GOLDEN AGE BIBLIOTECAS
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13 June 2023|Arab
During the 10th century, the history of South France was dominated by large groups of Arabs who controlled the whole area of the French and Swiss Alps from a point at the coast near Saint-Tropez. The Latin sources of this period name them Saracens, an ancient term used for Arabs.
The Arab presence in these and other neighboring areas was part of the expansion from the South that the Arabs initiated in 711 when the Umayyads conquered Al Andalus (Iberian Peninsula). From there, the Arab conquerors tried several times to break through into the Empire of the Franks by way of the Pyrenees.
Although the Frankish armies succeeded in repulsing the Arab armies of Poitiers and Tours, the conquests North of Pyrenees continued. A final end of the ‘official’ Arab presence in the South of France came in 750 when Pipin conquered the last Arab stronghold, Narbonne.
The expansion towards the North was carried out by another Arab group, this time the Aghlabids who had begun to conquer Sicily in 827. Numerous attacks had been undertaken by the Arabs in Italy. The most important Arab base was Bari on the Adriatic coast.
In 846, the Arab armies laid siege to Rome and their campaigns brought them as far as Venice. In 848, there were several raids on Marseilles, Camargue in 869, and even farther to the North on Arles in 842 and 850.
In 849, the Fraxinetum Arabs joined military actions in Italy during a second attack on Rome and Ostia, carried out by Sicilian Arabs. This shows that the Arabs in South France, though directing their attention to the North, were aware of what went on in the rest of the Arab world.
The most important Arab military expedition that had a more lasting effect was the stronghold near Saint-Tropez. The Arabs built a fortress called in Latin sources Fraxinetum (Qalat Frshshnit- Fraxinet Castle) around 890 which became the point of departure of all Arab expansions into the Provence, Savoy, and Switzerland.
The exact location of Fraxinetum is unknown but most probably it was situated on Mont Maure near Saint-Tropez on the spot currently called Garde Freinet. After the fall, the name is still used for a part of the country of Frejus. The Arabs remained in Fraxinetum for more than 80 years and its name became a symbol for the panic caused by the Arab expansion in the 10th century.
Almost immediately after building their fortress, the Arabs occupied Mont-Cenis and began raiding Northern Italy (Liguria Piemonte). The surrounding areas in Arles, Burgundy, Cimella and Subalpine Gallia felt unsafe and many people fled. The monks of Novalesa monastery went to Turin and expressed their cowardice in dismay: Alas, it was then that our most Holy Mother, the Church of Novalesa, lost her honor!
A remark made by Liutprant For although poor Italy was heavily vexed by the numerous attacks of the Hungarians and the Saracens from Fraxinetum, it was never struck by any disaster worse than that of the Africans (Sicilian Arabs).
The activities of the Arabs were limited to mountain areas and they behaved as masters of the mountains that extended from Savoy to the Riviera. They occupied the strip of the coast to the Col de Maure near Gap building a long line of fortresses on the mountain range. The Chronicum Novaliciese describes the place: mountainous area that was surrounded by enormous forests.
From this position, they increased their pressure on surrounding areas with the help of Arabs in Al Andalus. In 906, the Arabs occupied the small town of Aquae (Aqui), 50 miles West of Pavia. Their raids extended all over the Basse Provence between 916 and 940 where they attacked Toulon, Marseille, Aix, Gap, Embrun, and many other areas. The Arabs entrenched themselves in the higher mountain ranges of the Alps until they reached the Grand St. Bernard (Mount-Joux) in 921.
In 923, the bishop of Marseille, Drogo came to the Archbishop of Arles, Manasses, complaining sobbing and crying because of the constant attacks of the Saracens
In the early period of Fraxinetum, the most active opponent of the Arabs was Hugo, King of Lombardy who ruled Provence. His aggressive policy against the Arabs forced them off the coast and made them concentrate on the interior.
In 931, Hugo along with a Byzantine fleet mounted a full-scale expedition at Fraxinetum but he was not able to expel them completely. Hugo was faced with unrest and difficulties in his reign and the Arabs were able to expand their raids even more.
During this period, the Arabs started to occupy the passes of the Alp. In 941, Hugo had an agreement with them promising them the passes of the Alps which were the gateway to Lombardy. The reason is that he wanted to protect his back from Otto I, King of the Germans.
Another aim was to preserve good relations with Umayyad Caliph Abdulrahman III al Nasir li Deen Allah (One who gives victory to the true Faith), to obtain him as an ally against the Germans. Contemporaries observed this disapprovingly as they saw this as a permit for the Arabs to do what they want.
After the agreement, the Arab presence was felt from the Mont-Genèvre to Mount St. Bernard and far into Switzerland. Their fortresses were visible everywhere, in the gorges near Briançon and Oulx, in the Maurienne, the Tarantaise, the valley of Isère, and on the Plateau de Bauges in Savoy.
The Arabs took the valley of the Graisivaudan and Grenoble. They destroyed the Castle of Sarmorenc near Voiron, from the Côte Saint-Andrè to Saint-Genis on the Guiers, West of Chambèry.
The 10th-century Arab geographer Ibn Hawqal mentions a place called Jabal al-Qilal on the map belonging to his work Surat al-ard and this place is identified by some scholars as the Garde Freinet.
He described it as a place with good agriculture, water, and land: when the Muslims came here they cultivated the land and became a menace for the Franks. But, it is impossible to reach them, because they live on the face of the mountain and there is no road that leads to them, except from one direction which they have secured. Its total length is two days.
Ibn Hawqal mentions that the Jabal al Qilal fell in the sphere of the influence of Princes Emirs of Mallorca who were vessels to the Umayyad state in Al Andalus. Contacts between the Arabs of Fraxinetum and Abdulrahman III were mentioned by the Chronicum Novaliciese.
Between 900 and 950, the beginning of the Arab downfall came after their confrontation with the Hungarians. In 952, Hugo died and the German Emperor Otto I (the first Emperor of the Holy Roman German Empire) had become increasingly influential in these areas.
The Emperor held Caliph Abdulrahman III responsible for the unrest in the South of France and even sent an embassy to Cordoba harshly asking him to do something about it.
Otto wanted to stop the Arab activities in Fraxinetum and free the passage over Grand St. Bernard for his own political aspirations in Italy. The Arabs then got into local clashes and after 966 they had to retreat to Maurienne and Tarantaise.
The curtain of Fraxinetum fell down in 973 and this was the final stage of Muslim-Arab expansion in France. Even after this time, some surviving Arabs remained in the mountains and the hills of Savoy. They might have engaged in agricultural work under new landowners. Olsommer (1981) believes that the independent character of Valaisans may be explained by their Arab blood.
Local legends state that the valley of Saas was occupied by the Arabs who left behind some of the local names of the villages and mountains as well as some of the present-day ruins shown to tourists as Saracen fortresses.
Such ruins are found all over Switzerland: Mauro-fonte, Murs des Sarrasins, near Avenches, Pont des Sarrasins in Saint-Vincent (Doria-Baltèa), Grotte or Motte des Sarrasins (Near Martigny). The best example is the village of Pontresina (Pont des Sarrasins). The famous ‘Spaniolatrum’ in the village was associated with the Arabs.
Some of the place names might be linked to its former Arab settlers including Mount Moro, Mischabel, Almagell, Eien, Allalin, Balfrin, Saas, and Fee.
Adapted from
Versteegh, K. (1990). The Arab Presence in France and Switzerland in the 10th Century
source https://bibliotecanatalie.com/f/arab-expansion-in-medieval-france-italy-and-switzerland