Download philosophical questions to consider regarding the early middle ages

PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER REGARDING THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES:
We in the west have a historical tendency to look at our ancient past and glorify our connection to the
Greco-Roman world. However, as we look at the expansion of the Germanic tribes after the collapse of
the Roman Empire, are we overlooking the impact of Germanic civilization?
Is there such a thing as Germanic civilization?
Because they may not have had a literacy that was saved, are we still colored by Greco-Roman
perceptions of what constitutes a barbarian?
Was Rome ever “Roman,” or was it merely an aristocratic majority that gave it that veneer, and by
looking at Rome as civilization, and the Germans as barbarians, are we essentially being racist?
What does this say about modern day immigrants and immigration policies in modern nations?
PLEASE CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS FOR YOUR NEXT HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT, DUE AT THE END
OF THIS UNIT, WHICH IS A TYPED 2 PAGE PAPER (12 pt. TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT, DOUBLE SPACED)
ADDRESSING THESE QUESTIONS IN ORDER.
WARLODS AND BARBARIANS: THE MILITARY EXPANSION AND DIVISION OF THE POST ROMAN WORLD
The Roman Empire of the fourth century. We tend to think of it as a civilization in decline, far from the
golden age of Augustus and Constantine. But, it must have still been flourishing culturally at least. The
proof of this; people from the north, the people we think of as barbarians wanted to get in, desperately.
What contemporary Roman historians have called the “barbarian invasions” really began as mass
migratory movements of peoples wanting to settle in lands that they viewed as rich, fertile and lush, and
more importantly; peaceful. Rome had the veneer of stability, happiness and wealth. Internally
however, it was a corrupt place with degrading morality, constant political backstabbing, usurpations
and intrigue, and in the west, a massive debt due to an economy that was almost solely dependent on
the eastern half of the empire.
So, why were these people on the move? It is important to understand Roman geography at this
time. Rome stretched at its farthest northern points to modern day Scotland, southwards to northern
Africa, westwards to the Atlantic Ocean in Europe, to the conflux of the Rhine and Danube Rivers in
Eastern Europe. To the east of Rome, beyond the borders of the eastern half of the empire centered in
Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) was the other great civilization and empire of the time, the
Persians, known to the Romans as the Sassanid after their ruling dynasty. There would be occasional
wars with them, but never decisive conflicts. To the south was the Sahara and Arabian Deserts,
impenetrable barriers of sand. To the west, the great ocean, that naval technology of the time did not
permit ships to leave the sight of the coast in order to explore it. However, in the north, across the
Danube and the Rhine, there were other peoples that the Romans had known about before there was
even an empire. Julius Caesar himself had crossed the Rhine and fought them successfully enough that
these peoples remained on their side of the Rhine, for the most part, for nearly 300 years more. These
people were whom the Romans referred to as the barbarians.
The peoples from the frigid lands north of the Rhine were known well to the Romans. Beginning with
Caesar they had penetrated the land, even getting as far north as the River Elbe, but they had had no
desire to settle there. Occasional immigrants from this land, that the Romans had referred to as
Germania, would immigrate and become very good soldiers, but not in the mass waves that would
precipitate the fall of the empire. Across the Danube, however, was a different matter. There were a
strange people occupying an unknown land. The peoples occasionally traded with the Romans, and
were somewhat semi settled, but they had come from the great steppes that lay just beyond the Black
Sea, where the Danube emptied herself. Their nomadic past was still visible in the ease in which they
could just pack up and move their homes. These people were the Sarmatians, and, more importantly,
the Goths. Their physical characteristics, according to Romans, were tall peoples with heavy set
muscular frames, blue eyes, and hair color ranging from blonde to red.
To these people, yes they could belong to a tribe and beyond the borders of the Rhine frontier, where
they had established permanent agricultural settlements, their tribe affiliation was a somewhat more
permanent state of government, but it was never a fixed permanent state of affairs. If a thane, the
Germanic word for a chief, could not support and protect his followers, then they were free to find a
new leader. This was even more so the case in the east, as a dizzying variety of tribes came and went,
the Alans, the Lombards, the Franks, the Ostrogoths (eastern Goths), Visigoths (western goths), Teutons,
Cimbri, and even the Huns. The shifting allegiances and racial makeup of these peoples made it hard to
classify them as one distinct group of peoples. A good example is the Huns, whom we tend to think of
as almond eyed oriental steppe peoples. In reality though, they spoke a Gothic language, even the
name Attila is Gothic, and were composed of white red heads, as well as the dark haired orientals.
