The Arab / Muslim Presence in Medieval Central Europe
By Manfred W. Wenner
International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1980)
Introduction: For nearly three centuries after the famous Battle of Poitiers (Tours), which is usually regarded as the high-water mark of Arab/Muslim expansion into Western Europe, the Muslims continued to maintain a series of relatively iso- lated presences in regions of Western Europe outside the Iberian Peninsula. Al- though these presences have tended to be forgotten within the larger picture of Muslim/Christian relationships during the medieval period, the researches of some nineteenth and twentieth century scholars would seem to indicate that they left behind a considerably larger legacy than has previously been sus- pected.
Perhaps the most interesting of these presences was the one which resulted in Arab/Muslim control of the Alpine passes which connect Italy with the re- mainder of Western Europe for a number of decades in the tenth century A.D. The present study, then, is first a brief summary of the relevant events of this period. More importantly, however, it seeks to analyze the motivations for this particular incursion into Western Europe, the method of administration of these non-Muslim areas, and finally, the modern legacies from this brief period when Arab/Muslim forces controlled an essential part of Western European communication.
Click here to read this article from Mark B. Wilson’s History Site
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