Battle Of Tours 732 AD : Animated Film

The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and, by Arab sources, the Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs (Arabic: معركة بلاط الشهداء, romanized: Maʿrakat Balāṭ ash-Shuhadā'),was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle during the Umayyad invasion of Gaul. It resulted in the victory for the Frankish and Aquitanian forces, led by Charles Martel, over the invading forces of the Umayyad Caliphate, led by Abdul Rahman Al-Ghafiqi, governor of al-Andalus.

➤ Music:
Relaxing Roman Music - Aetas Romana
Adrian von Ziegler

3D models
Crown :Pieter Ferreira
Viking Style Sword: Arnold Konrad

[historybattlesD]

If you like my work you can support me at PATREON

[virtualsignals]

The sight of Charles' quivering moustache was enough to inspire fear in the hearts of his enemy.

[youvebeengreeked]

*Salamis, 480 BC... Poitiers, 732... Vienna, 1683... probably the Holy Trinity of "Save the West" battles.*

[memyselfandi]

Europe needs a new Charles Martel now...When I was in Toulouse a few years ago I was absolutely shocked by the number of Arabs in that town. It's absolute madness, it's going to end really badly.

[MISSIONCAT]

Excellent
The historical importance is well supported by the narration and animation.
The flow of narration and animation are smooth and well-matched to each other which is captivating.
Video History well done.

[oliknowles]

Just found a new history channel that knows it’s stuff. Excellent narration particularly pronunciations of names and of historical facts with footnotes on reliability. In short, looking forward to more 😊

[tallyboyle]

Beautiful presentation. Me? Well, I have a few issues... Martel didn't control all the Frankish lands. He was merely the Mayor of the Palace of one of the Merovingian kings. Odo was loyal to an entirely separate Merovingian King and when the two kings went to war (aka Martel caused the war to expand his territory) the result was Odo declaring independence from all Merovingian rule but specifically any Merovingian rule that had Martel involved in it.

This civil war took place at the exact same time as the Visigothic Civil War, and it is very clear Odo sided with the younger brother of the deposed King. It was also clear he was involved in the anti-Roderic alliance that saw the entire Eastern half of the Kingdom (including the Pyrenees region and Visigothic south of France) rebel against him and it was THIS faction who invited the Berber's over.
Which then realised they could take and hold large amounts of territory on their own. Which led to an utter panic by the Arab Umayyad ruler of North Africa and so he launched a second invasion to make sure there was no independent Berber state since the Berber's were fairly easy going towards being Muslim.

Anyway, the Umayyad controlled expansion into the free Visigothic kingdom was slower and culminated in the fall of Narbonne HOWEVER, given Odo had been fighting on behalf of the Visigoths (plus given Aquataine was formally Visigothic and had not integrated or assimilated into the Frankish kingdoms as seen by differing law codes and above all differing languages), it could argue that the attack on Toulouse was seen by the Umayyads as merely a continuation of the Visigothic campaign.

Odo don't forget had immediately sought aid from Martel when the Muslims arrived. Martel refused, as he would rather the land fell to Muslims then it remain in Odo's hands.
The victory of Toulouse was, from the Muslims point of view, THE catastrophic defeat. It was horrendous defeat. It was the final moment they or any Muslim invasion force would ever attack Western Europe.

The defeat caused Odo to gain the title Odo the Great, a title that stuck in the craw of Charles Martel. We know this because Martel years later took the staggering death toll Odo inflicted upon the Muslims and copied it; literally he claimed the exact same number of dead at the Battle of Tour, conflating the figures so he could stand equal to Odo, the man who between the battle of Toulouse and later Tour had run rings around Martel both diplomatically and on the battlefield.

Proof of this? Well the attack on Aquataine by Rahman was not a retaliation for Toulouse. It was caused by the fact Odo had caused a rebellion in the Umayyads territory. Like he had clearly wanted when he got involved in the Visigothic Civil war, Odo wanted to have his territory ally with a friendly territory to his south. That way he could focus his troops against his real enemy- Martel.
He did this by forging an alliance with Berber's living in the region (you make a brief mention of this in the video). They would rebel against the Umayyads and hold the territory around the Pyrenees with Odo protecting them from the north, with them doing the same to the south.
I know the idea of Muslims and Christians forging an alliance to oppose BOTH the Frank's and the Umayyads utterly destroys the whole 'clash of civilisations' narrative but what can we say?

