Emirate of Cordova while the Caliphate was still united, (prior to the Battle of Zab )were as important macrohistorically as Charles Martel's legendary defense of Christian Europe at the Battle of Tours .^[4] Combatants Abbasids Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah Marwan II The Battle of the Zab took place on the banks of the Great Zab river in what is now Iraq on January 25, 750. ... Combatants Franks Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Charles Martel Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd er Rahman† Strength 15,000-75,000 60,000-200,000 Casualties about 1500 reported in western history, but probably heavier; unknown, but reported massive, notably Emir Abd er Rahman 1. ...

References

1. ^ Riche, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812213424, p. 45.
2. ^ Halsall, Guy (2003). Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West 450-900. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415239397, p. 226.
3. ^ Mastnak, Tomaz (2002). Crusading Peace: Christendom, the Muslim World, and Western Political Order. University of California Press. ISBN 0520226356, p. 101.
4. ^ Santosuosso, Anthony (2004). Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels, page 231