It is to these Turkic language speaking tribes, like the Huns, that we must now turn, in order to
understand the mass migrations that began into Rome. These tribes lived in an area of central Asia
known as the steppes. The steppes are fertile grassland stretching out for thousands of miles. You
could consider it like the prairie of Illinois, but the weather makes it much harsher. There is not a lot of
rain, and the grasses that grow there are short, and hard, unlike the tall prairie grasses of Illinois. It is
hardly suited for agriculture in most areas, and so the people have become pastoralists, living off of the
animals that can digest the rough grasses that humans cannot. A horse to these tribes was a travelling
grocery store for this reason. You could mix a mare’s blood with her milk to ferment it, and it became a
nutritious and tasty treat, as well as able transportation, and even a means to warm raw meat when
placed between your thighs and the horses back. The people of the steppes were nearly one with their
animals for that reason. Occasionally, both from population growth, or drought and famine, these
steppe peoples would raid beyond the steppes into the areas north and east of the Danube, placing
great pressure on the Germanic peoples living there, and then from misery, hunger and fear, they would
sneak into Roman territory, happy to be placed behind a plow or sworn into the legions.
The Romans recognized this, and decided to use it to their advantage. Roman birth rates, and hence
their populations had begun to take a surprising drop, and they needed laborers. These Germanic
peoples represented a great labor force that could be used to their advantage. Thus, entire
governmental departments, that today we could compare to the immigration departments of most
nations, came into being to welcome, and receive these peoples into Rome, arose. The main profession
these Gothic peoples were required in was the military. Rome still had thousands of miles of frontiers to
protect, and it needed men, that the current Roman population could not provide. Their recruitment
techniques were not as simple as to assign each individual man to a unit, rather they recruited entire
tribes under their chieftain, and made units from them, making the chieftain a high ranking officer. The
Goths became accustomed to making these permanent agreements with the Romans, and this, in turn,
led to the creation of even larger federations of tribes, uniting the Germanic speaking peoples. These
larger federations needed more powerful leaders, who would become kings, and not just chieftains.
The Romans understood that these kings would be clients of Rome, answerable to it. To the kings,
however, they were a part of the power structure of Rome. They were its defenders, and not just
mercenaries. Thus we turn to the great warlords of the barbarians who divided up Europe, the western
Romans who fought them in vain, the eastern Romans whose prestige hung on attempting to maintain
both halves of the empire intact, but never losing the richest half in the attempt, and the new people
who would arise from the impenetrable deserts of Arabia to spread their new faith.
ALARIC
The first great warlord we shall examine is Alaric. Alaric was the king of the Visigoths (king being a Latin
corruption of the Germanic word for Thane.) He accepted payment from the Romans to have his people
fight for them against a large Frankish force. He won the battle, but sacrificed over 10,000 of his men in
doing so. He felt that the Romans did not recognize this well enough, and they probably did not, based
on their racial views of the Germans, the sacrifice was probably seen as no more than material, and not
personal. Alaric demanded more, however, and forced the Senate to pay the Visigoths a large tribute,
or face the wrath of a Visigoth army under his command. Once they agreed to do so, Alaric saw this as
weakness, and an opportunity to get annual payment from Rome. He forced Rome to free all of its
Gothic slaves, who would then join his army, however racial tensions flared and the citizenry of Rome
was encouraged to rise up and slay Gothic women and children. This gave Alaric 30,000 more men who
wished to avenge their families. Soon, Alaric marched into Rome itself and sacked the city, something
which had not been done in nearly a thousand years. Though, unlike the depiction on the History
Channel, which was designed to heighten the sense of barbarism, Alaric, being Christian, was humane
with his treatment of the inhabitants, and only a few buildings were burned. The eternal city, the
mother of the world, was left fairly intact. Alaric then planned to march on the Roman provinces of
Africa, but when his fleet was destroyed in a storm, he turned his armies northwards. It was at this
point that he died, and the Gothic cause fell silent for a while.
GENSERIC
Geiseric was a Vandal Chieftain. The Vandals were a Baltic tribe that had been forced from their lands
by the Huns. They settled on the northern frontier of Rome, along the Rhine River. On New Year’s Eve,
406, the Vandals find the Rhine frozen, and flee into Rome, through Gaul, and on into Hispania, where
they live the life of vagabonds. Eventually, they are pushed into southern Spain by Roman mercenaries,
the Visigoths, where they conglomerate their tribes into a powerful force under a Vandal chieftain
named Genseric. While in Southern Spain, they learn, and perfect the art of ship making.
