Odo the Great

For the later duke of Aquitaine with the same name, see Odo of Gascony.

Odo the Great (also called Eudes or Eudo) (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine, obtained this dignity by 700. His territory included the Duchy of Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a realm extending from the Loire to the Pyrenees, with capital in Toulouse. He retained it until his abdication in 735.

His earlier life is obscure, as are his ancestry and ethnicity. Several Dukes of Aquitaine have been named as Odo's father: Boggis or Bertrand, to whom errant historians ascribed descent from the Merovingian Charibert II (based on the forged Charte d'Alaon), as also Duke Lupus I, who was not Merovingian at all. Odo is called the brother of Hubertus.

Odo succeeded to the ducal throne maybe as early as 679, probably the date of the death of Lupus, or 688. Other dates are possible, including 692, but he was certainly in power by 700. In 715 he declared himself independent during the civil war raging in Gaul. It is not likely that he ever took the title of king.

In 718, he appears as the ally of Chilperic II of Neustria and the Mayor of the Palace Ragenfrid, who may have offered recognition of his kingship over Aquitaine. They were fighting against the Austrasian mayor of the palace, Charles Martel; but after the defeat of Chilperic at Soissons that year, he probably made peace with Charles by surrendering to him the Neustrian king and his treasures.

Odo was also obliged to fight both the Umayyads and the Franks who invaded his kingdom. On June 9, 721, he inflicted a major defeat upon Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi at the Battle of Toulouse, a victory celebrated with gifts from the Pope and solidifying Odo's independence. To help secure his borders he married his daughter, probably named Lampegia, to the Muslim rebel lord Uthman ibn Naissa, called "Munuza" by the Franks, the deputy governor of what would later become Catalonia.

The peace was not to last. In 731, the Frankish Charles Martel, after defeating the Saxons, turned his attention to the rival southern realm of Aquitaine, crossed the Loire and broke the peace treaty held with Odo. Odo engaged the Frankish troops but was defeated. Charles in turn looted Aquitaine and went back to Francia. Meanwhile, the Ummayads were gathering forces to attack Odo's ally in the Pyrenean region of Cerdanya Uthman ibn Naissa. Busy as Odo was trying to fend off Charles´s thrust, he didn´t make it to help his ally and Uthman ibn Naissa was overcome and killed by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi.

In 732, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi's troops raided Vasconia, advanced towards Bordeaux and ransacked the city. Odo engaged them but was defeated near Bordeaux by the Umayyads. Following the defeat, Odo pleaded with Charles Martel, Mayor of the palaces of Neustria and Austrasia, for assistance in fighting the Arab advance. The alliance defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of Tours in 732, and repelled the Arabs out of Aquitaine. Odo played a major role in planning the victory.

In 735 the Duke Odo abdicated and was succeeded by his son Hunald. He died thereafter, probably in a monastery, perhaps as late as 740. His popularity in Aquitaine is attested by the Vita Pardulfi.

Sources

• Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages, 476–918. London: Rivingtons, 1914.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Preceded by Lupus	Duke of Aquitaine 700–735	Succeeded by Hunald
Preceded by Lupus	King of Aquitaine 719	Succeeded by Louis I