rs and the army had taken oaths of loyalty and affairs were settled as we have described, the surrender of
Damietta
was discussed with the King of France.
Arab-Historians-of-the-Crusades
When they reached the end of the Damietta peninsula in full force and came face to face with the Muslims, the Franks began to dig themselves a wall protected by screens, and set up catapults to attack the Muslims, whose galleys were across the river from Mansura.
This led to a battle for the control of the land and the sea.
A SURPRISE ATTACK ON THE MUSLIMS AT MANSURA. THE DEATH OF THE AMIR FAKHR AD-DIN YUSUF. THE SUBSEQUENT MUSLIM VICTORY
(IBN WASIL, 365v-366v)
We have already described how the Franks came face to face with the Muslims and how fighting broke out between the two sides, separated by the Ashmu? n, a branch of the Nile. The Ashmu? n is a small canal with a few narrow fords. A Muslim showed the Franks where one of the fords could be safely crossed, and on the morning of Tuesday 5 dhu l-qa'da/io February 1250 the Franks mounted their horses and moved down to the ford. The Muslims suddenly found that the Franks were in their camp. The ami? r Fakhr ad-Din Yusuf ibn Shaikh ash-Shuyu? kh was washing himself in his bath when he heard the cry go up that the Franks had taken the Muslims by surprise. Frenziedly he leapt into the saddle, without weapons or any means of defending himself, and a band of Franks1 fell on him and killed him--God have mercy upon him! He was a worthy ami? r, learned and cultivated, generous and wise, high-minded and magnanimous, without peer among his brothers or any other men. He had been very successful in his career and had risen to a high position, next in rank to al-Malik as-Salih Najm ad-Din Ayyu? b. His ambition reached to the throne itself,2 but God ended his life as a martyr for the Faith.
This al-Mu'azzam, whom we have already met as the brother of al-Kamil and the father of an-Nasir Dawu? d of Damascus and later of al-Karak, should not be confused with al-Mu'azzam Turansha? h, son of as-Salih, who had now succeeded his father and was to be the last Ayyubid in Egypt. These Ayyubid names are often confusingly duplicated.
A band of Templars, according to Maqrizi's more detailed account.
He was in fact regent of Egypt between as-Salih's death and al-Mu'azzam's coronation, on his arrival from Mesopotamia.
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The Frankish King penetrated Mansura and reached the Sultan's palace. The Franks spread through the narrow streets of the town, while the civil and military population scattered in all directions. Isla? m was about to suffer a mortal blow, and the Franks were now sure of their victory. It was lucky for the Muslims that the Franks dispersed through the streets. At the moment of supreme danger, the Turkish battalion of the mamlu? ks of al-Malik as-Salih, Bahrites and Jamdarites,3 lions in war and mighty in battle, rode like one man upon the enemy in a charge that broke them and drove them back. The Franks were massacred one and all with sword and club. The Bahrites slaughtered them and drove them back through the streets of al-Mansura, and the Franks lost 1,500 of their finest cavalry there. Meanwhile their infantry had reached the bridge of al-Mansu? r over the Ashmu? n canal and were preparing to cross. If the defence there had been weak the Frankish infantry could have crossed in force to the Muslim side and terrible damage would have been caused, for in these numbers they could have defended their cavalry. (But it did not happen) and had it not been for the restricted field of battle, for we were fighting in alleys and narrow streets, the Muslims would have exterminated the Franks to a man. Instead of this some survivors succeeded in escaping and fled to Jadila, where they reassembled while the darkness of night separated the two sides.
The Franks built a wall at Jadila and dug a trench to defend themselves. Some stayed on the eastern side, and held the roads along the peninsula leading to Damietta, protected by trench and wall. This battle was the source of victory and the key to the final success. Messages announcing it reached Cairo and were brought to Husa? m ad-Din Muhammad ibn Abi 'Ali1 on the afternoon of the day of battle. They said that while messenger-pigeons were being sent off the enemy had attacked Mansura and a violent battle had followed. That was all, and we and the Muslims were in complete confusion, everyone already imagining disaster for Isla? m. At sunset Muslim fugitives from the battle arrived, and the Bab an-Nasr2 stayed open all night, the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. Military and civilians, secretaries and officials entered the city in flight from Mansura, knowing nothing of the situation after the Franks had entered the town. Among them was Taj ad-Din, known as Ibn bint al-A'azz, director of the Diwa? n as-suhba, and he reported to Husa? m ad-Din. We remained in suspense until the sun rose on Wednesday and the joyful news of victory reached us. The city prepared for a feast and the glad tidings were announced by a roll of drums. The victory over the Franks caused great joy and exultation. This was the first battle in which the Turkish lions defeated the infidel dogs. The good news reached al-Malik al-Mu'azzam while he was on his way, and made him march even faster toward Egypt.
THE MUSLIM FLEET ATTACKS AND CRIPPLES THE FRANKISH FLEET (IBN WASIL, FO. 368r-v)
While the Franks stabilized their positions, reinforcements were reaching them from further up the Nile, from Damietta. The Muslims took some ships on camel-back up to the
The Bahrites, from whom came the first Mamlu? k dynasty, were so called because they were quartered at Cairo on the Nile (bahr). The Jamdarites ('gentlemen of the wardrobe') were another mamlu? k regiment.
Governor and then vizier of Cairo and Ibn Wasil's employer.
A gate into Cairo, still in existence.
3
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Part Three: The Ayyubids and the Invasion of Egypt 173
Bahr al-Mahalla,1 and there launched them and embarked troops. There was water at that time from the flooding of the Nile, stagnant, but communicating with the Nile itself. When the Frankish vessels coming upstream from Damietta passed close to the Bahr al-Mahalla the Muslims, who were lying in wait, fell on them and gave battle. The Muslim squadron from al-Mansura came downstream to join the fight and they surrounded the Franks and captured them and their ships. Fifty-two Frankish men-of-war were taken, with about a thousand men on board and all the provisions they were carrying. The prisoners were taken on camels to the Muslim camp. For the Franks the defeat broke their supply-line and seriously weak-ened their position. They found themselves very short of provisions and blockaded without the means either of staying put or of leaving their position. The Muslims had the upper hand, and now nourished plans to attack.
On 1 dhu l-hijja/7 March 1250 the Franks took seven Muslim fire-ships on the Bahr al-Mahalla, but the Muslims escaped with their gear. On the second, al-Malik al-Mu'azzam ordered the ami? r Husa? m ad-Din to enter Cairo and take up residence in the vizier's palace and to perform all the usual functions of the Sultan's viceroy. The Qadi Jama? l ad-Din ibn Wasil, the author, says: The Sultan gave robes of honour to me and also to a group of lawyers who presented themselves to do him homage. Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam's liberality extended in this way to anyone who presented himself at his gate. So I entered Cairo with the ami? r Husa? m ad-Din. On Monday 9 dhu l-hijja, the day of 'Arafa,1 Muslim galleys attacked the Frankish supply-ships. The encounter took place near the Mosque of Victory and the Muslims took thirty-two vessels from the Franks, of which seven were galleys. This weakened the Franks even more, and supplies in the camp were even scarcer. Then the Franks opened negotiations for a truce with the Muslims. Their ambassadors arrived and went into consultation with the ami? r Zain ad-Din, a jamda? r ami? r, and the Grand Qadi Badr ad-Din. The Franks wanted to exchange Damietta for Jerusalem and a part of the Syrian coast, but this was not acceptable. On Friday 26 dhu l-hijja the Franks burnt all their encampments, sparing only the ships, and decided to take refuge in Damietta. At the end of the year (647) they were still in the same position, facing the Muslims.