Meanwhile in Rome, a new emperor is on the throne, the 9 year old Valentinian, III whose mother
serves as regent, and is the real power behind the throne. Galla Placidia’s favorite at this time is a
general named Aetius. His foe for her favor, and power, is Boniface. He was a governor of the Roman
province of Northern Africa, the bread basket of the Western Roman Empire, and the food source of
Rome, under his command. They vie for power amongst themselves through political intrigue, but
Aetius is in Italy, and so has the upper hand. He convinces Galla Placidia that Boniface is plotting to
revolt and make Northern Africa his own kingdom. Boniface fears Placidia is going to assassinate him
when Aetius sends him a letter informing him, as a friend, that Placidia wants him killed. This causes
Boniface to actually plan a rebellion. Boniface contacts Genseric and offers him land if they will help him
fight Placidia. Genseric accepts, and the largest force of barbarians to ever cross the seas arrives in
North Africa. In 429, 80,000 Vandals now marched on the richest province of Western Rome. However,
at about the time they land, Boniface discovers that the entire threat he had imagined from Placidia,
was merely an invention of Aetius. He then withdraws his offer to Genseric and now the Vandals are all
dressed up with nowhere to go. They take out their fury on North Africa, and it did not take long for
them to conquer the entire province and seize its wealth. They established a Vandal kingdom there that
would last until after the fall of the west.
The empire was going hungry as for 14 months the Vandals laid siege to the Roman City of Hippo, where
the Bishop of the city, Augustine, one of the founding fathers of the church, is a target of the Vandals
who are Arian Christian, whom Augustine has pilloried in his works, because he believes that the father,
son and holy spirit are separate entities in one body. The Arians think God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are
all the same, and that there is no trinity. To the Vandals, this is almost a holy war. Augustine us already
sick and dying, and passes away while the siege continues without ever seeing Genseric in person. Rome
is backed into a corner, and surrenders North Africa to the Vandals who then persecute the Catholics
and steal their wealth. Geiseric soon used North Africa to launch an invasion of Sicily, the second most
important food source for the west, and then Valentinian III, now ruling on his own, signs a treaty
recognizing the Vandals in Northern Africa as Vandalia, and a marriage between Valentinian’s sister
Honoria, and Genseric’s son Hunseric. Valentinian is assassinated, however. His widow, Eudoxyia is
being forced into marrying his murderer’s son. Out of loathing for the man, and his family, she opened
the gates of Rome to the Vandals. She begged for help from Geiseric to defeat the new Emperor
Maximus. He agrees to aid her and invades Italy, and sacks Rome. Maximus attempted to flee, but was
killed by angry Roman citizens, and no Roman army stopped them. They pillage and loot the city so
totally, that the name vandalism has stayed in our language ever since. Geiseric’s aggressiveness
continues, and he raids and pillages the west constantly, while his ships become the pirate scourge of
the Mediterranean. Emperor Leo, I of the eastern empire is finally forced to take actions to stop him. A
large force under Leo’s brother in law begins to fight Geiseric. A large Roman fleet lands in Carthage and
Geiseric asks for five days to prepare his surrender. The Roman general, who is superior in numbers,
agrees, but Geiseric is only waiting for the winds to change. Geiseric sets most of his fleet unmanned,
and set it on fire and lets it sail into the Roman fleet, and when they are in chaos, the manned Vandal
fleet attacked destroying them. For 15 more years, Geiseric ruled until his death. Huneric took over as
king, but was later conquered by Justinian, I, Emperor of the East. The Vandals who survive flee, and are
absorbed into other cultures, and the Vandal people disappear.
ATILLA THE HUN
Attila was most likely Asian in descent, though his name is Gothic. It may not have been his true name,
and only given to him by his Gothic followers. However, it is what he has come down in history to be
known as. The Huns had seemingly come out of nowhere in the late fourth century, and with their rapid
strikes on horseback, and the advanced technology of the recurved bow that could be fired from
horseback by these superb warriors, with great accuracy, they quickly became the terror of the northern
frontiers. Attila was a charismatic leader, who inherited his throne from his uncle, and shared it at first
with his brother Buda. Together they nearly conquered the eastern half of the empire, but were
stopped short by the double, impenetrable walls of Constantinople, which would hold the city until 1453
when it took the largest cannon in the world at that time to finally penetrate them. Once his desires in
the east had been thwarted, Attila turned his attentions to the western half of the empire.
