Charles Martel & the Battle of Tours

Charles Martel & the Battle of Tours

Author: Edward Creasy

Publisher: Leonaur Limited

Published: 2018-06-08

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9781782827467

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A great collision of armies under the banners of the crescent and the cross The Battle of Tours (also called Poitiers) in 732 A.D. was one of the most significant battles fought during the last two millennia. This book is far more than just a description of the battle, it also recounts, through the writings of several academic contributors, the story of two emergent empires, drawn together on converging paths which resulted in a collision not simply between two armies, but between two uncompromisingly different cultures and faiths. Described in these pages is the violent and turbulent rise of the Franks in Europe who, by the time of the battle of Tours, were led by their warrior king, Charles Martel--'the Hammer'--whose dynasty brought forth the Emperor Charlemagne. From the Middle East, Islam was conquering and spreading its political influence, which are outlined as they bore upon the invasion of Europe. By the sixth century, Umayyad Caliphate armies had swept along the Mediterranean coastline of North Africa, crossed over into Spain and could see no impediment in the mountain barrier of the Pyrenees to their farther expansion. So France faced an invasion by an army accompanied by their families and belongings who had come to stay and rule. That army, under Abdul Rhaman al Ghafiqi, in the valley of the Loire and less than 140 miles from Paris collided with the Frankish and Burgundian battle host and was brought to ruin. In later centuries the Moors successfully ruled Spain and the Ottoman Turks also attempted to invade western Europe but were defeated before Vienna. However, after Tours never again did a Muslim army drive so far westwards and despite the sectarian blood-letting that lay ahead, for which the Europeans themselves were responsible, this fact defined the culture and dominant religion of the modern continent. Included are illustrations which did not accompany the original texts. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.


The Path of the Martyrs: Charles Martel, the Battle of Tours and the Birth of Europe

The Path of the Martyrs: Charles Martel, the Battle of Tours and the Birth of Europe

Author: Ed West

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2019-01-24

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9781795052146

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'West puts the battle in its historical context, and shows how it set the course of history for more than a thousand years.' Piers Paul Read 732. The future of Europe is held in the balance. A Frankish force, assembled at speed, ready themselves to resist an army from the largest empire the world has ever seen. The Franks and Arabs give battle, between the cities of Poitiers and Tours. Would France become part of the sophisticated Muslim world to the south, or remain in the control of the Christian barbarians? The battle proves bloody, a clash of arms and civilisations. With the west lying in ruins after the fall of Rome, Charles Martel's victory would become the defining battle of the age, leading a chronicler soon after to describe the defenders by a new term -'Europeans'. In this gripping and informed account Ed West records the rise of the Islamic Empire, the emergence of the Franks in the ashes of Rome, and the events leading to the fateful day when Europe's future was decided close to the river Loire. Ed West is an author, journalist and blogger who has written for the Daily Telegraph, Catholic Herald, Evening Standard, The Times, Daily Express, Standpoint and the Spectator. He wrote a regular blog first for the Daily Telegraph and later for the Spectator, described by Peter Oborne as 'one of the most interesting of the rising generation of political writers'. He is also the author of a number of history books, the latest of which, Iron, Fire and Ice, looks at the historical inspiration for Game of Thrones.


Patton's War

Patton's War

Author: Kevin M. Hymel

Publisher: University of Missouri Press

Published: 2021-11-01

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 0826274633

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George S. Patton Jr. lived an exciting life in war and peace, but he is best remembered for his World War II battlefield exploits. Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership: November 1942–July 1944, the first of three volumes, follows the general from the beaches of Morocco to the fields of France, right before the birth of Third Army on the continent. In highly engaging fashion, Kevin Hymel uncovers new facts and challenges long-held beliefs about the mercurial Patton, not only examining his relationships with his superiors and fellow generals and colonels, but also with the soldiers of all ranks whom he led. Using new sources unavailable to previous historians and through extensive research of soldiers’ memoirs and interviews, Hymel adds a new dimension to the telling of Patton’s WWII story.


God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215

Author: David Levering Lewis

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2009-01-12

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 0393067904

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From the two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning author, God’s Crucible brings to life “a furiously complex age” (New York Times Book Review). Resonating as profoundly today as when it was first published to widespread critical acclaim a decade ago, God’s Crucible is a bold portrait of Islamic Spain and the birth of modern Europe from one of our greatest historians. David Levering Lewis’s narrative, filled with accounts of some of the most epic battles in world history, reveals how cosmopolitan, Muslim al-Andalus flourished—a beacon of cooperation and tolerance—while proto-Europe floundered in opposition to Islam, making virtues out of hereditary aristocracy, religious intolerance, perpetual war, and slavery. This masterful history begins with the fall of the Persian and Roman empires, followed by the rise of the prophet Muhammad and five centuries of engagement between the Muslim imperium and an emerging Europe. Essential and urgent, God’s Crucible underscores the importance of these early, world-altering events whose influence remains as current as today’s headlines.


