Siege of Narbonne (737)

Siege of Narbonne
	Part of the Islamic invasion of Gaul
Date	737
Location	Narbonne, France43°11′03″N 3°0′11″E / 43.18417°N 3.00306°E
Result	Frankish Christian military success against the Umayyad Caliphate; Politically inconclusive The Franks besieged the city of Narbonne, without conquering it.; Relieving Arab-Berber Muslim forces destroyed by the Christian Franks at the battle of the River Berre.; Andalusian garrison confined within the city of Narbonne.;
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate	Kingdom of Francia
Commanders and leaders
Yusuf al-Fihri; Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj	Charles Martel
	Siege of Narbonne class=notpageimage\| Location within France

The siege of Narbonne was fought in 737 between the Arab and Berber Muslim forces of Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, Arab Umayyad Muslim governor of Septimania on behalf of al-Andalus, and the Frankish Christian army led by the Carolingian duke Charles Martel.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Deanesly, Margaret (2019). "The Later Merovingians". A History of Early Medieval Europe: From 476–911. Routledge Library Editions: The Medieval World (1st ed.). London and New York City: Routledge. pp. 244–245. ISBN 9780367184582.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Verbruggen, J. F. (2005). "The Role of the Cavalry in Medieval Warfare". In Rogers, Clifford J.; Bachrach, Bernard S. (eds.). The Journal of Medieval Military History: Volume III. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. pp. 55–56. doi:10.7722/j.ctt81qwd.6. ISBN 9781846154058. After 734 Charles Martel advanced against the nobles in Burgundy and placed the region of Marseilles under the authority of his counts. [...] Charles marched afterwards to Narbonne and besieged it. Then an army of Saracens came to relieve Narbonne. Charles marched against them and defeated them along the banks of the Berre. Charles still devastated the area around Nîmes, Agde, and Béziers, but an uprising in Saxony caused him to make an expedition to hold onto that land. [...] Charles Martel had subjected the whole of Gallia, again by battles, and had to besiege Avignon and Narbonne there. He did not have the time to conquer Septimania.
^ ^a ^b ^c Collins, Roger (1998). "Italy and Spain, 773–801". Charlemagne. Buffalo, London, and Toronto: Palgrave Macmillan/University of Toronto Press. pp. 65–66. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26924-2_4. ISBN 978-1-349-26924-2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Collins, Roger (1995). "Conquerors Divided". The Arab Conquest of Spain: 710–797. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-631-19405-7. It would be quite anachronistic that the Provençal aristocracy would or those whose primary interests lay in the south would welcome the extension into their region of the authority of the eastern Frankish Mayors of the Palace, or that a sense of Christian solidarity should mean more than the dictates of realpolitik. For that matter it was not with any sense of obligation to free formerly Christian lands from Islamic rule that Charles Martel launched a raid into western Provence in 737. He took Avignon, but clearly did not retain it, and advanced to besiege Narbonne, the centre of Arab control in the March. The Frankish chronicles record his victory over a relieving force sent by the governor ʿUqba, but their uniform silence makes it clear that despite this he failed to take the city itself.
^ Cite error: The named reference Baker 2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Deanesly_2019-1] Deanesly, Margaret (2019). "The Later Merovingians". A History of Early Medieval Europe: From 476–911. Routledge Library Editions: The Medieval World (1st ed.). London and New York City: Routledge. pp. 244–245. ISBN 9780367184582.

[Verbruggen_2005-2] Verbruggen, J. F. (2005). "The Role of the Cavalry in Medieval Warfare". In Rogers, Clifford J.; Bachrach, Bernard S. (eds.). The Journal of Medieval Military History: Volume III. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. pp. 55–56. doi:10.7722/j.ctt81qwd.6. ISBN 9781846154058. After 734 Charles Martel advanced against the nobles in Burgundy and placed the region of Marseilles under the authority of his counts. [...] Charles marched afterwards to Narbonne and besieged it. Then an army of Saracens came to relieve Narbonne. Charles marched against them and defeated them along the banks of the Berre. Charles still devastated the area around Nîmes, Agde, and Béziers, but an uprising in Saxony caused him to make an expedition to hold onto that land. [...] Charles Martel had subjected the whole of Gallia, again by battles, and had to besiege Avignon and Narbonne there. He did not have the time to conquer Septimania.

[Collins_1998-3] Collins, Roger (1998). "Italy and Spain, 773–801". Charlemagne. Buffalo, London, and Toronto: Palgrave Macmillan/University of Toronto Press. pp. 65–66. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-26924-2_4. ISBN 978-1-349-26924-2.

[Collins_1995-4] Collins, Roger (1995). "Conquerors Divided". The Arab Conquest of Spain: 710–797. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-631-19405-7. It would be quite anachronistic that the Provençal aristocracy would or those whose primary interests lay in the south would welcome the extension into their region of the authority of the eastern Frankish Mayors of the Palace, or that a sense of Christian solidarity should mean more than the dictates of realpolitik. For that matter it was not with any sense of obligation to free formerly Christian lands from Islamic rule that Charles Martel launched a raid into western Provence in 737. He took Avignon, but clearly did not retain it, and advanced to besiege Narbonne, the centre of Arab control in the March. The Frankish chronicles record his victory over a relieving force sent by the governor ʿUqba, but their uniform silence makes it clear that despite this he failed to take the city itself.

[Baker_2013-5] Cite error: The named reference Baker 2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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