He crossed the Rhine in 451, and made it as far as modern day Orleans, France, where his combined
Hunnish-Gothic force was stopped by a combined Roman, Burgundian and Celtic force. At this point, he
turned southwards in to northern Italy, capturing most of the territory, and came close to capturing
Rome itself. His justification for these western conquests had to do with intrigue at the imperial palace
in Rome, and the western emperor Valentinian, III. They had previously been on good terms, and Attila
had even been awarded the honorary title of Magister Militum by Valentinian for his efforts fighting for
the Romans against the Visigoths for a time. However, when Valentinian had ordered his sister Honoria
to marry a rather wealthy Senator more than twice her age, she rebelled and sent a letter to Attila
begging for his help in exchange for a promise of marriage. This is what Attila had needed to justify his
conquest. He agreed to the arrangement in exchange for receiving half of the western empire as his
dowry. Valentinian denied the legal status of his sister’s actions, and had her exiled. Attila then
marched his forces west in order to, supposedly, rescue her.
He ravaged the empire so successfully, from modern day Holland and Belgium, to the Balkans and
even to the gates of Rome that the terror he struck stayed with the west even into World War I, when
Americans referred to the Germans as the “Huns.” The Italian city of Venice was founded as a result of
these attacks in Italy, as Romans in the area escaped into the small islands in the lagoons to avoid
Attila’s attacks. Valentinian sent envoys to entreat Attila to withdraw. Among them was Leo, I, Bishop
of Rome, what today we would call the Pope. Church histories tell us that with the aid of the apostles
Sts. Peter and Paul, Leo shown divine strength and Attila was so moved by the Lord, that he agreed not
to cross the River Po into Rome, and retreat back to the land he had made the base of his kingdom,
modern day Hungary. The lord may have had a hand in his decision, but the reality was that he had to
retreat because of a combination of his devastation of the Italian countryside, and a poor crop the past
few years, had left him with no supplies for his army in Italy. Attila then planned on crossing the Danube
and attempting to strike the eastern half of the empire again. However, he was to be married to
another wife (he had many multiple wives, as was the nomadic custom,) first. At the wedding
celebration, according to contemporaries, he drank so much as to cause bleeding in his esophagus,
which he choked on and died from. His sons fought amongst themselves, and the Ostrogoths easily
defeated the newly ruptured empire of the Huns, who were forced into their kingdom in modern day
Hungary.
FLAVIUS ORESTES
Modern day Hungary, the Hunnish Kingdom of Attila, was once a Roman Province called Pannonia.
Rome was forced cede it to Attila, which left many Romans under Hunnish rule. There was a great deal
of cultural tension in the province, but one man was able to walk freely between both worlds. This man
was Flavius Orestes. Orestes rose to the rank of secretary to Attila, and was twice sent as his envoy to
the Eastern Roman Emperor. Though of Germanic descent, he envisioned the return of the glorious
empire of old, and saw himself as a true Roman. Once Attila died, he made his way to Rome and
became one of the top advisors of the Roman Emperor in the West,
GUNDOBOD, KING OF THE BURGUNDIANS
Gundobod was the king of the Germanic tribe of the Burgundians, whom modern day Burgundy, France
takes its name. The Burgundians were a Scandinavian peoples who had migrated across the Rhine, and
been given territory in southern Gaul (France) in return for their service to Rome. They were such a
large and powerful part of the empire’s military, that they could possibly be called the real power
behind the throne in the western empire. Gundobod and his forces had been instrumental in the defeat
of Attila at Orleans, and when Valentinian had been murdered, it was Gundobod’s uncle Ricimer who
had selected the new emperor. Once that emperor, and Ricimer had died, Gundobod fulfilled the role
of king maker and made a man named Glycerius, who commanded the imperial guard at Ravenna, the
countryside capital where the emperors now resided, the new emperor. Gundobod, in exchange, was
made the supreme head of the Roman army. Upon Flavius Orestes arrival in Rome, it was Gundobod he
would answer to, much to his chagrin.
