Latin fraxinus (ash tree) and probably refers to the thick forest of ash that covers the hill. The Muslim geographers al-Iṣṭakhrī and Ibn Ḥawqal call Fraxinetum Jabal al-Qilāl ("mount of timber"). They describe the Muslim enclave as vast, covered with streams and fertile soil and taking two days to cross. Ibn Ḥawqal erroneously considered it an island at the mouth of the Rhône. Identity According to Ibn Ḥawqal, the settlement was dependent on the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. The Muslims of Fraxinetum are described by Liudprand as Saracens (saraceni) from Spain and by the Vita sancti Bobonis simply as Spaniards (hispanicolae). Other sources refer to them as fusci (blacks), pagani (heathen) or Hagarenes. History Background In 838, the Annales Bertiniani record that Muslims raided Marseille, plundered its religious houses and took captive both men and women, clerical and lay, as slaves. In 842, the Annales report a raid in the vicinity of Arles. In 869, raiders returned to Arles and captured the archbishop, Roland. They accepted a ransom in return for the archbishop, but when they handed him over he was already dead. The construction of a castle in the Camargue following these raids up the Rhône may have induced raiders to try points further east, culminating in the establishment of a permanent base of operations at Fraxinetum. Foundation and expansion The Muslim occupation of Fraxinetum began around 887, according to Liudprand, when a small ship carrying about twenty Andalusī sailors landed near Saint-Tropez. The Andalusīs seized the settlement that had grown up at the foot of the hill and then took control of the fort itself. This was accessible only by a narrow path through the forest, according to both Liudprand and Ibn Ḥawqal. According to Liudprand, the settlers sent messages back to Spain and the Balearics inviting reinforcements. About 100 warriors answered the call, motivated both by religious zeal and a desire for plunder. In the first two decades of their rule, the Muslims of Fraxinetum subdued all of Provence and began raiding across the Alps in Italy. Liudprand blamed their quick success on the divisions and squabbles of the Provençals following the collapses of Carolingian authority. By 906, they controlled the pass of Mont Cenis between Provence and Italy. In that year, they attacked or occupied Acqui, Oulx and Susa in Italy. According to the 11th-century Chronicon Novalicense, they threatened the Abbey of Novalesa on this occasion.