. . there always was , in a way, an antagonism between the Orient ( in this case Orient meaning Islamic world ) and the occident (Europe or European-influenced lands ) . . . I made that comparison in this thread :
https://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t=554277 . .
There were many showdowns between those two . .
The first being when the Arabs were defeated by Franks at Tours ( Charles Martel ) , trying to enter Europe's mainland.
The second one when Visigothic knights fought the Moors who had sacked the Iberian peninsula . ultimately the Moors were defeated . . .
Also . . the Crusades . . with Saladin being the supreme commander of the muslims and Richard The Lionheart the leader of the Crusaders . .
The Islamic turks caused Eastern Rome ( Constantinople ) to fall . .
The last official islamic attempt to enter Europe's heartland when it comes to open battle was when Austrian prince Eugen defeated the islamic Turks before Vienna.
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It should be added that today the Muslims have a presence in Europe with sheer immigration.
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Concerning the Crusades . . Christian knights wanted to protect pilgrims into the 'holy land' by incorporating Jerusalem , making it a kingdom. .
The Muslims fought it . .
( just mentioning this since the crusades didn't take place on European soil )
Like I said , the supreme leader of the muslims at that time was Saladin while Richard The Lionheart was the leader of the Christian army.
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. . probably the two most famous figures symbolising the clash Occident -Islam.