[6] The region of Septimania was invaded by al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, wāli (governor-general) of al-Andalus,[7] in 719, and subsequently occupied by the Arab and Berber Muslim forces in 720.

[5] Arab and Berber Muslim forces, soundly based in the stronghold of Narbonne and easily resupplied by sea, struck in the 720s, conquering Carcassonne on the north-western fringes of Septimania (725) and penetrating and raiding other cities.

Following his success at the siege of Avignon in 737, Charles Martel besieged Narbonne[2] but his forces were unable to take the city,[4] after which the Frankish army marched on Nîmes, Agde, and Béziers.

[2][4] In 737, the Carolingian duke Charles Martel went on to attack Narbonne,[2][4] but the local nobility of Gothic and Gallo-Roman stock had concluded different military and political arrangements to oppose the expanding Frankish realm.

According to Paul the Deacon's historical treatise Historia Langobardorum (787–796), the Arab Muslims retreated when they learned that Charles Martel had formed an alliance with the Lombards, leaving the Umayyad forces stationed in the area and Maurontius himself too weak to meet in open battle.