In the century after Muhammad's reported divine inspiration on the Arabian peninsula, Islam conquered much of the Middle East and northern Africa through commercial trade and war. By the early part of the 8th century, Islam was on the march in Europe. After taking the Iberian peninsula (Spain), a large Islamic army stood poised to take Gaul (modern day France) and the rest of Europe..
If successful, Islam would have likely prevailed on the Continent and altered the entire course of Western and world history. One man, however, prevented Muslim forces from not only conquering the West but preserving Christianity itself.
.
As the grandfather of Charlemagne (742-814), Charles Martel (688-741) possessed uncanny skills in the art of warfare along with a passionate desire to unite the Franks into one kingdom. In the span of only a few years, Charles, who earned the moniker 'Martel' or 'The Hammer' due to his military prowess, was able to defeat the rulers of Austrasia (northeastern France) and realize his political ambition.
.
Soon thereafter, however, the armies of Islam, led by the Emir of Cordoba, crossed the Pyrenees and threatened his Frankish kingdom. At the Battle of Tours (732), Charles outmaneuvered and ultimately defeated the invading Islamic forces due to superior organization and tactics on the battlefield. From the victory, the legacies of ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Christianity were preserved and allowed to be rediscovered seven centuries later during the Renaissance.
.
In the absence of Charles Martel, how would world history have developed? Although impossible to answer, the consequences of an Islamic Europe from 732 to the present day would have changed every period of history from the Crusades to the Cold War. History - it must be remembered - evolves on a series of contingencies, and few if any outcomes are predetermined.
.
(Picture: Charles Martel)
.
J Roquen