Charlemagne’s Jihad

The so-called Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae is commonly associated with Charlemagne’s brutal campaign in Saxony during the years 782–785. This article reexamines the evidence concerning the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae, arguing that it should be associated with Charlemagne’s final campaign in Saxony (around 795), and that in order to understand the unusual policy it prescribes one should consider the Capitulatio against a broader political and cultural background. As suggested by the author, the Capitulatio’s policy did not emerge ex nihilo; it was deeply rooted in the political as well as the religious ideology that characterized Muslim Spain (al-Andalus) at the time.