Arab Invasions into France and Spain

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Tours. In 732 a large Arab army invaded Gaul from northern Spain, and travelled as far north as Poitiers. There they were defeated by Charles Martel, whose Frankish and Burgundian forces repelled the invaders. The result confirmed the regional supremacy of Charles, who went on to establish a strong Frankish dynasty. The Battle of Tours was the last major incursion of Muslim armies into northern Europe; some historians, including Edward Gibbon, have seen it as the decisive moment that determined that the continent would remain Christian.

With:

Hugh Kennedy Professor of Arabic at SOAS, University of London

Rosamond McKitterick Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge

Matthew Innes Vice-Master and Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London.