• By 715, Islam extended from the Pyrenees to China, and its
ambitions did not stop there; its eyes were on the complete
subordination of Europe to the rule of Allah. In 716, Lisbon was
conquered by Muslim troops, and in 720, the Muslim army reached
France (Narbonne).• In the West, only Charles Martel, leader of the Franks and
grandfather of Charlemagne, was able to stop the Muslim progress
at the Battle of Tours (or Poitiers) in 732. In the East, this aggressive
religious and political threat hovered at the edge of the Byzantine
Empire until the eventual collapse of Constantinople in 1453.Byzantine Christianity
• In the context of the political and religious pressure exerted by
Persian and Muslim incursions, Byzantine Christianity continued
its struggle to seek unity within a highly fractious context shaped
by continuing adherence to the Christological position known as
Immediately after the prophet Muhammad’s death, Arab armies began the spread
of Islam through conquest; their progress was halted in the West at the Battle of
Tours by Charles martel, leader of the Franks and grandfather of Charlemagne.
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