TOTAL ROUT OF THE FRANKS, AND THE CAPTURE OF THE KING OF FRANCE
(IBN WASIL, FO. 369r-370r)
On the night before Wednesday 3 muharram 648/7 April 1250, the resplendent night that disclosed a great victory and a stupendous triumph, the Franks marched out with all their forces towards Damietta, which they counted on to defend them, and their ships began to move downstream in convoy. When the Muslims heard the news they set out after them, crossed to the Frankish bank of the river and were soon at their heels. As Wednesday dawned the Muslims had surrounded the Franks and were slaughtering them, dealing out death and captivity. Not one escaped. It is said that the dead numbered 30,000. In the battle
A backwater of the Nile, mentioned in operations in the Fifth Crusade. A solemn festival during the Muslim Pilgrimage.
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174 Arab Historians of the Crusades
the Bahrite mamlu? ks of al-Malik as-Salih distinguished themselves by their courage and audacity: they caused the Franks terrible losses and played the major part in the victory. They fought furiously: it was they who flung themselves into the pursuit of the enemy: they were Islam's Templars. 1 The accursed King of France and the great Frankish princes retreated to the hill of Munya, where they surrendered and begged for their lives. They were given assurances by the eunuch Jama? l ad-Din Muhsin as-Sa? lihi, on the strength of which they surrendered. They were all taken to Mansura, where chains were put on the feet of the King of France and his companions. They were imprisoned in the house where the secretary Fakhr ad-Din ibn Luqma? n was living, and the eunuch Sabi? h al-Mu'a? zzami, a servant of al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Turansha? h, son of al-Malik as-Salih Najm ad-Din Ayyu? b, was set to guard them; he had come with his master from Hisn Kaifa? and had been promoted and shown great honour.
Referring to this episode, the imprisonment of the King of France in Fakhr ad-Din ibn Luqma? n's house, and the appointment of the eunuch Sabi? h to look after him, Jama? l ad-Din ibn Yahya ibn Matru? h wrote:
Speak to the Frenchman, if you visit him, a true word from a good counsellor:
'God requite you for what has happened, the slaughter of the Messiah's adorers!
You came to the East boasting of conquest, believing our martial drum-roll to be a mere
breath of wind.
And your stupidity has brought you to a place where your eyes can no longer see in the
broad plain any way of escape.
And of all your company, whom you commanded so well that you led them into the
tomb's embrace,
Of fifty thousand not one can be seen that is not dead, or wounded and a prisoner.
God help you to other similar adventures: who knows that in the end Jesus will not
breathe freely (of your impious worship1)!
If your Pope is content with this, how often is a statesman guilty of deceit! '
And say to them, if they ever think of returning to take their revenge, or for any other
reason:
'The house of Ibn Luqma? n is always ready here, and the chain and the eunuch Sabi? h
are still here. '
After this al-Malik al-Mu'azzam and the victorious army advanced to Damietta and
camped at Farisku? r in the province of Damietta. The Sultan's tent was erected, and beside it a wooden tower which from time to time al-Malik al-Mu'azzam would climb to while away the time, putting off the capture of Damietta. If he had surrounded and entered it quickly and forced the King of France to surrender all his possesions, he would have taken it very quickly. But the evil conduct to which he abandoned himself deterred him, and indeed his fate was already sealed.
Their enemy's highest praise for the Order's military valour.
For the Muslims Jesus Christ is a prophet, the miracle-working servant of God. The Christian cult must therefore appear sacrilegious to Christ himself, according to this view.
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Part Three: The Ayyubids and the Invasion of Egypt 175 THE ASSASSINATION OF AL-MALIK
AL-MU'AZZAM TURANSHA? H (IBN WASIL, FO. 371r-v)
When the soldiers, especially the Bahrite mamlu? ks belonging to his father, lost their loyalty to him,2 as we have described, a group of them decided to kill him. On the morning of Monday 30 muliarram 648/2 May 1250 al-Malik al-Mu'azzam gave an audience in his tent. He sat on his couch while all the others ate, and he ate with them, as usual. After the meal the ami? rs dispersed to their houses and he got up and went toward his little tent. Then Rukn ad-Din Baibars came forward. He was one of al-Malik as-Salih's Jamdarriyya, known as al-Bunduqdari, and was later to become ruler of Egypt under the name al-Malik az-Zahir and to defeat the Mongols at 'Ain Jalu? t with the aid of al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutu? z; and once on the throne, to reconquer most of the Frankish domains, for example Safad, ash-Shaqi? f, Antioch and the Isma'ilite territories, and to defeat the Mongols on several occasions. 1 This man struck al-Malik al-Mu'azzam with a sword and wounded him in the shoulder and threw the sword away. Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam turned around in his audience chamber, and his courtiers and servants flocked round him, as well as some of his father's mamlu? ks, asking what had happened. 'One of the Bahrites has wounded me. ' Ruqn ad-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari was there and said: 'It must have been an Isma'ilite,'2 but the Sultan replied: 'No, it was a Bahrite alone who did this to me'. Then the Bahrites were afraid, and dreaded what he might do. The Sultan climbed into his tower and sent for a surgeon to attend his hand. Meanwhile his father's mamlu? ks assembled, stricken with horror to hear the attempt (on the Sultan's life) was blamed on them. To this was added their resentment that he had set them aside, so they surrounded the tower. The Sultan opened the windows and called to the people for help, but no one responded, and none of the Egyptian ami? rs would come to his aid, for he had lost their loyalty completely. Fire was brought to burn down the tower, so he came down (and left it). Al-Bunduqdari, who had already wounded him, fell upon him, and he fled to the river bank where some of his fire-ships were, hoping to reach them in time to get on board and defend himself. But Faris ad-Din Aqtay caught up with him and killed him with a blow from his sword--God have mercy on him! He was still young, not yet thirty, I think, but I have been unable to discover the date of his birth. He ruled over Egypt for two months.
In favour of other elements whom they had brought with them from Mesopotamia, for example the eunuch Sabi? h mentioned above.
So magniloquent an introduction to Baibars is understandable coming from someone like Ibn Wasil, who was dependent on him for his livelihood. What he says is plain historical fact, but it fails to lighten the impression created by the murky scene that follows (told with even more macabre detail in other sources), the beginning of the future Sultan of Egypt's career.
A heretical sect specializing in political assassinations; see Part Two.
2
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THE DECISION TO PUT THE PRINCESS SHAJAR AD-DURR, THE MOTHER OF KHALI? L, ON THE THRONE, WITH 'IZZ AD-DIN THE TURCOMAN AS MILITARY COMMANDER
(IBN WASIL, FO. 372r-v)
When al-Malik al-Mu'azzam was killed the ami? rs and Bahrites assembled near the Sultan's palace and agreed that the functions of Sultan and ruler (of Egypt) should be assumed by Shajar ad-Durr, mother of Khali? l and wife of al-Malik as-Salih Najm ad-Din Ayyu? b. 1 The Sultan's decrees were to be issued at her command and in her name, and marked with her royal stamp. They had already made this offer to Husa? m ad-Din Muhammad ibn Abi 'Ali,2 saying: 'You were al-Malik as-Salih's most trusted statesman and so are the most worthy of this responsibility. ' But he declined and suggested that the more suitable man was the eunuch Shiha? b ad-Din Rashid al-Kabi? r. It was offered to him, but he too refused. So they agreed on the name of 'Izz ad-Din Aibek at-Turkumani as-Sa? lihi, and all took the oath of loyalty to him. He came to Cairo, went up to the citadel and announced the news to al-Khali? l's mother, the wife of al-Malik as-Salih. From that time she became titular head of the whole state; a royal stamp was issued in her name with the formula 'mother of Khali? l', and the khutba1 was pronounced in her name as Sultana of Cairo and all Egypt. This was an event without precedent throughout the Muslim world: that a woman should hold the effective power and govern a kingdom was indeed known; there was for example the case of Daifa Khatu? n, daughter of the Sultan al-Malik al-'Adil,2 who governed Aleppo and its province after the death of her son al-Malik al-'Azi? z for as long as she lived, but in this case the khutba was pronounced in the name of her grandson al-Malik an-Nasir.
