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On an unknown date in the latter half of 782, Charlemagne did some seriously nasty business with a captured army of Saxons. In the late 8th century, the King of the Franks was fighting a decades-long running campaign against Saxon tribes at the edge of his sprawling European empire. One part Christianizing the pagans and two (or more) parts territorial aggrandizement, Charlemagne’s exertions on the Rhinish frontier were opposed by Widukind, or Witikind, or Widochind, whose “forest-child” name belies its owner’s legendary ferocity. In the summer of 782, when Charlemagne perhaps thought he had whatever passed for peace among the...

(Phys.org)—Until recently, the years 774 and 775 were best known for Charlemagne's victory over the Lombards. But earlier this year, a team of scientists in Japan discovered a baffling spike in carbon-14 deposits within the rings of cedar trees that matched those same years. Because cosmic rays are tied to carbon-14 concentrations, scientists around the world have wondered about the cause: a nearby supernova, a gamma ray burst in the Milky Way or an intense superflare emanating from the Sun? Now, Adrian Melott, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas and Brian Thomas, KU alumnus and professor...

Charles Martel Born about 688; died at Quierzy on the Oise, 21 October, 741. He was the natural son of Pepin of Herstal and a woman named Alpaïde or Chalpaïde. Pepin, who died in 714, had outlived his two legitimate sons, Drogon and Grimoald, and to Theodoald, a son of the latter and then only six years old, fell the burdensome inheritance of the French monarchy. Charles, who was then twenty-six, was not excluded from the succession on account of his birth, Theodoald himself being the son of a concubine, but through the influence of Plectrude, Theodoald's grandmother, who wished...

N A SUSTAINED, century-long rampage that would have wowed Rommel, the Prophet Mohammed and his successors beginning in A.D. 629 conquered not only Arabia, Persia, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa, but also branded the crescent of Islam on lands formerly within the fold of a Christian Roman Empire then in ruins. In 709, Arab horsemen and their allies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. Four short years later, Spain belonged to the Empire of the Prophet. In the summer of 732, the centennial of Mohammed's death, this veteran Islamic juggernaut, at least 80,000 strong with the skilled and popular general Abd...

1,273 years ago today.

Commemorating the anniversary of the battle of Tours. We have just passed the anniversary of an epic event that is not widely known in America except among history buffs, but which nonetheless dramatically shaped the future of the Western world, and which may still hold inspiration for us in the West today.After the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in 632, Islam spread like a bloody tide throughout the Arabian peninsula, north to the Caspian Sea and east through Persia and beyond, westward through Egypt and across North Africa all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. From there it crossed...

This week in October marks the anniversary of an epic event that is not widely known except among history buffs, but which nonetheless dramatically shaped the future of the Western world, and which may still hold inspiration for us in the West today.After the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in 632, Islam spread like a bloody tide throughout the Arabian peninsula, north to the Caspian Sea and east through Persia and beyond, westward through Egypt and across North Africa all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. From there it crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and consumed virtually all of...

Reflections on the anniversary of a historical turning point... Within fifty years of the death of Mohamed in A.D. 632, his successors had engineered military conquests all across the Middle East and North Africa. While their pace slowed after that, as they worked to consolidate their gains and establish bureaucratic management over the extensive lands they had won, the Muslims continued to expand, crossing Gibraltar and conquering much of the Iberian peninsula, in preparation for their eternal goal: the conquest of Europe. Now, Europe in those days was hardly the organized collection of developed, defined, modern states we know today....

The month of October marks the anniversary of an epic event that unfortunately is no longer widely known but which nonetheless shaped the future of the Western world, and which may still hold inspiration for the West today.

In 711, the Muslims made their fateful crossing of the straits of Gibraltar, landing on European soil. Upon disembarkation, the leader of the Muslims, Tariq bin Zayid, ordered the Islamic fleet burned, explaining that “We have not come here to return. Either we conquer and establish ourselves here, or we perish.” This famous Tariq anecdote—often reminisced by modern day jihadis—highlights the jihadi nature of the Umayyad caliphate (661-750), the superpower of its day. Indeed, as most historians have acknowledged, the Umayyad caliphate was the “Jihadi-State” par excellence. Its very existence was coterminous with its conquests. Its legitimacy as “viceroy” of...

October 10, 732 AD marks the conclusion of the Battle of Tours, arguably one of the most decisive battles in all of history. A Moslem army, in a crusading search for land and the end of Christianity, after the conquest of Syria, Egypt, and North Africa, began to invade Western Europe under the leadership of Abd-er Rahman, governor of Spain. Abd-er Rahman led an infantry of 60,000 to 400,000 soldiers across the Western Pyrenees and toward the Loire River, but they were met just outside the city of Tours by Charles Martel, known as the Hammer, and the Frankish Army.

The Battle of Tours Charles de Steuben's Battaile de Poitiers en Octobre 732 depicts a triumphant Charles Martel (mounted) facing Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi (right) at the Battle of Tours. Date: October 10, 732 Location: near Tours, France Result: Decisive Frankish victory CombatantsCarolingian Franks v. Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Charles Martel v.Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd er Rahman Strength 15,000-75,000 v. 60,000-400,000 Casualtiesabout 1500 reported in western history, but probably far heavier unknown, but reported massive, notably Emir Abd er Rahman. The Battle of Tours (October 10, 732), often called Battle of Poitiers and also called in Arabic بلاط الشهداء...

Historians calculate that the Umayyad Caliphate – that met its match at the Battle of Tours – was the mightiest military power on earth in the year 732. That the defeat occurred during Ramadan, the Islamic holy days, still rankles many Muslims. ...A Muslim website devoted to the restoration of the Caliphate, or Islamic empire, features a recollection of the Battle of Tours for this week of Ramadan, "Clearly Allah (swt) has blessed the believers with many victories in the past in the blessed month of Ramadhan…The conquests deeper into France were continued..."

Jehad And Civilization - 2 (The Battle of Tours) The Battle of Tours (also known as the Battle of Poitiers) is considered as one of the most important episodes of history. Before discussing its ramifications, one ought to probe into the causes that precipitated the bloody event in 732 A.D. Its major cause is Jehad, a clever contrivance of Islam, whose stated purpose is to establish on man the rule of Allah, "the Almighty, the Creator and the Perfect." The Jehad that disgraces the dignity of God and acts as the most heinous tool of destruction against innocent and the...