The narrative was a lie anyway.

So yeah, this was why Rahman launched his RAID (not an invasion, unlike the previous attack there were no siege engines involved), and it was only facing this force (led by a survivor of the defeat at Toulouse who made sure that his new force didn't repeat the mistakes made by the previous force which gifted Odo his victory) that Odo sought Martel's help again, and as you mention he was refused a second time.
Martel's sole motivation was to take Aquataine. It was only Odo's submission that led him to get off his backside.

Beyond that, the only counter point I would offer in the battle itself would be Martel's forces were drawn up IN the treeline to help break up the cavalry charges, and Odo and his men were probably on foot when he launched the spoiling raid (Odo was in command of the lightly engaged flank that allowed him do this- and yes Odo won the battle, not Martel another reason why Martel stole the casualty figures from the Battle of Toulouse and claimed them at Tours).

This is not a critique of your video by the way. It was awesome and it is clear you (unlike so many) sought Muslim sources of events, but more me trying to place things in their proper complexity.

It was never Muslims v Christians.
It was always Visigoths v Visigoths v Berber's v Basques v Aquataine v Frank's v Arabs, a shifting geopolitical crucible that took years to settle (if it ever did, as the region's predisposition towards rebellion against the Umayyads was reinforced when it rebelled against the Abbasids on behalf of the Umayyads soon afterwards).

Bravo for making this sir.

[robr]

Wow! This is a great way to purvey an image with the epic story being told. Subscribed

[chucklynch]

The move by Oda on the Moorish camp was the most significant part of the battle.

Without it the battle would have been a draw mostly, with the decision going to the Hammer, because of the logistical position he maintained, being on his home turf.

The fact that the Moorish commander was killed, along with a significant amount of his troops, as a result of Odo's move, gave Charles the clear victory, but, the Moors were still not overwhelmed and destroyed, and they left of their own volition that evening with the Franks not giving chase in the morning and that should tell you all you need to know about this battle.

[larsrons]

Very well presented, and the graphics too. I like that real-life reenactments are included. Thumbsup!
[Edit] - and I subscribed

[jjhantsch]

Also the beginning of Frankish cavalry. Quite possibly the first time the Franks had seen stirrups in use.

[frankbarron]

Every Western country -including those not in Europe- should have statues of Charles Martel in every city center and in every capital. The man should be hailed as one of the West’s greatest heroes.

[williambodin]

If Odo's army retired in good order after the Battle of Bordeaux, it couldn't have been "crushed". It was, like the Prussians after Ligney, defeated but not routed.

[MalayArcher]

That voice seems familiar.. is this Hoc est Bellum second channel :)?

[angrybob]

Generally a very good presentation. However, the Umayyad court recorders often embellished the nation's successes excessively. I read an account of the conquest of Malta and the generosity of the invaders to the Maltese. However, I later read an account by a Muslim scholar who described his surprise at how few Maltese men survived the invasion. I have no doubt it is in the interest of the court to present a benign face to conquest so a fellow Muslim observer's account is probably more truthful. Such is the way of politics. And in war, the first casualty is the truth.

[ParagonRex]

Good video...minor correction.. Charles the Hammer was not King, he was Mayor of Palace to the Merovingian Kings

[shadowcat]

Now they're being put up in hotels.

[DComparison]

I appreciate all the hardwork required to compose this video!

[auxannsavoye]

Amazing video, 3D maps are totally different from other videos. Only mistake : In theory, Charles Martel was not king but " mayor of the palace ", like a Prime minister but with less power. Yes in practice he was more powerful that the king himself but he had not a
king's crown and haven't the power of the title of king.

[alikoriche]

Excellent work! Just one tiny comment: at 01:11 the cities of Narbonne and Carcassonne are inverted. Thanks a lot for the video.