After his death al-Malik al-Mu'azzam's body lay abandoned on the river bank and no one dared to approach it until some boatmen passing by on the west bank gave him a burial there.
THE RECONQUEST OF DAMIETTA
(IBN WASIL, FO. 372v-373v)
When the ami?
rs and the army had taken oaths of loyalty and affairs were settled as we have described, the surrender of Damietta was discussed with the King of France. The man who conducted the negotiations was the ami? r Husa? m ad-Din ibn Abi 'Ali, for everyone agreed
She was a Turkish slave who had borne al-Malik as-Salih a son, al-Khali? l, who died in childhood. The elevation of this lady to throne with the title of Sultan, an event without precedent in the history of Isla? m, as Ibn Wasil points out, was a brief transitional compromise between the last trace of Ayyubid legitimism and the military regime of the Mamlu? ks, who now installed themselves in Egypt in name as wellasinfact. ThecommanderAibeksoonmarriedShajarad-DurrandfoundedtheMamlu? kdynasty. From what immediately precedes this, one would expect it to apply to the power of the Sultan, but what followssuggeststhatitreferstothepositionofarmycommander. Thetwowereinanycasesoonunited. The Friday address from the pulpit in the Mosque, in which the name of the ruling sovereign is mentioned.
Wife of az-Zahir, Sultan of Aleppo. He died in 1216 and his son al-'Azi? z in 1236, and from that date the grandmother ruled as Regent for her grandson.
1
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Part Three: The Ayyubids and the Invasion of Egypt 177
to rely on his advice and opinion because of his reputation for wisdom and experience, and because of the trust that al-Malik as-Salih had in him. So he and the King of France held a series of conversations and finally agreed that Damietta should surrender and that the King should go free. The Qadi Jama? l ad-Din ibn Wasil, the author of this history, says:
The ami? r Husa? m ad-Din told me: 'The King of France was an extremely wise and intelligent man. In one of our conversations I said to him: "How did Your Majesty ever conceive the idea, a man of your character and wisdom and good sense, of going on board ship and riding the back of this sea and coming to a land so full of Muslims and soldiers, thinking that you could conquer it and become its ruler? This undertaking is the greatest risk to which you could possibly expose yourself and your subjects. " The King laughed but did not reply. "In our land," I added, "when a man travels by sea on several occasions, exposing himself and his possessions to such a risk, his testimony is not accepted as evidence by a Court of Law. " "Why not? " "Because such behaviour suggests to us that he lacks sense, and a man who lacks sense is not fit to give evidence. "1 The King laughed and said: "By God, whoever said that was right, and whoever made that ruling did not err. "'
The author of this history says: What Husa? m ad-Din says here is indeed the opinion of several scholars, but in fact it is not valid, for in most cases men return from sea voyages quite unharmed. On this subject there are two replies possible to the question whether, when a man has no other route to Mecca than one involving a sea voyage, the Pilgrimage is obligatory for him. One reply is that it is not, as the danger and risk involved in a sea voyage are so great; the other is that it is, as in most cases the traveller returns unharmed.
When agreement was reached between the King of France and the Muslims on the surrender of Damietta, the King sent to order his henchmen in Damietta to hand the city over. They, after objections, and messengers coming and going between them and the King, finally obeyed, and handed the city over to the Muslims. The Sultan's standards entered the city on Friday 3 safar 648/May 1250, and were raised on the walls, proclaiming once again the rule of Isla? m. The King of France was set free and went, with the remains of his army, over to the western shore. The next day, Saturday, he went aboard and set sail for Acre. He stayed some time in Palestine and then returned home. So God purified Egypt of them, and this victory was many times greater than the first,1 because of the large number of the enemy killed and captured; so many that the prisons of Cairo were full of Franks. The joyful news spread to all the other countries, and public manifestations of joy and happiness were seen.
After the King of France left, the army marched straight to Cairo and entered the city. There, for many days on end, rolls of drums announced the glad tidings of the Muslim victory over the Franks and the recovery of the province of Damietta, pearl of Isla? m and frontier of Egypt. This was the second time that the infidels had taken it and lost it again and had fled in defeat and disarray.
See above, in the section on Saladin's 'zeal in the Holy War'. At the time of the Fifth Crusade.
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PROLOGUE AND EPILOGUE TO ST. LOUIS' CRUSADE
(MAQRIZI, 334-5, 356-8)
(Disembarking in Egypt) the King of France sent a letter to the Sultan (al-Malik as-Salih). After the (introductory) heretical phrases2 he continued:
You will be aware that I am the head of the Christian community, as I acknowledge that you are the head of the Mohammedan community. You know also that the (Muslim) population of Andalusia pays tribute to us and gives us gifts, and we drive them before us like a herd of cattle, killing the men, widowing the women, capturing their daughters and infants, emptying their houses. 3 I have given you sufficient demonstration (of our strength), and the best advice I can offer. Even if you were to promise me anything on oath and to appear before the priests and monks and carry a candle before me as an act of obedience to the Cross, it would not deter me from attacking you and fighting you on the land that is dearest to you. If this country falls into my hands, it will be mine as a gift. If you keep it by victory over me, you may do as you will with me. I have told you about the armies obedient to me, filling the mountains and the plains, numerous as the stones of the earth and poised against you like the sword of Destiny. I put you on your guard against them.
When this letter arrived and was read to the Sultan his eyes filled with tears and he exclaimed: 'We belong to God, and to Him we return! ' Then he had a reply composed by the Qadi Baha? ' ad-Din Zuha? ir, head of Chancellery. After an introductory formula with the name of God and benedictions on God's apostle Muhammad, his family and companions, the letter went on:
Your letter has reached us in which you threaten us with the size of your armies and the number of your warriors. Now we are a war-like race; never is one of our champions cut down without being replaced; never has an enemy attacked us without being destroyed. Fool! If your eyes had seen the points of our swords and the enormity of our devastations, the forts and shores that we have taken (from you) and the lands that we have sacked in the past and the present, you would gnaw your fingers in repentance! The outcome of the events you are precipitating is inevitable: the day will dawn to our advantage and end in your destruction. Then you will curse yourself: 'and the wicked shall know the fate that awaits them'. 1 When you read my letter, let your response comply with the Sura of the Bees: 'You shall see God's command brought about; do not hurry it. "2 (Remember) too the Sura of Sad: 'You shall know what this signifies after some time! '3 We have recourse to God's word, for he declares most truthfully: 'How many times has a small band defeated a large army, with God's support! For God is with the patient,'4 and to the words of the wise,
I. e. after the Christian eulogies.
This reference to Andalusia seems to Reinaud irrelevant to the document. He thinks that Maqrizi must have inserted it, taking it out of some other context in the history of the reconquest. But one might also imagine that King Louis naturally recalled, to frighten his enemy, St. Fernando's recent triumphs against the Muslims in Spain; the fall of Seville (November 1248) occurred a few months before the Crusade landed.
Qur'a? n XXVI, 228.
Qur'a? n XVI, 1.
Qur'a? n XXXVIII, 88.
Qur'a? n II, 250.
2 3
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Part Three: The Ayyubids and the Invasion of Egypt 179
according to whom: 'The man of might is brought down in the end'; so your might will finally be brought down, and will bring catastrophe upon you. Greetings.
