When Mohammed, a merchant from Mecca, started to preach Islam or the “devotion to God” at the beginning of the 7th Century, he initially put his trust solely in the persuasive powers of his words. But soon Islam developed into a religion that – just like Christianity – defended a universal claim – even by the power of the sword. It was just a matter of time until the two monotheistic world religions would clash head on. In the battle of Tours and Poitiers on October 25th, 732 the Moors were fought back by a coalition of Christian forces under the helm of Charles Martel, progenitor of the Carolingians.
