Битва за Сарагосу и гибель реаргарда Карла Великого

8th century battle in France

Abd ar Rahman of Córdoba sent his most trusted general, Thalaba Ibn Obeid, to take control of the possibly rebellious city and to prevent the Frankish invasion. Husayn and Ibn Obeid clashed repeatedly; eventually Husayn managed to defeat and to imprison Ibn Obeid. Reinforced in his autonomous position, Husayn became reluctant to yield his new privileged status to the Frankish monarch and refused to surrender the city to Charlemagne, claiming that he had never promised Charlemagne his allegiance. He seems to have tried to appease Charlemagne by giving him the prisoner General Ibn Obeid and a large tribute of gold, but Charlemagne was not easily satisfied, putting Sulayman al Arabi in chains. Meanwhile, the force sent by the Baghdad caliphate seems to have been stopped near Barcelona. Though Charlemagne's forces initially held the upper hand, the siege of Zaragoza dragged on for over a month. Eventually a deal was struck between Charlemagne and Husayn. The latter would pay gold and the release of several prisoners, while the Franks in return would withdraw their siege.

Before leaving the Iberian Peninsula, Charlemagne decided to further secure his hold on the Basque territory (Wasconia). Garrisons and military outposts were placed throughout the territory, and there were accounts of the Franks' harsh treatment of the Basques during their occupation. As Charlemagne tried to regroup and evacuate his army, Roland and the others held for a considerable amount of time before the Basques finally massacred them completely. Though killed to the last man, the rearguard nonetheless succeeded in allowing Charlemagne and his army to continue to safety. The Basques then looted the baggage that was left behind and took advantage of the darkness to flee, leaving no trace for the Franks to follow the following morning.

One of the principal units of the Vascones was the guerrilla army of the Basques. A typical Basque mountain warrior was armed with two short spears and a knife or short sword as his main weapons, and bows or javelins for missile weapons. He would not normally wear armour. Pierre de Marca, a Béarnese author, suggests that the attackers were a reduced number of mostly local Low Navarrese, Souletines, and Baztanese, whose main motivation may have been plunder. The accounts of Einhard and Pierre de Marca suggest that the perpetrator of the attack was Lupo II of Gascony. He held the territory of the Pyrenees, making him responsible for the tragedy that happened in his realm. Regions surrounding his kingdom such as Bordeaux were under the control of the Carolingians. While the Duke did pay homage to Charlemagne by offering Hunald II (a rebel leader and a possible heir to Waiofar) and his wife to him, there were disputes over the trans Pyrenean Basque lands ruled by Lupo and those under Carolingian suzerainty.

[[File:Iberian Peninsula in 125 en. svg|thumb|left|Map of the roads in Hispania. The pass of Roncesvaux is located on the Ab Asturica Burdigalam road that started in Castra Legiones to Benearnum and meets Burdigala. These descriptions have suggested various places where the battle could have taken place, ranging from Navarre and Aragon to as far as Catalonia. The mainstream opinion is that the battle took place somewhere not far from Roncevaux itself, as it is not just on one of the easiest routes but also the traditional one. Indeed, the Roman road Via ab Asturica Burdigalam which started in Castra Legiones (modern León) and went to Benearnum (mod. Lescar), crossed the Pyrenees through Roncevaux. However, the historical Roman road (also called the Route of Napoleon) followed a route different from the modern one, not crossing at Ibañeta (the traditional location) but heading up eastwards and crossing instead the Lepoeder and Bentartea passes – next to mount Astobizkar – not far from mount Urkulu, identified as the Summum Pyreneum of the classic Roman sources.

thumb|right|Monument of the Battle of Roncesvalles Pass. Note that Roland's name is spelled in its Spanish version "Roldan". thumb|Monument commemorating the 12th centenary of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, Roncesvalles, Navarre, Spain. Over the years, this battle was romanticized by oral tradition into a major conflict between Christians and Muslims although in fact, the Basques of the period were mainly pagans and Charlemagne had been allied to some of the Muslims. In the tradition, the Basques are replaced by a force of 400,000 Saracens, and mythical objects such as Durendal and Oliphant were also added. The Song of Roland, which commemorates the battle, was written by an unknown poet of the 11th century. It is the earliest surviving of the chansons de geste or epic poems of medieval France written in Old French. Together with the Knights of the Round Table in Britain, the story of Roland and the paladins have become the archetypal icons of chivalry in Europe; greatly influencing knightly culture and inspiring many Christian warriors that came after. During the Battle of Hastings in 1066, knights and soldiers under William the Conqueror, chanted the poem to inspire themselves before their fight with the Anglo Saxons. The English expression, "to give a Roland for an Oliver", meaning either to offer a quid pro quo or to give as good as one gets, which is referenced directly from the companionship of Roland and Oliver during the battle. One example was said during the Combat of the Thirty in 1351; a judicial combat between two groups of knights during the Breton War of Succession. The knights were described by the French author Jean Froissart as "if they had been all Rolands and Olivers," which admired their honor and companionship in battle. Memorials have also been erected to commemorate the battle, such as the Roncesvalles Pass Monument in Navarre, Spain. Roland's Breach, situated in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, is a gap thought to have been caused by Roland while fighting. At the summit of the Roncevaux Pass are the remains of an early chapel of San Salvador also known as Charlemagne's Chapel and the Charlemagne Monument built in 1934; both built to commemorate the Emperor's campaign in the region. The battle is also referenced in the song "Roncevaux" by Van der Graaf Generator, originally recorded in 1972 but only released in rather rough form many years later on the album Time Vaults. The battle and Orlando's sacrifice inspired several composers, amongst whom were Claudio Monteverdi, Jean Baptiste Lully, Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel, who composed an Italian language opera with Orlando. Modern adaptations of the battle drew heavily on the romanticized versions. A 1978 French film La chanson de Roland features an adaptation of the Song of Roland and features the battle as depicted in the poem. The battle is also featured minimally in the graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, in which Roland is named Orlando, an amalgamation of fictional characters that were named Roland and Orlando.