The Ghost Army of World War II

The Ghost Army of World War II

Author: Rick Beyer

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2023-10-10

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1797225308

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“A riveting tale told through personal accounts and sketches along the way—ultimately, a story of success against great odds. I enjoyed it enormously.” —Tom Brokaw The first book to tell the full story of how a traveling road show of artists wielding imagination, paint, and bravado saved thousands of American lives—now updated with new material. In the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of young GIs—artists, designers, architects, and sound engineers, including such future luminaries as Bill Blass, Ellsworth Kelly, Arthur Singer, Victor Dowd, Art Kane, and Jack Masey—landed in France to conduct a secret mission. From Normandy to the Rhine, the 1,100 men of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the Ghost Army, conjured up phony convoys, phantom divisions, and make-believe headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of American units. Every move they made was top secret, and their story was hushed up for decades after the war's end. Hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs, along with maps, official memos, and letters, accompany Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles’s meticulous research and interviews with many of the soldiers, weaving a compelling narrative of how an unlikely team carried out amazing battlefield deceptions that saved thousands of American lives and helped open the way for the final drive to Germany. The stunning art created between missions also offers a glimpse of life behind the lines during World War II. This updated edition includes: A new afterword by co-author Rick Beyer Never-before-seen additional images The successful campaign to have the unit awarded a Congressional Gold Medal History and WWII enthusiasts will find The Ghost Army of World War II an essential addition to their library.


The Age of Charles Martel

The Age of Charles Martel

Author: Paul Fouracre

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-09-17

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1317898486

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First glorified as the Saviour of Christendom and then vilified as an enemy of the Church, Charles Martel's career has been written and rewritten from the time of his descendents. This important new study draws on strictly contemporary sources to assess his real achievements and offers new insights into a fascinating period.


Barbarians, Marauders, And Infidels

Barbarians, Marauders, And Infidels

Author: Antonio Santosuosso

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2004-05-26

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9780813391533

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Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels examines the motives and terrors of war during the Middle Ages, the rise and fall of ethnic and religious groups, and the actions of good and evil military leaders during this violent and colorful period. In this sweeping chronicle, historical figures and major campaigns such as Charlemagne, the Magyars, and the Crusades are presented not as icons but as a living part of their times, with all their achievements and human failures. Santosuosso asserts that war, for most of the Middle Ages, was carried out for God, personal gain, and honor. Both Christians and Muslims often explained their acts of violence in war as the will of God. Besides the religious motivation, soldiers, if upper class, believed that acts of bravery were a necessary aspect of gaining honor in society. Finally, war constituted a way to make material gains in a period of chronic underemployment and low prosperity. Particular emphasis is given to massive transitions from one period to the next in the medieval era. The author explains how these changes reflected an environment where charismatic leaders, the Church, and the aristocracy played leading roles as "managers" of the art and practice of war and normally as main actors on the battlefield.


Battle of Tours

Battle of Tours

Author: John C. Scott

Publisher: eBookIt.com

Published: 2013-05-22

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1456601482

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TOURS, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BATTLE IN HISTORYThis is not a history book!It is not unlikely that this book will get me killed and I would not dismiss the danger to its publishers. If you have the courage to print and distribute it, there is no doubt that it will be one of the all-time best sellers in the world today.Tours, the largest city in the Centre region of France, is the location of what was arguably the most significant battle in human history. Here, in 732, Charles "the Hammer" Martel stopped an invading army of sixty thousand Muslims cold. Martel slaughtered every one of them and left their "unholy "bones to rot as a testament to God and all who passed.Since the birth of the so-called prophet Mohammed in 471 AD, the crazed followers of Allah rampaged throughout the Middle East and invaded southern Europe in an attempt to lay waste to all Christian lands, murdering, pillaging and proselytizing. The spread of Islam throughout the Middle East was most certainly by and under the sword. The Egyptians were obviously not Arabs or Muslims until the armies of Islam swept into their territories. Equally, in every country that fell under the murdering hands of the Muslims, the people of those countries were subjugated and slaughtered, forced to convert or die. Indeed, no one can argue that Islam is not a diseased cult spread by force staining human history with blood.The story I wrote is about Charles Martel and how he came to be there on that fateful day at Tours as the sole defender of the faith and all that stood against the Muslim onslaught that had penetrated so deeply into Europe.I argue that had not Martel been able to stop them, it is highly likely that today, all of us, the entire Christian world, would have likely been destroyed and forced to convert or die. The spires of the minarets would today have been in the thousands throughout Europe and even into the new world.It is highly probable that Islam would have retained a dominant position throughout the world just as they do today in all lands that have fallen under their obscene rule. With their seeming worship and devotion of and to ignorance, human civilization would have been stuck in the past. We would have had no modernization, no invention and no advancement- mankind today would still be living in the dark ages under the cruel eyes of the Mutawas (thought police) and vicious power hungry Ayatollahs. It would be centuries later, during the Ottoman Empire, that Islam again threatened Europe. It is important to note that Martel's victory at Tours, and his later campaigns, prevented invasion of Europe by the Muslim caliphate. Martel preserved and protected Christianity and Western civilization, as we know it. Gibbons called him "the paramount prince of his age." A strong argument can be made that Gibbons was entirely correct.The book describes the Battle of Tours as if it were happening today. it recreates the movements of the armies, the difficulties of provisioning such large numbers in those times and looks into the minds of the leaders and soldiers as they fought and died in that historic conflict. The book shows us the motivations of the mad Muslims who so desperately wanted to destroy western Christianity and delves into their reasoning then and now. Tours is important because it was the first time a western Christian Army had defeated the marauding Muslims and it set the stage for the retaliation that was to follow in the form of the Crusades. Both the crusades and the attacks into Europe by the Muslims that preceded them, laid the foundations for the humiliation, anger and hatred that motivates the attacks on the west by the Jihadists of today.The skein of history in those times is thin. The book does not rely on diaries and written accounts as one can in more recent battles...