While Abd ar-Rahman’s army was expereinced, and probably about as large, well armed and well equipped as Charles’it did suffer some significant weaknesses. First, they were neither trained nor equipped for the close order fighting at which the Franks excelled. If the Franks could maintain their order and protect their flanks, the invaders would have been at a real disadvantage fighting with long spears and swords in loose order against the tightly packed Franks and their short, thrusting, swords and large round shields.

Second, while the invading army probably contained a number of experienced soldiers, there are few records of major battles in the Iberian Peninsula after AD 711. As such, it is a fair question as to how many men in the invading army had actually fought in a major engagement other than the one early in AD 732 in which Eudo’s army was routed. While the skirmishes and raids that the invaders had likely experienced gave them valuable experience, the ability to stand in a line of battle and fight in close order for a prolonged period was not a skill easily acquired. Indeed, the written accounts by Charlemagne’s grandson Nithard of his own experience of Frankish close order warfare paint a harrowing picture of face-to-face slaughter that would likely have broken all but the most hardened and experienced soldiers.

Also, the invaders were not a cohesive army. They spoke four languages (Arabic, Berber, Basque, and the bastardized Latin spoken by Iberian Christians) and were adherents of three different faiths (Islam, Christianity, and Paganism). They also had spent a considerable amount of time fighting one another. In contrast, the Franks spoke the same language, were all Catholics, and for all their squabbling, viewed themselves as part of a single people, the Regnum Francorum.

Moreover, the invaders were far from home, and in a country whose terrain and climate were foreign to them. They were also at the end of a long campaign and laden with plunder and appeared to lack a clear objective other than plunder, having already driven Eudo from the field and sacked his domain. In contrast, the Franks were fighting close to home, in defense of their lands and for a place that was sacred to them.

Finally, although Abd ar-Rahman was personally brave and at least competent enough to best Eudo, there is no evidence that he possessed anything close to either Charles’ ability or experience as a field commander. Moreover, while Charles was a no doubt a rallying point for his men, Abd ar-Rahman was probably at least mistrusted and perhaps despised by some of the non-Arab elements in his army, particularly the Berbers.