<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Aaron Hollman&#039;s Blog &#187; early middle ages</title>
	<atom:link href="http://aaronhollman.com/tag/early-middle-ages/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://aaronhollman.com</link>
	<description>One Place, Many Interests</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 09 May 2010 20:57:21 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>The Battle of Tours</title>
		<link>http://aaronhollman.com/2009/06/18/the-battle-of-tours/</link>
		<comments>http://aaronhollman.com/2009/06/18/the-battle-of-tours/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:17:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Aaron Hollman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[early middle ages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pivotal battles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://aaronhollman.com/?p=45</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Battle of Tours was fought near the modern French city of Tours between the Carolingian Franks and the Umayyad Caliphate. The Caliphate was a Sunni Muslim Empire that had stretched from Pakistan to Western North Africa along Africa’s Northern Coast. It had then moved up through the Straights of Gibraltar into the Iberian Peninsula, present day Spain.

Islam had been spreading for about a hundred years and already it was knocking at Europe's Western door through the Iberian Peninsula. In an eight year campaign, the Umayyad forces, led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad, met little resistance from the Visigoth Kingdoms that ruled the area and eventually conquered it. Later, they pushed on up into parts of France where they met stronger, more organized resistance. The Islamic advanced was stopped for a short time by Duke Odo of Aquitaine at the Battle of Toulouse in 721. This, however, did not stop the ambitions of the Caliphate.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://aaronhollman.com/2009/06/18/the-battle-of-tours/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

