Charles Martel
~688–741 · Frankish (Austrasia) · Early Medieval Europe
Known for: 'The Hammer'—defeated the Umayyad invasion at the Battle of Tours (732), saving Christian Europe
Charles 'the Hammer' Martel defeated an Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Tours/Poitiers in 732—a battle that many historians consider one of the most decisive in world history. If Martel had lost, Islamic armies might have conquered Western Europe. He was Charlemagne's grandfather.
What Charles Martel would be watching
The “if they lived today” Q&A on this page gives Charles Martel 300 (2006) as a favourite film. Their reason: “Different battle, same principle: hold the line.” Rankquant scores it above 49% of films, drawn from 1,564 IMDb reviewers individually re-centred rather than averaged raw. The full film & TV rankings are built the same way.
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