ODOACER
Odoacer (pronounced (Oh Doe Ah Kur) was a Germanic warrior, whose tribal descent is uncertain. What
is known is that he was what the Romans referred to as a federati, or foreign ally of Rome. He had
served in, and was a part of the Roman military establishment. When Flavius Orestes arrived in Rome,
they became close friends serving under Gundobod.
JULIUS NEPOS
The Western Roman Emperors had, by tradition, been chosen by the Eastern Roman Emperor, or at
least had their rights as co-emperor approved by them. Leo, I, the Emperor of the East did not recognize
Glycerius as his brother emperor, and so sent his own selection, Julius Nepos, at the head of a large
force to confront Glycerius. Gundobod, realizing his position was in jeopardy, and having to confront his
brothers, who had usurped the throne in Burgundy upon his absence, left the service of Glycerius, which
made him substantially weaker. Glycerius then rode out to Nepos, surrendered, and was exiled out of
Rome, but was made a Bishop of the church so he could live out his remaining days in comfort. Nepos
then made Flavius Orestes his magister militum. This upset Odoacer, who was a career military man,
while Orestes had been only a clerk, a civilian position. Odoacer felt that this was due only to the fact
that Orestes was a Roman, and Odoacer was not.
Orestes was ordered by the New Emperor Nepos to lead a contingent of troops into the west to
confront a Visigothic uprising. Instead, Orestes diverted the forces, and marched on a series of smaller
Germanic tribes; the Herulians, Regulians, and Scirians. Instead of attacking them though, he offers
them land in Italy itself if they will support him against Nepos. Orestes then takes his new army to
Ravenna, and deposes Nepos, who manages to escape and hide in the province of Dalmatia, where he
begins to hold court.
ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS
Orestes, being of Germanic descent, was convinces that the Roman aristocracy would not accept him as
their new emperor. However, his wife was a Roman aristocrat, from an old patrician family, so they
might support his eleven year old son, Romulus. And so, Orestes made Romulus the Augustus of the
West, which is a form of “junior” emperor. He became known as Romulus Augustulus, or little Augustus.
The tribes which Orestes had promised land now came calling. He knew there was no way he could
keep the Roman aristocracy supporting his son if he took their land and gave it to the barbarians. Of
course, this upset the tribes, and they sought out Odoacer, and offered to make him their king if he
would lead them against Orestes. Odoacer accepted, and led a large force of these tribes on Rome
itself. Orestes fled, but was caught hiding in a church and was killed. Odoacer, mercifully let Romulus
Augustulus live, but sent him in exile. He then made himself King of Italy, and it is recognized as the end
of the Roman Empire in the west.
THEODORIC THE GREAT
Theodoric was an Ostrogoth prince, forced to live in Constantinople in the court of the Emperor, as a
hostage. There he received a splendid education, and was eventually made a Consul and a Roman
General. He helped defeat the Huns, and at the death of his father was made the King of the
Ostrogoths. He fought the Visigoths, eventually conquering their tribes in the east, and merging their
peoples together in a single large group.
Odoacer had been tolerated for many years ruling Italy, mostly because he justified his rule by at least
saying he ruled under Nepos, who was still in Dalmatia, with the approval and oversight of the new
eastern emperor, Zeno. However, when Nepos was murdered, Odoacer invaded Dalmatia and took it as
a province of his own, as he said, “to capture the murderers and punish them.” He then supported the
general in charge of the eastern empire’s military in his attempted overthrow of Zeno to put himself on
the throne. He failed, and Zeno ordered Theodoric to attack Odoacer. Theodoric defeats Odoacer and
forces him to hide in Ravenna. When Theodoric himself arrived there, he invited Odoacer to a dinner of
reconciliation. When Odoacer arrived, Theodoric strangled him with his own hands, and assumed not
only kingship of Italy, but also absorbed Odoacer’s people into his. He established his capital in the east,
which became known as the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, modern day Austria. Theodoric was an Arian
Christian, and though he supposedly served under the auspices of the Roman emperor in the east, when
the new Emperor, Justin began persecuting Arians, as a Catholic, Theodoric threw off his allegiance and
no longer recognized Roman suzerainty. Justin’s successor, his nephew, Justinian, decided to retake the
west at this, but Theodoric died before Justinian could face him.
