Siege Of Tortosa (808–809)
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The siege of Tortosa was a military campaign by King
Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
of
Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
in 808–809. It was part of a decade of intense activity by Louis against the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba in the region of the lower
Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...
. The chronology of his campaigns, which must be worked out from both
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
sources, is subject to different interpretations. The siege was begun in 808 by Ingobert, Louis arriving the following year with a larger army and siege train. The earliest reference to
trebuchet A trebuchet () is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles ...
s in western Europe is made in connection with this siege. Louis failed to take Tortosa or force its surrender, but he may have received a formal submission before retiring to his own kingdom. The Arabic sources present him as defeated by a relieving force, while at least one Latin source suggests that the walls were in fact breached.


Background and first siege

The siege of Tortosa was part of a decade of intense activity by Louis against the Umayyads in the region of
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
. Following Louis's capture of Barcelona in 801, the southern boundary of Carolingian dominion was the river Llobregat, while the northern boundary of the Umayyads was the Ebro. The land between became a violent and depopulated frontier zone. Tortosa was the most important Umayyad fortification on this frontier and effectively the furthest Umayyad outpost in Catalonia.Viguera, "Ṭurṭūsha", in . The chronology of Louis's campaigns is confusing and has led to different reconstructions. The ''
Vita Hludovici ''Vita Hludovici'' or ''Vita Hludovici Imperatoris'' (The Life of Louis or the Life of the Emperor Louis) is an anonymous biography of Louis the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Franks from AD 814 to 840. Author The work was written ...
'', a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
biography of Louis, describes three campaigns against Tortosa. The Muslim
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
chroniclers Ibn ʿIdhārī and al-Maqqarī note two Carolingian attacks on Tortosa in the period AH 192–193 (807–809). The campaigns are also mentioned in
Ibn Khaldūn Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...
's ''al-ʿIbar'' and Ibn Saʿīd's ''al-Mughrib''. Louis first laid siege to Tortosa sometime between 802 and 807. This attack is not mentioned in the Muslim sources. During the campaign, Louis sent a detachment under Adhemar, Isembard,
Bera Bera may refer to: Acronyms * Bioelectric recognition assay, a method in electrophysiology * Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority, an energy regulatory body in Botswana * Brainstem evoked response audiometry, a screening test to monitor for heari ...
and Borrell to raid across the Ebro and Cinca. Over the course of twenty days, they sacked Villa Rubea, ravaged the countryside and defeated a Muslim army before rejoining the main army, whereupon Louis lifted his siege and returned to Aquitaine. He does not appear to have seriously invested the city. There is no record of the use of siege engines.
Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...
was attacked and possibly even captured on this campaign.


Campaign of 808–809

A second attack was launched against Tortosa in 808. Louis did not lead it personally. The Emperor
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
sent his own '' vassus'' and '' missus'', Ingobert, to begin the siege, while Adhemar and Bera again launched raids across the Ebro. The raiders' presence was detected by horse dung floating down the Ebro from their position upriver. They nonetheless managed to sack an Umayyad camp and defeated an army sent by ʿAbdūn, the '' wālī'' (governor) of Tortosa, before going home with substantial loot. Ingobert, however, continued the siege through the winter. Louis led a third campaign against Tortosa in 809. He brought Aquitanian reinforcements and equipment to Ingobert's ongoing siege. Further reinforcements under the command of Heribert were sent by Charles from
Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...
proper. Isembard and Count Liutard of Fezensac were also present.''V.Hlud.'', §16, in . Liutard may have brought with him a contingent of
Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...
. The main accounts of the siege operations and outcome, in the ''Vita Hludovici'' and the ''
Annales regni Francorum The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...
'', do not exactly match: The "covered sheds" in the ''Vita'''s description of Louis siege works refers to mobile shelters used to protect soldiers from projectiles. The reference to
mangonel The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later counterweight trebuchet, the mangonel was ...
s is the first in Western Europe. The stone-throwing machine in question, long known in the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, was the
traction trebuchet The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later trebuchet, counterweight trebuchet, the mang ...
. Louis's siege, his personal presence before Tortosa, lasted forty days. Although some historians read the ''Vita'' as saying that Louis succeeded in breaching the walls, most agree that he simply accepted a formal act of submission and retired. Some later Muslims sources report a different outcome. The caliph's son and heir, the future ʿAbd al-Raḥmān II, along with the commander of the Upper March, ʿAmrūs ibn Yūsuf, is said to have led a relief force that rescued the city. According to
Ibn Ḥayyān Abū Marwān Ḥayyān ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī () (987–1075), usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was an Arab Muslim historian from Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Pen ...
, "the polytheists
ere Ere or ERE may refer to: * ''Environmental and Resource Economics'', a peer-reviewed academic journal * ERE Informatique, one of the first French video game companies * Ere language, an Austronesian language * Ebi Ere (born 1981), American-Nigeria ...
routed and many Franks annihilated." Al-Maqqarī also reports a Frankish defeat.


Aftermath

Following the failure to take Tortosa by force, there was an attack on
Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...
in 810. Both failed. The siege of the latter was undertaken by Heribert on Charles's behalf, but he appears to have had insufficient troops. After the failure at Huesca, a treaty was negotiated with the Umayyads in 811. The frontier north of the Ebro became stable for several centuries.; : "the frontier of 801 remained essentially unchanged in this area for the next 300 years"; : "thus ending the enterprise of establishing the frontier at the Ebro".


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *Viguera, M. J. (2000)
"Ṭarrakūna"
(pp. 303–304) an
"Ṭurṭūsha"
(pp. 738–739). In * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Tortosa (808-809) 809
Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...
Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...
Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...