Charles Martel and the Carolingian Franks defeated the Umayyad Caliphate at the Battle of Tours on this day in 732 AD.

After the conquest of Spain, Abd al-Rahman assembled an army at Pamplona and launched a new raid into France. After conquering Bordeaux they pressed northward with the intention of sacking the shrine of Saint Martin at Tours on the Loire River.

Somewhere between Poitiers and Tours — the precise location remains unknown — al-Rahman came face to face with Charles Martel and his infantry, who had formed a shield wall on the high ground with a river on their flank and held the position for seven days until al-Rahman’s cavalry commenced an uphill attack, which was swiftly routed.

Amid the fighting, a smaller battalion of Franks also snuck around the Arab encampment and launched another attack, wherein al-Rahman was slain.

Martel’s victory was widely celebrated. In Northumbria (present day northern England and southeast Scotland), Bede the Venerable received news of the battle and remarked, “The Saracens who had devastated Gaul were punished for their perfidy.”

The Moor defeat marked the end of large-scale raids into Europe, although Spain itself would remain under Islamic rule for another 750 years.