Fraxinetum or Fraxinet ( ar, فرخشنيط, translit=Farakhshanīt or , from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''fraxinus'': " ash tree", ''fraxinetum'': "ash forest") was the site of a Muslim fortress in
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
between about 887 and 972. It is identified with modern
La Garde-Freinet
La Garde-Freinet (; Provençal: ''La Gàrdia Frainet'') is a commune in the Var department in the Côte d'Azur area in southeastern France.
Location
La Garde-Freinet is a medieval French mountain village, located in the Massif des Maures, 15& ...
, near Saint-Tropez. From this base, the Muslims raided up the
Rhône Valley
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At ...
. For a time, they controlled the passes through the western
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
. They withstood several attempts to oust them, but were finally defeated by the combined forces of the Provençal and Piedmontese nobility.
Primary sources
Christian sources in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
are more numerous than Muslim ones in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
for reconstructing the history of Fraxinetum. The most important contemporary narrative of the Muslims of Fraxinetum is the ''Antapodosis'' of Liudprand,
bishop of Cremona
The Diocese of Cremona ( la, Dioecesis Cremonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan. ...
(d. 972). The bishop also mentions Fraxinetum in his ''Liber de rebus gestis Ottonis'', an account of the reign of King Otto I of Germany. Other contemporary narrative sources in Latin are the ''Annales'' of Flodoard, which cover the years 919–966, and the ''Casus sancti Galli'' of
Ekkehard Ekkehard (and Eckardt, Eckard, Eckart, Eckhardt, Ekkehart) is a German given name. It is composed of the elements ''ekke'' "edge, blade; sword" and ''hart'' "brave; hardy". Variant forms include Eckard, Eckhard, Eckhart, Eckart.
The Anglo-Saxon fo ...
(d. 973). Documentary sources are few, but the first
cartulary
A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll (''rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...
of the Abbey of Saint-Victor at Marseille, covering the years 838–1000, contains some references in its charters to Fraxinetum.
Several biographies and saints' lives also contain information relative to Fraxinetum. The ''Vita Iohannis Gorziensis'', a biography of John of Gorze written around 960, contains an account of the diplomacy undertaken by Otto I in response to raids in his territory. The two ''Vitae sancti Maioli'', biographies of
Maiolus of Cluny
Majolus of Cluny (Maieul, Mayeul, Mayeule) (c. 906 – May 11, 994) was the fourth abbot of Cluny. Majolus was very active in reforming individual communities of monks and canons; first, as a personal commission, requested and authorized by the E ...
written by
Odilo of Cluny
Odilo of Cluny (c. 962 – 1 January 1049) was the fifth Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, holding the post for around 54 years. During his tenure Cluny became the most important monastery in western Europe. Odilo actively worked to reform the monastic ...
and Syrus, are important sources for the capture of their subject, which event brought about the downfall of Fraxinetum. The anonymous '' Vita sancti Bobonis'', written in the first half of the eleventh century about a saint who died in 986, describes the downfall of Fraxinetum. Its account appears to be based on that of the destruction of a ''castrum Fraxenedellum'' in the ''
Chronicon Novalicense
The ''Chronicon Novaliciense'' (or ''Chronicle of Novalesa'') is a monastic chronicle which was written in the mid-eleventh century in the valley of Susa.
The ''Chronicle of Novalesa'' was written, c.1050, by an anonymous monk at the monastery o ...
''.
Among contemporary Muslim sources that mention Fraxinetum are the Arabic ''Ṣurāt al-Arḍ'' of
Ibn Ḥawqal
Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler who travelled during the ye ...
(977), which is a revised version of the geographical treatise ''Kitāb al-Masālik waʿl-mamālik'' by
al-Iṣṭakhrī
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri () (also ''Estakhri'', fa, استخری, i.e. from the Iranian city of Istakhr, b. - d. 346 AH/AD 957) was a 10th-century travel-author and geographer who wrote valuable accounts in Arab ...
(951), and an anonymous
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
geography, '' Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam'' (late 10th century). The ''Muqtabis'' of Ibn Ḥayyān (d. 1076) also mentions Fraxinetum.
Location
The fort of Fraxinetum atop the hill Mont des Maures overlooking what is today the village of La Garde-Freinet had existed since the
Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
. Its name is derived from the Latin '' fraxinus'' (ash tree) and probably refers to the thick forest of ash that covers the hill. The Muslim geographers al-Iṣṭakhrī and Ibn Ḥawqal call Fraxinetum ''Jabal al-Qilāl'' ("mount of timber"). They describe the Muslim enclave as vast, covered with streams and fertile soil and taking two days to cross. Ibn Ḥawqal erroneously considered it an island at the mouth of the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
.