JUSTINIAN
Justinian’s uncle was a Roman general who had risen to the throne at the age of 70. His reign had not
lasted long, and his illiteracy and soldierly background had made him seem a bit uncouth to the refined
court of Constantinople. Justinian, on the other hand, was well educated. He was also ruthless, ruling
Constantinople with an iron hand. He would often perform political tricks to get his way, such as
convincing his soldier sot fight without pay with the promise that once they were successful, he would
give them their back pay with interest. However, once they were Justinian would sign the peace, and
then say that the soldiers should donate their back pay as a gift to him for guaranteeing the peace. His
main goal was the renovation imperii, or restoration of the empire. To that end, the eastern empire’s
forces marched on and defeated the Ostrogoths and the Vandals, restoring Italy and Northern Africa to
the Roman Empire
It was the Black Death, the bubonic plague that swept through Constantinople in the early 540’s that
weakened the east to the point where the realization was slowly dawning that they could not afford to
hold onto the west. However, through sheer force of will, Justinian managed to maintain it throughout
his life. Once he died, however, the empire in the west fell out of Roman control for the last time.
Ironically, at least culturally, the eastern half of the empire did as well. Justinian was the last emperor in
the east whose first language was Latin, after him emperors spoke primarily Greek, and the Roman
Empire from that point came to be known as the Byzantium Empire.
CLOVIS MEROVIN
While the Goths were busy facing the Eastern Romans, another Germanic tribe located in modern day
northern France was gaining power. These were the Franks, and their King was Clovis Merovin. His
grandfather was rumored to be a sea dragon, and he would form the dynasty, the Merovingian that
would form what would become the Kingdom of the Franks, France.
Clovis became very powerful through sheer military skill and might, even Gondobar and the Burgundians
became clients of the Franks. Clovis even married Gondobar’s niece to cement their relationship.
Clovis began his career by first forcing all of the minor Frankish tribes to recognize him as a king of all of
the Franks. He then defeated the Visigoths under Alaric, II and combined their forces with his. After
subjugating the Burgundians he became the most powerful force in Europe. However, he wanted to be
seen as a ruler, and secure his throne, and as such he needed to be recognized by the former Romans in
his territory, the former Roman province of Gaul. To this end, he converted from paganism to the
Catholic Church, and whatever the king was, his subjects became, and thus began the Catholicization of
Germanic Europe. Clovis, however, did not change his ways, but merely put on the façade. He could
now claim that his military ventures to combine other Germanic tribes into the Franks, and expand his
territory were a result of his desire for their salvation, to make them Catholic. When he died, the entire
former province of Gaul was a Frankish kingdom, and he had made Paris its capital. A Latinized version
of the name Clovis, Louis, was held by 18 future kings of the kingdom he had created.
KING ARTHUR
Though most likely a legendary historical and fictional figure, he does represent the theme of the
barbarian migrations as his adventures in Welsh legend as a fighter for civilization against the Saxon
invaders. The Romans had conquered the Celtic peoples of Britain600 years earlier, and since that time
Britain had become very Roman, and proud of it. When Constantine, III, emperor of the west, withdrew
the last Roman legions from Britain, they were left to the ravages of the Picts, the men of the north
(Scotland and Ireland.) In order to defend themselves, they hired Germanic mercenaries from the areas
of Saxony, Sweden, Angle, Jute and Frisia. Eventually, much as in Rome itself, the province was overrun
by Germanic mercenaries who no longer saw themselves as hired hands, but as the real power. Soon,
wars broke out between the Romano-Celts of Britain, and the Germanic invaders. Eventually, a majority
of them were pushed into the mountainous areas of the west of the island, which became the Celtic
speaking land of Wales, and the Britons who lived there were known as Welsh, the Saxon word for
“Stranger” and the Germanic tribes split into their own countries, and one of those groups would
eventually give a new name to the entire land, the land of the Angles, England.
The Arthurian legends depict a Romano Celtic warlord, who resides in a fortified area called
Camellodonum. There he has gathered and trained groups of prominent soldiers that can afford horses
and armor and weapons. In literature, they become known as The Knights of the Round Table. They
fought against Saxons, Angles and Jutes, defending civilization against barbarians, and pagans as these
Germans were not Christianized as of yet. Eventually he dies, but heroically winning a battle that
establishes his new kingdom for a period.
MUHAMMAD
In 610 A.D., in a small Arabian town in modern day Mecca, a man who had just visited the important
pagan shrine of the Kabba, a large black rock supposedly sent from the heavens. The revelation to this
man was by God, who stated that he was to unite the various Arab tribes under the laws he would
reveal to him. Soon, the Arab people were united under a new religion, and after Muhammad’s death,
spread this religion quickly throughout the south of the former Roman Empire. They first conquered the
Persians, which gave them an air of culture. They then quickly moved through Egypt, North Africa, and
even into Spain. Within 30 years from Muhammad’s death, the Arab Caliphates were one of the largest
and most technologically advanced empires of the world.
