Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of Tours

Battle of Tours was a battle fought on 10 October AD 732 at Poitiers, in what is now France. It was part of Muslim conquests, which ran from AD 622 to AD 750. The recorded result: Frankish victory.

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Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours
Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours. Charles de Steuben, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought10 October AD 732
WherePoitiers, France46.988N, 0.534E
OutcomeFrankish victory
BelligerentsKingdom of the Franks; Duchy of Aquitaine; Duchy of GasconyagainstUmayyad Caliphate
Part ofMuslim conquestsUmayyad invasion of Gaul

Where it sits in Muslim conquests

First battle of Dongola, AD 642Second battle of Dongola, AD 652Battle of Siponto, AD 663Muslim invasions of Italy, AD 700Muslim attacks in the Balearic Islands, AD 707Umayyad conquest of Hispania, AD 711Umayyad invasion of Gaul, AD 719Siege of Narbonne, AD 719Battle of Toulouse, AD 721Siege of Carcassonne, AD 725Battle of Llívia, AD 731Battle of the River Garonne, AD 732Battle of Tours, AD 732Umayyad invasion of Georgia, AD 735Battle of the River Berre, AD 737Battle of Avignon, AD 737Siege of Bilistan, AD 738Campaign of Bugha al-Kabir in Caucasus, AD 853AD 642AD 853Battle of Tours, AD 732
19 placed engagements of Muslim conquests in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date10 October AD 732
PlacePoitiers, France
46.988N, 0.534E
KindBattle, medieval
Commanders
  • Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
  • Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi
Battle of ToursBattle of ToursBattle of MoncontourBattle of SaumurBattle of VouilleSiege of PoitiersSiege of PoitiersBattle of MoncontourBattle of SaumurBattle of VouilleSiege of PoitiersSiege of PoitiersRennesLimogesLa RochelleNantesToursOrléansLe MansBourges100 km46.988N, 0.534E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Tours
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Tours today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-10-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 66 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 143 m, 143 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 74% cropland, 15% tree cover, 9% grassland.

cropland: 74%tree cover: 15%grassland: 9%built-up: 2%cropland 74%tree cover 15%grassland 9%built-up 2%
west to east, 10.0 km34 to 132 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 125 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 732

Battle of Tours is one of 158 engagements of the 8th century in the atlas and one of 1,495 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q173077, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Tours, revision 1385060995, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.