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Crowned King of the Franks 724. Seized Austrasia from Pepin's widow, s u b d ued Neustria
Reconquest of Burgundy, Aquitaine, and Provence. Defeated Spanish Musli m s a t t he battle of Tours (732-33)
Military campaigns reestablished Frankish rule of Gaul. Never assumed t h e t i tle of king,
Charles Martel (c. 688 - 22 October 741), Martel being a sobriquet in O l d F r ench for "The Hammer", was a Frankish political and military leade r w h o , as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was th e d e f a cto ruler of the Franks from 718 until his death. He was a son o f t h e F rankish statesman Pepin of Herstal and a noblewoman named Alpaid a . C h a rles successfully asserted his claims to power as successor to his f a t h er as the power behind the throne in Frankish politics. Continuing a n d b u ilding on his father's work, he restored centralized government in F r a n cia and began the series of military campaigns that re-established t h e F r anks as the undisputed masters of all Gaul.
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