- Fraxinet
Fraxinet or Fraxinetum (Arabic: "Farakhshanit" or "Farachsa") was the site of a tenth-century fortress established by
Saracen pirates at modernLa Garde-Freinet , nearSaint-Tropez , inProvence . The modernMassif des Maures ("plateau ofMoors ") takes its name from the Saracens of Fraxinet.In about
889 a ship carrying twenty Berber adventurers fromAl-Andalus anchored in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez in Provence.From this base, Muslims raided the surrounding area, reaching as far as
Piedmont in Northern Italy and effectively controlling the Alpine passes between France and Italy. An outpost was established at modernSankt Moritz in southernSwitzerland .In
956 ,John of Gorze was sent asambassador for Emperor Otto II to theCaliph Abd-ar-Rahman III of Córdoba for two years. The purpose of this mission was to stop the attacks made from Fraxinetum.The Saracens were defeated at the
Battle of Tourtour byWilliam I of Provence . They were expelled from Fraxinetum in 975 by an alliance ofRotbold II of Provence andArduin Glaber .References
*"Note sur le Fraxinet des Maures", "Annales du Sud-Est varois", tome XV, 1990, pp. 19-23.
*Mohammed Arkoun , «Histoire de l'Islam et des musulmans en France du Moyen-Age à nos jours», Albin Michel, 2006
*Philippe Sénac , «Islam et chrétiens du Midi (XIIe-XIVe siècle)», Les Cahiers de Fanjeaux, n° 18, Toulouse : Privat, 1983, 435 p.
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