Fraxinetum orFraxinet (Arabic:فرخشنيط,romanized: Farakhshanīt orفرخشةFarakhsha, fromLatinfraxinus: "ash tree",fraxinetum: "ash forest") was the site of aMuslim stronghold at the centre of a frontier state inProvence between about 887 and 972. It is identified with modernLa Garde-Freinet, nearSaint-Tropez. The fortress was established by Muslims fromal-Andalus. From this base, the Muslims raided up theRhône Valley, intoPiedmont and as far as theAbbey of Saint Gall. Their main business was slave-raiding of Europeans for export toIslamic markets. For a time, they controlled the passes through the westernAlps. They withstood several attempts to oust them, but were finally defeated by the combined forces of the Provençal and Piedmontese nobility at thebattle of Tourtour in 972.
Christian sources inLatin are more numerous than Muslim ones inArabic for reconstructing the history of Fraxinetum. The most important contemporary narrative of the Muslims of Fraxinetum is theAntapodosis ofLiudprand,bishop of Cremona (d. 972). The bishop also mentions Fraxinetum in hisLiber de rebus gestis Ottonis, an account of the reign of KingOtto I of Germany.[1] Other contemporary narrative sources in Latin are theAnnales ofFlodoard, which cover the years 919–966, and theCasus sancti Galli ofEkkehard (d. 973). Documentary sources are few, but the firstcartulary of theAbbey of Saint-Victor at Marseille, covering the years 838–1000, contains some references in its charters to Fraxinetum.[2]
Several biographies and saints' lives also contain information relative to Fraxinetum. TheVita Iohannis Gorziensis, a biography ofJohn of Gorze written around 960, contains an account of the diplomacy undertaken by Otto I in response to raids in his territory. The twoVitae sancti Maioli, biographies ofMaiolus of Cluny written byOdilo of Cluny and Syrus, are important sources for the capture of their subject, which event brought about the downfall of Fraxinetum.[2] The anonymousVita sancti Bobonis, written in the first half of the eleventh century about a saint who died in 986, describes the downfall of Fraxinetum. Its account appears to be based on that of the destruction of acastrum Fraxenedellum in theChronicon Novalicense.[3]
Among contemporary Muslim sources that mention Fraxinetum are the ArabicṢurāt al-Arḍ ofIbn Ḥawqal (977), which is a revised version of the geographical treatiseKitāb al-Masālik waʿl-mamālik byal-Iṣṭakhrī (951), and an anonymousPersian geography,Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam (late 10th century). TheMuqtabis ofIbn Ḥayyān (d. 1076) also mentions Fraxinetum.[4]
The fort of Fraxinetum atop the hill Mont des Maures[5] overlooking what is today the village of La Garde-Freinet had existed since theRoman era. Its name is derived from the Latinfraxinus (ash tree) and probably refers to the thick forest of ash that covers the hill. The Muslim geographers al-Iṣṭakhrī and Ibn Ḥawqal call FraxinetumJabal al-Qilāl ("mount of timber"). They describe the Muslim enclave as vast, covered with streams and fertile soil and taking two days to cross.[6] Ibn Ḥawqal erroneously considered it an island at the mouth of theRhône.[7]
According to Ibn Ḥawqal, the settlement was dependent on theUmayyad caliphate of Córdoba.[7] The Muslims of Fraxinetum are described by Liudprand asSaracens (saraceni) from Spain and by theVita sancti Bobonis simply as Spaniards (hispanicolae).[6] Other sources refer to them asfusci (blacks),pagani (heathen) orHagarenes.[8]
According to historian Mohammad Ballan, Fraxinetum was not just a settlement, but a frontier state that was regionally important economically and militarily.[9]
In 838, theAnnales Bertiniani record that Muslims raidedMarseille, plundered its religious houses and took captive both men and women, clerical and lay, as slaves. In 842, theAnnales report a raid in the vicinity ofArles. In 869, raiders returned to Arles and captured the archbishop,Roland. They accepted a ransom in return for the archbishop, but when they handed him over he was already dead.[10] The construction of a castle in theCamargue following these raids up the Rhône may have induced raiders to try points further east, culminating in the establishment of a permanent base of operations at Fraxinetum.[11]
The Muslim occupation of Fraxinetum began around 887, according to Liudprand, when a small ship carrying about twenty Andalusī sailors landed nearSaint-Tropez. The Andalusīs seized the settlement that had grown up at the foot of the hill and then took control of the fort itself. This was accessible only by a narrow path through the forest, according to both Liudprand and Ibn Ḥawqal.[6]
According to Liudprand, the settlers sent messages back to Spain and theBalearics inviting reinforcements. About 100 warriors answered the call, motivated both by religious zeal and a desire for plunder. In the first two decades of their rule, the Muslims of Fraxinetum subdued Provence and began raiding across theAlps into Italy. Liudprand blamed their quick success on the divisions and squabbles of the Provençals following the collapses ofCarolingian authority.[7] By 906, they controlled the pass ofMont Cenis between Provence and Italy. In that year, they attacked or occupiedAcqui,Oulx andSusa in Italy.[12] According to the 11th-centuryChronicon Novalicense, they threatened theAbbey of Novalesa on this occasion.[7] By 911, they were in control of all the western Alpine passes, from which they could collect tolls on traders and pilgrims.[13] Between 915 and 918, they raidedEmbrun,Maurienne andVienne. In 920, there were more attacks in Italy and on Marseille andAix-en-Provence in western Provence.[12]
