Battle of the River Berre

The Battle of the River Berre 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 during the siege of Narbonne.^[1][2][3] The battle, which took place at the mouth of the River Berre (now in the Département of Aude), was a significant victory for Charles Martel in the military campaigns of 736–737.^[1][2][3] During this period, Martel effectively prevented greater Umayyad expansion beyond the Pyrénées.

History

The Frankish Christian army intercepted a sizeable group of Arab-Berber Muslim troops sent from Islamic Iberia and led by Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj along the banks of the River Berre, whose purpose was to relieve the Umayyad garrison during the siege of Narbonne.^[1][2][3]

After their resounding victory,^[1][2][3] the Frankish Christian army pursued the fleeing Arab-Berber Muslim troops into the nearby sea-lagoons, "taking much booty and many prisoners".^[4] Martel's forces then devastated most of the principal settlements of Septimania, including Nîmes, Agde, Béziers, and Maguelonne.^[2] Despite these victories a second expedition was needed later that year to regain control of Provence after Arab forces returned. According to Paul the Deacon's Historia Langobardorum the Arabs retreated when they learned that Martel had formed an alliance with the Lombards.^[4]

The Frankish duke Charles Martel may have been able to take Narbonne had he been willing to commit his army and full resources for an indefinite siege, but he was not willing or able to do so.^[2] Probably he found that Hunald I, Duke of Aquitaine, was threatening his line of communication with the north. Furthermore, Maurontius, patrician of Provence, from his unconquered city of Marseille, raised a revolt against him from the rear.^[5] The Frankish king may have considered accomplished his primary goals by destroying the Arab Muslim armies in Septimania, and leaving the remaining Arab and Berber garrison confined within the city of Narbonne.^[6]

A second Frankish expedition was led later in 739 to expel the inconvenient count Maurontius, who couldn't expect this time Andalusian relief, from Marseille and regain control of Provence. According to Paul the Deacon's historical treatise Historia Langobardorum (787–796), the Arab Muslims retreated when they learned that Charles Martel had formed an alliance with the Lombards, leaving the Umayyad forces stationed in the area and Maurontius himself too weak to meet in open battle.

References

1. Baker, Patrick S. (2013). "The Battle of the River Berre". Medieval Warfare. 3 (2). Karwansaray BV: 44–48. ISSN 2211-5129. JSTOR 48578218. After three months, Eudo the Great, Duke of Aquitaine, lifted the siege. Eudo's army decimated the Moors, killed As-Sahm and drove the survivors from Aquitaine.
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.
3. 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.
4. Fouracre, Paul (2000). The Age of Charles Martel. Harlow: Longman. p. 97. ISBN 0-582-06476-7.
5. Lewis, Archibald R. (1965). The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 23. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
6. 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.

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