737 AD: Charles Martel Strikes Back — The Campaign That Changed Gaul

In 737, Charles Martel marched south into what is now southern France. Ahead of him stood Avignon, a city under Umayyad control, a crucial stronghold on the Rhône, and Charles had not come to negotiate, he had come to take it by force. But Avignon would not fall easily. Its walls stood between the Franks and the city, and inside them was a garrison determined to hold it at any cost. Charles would have to surround the city, break through its defences, and face a relief army of around 5,000 men advancing from the south. But that was only the beginning. This campaign would set Muslim strongholds across southern Gaul ablaze. But the story had begun three years earlier, in 734. Western Europe was divided between rival powers. To the north and west, the Frankish kingdom controlled much of Gaul. Its armies were led by Charles Martel, a powerful military commander who had spent years bringing the Frankish territories under his control. But far to the south, a different power was expanding. The Umayyad rulers of Al-Andalus controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula. Across the Pyrenees, they also held Septimania, a region along the Mediterranean coast. For decades, the frontier between the Franks and the Muslim territories had remained unstable. Armies crossed the border, cities changed hands, and local rulers were often forced to choose which side to support. One of those rulers was Marontus, the powerful Duke of Provence. Marontus was not willing to submit completely to Charles Martel, and he knew something important. His own forces were not strong enough to resist Charles alone. So Marontus looked south, toward the Muslim territories. He turned to Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, the Umayyad governor of Narbonne. Yusuf already controlled a powerful base in Septimania, and Marontus offered him something even more valuable – access to Provence. In 734, the alliance became reality. Muslim forces moved from Septimania into Provence. They crossed the Rhône and entered Avignon. But there was no great battle at the gates, no long siege, no dramatic assault. Instead, Avignon was handed over to Yusuf's forces and occupied with little or no fighting. For the Muslim commanders, it was an extraordinary opportunity. They now possessed a fortified city on the Rhône, far beyond the Pyrenees. For Marontus, it was protection against Charles Martel. But for Charles, it was a direct challenge to Frankish power. Avignon was no longer simply a city in Provence. It had become a Muslim stronghold inside a region Charles Martel claimed to control. And the problem was about to become even worse. Because Avignon was not the only place where Marontus sought Muslim support. Other cities in the Rhône valley also came under Muslim influence. Charles now faced a choice. Accept the loss of Provence or march south and take it back by force. He chose the second. In 736, Charles sent his brother Their first objective was Avignon. The city that had entered Muslim hands almost without a fight was now about to face a very different kind of army. The Franks were coming to take it back. In 736, Charles Martel was ready to take Avignon back. But he did not send his entire army south. Instead, he sent his brother, Childebrand, with an advance force of roughly 2,000 men. Their mission was simple. Surround Avignon and take the city. Childebrand reached the Rhône and his army surrounded the walls. Inside Avignon, a Muslim garrison prepared to defend the city. We do not know exactly how many defenders were inside. The surviving sources give us no reliable number. But they had one enormous advantage. The walls. The Franks could surround the city. They could cut its approaches. They could camp outside the gates. But they could not simply walk through them. And this became a problem. Days passed. Then weeks. Childebrand's army remained outside the walls. But Avignon refused to fall. The city that had been taken by the Muslims almost without a fight was now proving extremely difficult for the Franks to take back. Childebrand had achieved the first part of the mission. He had surrounded the city. But he had not broken its defenses. And Charles Martel realized something important. Avignon would require more than a blockade. It would require a full-scale assault. So Charles decided to go south himself. In 737, he arrived with another force of roughly 8,000 men, according to later estimates. Combined with Childebrand's force, the Frankish army may have numbered around 10,000 soldiers. But this number is only an estimate. The contemporary sources do not give us a reliable total. What matters is what happened next. Charles had dramatically increased the pressure around Avignon. The city was no longer facing a few thousand besiegers. It was now surrounded by the main army of the Franks, led by the man who had defeated Muslim armies before. And Charles had not come simply to wait. He brought the equipment needed to break the walls. Rope ladders, battering rams, and infantry prepared to attack the fortifications. From the walls of Avignon, the defenders could see the difference. Childebrand had come to besiege the city. Charles had come to storm it. The siege was about to become an assault. And this time, the Franks intended to get inside. At first light, the Frankish assault began. The soldiers moved toward the walls. Some carried ladders. Others pushed heavy siege machines toward the gates. Behind them, thousands of infantry waited for the moment to advance. Inside