(After the victory at al-Mansura the Sultan Turansha? h) wrote to the ami? r Jama? l ad-Din ibn Yaghmu? r, his commander in Damascus, a letter in his own hand which said:
Praise is due to God, who has lifted our sorrow from us! Victory comes from God alone. On that day the faithful will rejoice in the help of God. Speak of the grace received from your Lord! If you wish to count God's graces, you will not be able to number them. 1
We inform His Excellency Jama? l ad-Din and all Isla? m of the victory bestowed by God over the enemies of the Faith. Their threat grew and grew, their evil was already established in the land, and the believers despaired of the fate of their country, their wives and their children. 'But do not despair of God's aid. '2 On Monday, the first day of this blessed year, God poured out his blessing on Isla? m's behalf. We opened our treasures, scattered wealth, distributed arms and summoned the desert Arabs, the volunteers and a multitude whose number God alone knows, from every deep valley and distant place. On the Tuesday night the enemy abandoned their tents, their possessions and their baggage and fled to Damietta, pursued all night by our swords, beyond shame, crying out in anguish. When Wednesday morning dawned we had killed 30,000, apart from those who cast themselves into the waves. As for the prisoners, it is impossible to count them. The Franks took refuge in al-Munya and begged for their lives, and this was granted them. We made them our prisoners, treated them honourably, and recovered Damietta with God's help and assistance, His majesty and highness. . . . and so on at length.
With the letter the Sultan sent the King of France's mantle, and the ami? r Jama? l ad-Din ibn Yaghmu? r put it on. It was of scarlet red, trimmed with ermine. Shaikh Najm ad-Din ibn Isra'i? l said of it:
The mantle of the Frenchman, sent in homage to the Prince of Ami? rs was white as paper, but our swords have stained it the colour of blood. and also:
Lord of all the Kings of this time, You have seen fulfilled the divine promises of victory.
May our Lord always triumph over his enemies, and clothe his servants in a king's booty!
SAINT LOUIS IN TUNISIA (MAQRIZI, 364-5)
It happened that this Frenchman, after escaping from the hands of the Muslims, decided to attack Tunisia in the land of Africa,1 profiting by the plague and famine that were rife there, and he sent to summon the Christian kings to arms. He also sent to the Pope, the vicar of the Messiah according to them, who wrote calling on the Christian kings to join the campaign with King Louis, giving them a free hand with the Church's wealth of which they could take
All the foregoing are Qur'anic phrases: XXXV, 31; III, 121; XXX, 3; XC III, 11; VI, 18. Qur'a? n XII, 87.
Properly Ifri? qiya, the Roman province of Africa, i. e. Tunisia.
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180 Arab Historians of the Crusades
what they wanted. The kings who came were the Kings of England, Scotland, Toulouse, Barcelona (who was called 'King of Aragon') and a whole host of other Christian princes. The (Hafsid) Sultan Abu Abdulla? h Muhammad al-Mustansir bi-lla? h, son of the ami? r Abu Zakariyya Yahya, son of Shaikh Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Wahid, son of Shaikh Abu Hafs, King of Tunisia,2 prepared to resist the attack and sent his ambassadors to sue for peace, offering 8,000 dinar. They took the money but did not make peace, and attacked Tunisia on 28 dhu l-qa'da 668/21 July 1270, disembarking at Carthage with 6,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. They remained there for six months. 3 The Muslims kept up the fight until mid-muharram 669/the end of August, with violent battles in which many of both sides died. The Muslims were almost defeated when God liberated them. One morning4 the King of France was found dead. Succeeding events led to the signing of the peace treaty and the departure of the Christians. It is interesting to note that a Tunisian, one Ahmad ibn Isma'i? l az-Zayya? n, composed the following lines:
O Frenchman, this land is Egypt's sister; prepare for your certain fate! Here Ibn Luqma? n's house will be a tomb, and the eunuchs (to guard you) will be Munkar and Naki? r. 1
This seems like a prophecy for the French King, for he did die. This King of France was an intelligent man, cunning and deceitful.
2 3 4 1
King of Tunis 1249-77.
Incomprehensible in view of the dates of this conflict.
25 August.
Alluding to Louis' prison and his guardian in Egypt. Munkar and Naki? r are the Muslim angels who interrogate the spirits of the newly dead.
Part Four
THE MAMLU? KS
AND THE LIQUIDATION OF
THE CRUSADERS
CHAPTER ONE
Between 1265 and 1291 three Mamlu? k Sultans, Baibars (1260-77), Qalawu? n (1279-90) and al-Ashraf (1290-93), destroyed what was left of the Crusaders' achievements. The main source for all three, although incomplete and for the most part still unedited, is the contemporary Ibn 'Abd az-Zahir. For the conquests of Baibars we have his biography written by Ibn 'Abd az-Zahir as well as the later chronicles of Ibn al-Fura? t, al-Maqrizi and al-'Aini. The passages given here, among them the famous victory letter to Bohemond IV after the fall of Antioch, come from these sources.
BAIBARS AGAINST TRIPOLI AND ANTIOCH. HIS LETTER TO BOHEMOND VI
(IBN 'ABD AZ-ZAHIR, FO. 105v-111v)
This fortress (Syrian Tripoli) belonged to the Muslims in times past; the last of them to hold it were the Banu 'Amma? r. One of the Frankish kings besieged it for many years and built a castle in front of it for as long as the siege lasted. 1 The Banu 'Amma? r, reduced to dire straits, left one of their tribe in the city and went to find help and succour. But he was an apostate; he climbed the city wall and invited the Franks to enter and take possession of the city. In this way they conquered the fortress. 2 The last of the Franks to hold it was Prince Bohemond (VI), son of Bohemond. When al-Malik az-Zahir (Baibars), whose biography this is, came to the throne he began to hear rumours of acts of manifest tyranny committed by Bohemond, and of his frequent acts of hostility and aggression toward those who entered his domain; he even went so far as to lay hands on some ambassadors from Georgia whose ship had been wrecked, imprisoning them and seizing the letters to the Sultan that they carried. He sent both men and letters to Hulagu, King of the Mongols, bringing ruin upon them and those who sent them. He did the same to other princes. Zeal for Isla? m and religious fervour forced the Sultan to attack Tripoli. He ordered the preparations to be made in secret, and finally set off across mountains and valleys to launch the Muslim army against the enemy. The troops surrounded the enemy city with a circle of fire and iron, capturing, pillaging and storming. The Sultan seized most of the region and then, following the best counsel, retired.
Concerning his incursion into Tripoli we have described how the Sultan made a hard fight of it, and by his subterfuges left everyone uncertain of what his aims had been when he withdrew, for he had ordered a certain number of tents to be pitched so that their entrances faced in different directions, so as to confuse those who thought (to divine his plans). Next he attacked Antioch, which was part of the domains of the Prince of Tripoli. The Muslims
1 The Mount Pilgrim built by Raymond of Saint-Gilles in 1103. 2 In fact taken by storm in 1109.
Part Four: The Mamlu? ks and the Liquidation of the Crusaders 183
advanced, killing and capturing and pillaging the land. The Sultan himself led the march on Antioch, and laid siege to it on 1 ramada? n 666/12 May 1268. His major-domo (ustada? r) the ami? r Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur al-Farqani came to blows during the advance with a squadron of cavalry from Antioch. He exterminated them in battle and captured the Constable who commanded the city. Muslim troops swarmed toward Antioch from all directions; the word was given for the assault, the walls were broken down and the city was taken with much bloodshed. The Muslims then besieged the citadel and took it after guaranteeing the lives of the beleaguered men, and so it came safely into Muslim hands.
