Charles Martel

Frankish mayor of the palace who drove back the Umayyad army at Poitiers; grandfather of Charlemagne.

Life

Mayor of the palace

In the late Merovingian period, the kings lost their power, and real authority lay with the mayors of the palace. Charles Martel defeated his rivals in a civil war and became mayor of the palace of the whole Frankish Kingdom.

The Hammer

In 732 CE (or 733 CE by another account), Abd al-Rahman, the Umayyad Caliphate's governor of al-Andalus, led an army north and met Charles Martel's infantry phalanx between Tours and Poitiers; the Arab army retreated in defeat and its commander was killed in battle. This earned him the nickname "Martel" (The Hammer).

Ancestor of the Carolingians

He granted church lands to knights, strengthening his military power. He died in 741 CE and his power passed to his son Pepin, who later deposed the Merovingian king and founded the Carolingian dynasty.

Legacy

Western historiography often treats the Battle of Poitiers as the turning point that halted the northward advance of Islamic power, but its actual significance is much debated in current research.

Did you know? He never took the title of king, but his son became a king and his grandson Charlemagne both king and emperor.

Key dates

• 717Won the civil war
• 732Battle of Tours
• 737Throne vacant; rules alone
• 741Died