In The Song of Roland

The Song of Roland

The Song of Roland is the oldest surviving major work of French literature. It exists in various manuscript versions which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in the 12th to 14th centuries...

, Baligant is the Emir

Emir

Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

 of Babylon (i.e., Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

, not the Mesopotamian Babylon), who tries to aid the defense of Zaragoza

Zaragoza

Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...

 (sometimes spelled "Saragossa") from Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

. He is sometimes described as a man from ancient times. He is killed in the ensuing battle. He comes to the aid of his vassal King Marsile

King Marsile

Marsile is a character in The Song of Roland. He is the pagan king of the Saracens. He first appears in Stanza 1 as losing the war against Charlemagne, and asks his barons for counsel...

 (a.k.a "Marsillion") and brings an immense army to fight Charlemagne. He is often seen as the parallel of Charlemagne, both being old, handsome and skillful with a sword. One might say they were equals, except that Charlemagne had the help of Saint Gabriel.

He carries a sword named Précieuse

Précieuse

Précieuse is the sword of Baligant, the Saracen king in the French epic The Song of Roland.Baligant allegedly named his sword in response to hearing that Charlemagne's sword had a name. Throughout the epic, there are several contrasts between the two, with Baligant being portrayed as a foolish...

.