Avignon, the defenders were ready. They knew what was coming. As the first Frankish soldiers approached, the defenders opened fire. Arrows fell from the walls. Stones crashed down onto the men below. The first wave struggled to reach the fortifications. Some soldiers fell. Others dropped their ladders and pulled back. But Charles Martel did not call off the attack. He had not brought such a large army south to fight Instead, he kept the pressure on. One group attacked the walls with ladders. Another concentrated on the gates. The defenders now had to watch several points at once. Everywhere the Franks appeared. More soldiers followed. The attack became a battle of endurance. The defenders had the walls. But the Franks had the manpower to keep coming. Again and again. The ladders went up. The defenders knocked them down. The Franks raised them again. The battering rams struck the gates. The defenders fought to keep them away. For hours, the walls of Avignon absorbed the assault. But the pressure never stopped. Then the Franks finally reached the defences in greater numbers. Men climbed onto the walls. Close combat broke out along the battlements. The defenders fought back desperately. But once the Franks gained a foothold, more soldiers followed behind them. The defensive line began to collapse. And suddenly, the walls that had protected Avignon for so long were no longer enough. Frankish soldiers were pouring into the city. The defenders began falling back through the streets. The battle had entered Avignon itself. Charles Martel had achieved what Childebrand could not. The city had been breached. But taking the walls was only the beginning. The Franks had finally broken through. For the first time, their soldiers were inside Avignon. The defenders were forced away from the walls and back into the city. But this was not the moment to stop. The walls had been the city's greatest protection. Once the Franks were inside, that protection was gone. The fighting now spread through Avignon itself, street by street. The Frankish army pushed deeper into the city. The defenders resisted wherever they could. But their position was becoming impossible. The city had been surrounded for months. Its defences had finally been breached. And now the army outside was pouring through the opening. There was no longer a clear line separating the battlefield from the city. The siege had become a fight for control of Avignon itself. The defenders were gradually overwhelmed. And eventually, Avignon fell. But Charles Martel did not treat the capture as the end of the campaign. The city had been one of the most important Muslim positions on the Rhone. So Charles ordered Avignon to be destroyed and burned. The stronghold that had once opened the way for Muslim influence into province was now reduced to ruins. For Charles Martel, the message was unmistakable. Avignon would never again serve as a base from which his enemies could threaten Frankish territory. But Charles was not finished. He had come south to destroy the Muslim foothold in province. Now he had a new target. Beyond the Rhone lay Septimania. And at its heart stood Narbonne, one of the most important Muslim strongholds in southern Gaul. Charles had taken Avignon. But instead of turning back, he continued south. The fall of Avignon had opened the road to Narbonne. Charles crossed the Rhone river and pushed deeper into Septimania. His next target was Narbonne. Unlike Avignon, Narbonne was not simply a local stronghold. It was one of the most important Muslim cities in southern Gaul, and it had been under Muslim control since 719. For nearly two decades, Narbonne had served as a major base for Muslim power north of the Pyrenees. If Charles could capture it, he would strike at the heart of Muslim power in the region. So the Frankish army marched toward the city. When Charles reached Narbonne, he surrounded it. The siege began. But Narbonne was far more difficult to isolate than Avignon. The city had access to the Mediterranean, and its defenders could receive support from outside. Charles could attack the walls. But he also had to watch the roads leading toward the city. Because somewhere beyond them, a Muslim relief army was already moving. News of the siege had reached Al-Andalus, and the response was immediate. A large force was assembled with one objective. Break the siege of Narbonne. Charles now faced a dangerous choice. Remain outside the walls and risk being attacked from behind. Or leave the siege and meet the approaching army before it reached Narbonne. Charles chose to move. He left the siege lines and marched toward the Muslim relief force. The two armies were now on a collision course, and near the river Beir, the campaign would once again become a battle. One morning in 737, Charles Martel reached the river Beir. Ahead of him, through the clouds of dust rising in the distance, the Muslim relief army had finally arrived. Charles had about 5,000 men with him. The other half of his army remained at Narbonne, under his brother Childebrand. They had one crucial task. Keep the city surrounded. If Charles had taken everyone with him, the Muslim garrison could have broken out. The siege would have been lost. So Charles had made a calculated decision. He divided his forces and brought only what he needed to face the approaching army. The relief force itself is difficult to count with certainty. Later estimates place it at roughly 5,000 men. For the first time, the two sides were facing each other on almost equal terms. But Charles had another advantage. He had chosen the