Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi ( died 732 ; ) , also known as Abd er Rahman , Abdderrahman , Abderame , and Abd el - Rahman , led the Andalusian Muslims into battle against the forces of Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours on October 10 , 732 AD . for which he is primarily remembered in the West . His full name was " Abu Said Abdul Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Bishr ibn Al Sarem Al ' Aki Al Ghafiqi " . Early years . From the ' Asiri tribe of Ghafiq , he relocated to Ifriqiya ( now Tunisia ) , then to the stretch of the Maghreb that is now Morocco , Tunisia , Algeria , and Mauritania , where he became acquainted with Musa Ibn Nusair and his son Abdul Aziz , the governors of Al - Andalus . Battle of Toulouse . Abdul Rahman took part on the Battle of Toulouse , where Al Samh ibn Malik was killed in 721 ( 102 A . H . ) by the forces of Duke Odo of Aquitaine . After the severe defeat , he fled south along with other commanders and troops , and took over the command of Eastern Andalus . He was briefly relieved of his command , when Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al - Kalbi was appointed in 721 ( 103 AH ) . After Anbasa died in 726 ( 107 AH ) in southern Gaul , several successive commanders were put in place , none of whom lasted very long . Rebellion in Cerdanya . In 730 ( 112 AH ) , the Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al - Malik appointed Abdul Rahman as " wali " ( governor / commander ) of Al Andalus . On hearing Uthman ibn Naissa ' s detachment attempt on the eastern Pyrenees , the governor hurried to quell the rebellion , engaged the Berber lord ' s forces and killed him ( 731 ) . Now ibn Naissa had concluded an alliance with duke of Odo of Aquitaine . Battles of Garonne and Tour - Poitiers . The wali assembled troops in Pamplona , called for recruits from Yemen and the Levant , and prepared to cross the Pyrenees into Gaul . Many arrived , and he crossed the Pyrenees range with an army of approximately 50 , 000 cavalry composed primarily of Arabs and Berbers . Emir Abdul Rahman made his way through Gascony and Aquitaine , according to one unidentified Arab , " That army went through all places like a desolating storm , " sacking and capturing the city of Bordeaux , after defeating Duke Odo of Aquitaine in battle outside the city , and then again defeating a second army of Duke Odo of Aquitaine at the Battle of the River Garonne — where the western chroniclers state , " God alone knows the number of the slain . " Odo , with his remaining nobility , fled to Charles Martel , seeking help . Unlike Toulouse , where Odo had won by achieving complete surprise over the Muslim forces when he relieved the city in 721 , this time his forces were forced to face the Muslim cavalry in open battle and were utterly destroyed . Also , the Muslim forces he had faced at the Battle of Toulouse were primarily light infantry , and while good fighters , were not remotely close to the caliber of the Arab and Berber cavalry brought by the Emir in this invasion . However , the Frankish Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia , Charles Martel , had a core of seasoned professional infantry who had campaigned with him for many years . In addition to the levies of militia the Franks normally called up to buttress their forces , he formed an army of Gauls and German s approximately 30 , 000 strong . The invading forces , having no reason to believe the Franks were anything more than one of the various barbarian tribes that had ravaged Europe after Rome ' s fall , failed to scout their strength in advance . They also misjudged Charles Martel , who was determined to prevent the expansion of the Caliphate over the Pyrenees into the heart of Christian Europe . This was a disastrous mistake which led to the defeat of Abdul Rahman in 732 ( 114 AH ) near Poitiers , south of the Loire River . Abdul Rahman was killed in this battle . One reason for the defeat of the Muslim army was their preoccupation with war booty ; another was the squabbles between various ethnic and tribal factions , which led to the surviving generals being unable to agree on a single commander to take the Abdul Rahman ' s place , ( he alone had a Fatwa from the Caliph , and thus absolute authority over the faithful under arms ) . Political factions , racial and ethnic rivalries , and personality clashes arose following his death . The varied nationalities and ethnicities present in an army drawn from all over the Caliphate , and the surviving generals , bickered among themselves , unable to agree on a commander to lead them the following day . The inability to select anyone to lead certainly contributed to the wholesale retreat of an army that possibly could have defeated the Franks . Additional reasons for the defeat were found in the strategy employed by Charles Martel . He trained his men specifically to fight in a large square , similar to the ancient Greek phalanx formation , to withstand the dreaded Muslim heavy cavalry . The Frankish leader chose the battlefield . Moving his army over the mountains and avoiding the open roads , he escaped detection until positioning his men on a high , wooded plain . For seven days , the two armies skirmished and maneuvered , with the Islamic forces recalling all their raiding parties , so that on the seventh day , their army was at full strength . Martel also received some reinforcements , though most historians agree he was badly outnumbered during the battle . The Franks held their defensive formation all day , and repulsed repeated charges by the Muslim heavy cavalry . Martel had carefully chosen the battlefield , in large part knowing the hills and trees surrounding his position would greatly hinder the Muslim cavalry . Late on the day of battle , according to most sources , Martel also sent scouts to slip into Abdul Rahman ' s camp to free the slaves and prisoners being held there . Realizing their camp was being plundered , a large contingent of Abdul Rahman ' s forces broke off battle and returned to rescue their booty . Abdul Rahman was thus left exposed before the Frankish infantry and was killed while attempting to rally his men . Aftermath . Arab historians unanimously praise the Abdul Rahman as a just and able administrator and commander , and bestow on him the honor of being the best governor of Al - Andalus , where he did not take sides in the ethnic and tribal divisions that plagued Al - Andalus under other rulers . Evidence of his irreplaceability as a ruler was demonstrated in the aftermath of his death at the Battle of Tours . Without his leadership and guidance , the other commanders were unable even to agree on a commander to lead them back into battle the following morning . The effect of the death of Abdul Rahman on both Islamic and world history was profound . His son attempted another invasion of Gaul under the Caliph ' s instructions in 736 , this time by sea . This naval invasion landed in Narbonne in 736 and moved at once to reinforce Muslim Arles and move inland . Charles again descended on the Provençal strongholds of the Muslims . In 736 , he retook Montfrin and Avignon , and Arles and Aix - en - Provence with the help of Liutprand , King of the Lombards . Nîmes , Agde and Béziers , held by Muslims since 725 , also fell to him and their fortresses were destroyed . He crushed one Muslim army at Arles , as that force sallied out of the city , and then took the city itself by a direct and brutal frontal attack , and burned it to the ground to prevent its use again as a stronghold for Muslim expansion . He then moved swiftly and defeated a mighty host outside of Narbonne at the River Berre , but failed to take the city . In five years , he had incorporated Muslim heavy cavalry equipment and tactics into his own forces , and was able to crush the invading armies , and leave the Muslim forces isolated in Narbonne , which his son Pippin would retake in 759 .