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The Battle of Roncevaux Pass (French and English spelling, Roncesvalles in Spanish, Orreaga in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the present border between France and Spain, after his invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.
The battle took place only 46 years after the first Battle of Roncevaux Pass (778) in a confrontation showing similar features: a Basque force engaging from the mountains a northbound expedition led by the Franks, and the same geographical setting (the Roncevaux Pass or a spot nearby).
The Song of Roland (French: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century chanson de geste based on the deeds of the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of French literature.
Battle of Roncesvalles; Part of the Peninsular War: Image is a map of the Combat of Roncesvalles. It is copied from Sir Charles Oman's "A History of the Peninsular War: Volume VI" which was originally published in 1922. Oman died in 1946.
Aysun and his brother Matruh al-Arabi were allied to the Basques, and at the battle of Roncesvalles they attacked the baggage train of the Frankish army in 778, releasing their father. Their father returned to Zaragoza and sent to Matruh to govern Barcelona (and Girona ).
Tradition holds that this is the valley [val-] where Charlemagne's rear-guard, under the command of Roland, was slaughtered by Vascons at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778. Tradition holds that Charlemagne's troops were returning across the Pyrenees and had become stretched thin. The Vascons, unhappy with the Franks, fell upon the rear-guard ...
778: Battle of Roncesvalles: Basques defeat an invading Frankish army. Roland, Paladin of Charlemagne, dies. 779: Battle of Bensington: Mercia defeats Wessex. 782: Battle of Suntel: Saxons kill a detachment of Frankish forces. 783: Battle on the Hase: Franks under Charlemagne defeat the Saxons under Widukind. Siege of Fengtian
The battle is said to have been fought in the valley known as Valcarlos, which is now occupied by a hamlet bearing the same name, and in the adjoining pass of Ibañeta (Roncevaux Pass). Both of these are traversed by the main road leading north from Roncesvalles to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in the French Basque Country.