Charlemagne’s Jihād Revisited : Debating the Islamic Contribution to an Epochal Change in the History of Christianization

Abstract

In 2006, Yitzhak Hen published an article under the title »Charlemagne’s Jihad«, proposing that Charlemagne’s policy of forced conversion of the Saxons – the earliest combination of conquest and forced conversion in the history of Christianity – had actually been modelled on a typically ›Islamic‹ approach to other religious groups. Hen argued that Charlemagne’s expedition to Zaragoza in 777-778 as well as his reception of Hispanic refugees such as Theodulf at court acquainted the Frankish king with this Islamic approach which was then duly applied to the Saxons. The primary aim of the article is to raise and – at least partially – answer questions that arise from Hen’s hypothesis. The first part of the article is thus dedicated to questioning if Islam of the late eighth century had already developed a systematic approach to non-Muslim religions that could be adopted by external observers. Even if Islam had already developed clear principles of dealing with other religions in the period under investigation, it cannot be taken for granted that the Carolingians and their informants were aware of these principles. The second part of the article then examines what Charlemagne and his entourage could have known about the Muslim treatment of non-Muslims. Since Hen’s entire argument hinges on specific passages of the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae which he defines as ›Islamic‹, this part of the article also discusses if these passages clearly reflect Islamic influence or rather build on previous Christian methods of dealing with other religions and of promoting the expansion of Christianity. Against this backdrop, the conclusion takes into account the possible historical causes for the Carolingian merging of conquest and forced conversion.