Muslim presence in medieval Europe

The history of Islamic invasions of France, Spain, Italy and elsewhere

Greetings Gold and Silver Level Templar Knights! It’s often forgotten that for three hundred years before the Crusades, there had been a wave of Muslim invasions of Europe from Portugal to Crete. Let’s take a look at this forgotten history.

Medieval Europe saw a huge Muslim presence on the continent - with Christianity and Islam not only rubbing up against each other, but even boundaries of faith being blurred. Spain, Portugal, southern France, Sicily, and the Balkans were under the rule of Muslim emirs throughout much of the Middle Ages. You have to rethink today's political and religious divisions and be prepared to see something very different.

Below is a map that shows Europe from the 700s to the 1000s CE. The green areas are Muslim-controlled while the purple areas represent the Byzantine Empire, which was Christian though not always in communion with the Pope in Rome. Take a long hard look at this map because there's plenty to unpack below.

Spain and Portugal were Muslim Al-Andalus

The most striking thing to notice is that what we now call Spain and Portugal is almost entirely under Muslim rule. In the year 711 CE, the Christian Visigothic kingdom that had ruled the Iberian Peninsula since the fall of the Roman Empire was invaded from Morocco by a vast Muslim army. Only the northernmost strip of the peninsula, as you can see, held out.

This created the very wealthy Islamic realm of Al-Andalus, ruled from the city of Cordoba, and then later Seville. The population changed with an influx of Muslims from north Africa, the Levant, and even as far away as Yemen. Ethnically, it was a mixed Berber and Arab emigration into what is now Spain and Portugal. This led to a region with three religions among the population: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

This is often presented rosily as the 'convivencia' where the three faiths lived together in perfect harmony. In reality, Christians and Jews could practice their religion and earn a living provided they accepted an inferior status and payed a special tax, the 'jizya'. There were periods of relative tolerance but also times of tension.

However, for Jews, it compared favourably with their treatment in Christian-run Europe. And after Muslim Spain and Portugal were conquered by Roman Catholic monarchs, it led to the horror of the Inquisition where the choice was conversion to Christianity or death.

Emirate of Fraxinetum

Fraxinetum is a little known Muslim emirate in southern France, near to Saint-Tropez, that existed between 887 CE and 972 CE. After Spain and Portugal were invaded in 711 CE, a Muslim army continued deep into France to the north only being stopped at Poitiers where they were defeated by the Frankish king, Charles Martel, killing the governor of Al-Andalus, Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

But that did not end the Muslim presence in France. They retained a foothold in Septimamia - south-east France. The map below shows the situation throughout the 8th century CE. However, by 759 CE, another Frankish ruler - Pepin the Short - removed the Muslim forces from the area. But that was not to be the end as we will see.

In 887 CE, twenty Muslim sailors from Al-Andalus landed at the old Roman fortress of Fraxinetum and seized it. Incredibly, not only did they hold Fraxinetum but with reinforcements from the south, expanded their operations across the French region of Provence, which fell under Muslim rule.

From this stronghold, they launched raids throughout the tenth century into northern Italy and even Switzerland. The snowy, mountainous Alps proved to be no obstacle. Like the Vikings, they targeted wealthy monasteries. But it was after Abbot Maiolus of Cluny was kidnapped and ransomed that Christian Europe retaliated and ended the emirate of Fraxinetum in 972 CE.

From Sicily to Crete

Arab and Berber Muslim armies took Crete in 824 CE, Sicily in 831 CE, and Malta in 870 CE. The outskirts of Rome were plundered in 846 CE with Saint Peter's Basilica looted - an event not forgotten by generations of Popes. By the time of the Crusades in the 12th century, there had already been centuries of warfare between Christian and Muslim forces in the very heart of Europe.

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