The Sultan ordered a letter to be written to the Prince announcing the fall on the city and the loss that he had suffered through its acquisition by the Sultan. The letter was composed by the author of this history1--God have mercy upon him! --as the greatest expert in the epistolary style who ever lived, the master of the most telling and felicitous expressions, experienced in the finesse demanded by chancellery affairs, with the subtlest power of divining his Sovereign's intentions and aims!
A SURPRISE ATTACK ON THE MUSLIMS AT MANSURA. THE DEATH OF THE AMIR FAKHR AD-DIN YUSUF. THE SUBSEQUENT MUSLIM VICTORY
(IBN WASIL, 365v-366v)
We have already described how the Franks came face to face with the Muslims and how fighting broke out between the two sides, separated by the Ashmu? n, a branch of the Nile. The Ashmu? n is a small canal with a few narrow fords. A Muslim showed the Franks where one of the fords could be safely crossed, and on the morning of Tuesday 5 dhu l-qa'da/io February 1250 the Franks mounted their horses and moved down to the ford. The Muslims suddenly found that the Franks were in their camp. The ami? r Fakhr ad-Din Yusuf ibn Shaikh ash-Shuyu? kh was washing himself in his bath when he heard the cry go up that the Franks had taken the Muslims by surprise. Frenziedly he leapt into the saddle, without weapons or any means of defending himself, and a band of Franks1 fell on him and killed him--God have mercy upon him! He was a worthy ami? r, learned and cultivated, generous and wise, high-minded and magnanimous, without peer among his brothers or any other men. He had been very successful in his career and had risen to a high position, next in rank to al-Malik as-Salih Najm ad-Din Ayyu? b. His ambition reached to the throne itself,2 but God ended his life as a martyr for the Faith.
This al-Mu'azzam, whom we have already met as the brother of al-Kamil and the father of an-Nasir Dawu? d of Damascus and later of al-Karak, should not be confused with al-Mu'azzam Turansha? h, son of as-Salih, who had now succeeded his father and was to be the last Ayyubid in Egypt. These Ayyubid names are often confusingly duplicated.
A band of Templars, according to Maqrizi's more detailed account.
He was in fact regent of Egypt between as-Salih's death and al-Mu'azzam's coronation, on his arrival from Mesopotamia.
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The Frankish King penetrated Mansura and reached the Sultan's palace. The Franks spread through the narrow streets of the town, while the civil and military population scattered in all directions. Isla? m was about to suffer a mortal blow, and the Franks were now sure of their victory. It was lucky for the Muslims that the Franks dispersed through the streets. At the moment of supreme danger, the Turkish battalion of the mamlu? ks of al-Malik as-Salih, Bahrites and Jamdarites,3 lions in war and mighty in battle, rode like one man upon the enemy in a charge that broke them and drove them back. The Franks were massacred one and all with sword and club. The Bahrites slaughtered them and drove them back through the streets of al-Mansura, and the Franks lost 1,500 of their finest cavalry there. Meanwhile their infantry had reached the bridge of al-Mansu? r over the Ashmu? n canal and were preparing to cross. If the defence there had been weak the Frankish infantry could have crossed in force to the Muslim side and terrible damage would have been caused, for in these numbers they could have defended their cavalry. (But it did not happen) and had it not been for the restricted field of battle, for we were fighting in alleys and narrow streets, the Muslims would have exterminated the Franks to a man. Instead of this some survivors succeeded in escaping and fled to Jadila, where they reassembled while the darkness of night separated the two sides.
The Franks built a wall at Jadila and dug a trench to defend themselves. Some stayed on the eastern side, and held the roads along the peninsula leading to Damietta, protected by trench and wall. This battle was the source of victory and the key to the final success. Messages announcing it reached Cairo and were brought to Husa? m ad-Din Muhammad ibn Abi 'Ali1 on the afternoon of the day of battle. They said that while messenger-pigeons were being sent off the enemy had attacked Mansura and a violent battle had followed. That was all, and we and the Muslims were in complete confusion, everyone already imagining disaster for Isla? m. At sunset Muslim fugitives from the battle arrived, and the Bab an-Nasr2 stayed open all night, the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. Military and civilians, secretaries and officials entered the city in flight from Mansura, knowing nothing of the situation after the Franks had entered the town. Among them was Taj ad-Din, known as Ibn bint al-A'azz, director of the Diwa? n as-suhba, and he reported to Husa? m ad-Din. We remained in suspense until the sun rose on Wednesday and the joyful news of victory reached us. The city prepared for a feast and the glad tidings were announced by a roll of drums. The victory over the Franks caused great joy and exultation. This was the first battle in which the Turkish lions defeated the infidel dogs. The good news reached al-Malik al-Mu'azzam while he was on his way, and made him march even faster toward Egypt.
THE MUSLIM FLEET ATTACKS AND CRIPPLES THE FRANKISH FLEET (IBN WASIL, FO. 368r-v)
While the Franks stabilized their positions, reinforcements were reaching them from further up the Nile, from Damietta. The Muslims took some ships on camel-back up to the
The Bahrites, from whom came the first Mamlu? k dynasty, were so called because they were quartered at Cairo on the Nile (bahr). The Jamdarites ('gentlemen of the wardrobe') were another mamlu? k regiment.
Governor and then vizier of Cairo and Ibn Wasil's employer.
A gate into Cairo, still in existence.
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Bahr al-Mahalla,1 and there launched them and embarked troops. There was water at that time from the flooding of the Nile, stagnant, but communicating with the Nile itself. When the Frankish vessels coming upstream from Damietta passed close to the Bahr al-Mahalla the Muslims, who were lying in wait, fell on them and gave battle. The Muslim squadron from al-Mansura came downstream to join the fight and they surrounded the Franks and captured them and their ships. Fifty-two Frankish men-of-war were taken, with about a thousand men on board and all the provisions they were carrying. The prisoners were taken on camels to the Muslim camp. For the Franks the defeat broke their supply-line and seriously weak-ened their position. They found themselves very short of provisions and blockaded without the means either of staying put or of leaving their position. The Muslims had the upper hand, and now nourished plans to attack.
On 1 dhu l-hijja/7 March 1250 the Franks took seven Muslim fire-ships on the Bahr al-Mahalla, but the Muslims escaped with their gear. On the second, al-Malik al-Mu'azzam ordered the ami? r Husa? m ad-Din to enter Cairo and take up residence in the vizier's palace and to perform all the usual functions of the Sultan's viceroy. The Qadi Jama? l ad-Din ibn Wasil, the author, says: The Sultan gave robes of honour to me and also to a group of lawyers who presented themselves to do him homage. Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam's liberality extended in this way to anyone who presented himself at his gate. So I entered Cairo with the ami? r Husa? m ad-Din. On Monday 9 dhu l-hijja, the day of 'Arafa,1 Muslim galleys attacked the Frankish supply-ships. The encounter took place near the Mosque of Victory and the Muslims took thirty-two vessels from the Franks, of which seven were galleys. This weakened the Franks even more, and supplies in the camp were even scarcer. Then the Franks opened negotiations for a truce with the Muslims. Their ambassadors arrived and went into consultation with the ami? r Zain ad-Din, a jamda? r ami? r, and the Grand Qadi Badr ad-Din. The Franks wanted to exchange Damietta for Jerusalem and a part of the Syrian coast, but this was not acceptable. On Friday 26 dhu l-hijja the Franks burnt all their encampments, sparing only the ships, and decided to take refuge in Damietta. At the end of the year (647) they were still in the same position, facing the Muslims.
TOTAL ROUT OF THE FRANKS, AND THE CAPTURE OF THE KING OF FRANCE
(IBN WASIL, FO. 369r-370r)
On the night before Wednesday 3 muharram 648/7 April 1250, the resplendent night that disclosed a great victory and a stupendous triumph, the Franks marched out with all their forces towards Damietta, which they counted on to defend them, and their ships began to move downstream in convoy. When the Muslims heard the news they set out after them, crossed to the Frankish bank of the river and were soon at their heels. As Wednesday dawned the Muslims had surrounded the Franks and were slaughtering them, dealing out death and captivity. Not one escaped. It is said that the dead numbered 30,000. In the battle
A backwater of the Nile, mentioned in operations in the Fifth Crusade. A solemn festival during the Muslim Pilgrimage.
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the Bahrite mamlu? ks of al-Malik as-Salih distinguished themselves by their courage and audacity: they caused the Franks terrible losses and played the major part in the victory. They fought furiously: it was they who flung themselves into the pursuit of the enemy: they were Islam's Templars. 1 The accursed King of France and the great Frankish princes retreated to the hill of Munya, where they surrendered and begged for their lives. They were given assurances by the eunuch Jama? l ad-Din Muhsin as-Sa? lihi, on the strength of which they surrendered. They were all taken to Mansura, where chains were put on the feet of the King of France and his companions. They were imprisoned in the house where the secretary Fakhr ad-Din ibn Luqma? n was living, and the eunuch Sabi? h al-Mu'a? zzami, a servant of al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Turansha? h, son of al-Malik as-Salih Najm ad-Din Ayyu? b, was set to guard them; he had come with his master from Hisn Kaifa? and had been promoted and shown great honour.
Referring to this episode, the imprisonment of the King of France in Fakhr ad-Din ibn Luqma? n's house, and the appointment of the eunuch Sabi? h to look after him, Jama? l ad-Din ibn Yahya ibn Matru? h wrote:
Speak to the Frenchman, if you visit him, a true word from a good counsellor:
'God requite you for what has happened, the slaughter of the Messiah's adorers!
You came to the East boasting of conquest, believing our martial drum-roll to be a mere
breath of wind.
And your stupidity has brought you to a place where your eyes can no longer see in the
broad plain any way of escape.
And of all your company, whom you commanded so well that you led them into the
tomb's embrace,
Of fifty thousand not one can be seen that is not dead, or wounded and a prisoner.
God help you to other similar adventures: who knows that in the end Jesus will not
breathe freely (of your impious worship1)!
If your Pope is content with this, how often is a statesman guilty of deceit! '
And say to them, if they ever think of returning to take their revenge, or for any other
reason:
'The house of Ibn Luqma? n is always ready here, and the chain and the eunuch Sabi? h
are still here. '
After this al-Malik al-Mu'azzam and the victorious army advanced to Damietta and
camped at Farisku? r in the province of Damietta. The Sultan's tent was erected, and beside it a wooden tower which from time to time al-Malik al-Mu'azzam would climb to while away the time, putting off the capture of Damietta. If he had surrounded and entered it quickly and forced the King of France to surrender all his possesions, he would have taken it very quickly. But the evil conduct to which he abandoned himself deterred him, and indeed his fate was already sealed.
Their enemy's highest praise for the Order's military valour.
For the Muslims Jesus Christ is a prophet, the miracle-working servant of God. The Christian cult must therefore appear sacrilegious to Christ himself, according to this view.
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Part Three: The Ayyubids and the Invasion of Egypt 175 THE ASSASSINATION OF AL-MALIK
AL-MU'AZZAM TURANSHA? H (IBN WASIL, FO. 371r-v)
When the soldiers, especially the Bahrite mamlu? ks belonging to his father, lost their loyalty to him,2 as we have described, a group of them decided to kill him. On the morning of Monday 30 muliarram 648/2 May 1250 al-Malik al-Mu'azzam gave an audience in his tent. He sat on his couch while all the others ate, and he ate with them, as usual. After the meal the ami? rs dispersed to their houses and he got up and went toward his little tent. Then Rukn ad-Din Baibars came forward. He was one of al-Malik as-Salih's Jamdarriyya, known as al-Bunduqdari, and was later to become ruler of Egypt under the name al-Malik az-Zahir and to defeat the Mongols at 'Ain Jalu? t with the aid of al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutu? z; and once on the throne, to reconquer most of the Frankish domains, for example Safad, ash-Shaqi? f, Antioch and the Isma'ilite territories, and to defeat the Mongols on several occasions. 1 This man struck al-Malik al-Mu'azzam with a sword and wounded him in the shoulder and threw the sword away. Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam turned around in his audience chamber, and his courtiers and servants flocked round him, as well as some of his father's mamlu? ks, asking what had happened. 'One of the Bahrites has wounded me. ' Ruqn ad-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari was there and said: 'It must have been an Isma'ilite,'2 but the Sultan replied: 'No, it was a Bahrite alone who did this to me'. Then the Bahrites were afraid, and dreaded what he might do. The Sultan climbed into his tower and sent for a surgeon to attend his hand. Meanwhile his father's mamlu? ks assembled, stricken with horror to hear the attempt (on the Sultan's life) was blamed on them. To this was added their resentment that he had set them aside, so they surrounded the tower. The Sultan opened the windows and called to the people for help, but no one responded, and none of the Egyptian ami? rs would come to his aid, for he had lost their loyalty completely. Fire was brought to burn down the tower, so he came down (and left it). Al-Bunduqdari, who had already wounded him, fell upon him, and he fled to the river bank where some of his fire-ships were, hoping to reach them in time to get on board and defend himself. But Faris ad-Din Aqtay caught up with him and killed him with a blow from his sword--God have mercy on him! He was still young, not yet thirty, I think, but I have been unable to discover the date of his birth. He ruled over Egypt for two months.
In favour of other elements whom they had brought with them from Mesopotamia, for example the eunuch Sabi? h mentioned above.
So magniloquent an introduction to Baibars is understandable coming from someone like Ibn Wasil, who was dependent on him for his livelihood. What he says is plain historical fact, but it fails to lighten the impression created by the murky scene that follows (told with even more macabre detail in other sources), the beginning of the future Sultan of Egypt's career.
A heretical sect specializing in political assassinations; see Part Two.
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THE DECISION TO PUT THE PRINCESS SHAJAR AD-DURR, THE MOTHER OF KHALI? L, ON THE THRONE, WITH 'IZZ AD-DIN THE TURCOMAN AS MILITARY COMMANDER
(IBN WASIL, FO. 372r-v)
When al-Malik al-Mu'azzam was killed the ami? rs and Bahrites assembled near the Sultan's palace and agreed that the functions of Sultan and ruler (of Egypt) should be assumed by Shajar ad-Durr, mother of Khali? l and wife of al-Malik as-Salih Najm ad-Din Ayyu? b. 1 The Sultan's decrees were to be issued at her command and in her name, and marked with her royal stamp. They had already made this offer to Husa? m ad-Din Muhammad ibn Abi 'Ali,2 saying: 'You were al-Malik as-Salih's most trusted statesman and so are the most worthy of this responsibility. ' But he declined and suggested that the more suitable man was the eunuch Shiha? b ad-Din Rashid al-Kabi? r. It was offered to him, but he too refused. So they agreed on the name of 'Izz ad-Din Aibek at-Turkumani as-Sa? lihi, and all took the oath of loyalty to him. He came to Cairo, went up to the citadel and announced the news to al-Khali? l's mother, the wife of al-Malik as-Salih. From that time she became titular head of the whole state; a royal stamp was issued in her name with the formula 'mother of Khali? l', and the khutba1 was pronounced in her name as Sultana of Cairo and all Egypt. This was an event without precedent throughout the Muslim world: that a woman should hold the effective power and govern a kingdom was indeed known; there was for example the case of Daifa Khatu? n, daughter of the Sultan al-Malik al-'Adil,2 who governed Aleppo and its province after the death of her son al-Malik al-'Azi? z for as long as she lived, but in this case the khutba was pronounced in the name of her grandson al-Malik an-Nasir.
After his death al-Malik al-Mu'azzam's body lay abandoned on the river bank and no one dared to approach it until some boatmen passing by on the west bank gave him a burial there.
THE RECONQUEST OF DAMIETTA
(IBN WASIL, FO. 372v-373v)
When the ami?
rs and the army had taken oaths of loyalty and affairs were settled as we have described, the surrender of Damietta was discussed with the King of France. The man who conducted the negotiations was the ami? r Husa? m ad-Din ibn Abi 'Ali, for everyone agreed
She was a Turkish slave who had borne al-Malik as-Salih a son, al-Khali? l, who died in childhood. The elevation of this lady to throne with the title of Sultan, an event without precedent in the history of Isla? m, as Ibn Wasil points out, was a brief transitional compromise between the last trace of Ayyubid legitimism and the military regime of the Mamlu? ks, who now installed themselves in Egypt in name as wellasinfact. ThecommanderAibeksoonmarriedShajarad-DurrandfoundedtheMamlu? kdynasty. From what immediately precedes this, one would expect it to apply to the power of the Sultan, but what followssuggeststhatitreferstothepositionofarmycommander. Thetwowereinanycasesoonunited. The Friday address from the pulpit in the Mosque, in which the name of the ruling sovereign is mentioned.
Wife of az-Zahir, Sultan of Aleppo. He died in 1216 and his son al-'Azi? z in 1236, and from that date the grandmother ruled as Regent for her grandson.
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to rely on his advice and opinion because of his reputation for wisdom and experience, and because of the trust that al-Malik as-Salih had in him. So he and the King of France held a series of conversations and finally agreed that Damietta should surrender and that the King should go free. The Qadi Jama? l ad-Din ibn Wasil, the author of this history, says:
The ami? r Husa? m ad-Din told me: 'The King of France was an extremely wise and intelligent man. In one of our conversations I said to him: "How did Your Majesty ever conceive the idea, a man of your character and wisdom and good sense, of going on board ship and riding the back of this sea and coming to a land so full of Muslims and soldiers, thinking that you could conquer it and become its ruler? This undertaking is the greatest risk to which you could possibly expose yourself and your subjects. " The King laughed but did not reply. "In our land," I added, "when a man travels by sea on several occasions, exposing himself and his possessions to such a risk, his testimony is not accepted as evidence by a Court of Law. " "Why not? " "Because such behaviour suggests to us that he lacks sense, and a man who lacks sense is not fit to give evidence. "1 The King laughed and said: "By God, whoever said that was right, and whoever made that ruling did not err. "'
The author of this history says: What Husa? m ad-Din says here is indeed the opinion of several scholars, but in fact it is not valid, for in most cases men return from sea voyages quite unharmed. On this subject there are two replies possible to the question whether, when a man has no other route to Mecca than one involving a sea voyage, the Pilgrimage is obligatory for him. One reply is that it is not, as the danger and risk involved in a sea voyage are so great; the other is that it is, as in most cases the traveller returns unharmed.
When agreement was reached between the King of France and the Muslims on the surrender of Damietta, the King sent to order his henchmen in Damietta to hand the city over. They, after objections, and messengers coming and going between them and the King, finally obeyed, and handed the city over to the Muslims. The Sultan's standards entered the city on Friday 3 safar 648/May 1250, and were raised on the walls, proclaiming once again the rule of Isla? m. The King of France was set free and went, with the remains of his army, over to the western shore. The next day, Saturday, he went aboard and set sail for Acre. He stayed some time in Palestine and then returned home. So God purified Egypt of them, and this victory was many times greater than the first,1 because of the large number of the enemy killed and captured; so many that the prisons of Cairo were full of Franks. The joyful news spread to all the other countries, and public manifestations of joy and happiness were seen.
After the King of France left, the army marched straight to Cairo and entered the city. There, for many days on end, rolls of drums announced the glad tidings of the Muslim victory over the Franks and the recovery of the province of Damietta, pearl of Isla? m and frontier of Egypt. This was the second time that the infidels had taken it and lost it again and had fled in defeat and disarray.
See above, in the section on Saladin's 'zeal in the Holy War'. At the time of the Fifth Crusade.
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PROLOGUE AND EPILOGUE TO ST. LOUIS' CRUSADE
(MAQRIZI, 334-5, 356-8)
(Disembarking in Egypt) the King of France sent a letter to the Sultan (al-Malik as-Salih). After the (introductory) heretical phrases2 he continued:
You will be aware that I am the head of the Christian community, as I acknowledge that you are the head of the Mohammedan community. You know also that the (Muslim) population of Andalusia pays tribute to us and gives us gifts, and we drive them before us like a herd of cattle, killing the men, widowing the women, capturing their daughters and infants, emptying their houses. 3 I have given you sufficient demonstration (of our strength), and the best advice I can offer. Even if you were to promise me anything on oath and to appear before the priests and monks and carry a candle before me as an act of obedience to the Cross, it would not deter me from attacking you and fighting you on the land that is dearest to you. If this country falls into my hands, it will be mine as a gift. If you keep it by victory over me, you may do as you will with me. I have told you about the armies obedient to me, filling the mountains and the plains, numerous as the stones of the earth and poised against you like the sword of Destiny. I put you on your guard against them.
When this letter arrived and was read to the Sultan his eyes filled with tears and he exclaimed: 'We belong to God, and to Him we return! ' Then he had a reply composed by the Qadi Baha? ' ad-Din Zuha? ir, head of Chancellery. After an introductory formula with the name of God and benedictions on God's apostle Muhammad, his family and companions, the letter went on:
Your letter has reached us in which you threaten us with the size of your armies and the number of your warriors. Now we are a war-like race; never is one of our champions cut down without being replaced; never has an enemy attacked us without being destroyed. Fool! If your eyes had seen the points of our swords and the enormity of our devastations, the forts and shores that we have taken (from you) and the lands that we have sacked in the past and the present, you would gnaw your fingers in repentance! The outcome of the events you are precipitating is inevitable: the day will dawn to our advantage and end in your destruction. Then you will curse yourself: 'and the wicked shall know the fate that awaits them'. 1 When you read my letter, let your response comply with the Sura of the Bees: 'You shall see God's command brought about; do not hurry it. "2 (Remember) too the Sura of Sad: 'You shall know what this signifies after some time! '3 We have recourse to God's word, for he declares most truthfully: 'How many times has a small band defeated a large army, with God's support! For God is with the patient,'4 and to the words of the wise,
I. e. after the Christian eulogies.
This reference to Andalusia seems to Reinaud irrelevant to the document. He thinks that Maqrizi must have inserted it, taking it out of some other context in the history of the reconquest. But one might also imagine that King Louis naturally recalled, to frighten his enemy, St. Fernando's recent triumphs against the Muslims in Spain; the fall of Seville (November 1248) occurred a few months before the Crusade landed.
Qur'a? n XXVI, 228.
Qur'a? n XVI, 1.
Qur'a? n XXXVIII, 88.
Qur'a? n II, 250.
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according to whom: 'The man of might is brought down in the end'; so your might will finally be brought down, and will bring catastrophe upon you. Greetings.
(After the victory at al-Mansura the Sultan Turansha? h) wrote to the ami? r Jama? l ad-Din ibn Yaghmu? r, his commander in Damascus, a letter in his own hand which said:
Praise is due to God, who has lifted our sorrow from us! Victory comes from God alone. On that day the faithful will rejoice in the help of God. Speak of the grace received from your Lord! If you wish to count God's graces, you will not be able to number them. 1
We inform His Excellency Jama? l ad-Din and all Isla? m of the victory bestowed by God over the enemies of the Faith. Their threat grew and grew, their evil was already established in the land, and the believers despaired of the fate of their country, their wives and their children. 'But do not despair of God's aid. '2 On Monday, the first day of this blessed year, God poured out his blessing on Isla? m's behalf. We opened our treasures, scattered wealth, distributed arms and summoned the desert Arabs, the volunteers and a multitude whose number God alone knows, from every deep valley and distant place. On the Tuesday night the enemy abandoned their tents, their possessions and their baggage and fled to Damietta, pursued all night by our swords, beyond shame, crying out in anguish. When Wednesday morning dawned we had killed 30,000, apart from those who cast themselves into the waves. As for the prisoners, it is impossible to count them. The Franks took refuge in al-Munya and begged for their lives, and this was granted them. We made them our prisoners, treated them honourably, and recovered Damietta with God's help and assistance, His majesty and highness. . . . and so on at length.
With the letter the Sultan sent the King of France's mantle, and the ami? r Jama? l ad-Din ibn Yaghmu? r put it on. It was of scarlet red, trimmed with ermine. Shaikh Najm ad-Din ibn Isra'i? l said of it:
The mantle of the Frenchman, sent in homage to the Prince of Ami? rs was white as paper, but our swords have stained it the colour of blood. and also:
Lord of all the Kings of this time, You have seen fulfilled the divine promises of victory.
May our Lord always triumph over his enemies, and clothe his servants in a king's booty!
SAINT LOUIS IN TUNISIA (MAQRIZI, 364-5)
It happened that this Frenchman, after escaping from the hands of the Muslims, decided to attack Tunisia in the land of Africa,1 profiting by the plague and famine that were rife there, and he sent to summon the Christian kings to arms. He also sent to the Pope, the vicar of the Messiah according to them, who wrote calling on the Christian kings to join the campaign with King Louis, giving them a free hand with the Church's wealth of which they could take
All the foregoing are Qur'anic phrases: XXXV, 31; III, 121; XXX, 3; XC III, 11; VI, 18. Qur'a? n XII, 87.
Properly Ifri? qiya, the Roman province of Africa, i. e. Tunisia.
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180 Arab Historians of the Crusades
what they wanted. The kings who came were the Kings of England, Scotland, Toulouse, Barcelona (who was called 'King of Aragon') and a whole host of other Christian princes. The (Hafsid) Sultan Abu Abdulla? h Muhammad al-Mustansir bi-lla? h, son of the ami? r Abu Zakariyya Yahya, son of Shaikh Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Wahid, son of Shaikh Abu Hafs, King of Tunisia,2 prepared to resist the attack and sent his ambassadors to sue for peace, offering 8,000 dinar. They took the money but did not make peace, and attacked Tunisia on 28 dhu l-qa'da 668/21 July 1270, disembarking at Carthage with 6,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. They remained there for six months. 3 The Muslims kept up the fight until mid-muharram 669/the end of August, with violent battles in which many of both sides died. The Muslims were almost defeated when God liberated them. One morning4 the King of France was found dead. Succeeding events led to the signing of the peace treaty and the departure of the Christians. It is interesting to note that a Tunisian, one Ahmad ibn Isma'i? l az-Zayya? n, composed the following lines:
O Frenchman, this land is Egypt's sister; prepare for your certain fate! Here Ibn Luqma? n's house will be a tomb, and the eunuchs (to guard you) will be Munkar and Naki? r. 1
This seems like a prophecy for the French King, for he did die. This King of France was an intelligent man, cunning and deceitful.
2 3 4 1
King of Tunis 1249-77.
Incomprehensible in view of the dates of this conflict.
25 August.
Alluding to Louis' prison and his guardian in Egypt. Munkar and Naki? r are the Muslim angels who interrogate the spirits of the newly dead.
Part Four
THE MAMLU? KS
AND THE LIQUIDATION OF
THE CRUSADERS
CHAPTER ONE
Between 1265 and 1291 three Mamlu? k Sultans, Baibars (1260-77), Qalawu? n (1279-90) and al-Ashraf (1290-93), destroyed what was left of the Crusaders' achievements. The main source for all three, although incomplete and for the most part still unedited, is the contemporary Ibn 'Abd az-Zahir. For the conquests of Baibars we have his biography written by Ibn 'Abd az-Zahir as well as the later chronicles of Ibn al-Fura? t, al-Maqrizi and al-'Aini. The passages given here, among them the famous victory letter to Bohemond IV after the fall of Antioch, come from these sources.
BAIBARS AGAINST TRIPOLI AND ANTIOCH. HIS LETTER TO BOHEMOND VI
(IBN 'ABD AZ-ZAHIR, FO. 105v-111v)
This fortress (Syrian Tripoli) belonged to the Muslims in times past; the last of them to hold it were the Banu 'Amma? r. One of the Frankish kings besieged it for many years and built a castle in front of it for as long as the siege lasted. 1 The Banu 'Amma? r, reduced to dire straits, left one of their tribe in the city and went to find help and succour. But he was an apostate; he climbed the city wall and invited the Franks to enter and take possession of the city. In this way they conquered the fortress. 2 The last of the Franks to hold it was Prince Bohemond (VI), son of Bohemond. When al-Malik az-Zahir (Baibars), whose biography this is, came to the throne he began to hear rumours of acts of manifest tyranny committed by Bohemond, and of his frequent acts of hostility and aggression toward those who entered his domain; he even went so far as to lay hands on some ambassadors from Georgia whose ship had been wrecked, imprisoning them and seizing the letters to the Sultan that they carried. He sent both men and letters to Hulagu, King of the Mongols, bringing ruin upon them and those who sent them. He did the same to other princes. Zeal for Isla? m and religious fervour forced the Sultan to attack Tripoli. He ordered the preparations to be made in secret, and finally set off across mountains and valleys to launch the Muslim army against the enemy. The troops surrounded the enemy city with a circle of fire and iron, capturing, pillaging and storming. The Sultan seized most of the region and then, following the best counsel, retired.
Concerning his incursion into Tripoli we have described how the Sultan made a hard fight of it, and by his subterfuges left everyone uncertain of what his aims had been when he withdrew, for he had ordered a certain number of tents to be pitched so that their entrances faced in different directions, so as to confuse those who thought (to divine his plans). Next he attacked Antioch, which was part of the domains of the Prince of Tripoli. The Muslims
1 The Mount Pilgrim built by Raymond of Saint-Gilles in 1103. 2 In fact taken by storm in 1109.
Part Four: The Mamlu? ks and the Liquidation of the Crusaders 183
advanced, killing and capturing and pillaging the land. The Sultan himself led the march on Antioch, and laid siege to it on 1 ramada? n 666/12 May 1268. His major-domo (ustada? r) the ami? r Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur al-Farqani came to blows during the advance with a squadron of cavalry from Antioch. He exterminated them in battle and captured the Constable who commanded the city. Muslim troops swarmed toward Antioch from all directions; the word was given for the assault, the walls were broken down and the city was taken with much bloodshed. The Muslims then besieged the citadel and took it after guaranteeing the lives of the beleaguered men, and so it came safely into Muslim hands.
The Sultan ordered a letter to be written to the Prince announcing the fall on the city and the loss that he had suffered through its acquisition by the Sultan. The letter was composed by the author of this history1--God have mercy upon him! --as the greatest expert in the epistolary style who ever lived, the master of the most telling and felicitous expressions, experienced in the finesse demanded by chancellery affairs, with the subtlest power of divining his Sovereign's intentions and aims!
