Today Kim Rendfeld, author of The Cross and the Dragon, has stopped by to share her research on some of the fascinating historical figures and puzzling events surrounding the story of her novel.
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| The Song of Roland |
Charlemagne’s 778 invasion of Spain, commemorated inaccurately in “The Song of Roland,” is often portrayed as a type of Crusade. In fact, it was a Muslim who convinced the Frankish king to cross the Pyrenees.
A year earlier, Sulaiman Yaqzan ibn al-Arabi, a Saracen emir; his son Yusuf, and his son-in-law trekked along the steep, narrow passes of the Pyrenees and journeyed all the way to Saxony, seeking an alliance with the Frankish king and close friend of the pope.
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| Charlemagne |
Why would a Muslim ask for the assistance of a devout Christian?
Ibn al-Arabi, wali (governor) of Barcelona, was part of the Abbasid cause to overthrow Abd ar-Rahman, the emir of Córdoba and the last of the Umayyads. The Abbasid caliph, Al-Mansur, had tried to defeat Abd ar-Rahman in 763 and failed. In the 770s, the Abbasids and Berbers from Africa were planning to unite their forces and try again. Ibn al-Arabi must have thought they would need help and decided on a king with a reputation as a conqueror.
At this time, Charles had never lost a war during his nine years on the throne. He had subdued Aquitaine and Lombardy and so secure was he in his belief he had pacified the Saxons — beaten them into submission — that he held an assembly in his brand new palace in Paderborn, east of the Rhine. Ibn al-Arabi put his territories under King Charles’s protection.
What ibn al-Arabi told Charles is a matter of speculation, which I have included in my debut novel The Cross and the Dragon. However, judging by a 778 letter from Pope Hadrian, he might have told the Frankish king that Abd ar-Rahman wanted to extend his realm north into Francia:
“Your royal and God-constituted power has sent us word through your letter that, God opposing them, the people of the Hagarenes are intent on invading your territories to make war. This news has caused us to become greatly troubled and distressed; may our Lord God not permit such things to occur, nor also Saint Peter, prince of the apostles!”
A Truce
Charles invaded Spain with a huge army from all over his realm, but things did not go so well. At Pamplona, the fiercely independent Basques (also called the Gascons) apparently did not want a foreign king, even if he was a fellow Christian. In response, the Franks destroyed the city. When they reached Zaragoza, ibn al-Rabi tried to turn the city over to Charles. But the Muslim populace did not want Charles as king, either.
So Abd ar-Rahman and Charles reached a deal: the Umayyad would give Charles gold and hostages if the Frankish king went home. Apparently, the alliance with the Abbasid had fallen apart because Ibn al-Arabi gave hostages, too.
A hostage in this era, usually the son of a nobleman, was a form of insurance. If Abd ar-Rahman and ibn al-Arabi behaved themselves, the hostages were treated as guests. If the Muslims broke the treaty, Charles could do whatever he wanted to the hostages, including execution.
This allowed Charles to claim victory. He got booty and assurance that Abd ar-Rahman would not invade.
Aftermath
But disaster struck on the journey home. Perhaps in retaliation for the destruction of Pamplona, the Basques ambushed the rear guard at the Pass of Roncevaux, killing high court officials and Hruodland (Roland) of the March of Brittany. The blow to Charles was so great that the events were not recorded until after his death. (If you would like to know more about the massacre, visit a post I wrote in May for Unusual Historicals by following the link on my blog, www.kimrendfeld.wordpress.com.)
On top of that, Charles found out the Saxons were not pacified after all. Back in Francia, he learned they had revolted, killing and burning indiscriminately. One of the casualties was the palace in Paderborn.
Charles was able to recover and conquer more lands. Crowned emperor in 800, he reigned until his death at age 65 in 814.
Ibn al-Rabi was not as fortunate as Charles. One annal has him being taken to Francia in chains. But I am inclined to believe the grimmer fate described in the footnotes of Carolingian Chronicles: Abd ar-Rahman, the Umayyad, recaptured Zaragoza, and ibn al-Rabi was killed as a traitor to the Muslim cause.
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| Death of Roland in Roncevaux |
Sources:
Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard’s Histories, Bernhard Walter Scholtz with Barbara Rogers
Charlemagne: Translated Sources, P.D. King
Einhard’s The Life of Charlemagne, translated by Evelyn Scherabon Firchow and Edwin H. Zeydel
Kim Rendfeld is the author of The Cross and the Dragon, a tale of love amid the wars and blood feuds of Charlemagne’s reign. Her novel provides an alternative interpretation of the events depicted in “The Song of Roland.” To read a sample of Kim’s novel, visit www.kimrendfeld.com.
This is a fine sequel to your May post, Kim, and one I've enjoyed reading today. Sulayman al-Arabi is a fascinating character and his intervention, no doubt, deserves to be reappraised by historians. Like caliph Harun al-Rashid, his association with Charlemagne may also have been—if you pardon the phrase—an extraordinary karmic moment? Please write more, soon!
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