Between 929 and 933, the Muslims of Fraxinetum extended their control to the more easterly Alpine passes and raided theUpper Rhône Valley.[14] In 939, crossing the Alps again, they attacked theAbbey of Saint Gall and razed theAbbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. Like the contemporaryVikings, the Muslim raiders targeted monasteries because of their wealth and lack of defences.[7]
Fraxinetum became a part of theal-Andalus slave trade. The population fled in fear of the slave raids, which made it difficult for the Frankish to secure their Southern coast,[15] and the Saracens of Fraxinetum exported the Frankish prisoners they captured as slaves to theslave market of the Muslim Middle East.[16]
Men from Fraxinetum may have participated in theFatimid raid on Genoa in 935. They certainly destroyed the port ofFréjus in 940, prompting a response from KingHugh of Italy. In 941 or 942, he sought an alliance with theByzantine Empire and received a favourable response from the EmperorRomanos Lekapenos. While he attacked Fraxinetum by land, a fleet of Byzantinechelandia destroyed the Muslim ships withGreek fire.[17] At the moment when Fraxinetum on the cusp of surrender, Hugh received news that a rival for the Italian throne, MargraveBerengar of Ivrea, was preparing to invade Italy with an army ofSaxons from his exile in Germany. Hugh called off the siege and made an arrangement with the Muslims. They were allowed to keep the Alpine passes, presumably in exchange for defending the Italian frontier. It is possible that Hugh's abrupt change of policy was also related to the commercial relations he opened up with the Umayyad caliphate around the same time.[18]
Hugh's decision was condemned by contemporary Christian writers. Liudprand blamed him for the death of hundreds or even thousands of Christians. In the decade of the 940s, Fraxinetum was at the apex of its power and gave shelter to a number of Christian rebels.[18] After his downfall in 962, KingAdalbert of Italy took refuge in Fraxinetum.[19] In hisAnnals, under the year 951,Flodoard of Reims records that "the Saracens occupying the Alpine passes extract tribute from travellers to Rome, only thus allowing them to pass."[18]
Around 954, Fraxinetumcame into conflict withHungarian invaders. KingConrad of Burgundy took advantage of the conflict to slaughter both sides. The major defeat dealt to the Hungarians by KingOtto I of Germany at theBattle of Lechfeld the following year allowed the German king to focus on the threat from Fraxinetum.[20] At one point a military expedition may have been planned, but it never took place. This did not stopWidukind of Corvey from listing the Saracens among Otto's defeated enemies.[21]
In 956, a raid into theUpper Rhine Valley prompted Otto I to send an embassy to the Umayyad court, which he clearly believed had the power to control Fraxinetum.[22] Ballan calls their raid deep into Otto's territory "their first major miscalculation". Several embassies were exchanged between the two most powerful courts in western Europe. After this, material aid from Spain to Fraxinetum declined substantially.[19]
In 972, the Muslims captured AbbotMaiolus of Cluny while he was crossing the Alps and held him for ransom. After his release, Maiolus organized a military response.[20] Led by CountWilliam I of Provence and CountArduin of Turin, a Christian force drawn from Provence, Piedmont andSeptimania defeated the Muslims in thebattle of Tourtour in the summer of 972. Fraxinetum fell by the end of the year after a short siege.[23]
With the fall of Fraxinetum, those Muslims who did not go into exile were either killed or sold into slavery. Many converted to Christianity and remained in Provence as serfs, while the formerly Muslim lands were parcelled out among the victorious Provençal nobles.[24]
The Muslims of Fraxinetum established forts throughout the areas they conquered in Provence and Piedmont, but Latin sources do not distinguish them, calling all of them Fraxinetum or a variant thereof, such as Frassineto, Frascendello or Fraxinth.[25] A string of forts was constructed across the Alps to control the mountain passes and serve as bases for raiding.[19]
The form of Islamic rule imposed by Fraxinetum was indirect. Christians retained their religion and towns their self-government through agreeing to thedhimma (the pact of submission) and paying thejizya (a head tax).[25] The main business of the conquerors was "the capture of Europeans for the slave markets of the Islamic world."[26]
Archaeological evidence in the form of 10th-century Muslim shipwrecks off the coast of Provence suggests that Fraxinetum maintained commercial links with the rest of the Muslim world.[27]
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