battlefield. He stopped his men and studied the ground. The river protected one side. Wet and difficult terrain covered another. That narrowed the approaches and limited the directions from which the enemy could attack. Charles then began arranging his troops. The infantry formed the main line. Shields were locked together. Spears pointed forward. Behind them, archers and cavalry waited for their moment. Across the plain, the Muslim army was doing the same. Its ranks slowly took shape. Dust hung above the battlefield as thousands of soldiers prepared for the fight. But Charles still did not attack. He waited. He wanted the enemy to come to him. If the Muslims advanced deep enough into his position, their formation would become harder to change. And that was the moment Charles was waiting for. The relief army began moving, slowly, then faster. The Franks remained still. The distance between the two armies disappeared. Men tightened their grips on their weapons. Then Charles gave the order. The Battle of the River Bear had begun. The Muslim army kept advancing. Charles held his position. He was waiting for them to come within range. Then the first Frankish arrows were released. A volley swept across the plain. The Muslim advance slowed as men raised their shields and tried to close the gaps in their formation. Another volley followed. Then another. Charles was not trying to destroy the army with arrows. He was buying time. Every moment the Muslim force spent under fire, its formation became tighter, its movement became slower, and the men at the front were being pushed closer together. That was exactly what Charles wanted. Then he gave the order. The Frankish infantry stepped forward. The distance disappeared. The two armies crashed together. Shields slammed into shields. Spears struck through gaps in the lines. The battlefield erupted into close combat. But the Muslim army had to keep moving forward. Behind them was the long road back to Narbonne. Ahead stood the Frankish line, and Charles refused to let it break. Whenever pressure opened a gap, more Frankish soldiers moved in. The Muslim attack began losing momentum. The army that had arrived to break the siege was now struggling simply to push through the first Frankish line. Charles watched carefully. He was waiting for something. Not a defeat, a weakness. Then he saw it. Parts of the Muslim formation had advanced farther than others. The lines were no longer perfectly aligned. Some units were beginning to separate. Charles had been waiting for this moment. Now. The Frankish cavalry moved. They did not charge blindly into the strongest part of the enemy. They struck where the formation was beginning to open. Suddenly, the Muslim army was fighting in two directions. Men at the front were still locked against the Frankish infantry, but the units beside them were now under attack from the side. The formation began to bend. Then break. Charles ordered his infantry forward. The pressure became overwhelming. The Muslim line tried to regroup, but there was no longer enough space. One unit pulled back. Another followed. Then another. What had begun as an organized advance was becoming a retreat, and Charles recognized the moment immediately. Now. The Frankish army surged forward. The relief force began to collapse. The army that had crossed the region to save Narbonne was now fighting for its survival. The Muslim army was broken, but Charles did not chase the survivors all the way back to Al-Andalus. He turned his army around and returned to Narbonne. The city was still there. Its walls were still standing. And inside them, the Muslim garrison was still refusing to surrender. So Charles resumed the siege. But defeating the relief army had changed the situation. Narbonne was now more isolated than before. No relief force was coming to break the siege. No Muslim army was standing between Charles and the city. Yet the walls still held. Days passed. Then more days. Charles could devastate the countryside around Narbonne. But taking the city itself was another matter. Its defenses were too strong. And without the equipment and resources needed for a prolonged assault, Charles could not force the city to fall. So he changed his objective. If Narbonne could not be taken, he would destroy the strongholds that supported Muslim power across Septimania. The Frankish army moved through the region. Nîmes, Agde, Béziers, Magallon. One after another. The Frankish campaign tore apart the network of fortified positions around Narbonne. Charles could not take the city. But he could make it increasingly difficult for the garrison to operate beyond its walls. And that was the real consequence of the campaign. Narbonne remained Muslim. But much of the territory around it had been devastated. The relief army had been defeated. The surrounding strongholds had been weakened. And the garrison inside Narbonne was increasingly isolated. Only then, after the campaign had achieved what Charles could realistically accomplish, did he finally withdraw. Narbonne had survived. But it was no longer the center of a secure Muslim foothold in Septimania. It had become an isolated fortress, surrounded by enemies. And it would remain that way for years. Charles failed to take Narbonne. But the campaign had changed the balance of power. Avignon was destroyed. The relief army was defeated. And the strongholds around Narbonne were devastated. Charles had not conquered Septimania. But he had shown that the Franks could take the war deep into Muslim territory. Narbonne survived. But the frontier had changed forever.