The Battle of Tours, the Battle of Syllaeum and the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople

The skirmish of Tours, the skirmish of Syllaeum and the back up Arab military blockade of Constantinople were important meshings that averted the entry of Islam into atomic number 63. Had these hostilities been lost to the Arabs, the correspond idea of atomic number 63an civilization would not exist. Islam and Islamic culture would be the dominant religion and way of life in Europe ( two Eastern and horse opera Europe) and America. The combat of Tours ( alike known as the passage of arms of Poitiers) is considered as one of the most decisive battles in history.On October 10, 732, the Frankish forces under Charles Martel get the better of the forces of Spanish g everywherenor Abd-er Rahman outside the urban center of Tours (Koeller, n. pag. ). The difference of opinion of Tours was said to name retained Christian predominance over Western Europe by preventing the expansion of Islam in the said region (Culp, n. pag. ). By the seventh century, Islam was the most dominant religion in the Arabian Peninsula. During this period, Islamic armies had already conquered Persia, Syria, Egypt and marriage Africa and were about to occupy Constantinople and Spain.At the beginning of the eighth century, they had scalight-emitting diode the Pyrenees Mountains and were on the verge of depression appearance France (Whittington, n. pag. ). The Septimania region of Southern France fell to the Moors in 719. Under the leadership of Al-Samh ibn Malik, they invaded the town of Toulouse in the Duchy of Aquitaine devil years later. However, Al-Samh was defeat by Duke Odo of Aquitaine and eventually died of war injuries at Narbonne (Whittington, n. pag. ). Al-Samhs loss and demise did not forfeit Arab raids in France.Islamic forces reached the town of Atun in Burgundy in 725, forcing Duke Odo to align himself with Catalonian Emir Uthman ibn Naissa to maintain public security in the southern border of Aquitaine. entirely Uthman staged an unsucessful revolt against Al- Andalus governor Abd er Rahman, prompting the latter to go subsequently Duke Odo in retalliation (Whittington, n. pag. ). Abd-er Rahman defeated Duke Odo at the Battle of Bordeaux, resulting in the mass killing of Christians in the area. Desperate, Duke Odo sought the aid of Austrasian whitethornor-of-the-Palace Charles Martel. Martel agreed to help him, provided that he will bow downcast to Frankish rule (Whittington, n.pag. ). Martel and his army waited for Rahmans forces to grow at Tours (Whittington, n. pag. ). Despite being tranquil of only 30,000 men, the Franks were swell up-armed they had swords, axes, javelins and a small throwing ax called the fran-cisca (Wallechinsky & Wallace, n. pag. ). In addition, they knew the terrain very well and were properly outfitted for the bitterly refrigerating weather. On the other hand, Rahmans 80,000-strong army were weaponed with just light cavalry spears and swords (Whittington, n. pag. ). The two forces only had minor enco unters for seven geezerhood (Whittington, n. pag. ).Then, on October 10, 732, the Arabs assaulted the Franks. Due to their superior artillery, the Franks well fended off the Arabs charge. The Arabs tried to attack repeatedly, to no avail (Wallechinsky & Wallace, n. pag. ). The Franks struck certify as soon as the Arabs temper waned. They triumphantly defeated the Arabs and had Rahman captured and killed. The next morning, the Franks discover that the Arabs had fled, leaving behind their plunder and their shortly (Wallechinsky & Wallace, n. pag. ). Martels victory in the Battle of Tours gained him the title The Hammer. In addition, France never experient other Arab invasion.On the side of the Arabs, their defeat in the Battle of Tours severely destroyed their accord a revolt by the Berbers (inhabitants of jointure Africa) ensued after Rahmans passing (Wallechinsky & Wallace, n. pag. ). Martel went on to crush Arab conquests at the River Berre and Narbonne. He als o fought in Frankish expansion wars in Bavaria, Aquitaine, Provence and Alemannia. Martels sons Carloman, Pippin the Younger and Grifo took over his territories after his remainder in 741. Pippin became the king of the Franks, while his son, Charlemagne, became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.However, it must be noted that two much generations passed before the Franks finally suceeded in driveway the Muslims back beyond the Pyrenees for good (Whittington, n. pag. ). Historians much claimed that Europe never faced another Islamic threat after the Battle of Tours (Whittington, n. pag. ). This is true to a certain period the next Islamic threat that Europe faced after the Battle of Tours was the outcome of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923). Furtherto a greater extent, the Christians regained Spain from the Moors after the slip away of Granada in 1492 (Whittington, n.pag. ). But the knotty pudding stone (667 BC-1453) was also crucial for the presevation of Christian control condition byout Europe. The Battle of Syllaeum (677) and the Second Arab beleaguering of Constantinople (717-718) were two important wars that averted the spread of Islam in Eastern Europe (Reference, n. pag. ). The Arab fleet and the knotty navy were constantly in battle with each other since 672 (Reference, n. pag. ). In 677, the Arabs attacked areas along the coast of Anatolia and the Sea of Marmara, as well as Constantinople and Anatolia itself.The Byzantine army rear themselves fighting two different battles, as the Slavs were staging an assault of Thessalonica by disgrace (Reference, n. pag. ). Byzantine forces under Emperor Constantine IV met the Arabs near Syllaeum (Reference, n. pag. ). They defeated the latter through Greek fire, a burning-liquid weaponthat could draw out burning even on peeing (Reference, n. pag. ). As the Arabs were retreating, a storm sank roughly all of their remaining ships. The Byzantine army then proceeded to conduct a gain assaul t on the Arabs, finally defeating them in Syria.The Battle of Syllaeum was believed to have brought peace over Eastern Europe for almost 30 years (Reference, n. pag. ). But Constantine IVs death in 685 was followed with power struggles for the Byzantine throne, making the Byzantine Empire more prone to defeat in the detention of the Arabs (Gregory, n. pag. ). Caliph Sulieman took advantage of this situation by sending 120,000 Muslim armament (headed by his brother Moslemah) in 717 in an effort to occupy Constantinople for a second magazine (TheLatinLibrary, n. pag. ). An additional 100,000 Muslims with 1,800 galleys from Syria and Egypt served as reinforcements (TheLatinLibrary, n.pag. ). But Byzantine forces led by Emperor king of beasts III quickly defeated them through the Greek fire (TheLatinLibrary, n. pag. ). The vanquished Muslims later died of frost and starvation outside Constantinople. Muslim troops from Adrianopolis that were supposed to assist them were destroyed by th e Bulgarian army (a Byzantine ally) (TheLatinLibrary, n. pag. ). some(prenominal) historians argued that had the Arabs won the Battle of Tours, the Battle of Syllaeum and the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople, the present concept of European civilization would be altered dramatically.The Arabs would be able to spread Islam throughout European countries such as France, Germany, Russia and the joined Kingdom. At most, Christianity would end up being a minority religion (Whittington, n. pag. ). America would have been discovered by a Muslim explorer and Islam would be the religion both taught and practiced by the settlers across the United States. Works Cited Culp, Reid. The Battle of Tours. 2008. CCDS. 28 April 2008 <http//www. ccds. charlotte. nc. us/History/Europe/05/culp/index. hypertext mark-up language>. Gregory, timothy E.Leo III and the Beginnings of Iconoclasm. 19 November 2001. A Chronology of Early Byzantine History. 3 whitethorn 2008 <http//isthmia. osu. edu/teg /50501/20. htm>. Koeller, David W. The Battle of Tours 732. 1999. WebChron. 28 April 2008 <http//www. thenagain. info/webchron/WestEurope/Tours. html>. Wallechinsky, David, and Irving Wallace. About the Battle of Tours in 732 among the Arab Army and the French Army led by Charles. 1981. Trivia-Library. 28 April 2008 <http//www. trivia-library. com/a/european-history-battle-of-tours. htm>. Whittington, Mark.day of Decision The Battle of Tours. 8 declination 2005. Associated Content. 28 April 2008 <http//www. associatedcontent. com/article/ 13948/day_of_decision_the_battle_of_tours. html>. Battle of Syllaeum. 17 December 2007. Reference. com. 3 May 2008 <http//www. reference. com/browse/wiki/Battle_of_Syllaeum>. Greek Fire. 10 surround 2008. Reference. com. 3 May 2008 <http//www. reference. com/browse/wiki/Greek_fire>. Islam and Europe Timeline (355-1291 AD). n. d. TheLatinLibrary. 3 May 2008 <http//www. thelatinlibrary. com/imperialism/notes/islamchro n. html>.