Under cover of darkness, they beached their small, lateen-rigged sailing vessel on the rocky shore and began the slow, silent climb to the manor house on the hill. Storm clouds shrouded the moon, darkening the coastal Mediterranean landscape; sporadic rain and gusting winds concealed the sailors' approach. They were 20 men, armed with daggers and short swords, and clad in the fighting tunics of al-Andalus -- Islamic Spain. They climbed carefully, avoiding the brambles that covered the slopes to their left and right. A few lights still burned in the manor house. The Provençal nobleman and his family had finished their last meal of the day. After listening to the songs of a visiting troubadour, they were preparing to sleep. But it would not be long before the evening serenity of that coastal villa would be shattered by screams and chaos. This was the opening act in an 85-year drama played out along the southern coast of France in the ninth and 10th centuries of our era. It has been called the second Arab invasion of France. The first invasion, launched almost two centuries before, is the one most of us know about: Conducted from al-Andalus by an army on horseback, it was thwarted by Eudes of Aquitaine at Toulouse in 721 and by Charles Martel at Poitiers in 732. The second invasion, much less well known, began as a freebooters' adventure along the beautiful stretch of coastline now known as the French Riviera. A small-scale raid expanded into something much more ambitious, giving the Arabs of Spain, for a moment in history, effective control of the coastal plain linking France and Italy and of the mountain passes into Switzerland--some of Europe's most vital trade and communication routes. More The Pirates of St. Tropaz Introduction An Islamic State? Occupiers William of Arles 9th Century Mediterranean Map (Large: slow: 184K) 9th Century Mediterranean Map (Jumbo: Monstrously slow: 498K) Back to Cry Havoc #35 Table of Contents Back to Cry Havoc List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by David W. Tschanz. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com