Centered on Cordoba, the Islamic caliphate in Spain began as an invitation to the Sultan of the Berbers
to intervene in a civil war in the Visigothic kingdom, from wherein they began to establish their own
kingdoms. They were fervent religious fanatics, and their plan was to attack and spread Islam into the
fragmented and warring society of Western Europe. The fact that western civilization is not based on
the religion of Islam is the result of one man.
CHARLES “THE HAMMER” MARTEL
The Merovingian dynasty had been weakened from internal fighting, and in Paris a series of strong men,
while still supporting the Merovingian kings, were the actual power behind the throne. Among them
was the Mayor of the Palace, Charles Martel. Even though the Franks were constantly at war with each
other, and thus were seen to be easy picking by the Arab Caliphate in Spain. Charles was one of the few
to recognize the threat, and begged for resources to prepare for it. Due to the situation in Iberia, Martel
believed he needed a virtually full-time army—one he could train intensely—as a core of veteran Franks
who would be augmented with the usual conscripts called up in time of war. (During the Early Middle
Ages, troops were only available after the crops had been planted and before harvesting time.) To train
the kind of infantry that could withstand the Muslim heavy cavalry, Charles needed them year-round,
and he needed to pay them so their families could buy the food they would have otherwise
grown.Luckily for him, the church began to recognize the threat to their existence as well, and agreed to
fund his defense of the Frankish Kingdoms, and of Western Europe,
The Muslims were not aware, at that time, of the true strength of the Franks, or the fact that they were
building a disciplined army instead of the typical barbarian hordes that had dominated Europe after
Rome's fall. The Arab Chronicles, the history of that age, show that Arab awareness of the Franks as a
growing military power came only after the Battle of Tours when the Caliph expressed shock at his
army's catastrophic defeat.
The Cordoban Emirate had previously invaded Gaul and had been stopped in its northward sweep at the
Battle of Toulouse, in 721. The hero of that less celebrated event had been Odo the Great, Duke of
Aquitaine, but when they returned, things were far different. The arrival in the interim of a new emir of
Cordoba, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, who brought with him a huge force of Arabs and Berber horsemen,
triggered a far greater invasion.
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi had been at Toulouse, and the Arab Chronicles make clear he had strongly
opposed the Emir's decision not to secure outer defenses against a relief force, which allowed Odo and
his relief force to attack with impunity before the Islamic cavalry could assemble or mount. Abdul
Rahman Al Ghafiqi had no intention of permitting such a disaster again. This time the Umayyad
horsemen were ready for battle, and the results were horrific for the Aquitanians.
Odo, hero of Toulouse, was badly defeated in the Muslim invasion of 732 at the battle prior to the
Muslim sacking of Bordeaux, and when he gathered a second army, at the Battle of the River Garonne—
Western chroniclers state, "God alone knows the number of the slain"— and the city of Bordeaux was
sacked and looted. Odo fled to Charles, seeking help. Charles agreed to come to Odo's rescue, provided
Odo acknowledged Charles and his house as his overlords, which Odo did formally at once. Charles was
pragmatic; while most commanders would never use their enemies in battle, Odo and his remaining
Aquitanian nobles formed the right flank of Charles's forces at Tours.
The Battle of Tours earned Charles the cognomen "Martel" ('Hammer') for the merciless way he
hammered his enemies. Many historians, including Sir Edward Creasy, believe that had he failed at
Tours, Islam would probably have overrun Gaul, and perhaps the remainder of Western Europe. Edward
Gibbon made clear his belief that the Umayyad armies would have conquered from Japan to the Rhine,
and even England, crossing the English Channel for protection, with ease, had Martel not prevailed.
Creasy said "the great victory won by Charles Martel ... gave a decisive check to the career of Arab
conquest in Western Europe, rescued Christendom from Islam, [and] preserved the relics of ancient and
the germs of modern civilization."
He was named King of the Franks, thus ending the Merovingian Dynasty, and establishing his own, the
Carolingians. He was offered the titles Defender of the Church,a nd Consul of Rome, but refused these.
However, it was a foretaste of what was to come to his grandson, whose reign would begin the High
Middle Ages, Charlemagne.