Identity
According to Ibn Ḥawqal, the settlement was dependent on the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. The Muslims of Fraxinetum are described by Liudprand as Saracens (''saraceni'') from Spain and by the ''Vita sancti Bobonis'' simply as Spaniards (''hispanicolae''). Other sources refer to them as ''fusci'' (blacks), ''pagani'' (heathen) or
Hagarenes
Hagarenes ( grc, Ἀγαρηνοί , syc, ܗܓܪܝܐ or , arm, Հագարացի), is a term widely used by early Syriac, Greek, Coptic and Armenian sources to describe the early Arab conquerors of Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.
The name was us ...
.
History
Background
In 838, the ''
Annales Bertiniani
''Annales Bertiniani'' (''Annals of Saint Bertin'') are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin, Saint-Omer, France, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus contin ...
'' record that Muslims raided
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, plundered its religious houses and took captive both men and women, clerical and lay, as slaves. In 842, the ''Annales'' report a raid in the vicinity of
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
. In 869, raiders returned to Arles and captured the archbishop, Roland. They accepted a ransom in return for the archbishop, but when they handed him over he was already dead. The construction of a castle in the
Camargue
Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...
following these raids up the Rhône may have induced raiders to try points further east, culminating in the establishment of a permanent base of operations at Fraxinetum.
Foundation and expansion
The Muslim occupation of Fraxinetum began around 887, according to Liudprand, when a small ship carrying about twenty Andalusī sailors landed near Saint-Tropez. The Andalusīs seized the settlement that had grown up at the foot of the hill and then took control of the fort itself. This was accessible only by a narrow path through the forest, according to both Liudprand and Ibn Ḥawqal.
According to Liudprand, the settlers sent messages back to Spain and the
Balearics
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
inviting reinforcements. About 100 warriors answered the call, motivated both by religious zeal and a desire for plunder. In the first two decades of their rule, the Muslims of Fraxinetum subdued all of Provence and began raiding across the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
in Italy. Liudprand blamed their quick success on the divisions and squabbles of the Provençals following the collapses of Carolingian authority. By 906, they controlled the pass of
Mont Cenis
Mont Cenis ( it, Moncenisio) is a massif (el. 3,612 m / 11,850 ft at Pointe de Ronce) and a pass (el. 2,085 m / 6,840 ft) in Savoie (France), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps.
Route
The term "Mont Cenis" cou ...
between Provence and Italy. In that year, they attacked or occupied
Acqui
Acqui Terme (; pms, Àich ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'A ...
,
Oulx
Oulx ( oc, label= Occitan, Ors) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, in the Susa Valley on the border with France.
Names
Like many other towns in the Susa V ...
and Susa in Italy. According to the 11th-century ''Chronicon Novalicense'', they threatened the Abbey of Novalesa on this occasion. By 911, they were in control of all the western Alpine passes, from which they could collect tolls on traders and pilgrims. Between 915 and 918, they raided Embrun,
Maurienne
Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Location
The Mau ...
and
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Aix-en-Provence in western Provence.
Between 929 and 933, the Muslims of Fraxinetum extended their control to the more easterly Alpine passes and raided the Upper Rhône Valley. In 939, crossing the Alps again, they attacked the
Abbey of Saint Gall
The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...
and razed the
Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune
The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a c ...
. Like the contemporary
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
, the Muslim raiders target monasteries because of their wealth and lack of defences.
High point
Men from Fraxinetum may have participated in the Fatimid raid on Genoa in 935. They certainly destroyed the port of Fréjus in 940, prompting a response from King
Hugh of Italy
Hugh (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...
. In 941 or 942, he sought an alliance with the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and received a favourable response from the Emperor
Romanos Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII.
Origin
Romanos ...
. While he attacked Fraxinetum by land, a fleet of Byzantine '' chelandia'' destroyed the Muslim ships with Greek fire. At the moment when Fraxinetum on the cusp of surrender, Hugh received news that a rival for the Italian throne, Margrave
Berengar of Ivrea
Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Margr ...
, was preparing to invade Italy with an army of
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
from his exile in Germany. Hugh called off the siege and made an arrangement with the Muslims. They were allowed to keep the Alpine passes, presumably in exchange for defending the Italian frontier. It is possible that Hugh's abrupt change of policy was also related to the commercial relations he opened up with the Umayyad caliphate around the same time.
Hugh's decision was condemned by contemporary Christian writers. Liudprand blamed him for the death of hundreds or even thousands of Christians. In the decade of the 940s, Fraxinetum was at the apex of its power and gave shelter to a number of Christian rebels. After his downfall in 962, King Adalbert of Italy took refuge in Fraxinetum. In his ''Annals'', under the year 951,
Flodoard of Reims
Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are ...
records that "the Saracens occupying the Alpine passes extract tribute from travellers to Rome, only thus allowing them to pass."
Around 954, Fraxinetum came into conflict with Hungarian invaders. King
Conrad of Burgundy
Conrad I, called the Peaceful (french: Conrad le Pacifique; german: Konrad der Friedfertige; – 19 October 993), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 937 until his death.
