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Stamps

The legend of

Charlemagne in Andorra

By Philippe Louviau of Philandorre

Even if you have to invent a few legends, having Charlemagne as
the representative of your small country is very prestigious. All the
more so when the first words of the national anthem refer to Char-
lemagne.

The history • The war against the Saxons (772-
Charlemagne (born in 742 or in 748, 803)
depending on the source) - eldest • The war against the Avars (791- 796)
son of Pepin the Short - crowned • The war against the Saracens (778-
King in 768 together with his brother 812)
Carloman. He became the only king on totalling 50 military expeditions to
the latter’s death in 771. His reign was - consolidate the borders of his empire.
from a military standpoint - a series of For the rest of this article, we will only
campaigns (1): refer to the campaigns against the
• The war against the Lombards (773- Saracens. At the time, in Spain, the ca-
774) liphate of Cordoba (loyal to the former
Umayyad dynasty) was at war with
several provincial governors, who re-
presented the new Abbasid dynasty.
One of them, the Emir of Zaragoza,
Sulayman al-Arabi, was unsuccess-
ful in combat and was chased from
his city. He crossed the Pyrenees and
went to Paderborn in 777 to request
Charlemagne’s help. The latter couldn’t
let the opportunity to weaken the
Saracens and take over a large chunk
of Spain get away.
Charlemagne travelled to the Pyre-
nees in early 778. Before crossing the
mountains, he ensured the allegiance
of Lupo II, Duke of Gascony. The
Frankish troops crossed the moun-
tains, one army corps to the east and
1: Map of the Iberian Peninsula in 814 with Charlemagne’s campaigns.

20 Delcampe Magazine