Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani | |
---|---|
السمح بن مالك الخولاني | |
Governor of Al-Andalus | |
In office 719–721 | |
Preceded by | Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi |
Personal details | |
Died | 721 |
Parent | Malik al-Khawlani |
Military service | |
Battles/wars | Umayyad invasion of Gaul |
Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani (
Conquest of remaining Visigothic rule
On al-Samh's accession to office, the Visigothic king
Siege and defeat at Toulouse
After setting up his headquarters in Narbonne, military moves took an unexpected turn when Al-Samh returned to Al Andalus to gather more Arab troops prior to attacking the strongly defended Aquitanian capital city of Toulouse. While the ultimate reasons remain obscure, it has been argued that Odo provided shelter to Visigothic elites and population fleeing the theater of war around the eastern Pyrenees. Al-Samh returned to Septimania and on to southeastern Aquitaine with a massive army, siege engines, infantry, horsemen and mercenaries. The siege of Toulouse, with its near-impregnable walls, lasted until early summer.
The defenders, short of provisions, were close to breaking when, around June 9, 721,
Al-Samh himself was critically wounded, and died shortly afterwards in Narbonne.
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-393-06472-8.
- ISBN 978-1-317-87041-8.
- ISBN 0-312-22464-8.
- ISBN 1-931956-60-X.
- Lewis, Archibald R. (1965). The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 21. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
- ^ Meadows, Ian (March–April 1993). "The Arabs in Occitania". Saudi Aramco World. 44: 24–29. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2014-11-29.