Life
He was the son of King Rudolph II, the fi ...
took advantage of the conflict to slaughter both sides. The major defeat dealt to the Hungarians by King Otto I of Germany at the
Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungarian army led by ''Harka ''Bulcsú and the chi ...
the following year allowed the German king to focus on the threat from Fraxinetum. At one point a military expedition may have been planned, but it never took place. This did not stop
Widukind of Corvey
Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' is an important chronicle of 10th-century Germany during the rule of the Ottonian dynasty.
Life
In view of ...
from listing the Saracens among Otto's defeated enemies.
Decline and defeat
In 956, a raid into the
Upper Rhine Valley
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the so ...
prompted Otto I to send an embassy to the Umayyad court, which he clearly believed had the power to control Fraxinetum. Ballan calls their raid deep into Otto's territory "their first major miscalculation". Several embassies were exchanged between the two most powerful courts in western Europe. After this, material aid from Spain to Fraxinetum declined substantially.
In 972, the Muslims captured Abbot
Maiolus of Cluny
Majolus of Cluny (Maieul, Mayeul, Mayeule) (c. 906 – May 11, 994) was the fourth abbot of Cluny. Majolus was very active in reforming individual communities of monks and canons; first, as a personal commission, requested and authorized by the E ...
while he was crossing the Alps and held him for ransom. After his release, Maiolus organized a military response. Led by Count
William I of Provence
William I ( 950 – after 29 August 993), called the Liberator, was Count of Provence from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of ''marchio'' or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence. He and his ...
and Count Arduin of Turin, a Christian force drawn from Provence, Piedmont and Septimania defeated the Muslims in the
Battle of Tourtour
The Battle of Tourtour of 973 was a significant victory for the Christian forces of William I of Provence over the Andalusi settlers based at Fraxinetum.
Background
For several decades, the Saracens had been making inroads into Provence, building ...
in the summer of 972. Fraxinetum fell by the end of the year after a short siege.; , notes that a number of sources place Fraxinetum's fall in 990.
With the fall of Fraxinetum, those Muslims who did not go into exile were either killed or sold into slavery. Many converted to Christianity and remained in Provence as serfs, while the formerly Muslim lands were parcelled out among the victorious Provençal nobles.
Governance
The Muslims of Fraxinetum established forts throughout the areas they conquered in Provence and Piedmont, but Latin sources do not distinguish them, calling all of them Fraxinetum or a variant thereof, such as Frassineto, Frascendello or Fraxinth. A string of forts was constructed across the Alps to control the mountain passes and serve as bases for raiding.
The form of Islamic rule imposed by Fraxinetum was indirect. Christians retained their religion and towns their self-government through agreeing to the ''
dhimma
' ( ar, ذمي ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligatio ...
'' (the pact of submission) and paying the '' jizya'' (a head tax).
Archaeological evidence in the form of 10th-century Muslim shipwrecks off the coast of Provence suggests that Fraxinetum maintained commercial links with the rest of the Muslim world.
Timeline
* 889: Twenty Andalusis sail up the Gulf of St. Tropez and found a colony at Fraxinetum.
* 906: Andalusis cross the defiles of the
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
and
Mont Cénis
, photo = Col du Mont Cenis.jpg
, photo_caption = Lake at the pass
, elevation_m = 2085
, elevation_ref =
, traversed = Route nationale 6
, map = Alps
, map_caption = Location of Col de Mont Cenis
, map_size =
, label = Col de Mont Cen ...
.
* 908: Andalusis occupy the Susa Valley.
* 911: Andalusis hold the
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
passes.
* 929: Fraxinetum forces advance to borders of
Acqui
Acqui Terme (; pms, Àich ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'A ...
.
* 940: Andalusis occupy and colonize
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
.
* 942: Andalusi settlement at
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
and
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
Majolus of Cluny
Majolus of Cluny (Maieul, Mayeul, Mayeule) (c. 906 – May 11, 994) was the fourth Abbey of Cluny, abbot of Cluny. Majolus was very active in reforming individual communities of monks and canons; first, as a personal commission, requested and aut ...
at the
Great St Bernard Pass
it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard
, photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg
, photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background
, elevation_m = 2469
, elevation_ref = ...
* 973: After the
Battle of Tourtour
The Battle of Tourtour of 973 was a significant victory for the Christian forces of William I of Provence over the Andalusi settlers based at Fraxinetum.
Background
For several decades, the Saracens had been making inroads into Provence, building ...
, the Andalusis evacuate Fraxinetum.
* 1047: Andalusi raid on
Lérins Islands
The Lérins Islands (in french: les Îles de Lérins, ) are a group of four Mediterranean islands off the French Riviera, in Cannes. The two largest islands in this group are the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Île Saint-Honorat. The smaller ...