Battle of Toulouse (721) - The Battle

The Battle

Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, the wali (governor) of Al-Andalus, built up a strong army from Umayyad territories to conquer Aquitaine, a large duchy in the southwest of modern-day France, formally under Frankish sovereignty, but in practice almost independent in the hands of the dukes of Aquitaine. He besieged the city of Toulouse, then Aquitaine's most important city, and Duke Odo of Aquitaine, also known as Eudes, immediately left to find help. He asked the assistance of Charles Martel, who in turned preferred to wait and see rather than help his southern rival. Odo returned three months later—just as the city was about to surrender—and attacked the Muslim invaders on June 9.

The victory was essentially the result of a classic enveloping movement by Odo. After Odo originally fled, the Muslims became overconfident, and instead of maintaining strong outer defenses around their siege camp, and continuously scouting, did neither. Thus, when Odo returned, he was able to launch an almost totally surprise attack on the siege force, scattering it with the first attack, and slaughtering units that were resting or fled without weapons or armour.

Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani managed to get away with a fraction of his forces, but died shortly thereafter, leaving Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi (721-725) as governor. The number of the warriors clashing in battle has been greatly pumped up to about 300,000 on Odo's side (Al-Maqqari) and a death-toll of 375,000 on the assaulting Ummayaad troops. At any rate, the figures give a rough idea of the dimensions of the confrontation. Arab historians agree that the Battle of Toulouse was a total disaster. After the defeat, the fateful date would be still remembered in memorials by Muslims for the following 450 years.