Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani ( ar, السمح بن مالك الخولاني) was the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

governor general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...

from between 719 and 721. In 720, under his governorate he minted the first purely Arab coins in Al-Andalus as part of his fiscal reforms.

Conquest of remaining Visigothic rule

On al-Samh's accession to office, the Visigothic king Ardo still held a grip over the Lower Ebro and Septimania. Early on al-Samh captured Barcelona, and also Narbonne (720), extinguishing the vestigial Visigothic kingdom there after leading an

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

incursion into current southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Besides the above

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

, the Arab commander went on to lead a large Arab army into the rest of Visigothic Septimania, besieging a number of towns and cities including Béziers,

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Location Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi conne ...

Lodève Lodève (; oc, Lodeva ) is a commune in the département of Hérault, in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The derivation of the city's name is from Gaulish ''Luteva'', composed of lut-, swamp, ...

, Maguelonne (Montpellier) and Nîmes.

Siege and defeat at Toulouse

After setting up his headquarters in Narbonne, military moves took an unexpected turn when Al-Samh returned to Muslim Iberia to gather more Arab-Berber troops prior to attacking the strongly defended Aquitanian capital city of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. While the ultimate reasons remain obscure, it has been argued that Odo provided shelter to Visigothic elites and population fleeing the theater of war around the eastern Pyrenees. Al-Samh returned to Septimania and on to southeastern Aquitaine with a massive army, siege engines, infantry, horsemen and mercenaries. The siege of Toulouse, with its near-impregnable walls, lasted until early summer. The defenders, short of provisions, were close to breaking when, around June 9, 721,

Odo the Great Odo the Great (also called ''Eudes'' or ''Eudo'') (died 735–740), was the Duke of Aquitaine by 700. His territory included Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a ...

, the

duke of Aquitaine The Duke of Aquitaine ( oc, Duc d'Aquitània, french: Duc d'Aquitaine, ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings. As su ...

, returned at the head of a large Aquitanian and Frankish force, attacking al-Samh's rear and launching a highly successful encircling movement. A major, decisive battle ensued. Caught between the Toulouse defenders and Eudes's men, al-Samh tried to break out, but was trapped with the bulk of his troops in a place that came to be called by Muslim chroniclers ''Balat al Shuhada'' ('the path of the martyrs') where he made a determined last stand as his army was decimated by Odo's forces. Al-Samh himself was critically wounded, and died shortly afterwards in

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani Arab generals 8th-century Arabs 8th century in Francia 8th-century rulers in Europe 721 deaths Umayyad governors of Al-Andalus Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate Year of birth unknown 8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate