He had a good
knowledge
of Muslim law (fiqh) of the Hanafite school1 but he was not a fanatic.
Arab-Historians-of-the-Crusades
The German king advanced as far as al-Maida?
n al-Akhdar (the Green Square), and everyone was convinced that he would take the city.
Meanwhile Mu'i?
n ad-Din had sent a message to Saif ad-Din Ghazi, son of the Ata-beg Zangi and ruler of Mosul, calling on him to come to the aid of the Muslims and to drive off the enemy.
Saif ad-Din marshalled his army and marched into Syria, bringing with him his brother Nur ad-Din Mahmu?
d1 from Aleppo.
When they reached Hims, Saif ad-Din sent to Mu'i?
n ad-Din to say: 'I have come with every man in my realm capable of bearing arms.
I ask that a condition of my attacking the Franks shall be the presence
Among whom, perhaps, 'freed from the deceptive world', lay Cacciaguida, the great-great- grandfather of Dante, the only relative of his to figure significantly in the Divine Comedy (Paradiso XV).
Qur'a? n IX, 112.
The 'Norandin' of the Crusaders; Isla? m's champion before Saladin.
1
1 1
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 37
of my representatives in Damascus. If I am defeated, I shall take my army inside the city and defend it from within. If we are victorious, the city is yours, and I shall not question your right to it. ' To the Franks he sent a threatening message urging them to retreat from Damascus. The Franks broke off the fight, for they had many casualties, and were alarmed at the prospect of having to face Saif ad-Din as well as the army from Damascus. They decided to conserve their forces, while the citizens repaired the defences and drew breath after the labour of unceasing combat. Meanwhile Mu'i? n ad-Din sent to the Franks to say: 'The King of the East has arrived; if you do not retreat I shall hand the city over to him, and then by God you will repent. ' To the Syrian Franks he wrote: 'What reason have you for supporting these people against us when you know that if they take the city they will seize your possessions on the coast? I warn you that if I feel that I am losing the battle I shall hand the city over to Saif ad-Din, and you may be sure that if he becomes ruler of Damascus you will not be allowed to keep a foothold in Syria. ' This message persuaded them to break their alliance with the King of Germany in exchange for the fortress of Baniya? s from Mu'i? n ad-Din. So the Syrian Franks had a private discussion with the King of Germany and frightened him with their tales of Saif ad-Din, his vast army, his constant reinforcements, and the probability that he would take Damascus despite anything that they could do to prevent him. They were so persuasive that the king withdrew his troops from Damascus. The Syrian Franks took over Baniya? s and the German Franks returned to their homeland, which is north of Constantinople and to one side. Thus God delivered the believers from their distress. Abu l-Qasim ibn 'Asakir, in his history of Damascus, says that a certain learned lawyer said that he saw al-Findalawi in a dream and asked him: 'How has God treated you and where are you? ' and received the reply, 'God has pardoned me. I am in the garden of Eden (among the blessed) stretched on couches set to face one another. '1
(SIBT IBN AL-JAUZI, 300)
. . . It was harvest time. The Franks went down into the valley and ate much of the crop, and this gave them dysentery. Many died of it, and all the others were ill. The people of Damascus were in great need, but gave alms of what they had, each in proportion to his possessions. The whole population, men, women and children, assembled in the Great Mosque. Uthma? n's Qur'a? n2 was displayed, and the people sprinkled their heads with ashes and wept tears of supplication. And God heard their prayers.
The Franks had with them a great Priest with a long beard, whose teachings they obeyed. On the tenth day of their siege of Damascus he mounted his ass, hung a cross round his neck, took two more in his hand and hung another round the ass's neck. He had the Testaments and the crosses and the Holy Scriptures set before him and assembled the army in his presence; the only ones to remain behind were those guarding the tents. Then he said: 'The Messiah has promised me that today I shall wipe out this city. 'At this moment the Muslims opened the city gates and in the name of Isla? m charged as one man into the face of death.
Qur'a? n XXXVII, 42-43.
A precious copy of the Holy Book dating from the time of the first collation of the text under the Caliph 'Uthma? n (644-56); it might even be the very copy he was reading when he was murdered.
1 2
38 Arab Historians of the Crusades
Never, in pagan times or since the coming of Isla? m, was there a day like this. One of the men of the Damascus militia reached the Priest, who was fighting in the front line, struck his head from his body and killed his ass too. As the whole Muslim army bore down upon them the Franks turned and fled. The Muslims killed 10,000, smote their crosses and their cavalry with Greek fire, and pursued the army as far as the tents. Night separated them, and in the morning the Franks were gone and no trace of them remained.
CHAPTER EIGHT
In 1154, six years after Damascus had successfully resisted the Crusaders, Nur ad-Din, Zangi's son, realized his father's old dream and became ruler of the Syrian metropolis without bloodshed. From here and from his ancestral home, Aleppo, he put new enthusiasm and efficiency into the fight against the Crusaders. Fighting continued, with mixed fortunes, for twenty years, until Nur ad-Din's death in 1174. For some time before this date his reputation had paled before the new star shining in Egypt: Saladin. This obscure official at Nur ad-Din's court was destined to crown with success a century of Muslim struggles against the Christian invaders. Ibn al-Athi? r gives an idealized picture of Nur ad-Din, as he did of his father. We can credit him with at least one quality not shared by Zangi: a certain spiritual awareness and humanity.
NUR AD-DIN'S VICTORIES AND HIS TRIUMPH AT DAMASCUS (IBN AL-QALA? NISI, 340-2)
Nur ad-Din reached the well-guarded city1 on Friday 27 rabi? ' I (552/9 May 1157) to see that supplies of military equipment were being prepared for the troops. He intended to stay there for a few days and then to move directly to where his army of Turcoman and Arab troops were mustered for the Holy War against the infidel enemy. God, if He so willed, would assist in their discomfiture and hasten their downfall.
As soon as he arrived he set to work on the task that had brought him to Damascus: ordering the building of siege-engines and the manufacture of arms that his victorious army would need, and summoning the warriors and champions of Damascus, its volunteer militia of young citizens and men from the north, to equip themselves and prepare for battle against the polytheist and heretic Franks. Then he left Damascus to join his victorious army, and pressed on without rest or delay. He left on the last Saturday of rabi? ' I and was followed by a huge throng made up of militia, volunteers, ima? ms, sufis1 and holy men. Almighty God was pleased to crown his plans and decisions with glittering success, casting down the rebellious infidels and hastening their death and utter destruction and the coming of the time when no trace of them should remain. Such a thing is not difficult for God the Omnipotent, the Almighty.
On the following Saturday, 7 rabi? ' II/18 May, a short while after the just King Nur ad-Din had surrounded Baniya? s with his victorious army, set up his siege-engines and begun the attack, a messenger-pigeon arrived in Damascus from the victorious army
1 Damascus.
1 The mystics of Isla? m, members of religious fraternities.
40 Arab Historians of the Crusades
encamped around Baniya? s, with the good news2 from. Asad ad-Din,3 who was stationed at Huni? n with Arab and Turcoman troops. The Franks--God damn them! --had sent a column of more than a hundred of their commanders and other knights to make a lightning raid on Asad ad-Din's forces, thinking that there were only a few of them, and not the thousands that were really there. When they approached, our men came out upon them from the rear like lions on their prey, and there followed an orgy of slaughter, capture and looting. Few of the Franks escaped. On the following Monday the prisoners and the heads of those killed arrived in Damascus together with their equipment and a selection of horses, shields and lances. These were paraded around the city, and the spectacle caused great joy, and gratitude to God for this second manifestation of His grace. Men have faith in His power to hasten the destruction and downfall of their enemies, for such a thing is easy for Him.
This double blessing was followed by the arrival on Tuesday of a carrier-pigeon from the well-guarded camp at Baniya? s with the news that on that day, at the fourth hour, the fort had been taken by storm. Tunnels had been dug under the walls, and when they were fired the towers had crumbled and our army had rushed in, slaughtering the defenders and pillaging the fort. The survivors fled to the citadel and barricaded themselves in there, but their capture, God willing, was not far off, with God's help and blessing.
However, it was the will of fate that the Franks should decide to band together to release Honfroi1 of Baniya? s and his companions besieged in the citadel. These men had reached the end of their resistance, and urgently entreated our Lord Nur ad-Din to have pity on them. They offered to hand over the citadel and all its contents in exchange for their lives. He refused. When, soon after this, the King of the Franks2 and all his army appeared from the mountains and took the besieging army by surprise, as well as the troops stationed on the road to intercept supplies, the only prudent thing to do was to retire and allow him to reach the defenders and bring them help. But when Baldwin saw that the walls of the lower city were in ruins and its houses destroyed he saw no hope of making the place habitable. This was the end of rabi? ' II/first ten days of June 1157.
On Wednesday 9 jumada 1/19 June more carrier-pigeons arrived with letters from Nur ad-Din's well-guarded camp. The just King had learnt that the Franks were encamped at Mallaha, between Tiberias and Baniya? s, and had pursued them with his victorious army of Turks and Arabs. As the Muslim army came upon them from behind, the Franks saw the shadow that their banners cast on them as they closed in. They seized their arms and leapt on to their horses, dividing into four detachments to attack the enemy. Then Nur ad-Din and his knights dismounted and crushed them beneath the blows of their arrows and swords. In less time than it takes to tell the enemy was completely overwhelmed and the fighting was over. Almighty and all-conquering God had sent His virtuous supporters victory and condemned the infidel rebels to hell. The Frankish cavalry was killed or captured and a great number of their infantry put to the sword; one authority says that not more than ten survived, delivered from death for the time being, but overwhelmed with terror. Some say that their King was among the survivors; some that he was killed; certainly nothing more
Nur ad-Din was the first Muslim ruler to organize a regular information service by pigeon post. Asad ad-Din Shirku? h, Nur ad-Din's faithful Kurdish general, Saladin's uncle.
Humphrey of Toron.
Baldwin III.
2 3 1 2
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 41
was heard of him, although the Franks searched for him far and wide. God will help us to subdue them! The Muslim army lost only two men: one of the champions mentioned earlier, who killed four infidel champions before his time came and he reached the end of his allotted span and was killed; and one other, an unknown foreigner. Both died as martyrs for the Faith, deserving a heavenly reward. May God have mercy on them. The soldiers filled their hands with booty: horses, harnesses, flocks, and provisions of all sorts. Their church with its famous treasure was Nur ad-Din's share. This was a great victory and a glorious triumph sent by Almighty God the bringer of victory to honour Isla? m and its believers and to debase polytheism and its faction.
The prisoners and the heads of the slain reached Damascus on the Sunday after the victory. On each camel the Muslims set two captive knights, and spread one of their standards filled with a certain number of scalps of hair. Their generals, commanders and governors were each mounted on a horse, fully armed and in their helmets and each carrying a standard. The infantry, Turcopules1 and sergeants walked bound together by a single rope in small groups. A huge crowd of citizens, old men, young men, women and children came out to see the glorious victory granted by God to all Muslims, and they praised and blessed Him for permitting His friends to triumph and enabling them to defeat the adversary. They praised the just King Nur ad-Din sincerely and unceasingly for being their defender and champion, honouring him for the kingly gifts with which he was endowed. Poems were also composed on the subject, one of which said:
Thus the day came for the Franks when the shame of capture, defeat and disaster engulfed them.
They were led in procession on their camels, with their standards, downcast in anguish and pain,
After they had been proud, honoured and famous, in battle and in conflict.
Thus, thus enemies perish when devastation is let loose upon them.
Taken shamefully like sheep in the pasture, shrouded night and morning in disaster. They, fools, broke the peaceful truce after it had been legally sealed.
They reaped the reward of their perfidy, and brought down the ruin and hatred that
engulfed them.
May God not defend their assembled hosts, assailed by the sharpest swords ever to
strike a blow!
The result of ungratefulness is death or imprisonment; the result of gratitude is the
highest reward.
Let us therefore praise and thank God ceaselessly, and may His grace endure for ever.
THE DEATH OF NUR AD-DIN (IBN AL-ATHI? R, XI, 264-7)
On Wednesday 11 shawwa? l 569/15 May 1174 Nur ad-Din Mahmu? d ibn Zangi ibn Aq Sunqu? r, ruler of Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt, died of a heart attack. He was buried in the
'Sons of the Turks'; local troops serving as auxiliaries in the armies of the Crusaders.
1
42 Arab Historians of the Crusades
citadel at Damascus, and later transferred to the madrasa1 that he had founded in Damascus near the osier-workers' market. An amazing coincidence occurred: on 2 shawwa? l he was riding out with a pious ami? r, who said: 'Praise be to Him who alone knows whether or not we shall meet here again in a year's time. ' Nur ad-Din replied, 'Do not say that, but rather, praise be to Him who alone knows whether we shall meet here in a month's time. ' And Nur ad-Din, God have mercy upon him, was dead at the end of eleven days, and the Ami? r before the year's end, so that they both died as their words had fore-shadowed. Nur ad-Din was making preparations to invade Egypt and take it from Saladin,1 in whom he divined a certain reluctance to fight the Franks as he should. He knew that it was fear of himself, Nur ad-Din, and of finding himself face to face with his Lord, that weakened Saladin's enthusiasm, and made him content to have the Franks as a bulwark between them. Nur ad-Din sent messengers to Mosul, in the Jazira, and to Diya? r Bakr to mobilize troops for the assault. He intended to leave his nephew Saif ad-Din in command of Mosul and Syria, and to lead his army to Egypt, but in the midst of his preparations there came a command from God that he could not disobey.
A distinguished doctor who attended Nur ad-Din told me: 'when Nur ad-Din was struck down by the illness from which he died he sent for me together with other doctors. When we arrived we found him lying in a small room in the citadel in Damascus, in the clutches of an attack of angina and even then at the point of death--he could not even speak loudly enough to be heard. He was taken ill in the room to which he used to withdraw to pray, and he had not been moved. When we entered the room and I saw the condition he was in I said: "You should not have waited until you were as ill as this to call us. You should be moved at once to a large, well-lit room. In an illness such as this it is important. " We gathered round to examine him, and blood-letting was advised. Then he spoke: "You would not bleed a man of sixty"; and he refused to be treated. So we tried other specifics, but they did him no good, and he grew worse and died; may God show him mercy and compassion. '
Nur ad-Din was a tall, swarthy man with a beard but no moustache, a fine forehead and a pleasant appearance enhanced by beautiful, melting eyes. His kingdom extended far and wide, and his power was acknowledged even in Medina and Mecca and the Yemen, when Shams ad-Daula ibn Ayyu? b entered them and proclaimed himself their ruler. 1 He was born in 511/ 1117, and was known throughout his realms as a wise and just ruler. I have read the lives of the kings of old, and after the right-guided Caliphs and 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azi? z2 I have not found one more upright or a sterner advocate of justice. I have written about him at length in my history of the dynasty,3 and am giving only an extract here, in the hope that men in authority will read it and take him for their model.
A school of higher learning, teaching Muslim law and theology.
Saladin was sent to Egypt by Nur ad-Din as his representative, and after removing the Fatimid Caliphate had himself made ruler there, but he had not yet brought himself to break the normal bond of subjection to Nur ad-Din. The latter is therefore described here as 'ruler of Egypt', although in fact he never exercised any real power there. IntheHija? z('thetwoHolyPlaces':MedinaandMecca)andintheYemenconqueredbySaladin'sbrother, Nur ad-Din's authority was no more real than in Egypt; they were in fact part of the Ayyubid empire. The 'rightly guided' or orthodox Caliphs were Muhammad's first four successors: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthma? n, 'Ali. These, with the Umayyad Caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azi? z (Umar II, 717-19), are the ideal rulers of orthodox tradition, the eternal example of just government. History of the Ata-begs of Mosul.
1 1
1 2
3
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 43
Among his virtues were austerity, piety and a knowledge of theology. His food and clothing and all his personal expenditure came out of income from properties bought with his legal share of booty and money allocated for communal Muslim interests. His wife complained to him of his austerity, and so he allotted to her, from his private property, three shops in Hims that would bring her in about twenty dinar a year. When she objected that this was not much he said: 'I have no more. Of all the wealth I have at my disposal, I am but the custodian for the Muslim community, and I do not intend to deceive them over this or to cast myself into hell-fire for your sake. '
He often got up to pray at night, and his vigils and meditations inspired praise. As the poet said:
He unites prowess in war with devotion to his Lord; what a splendid sight is the warrior at prayer in the Temple!
He had a good knowledge of Muslim law (fiqh) of the Hanafite school1 but he was not a fanatic. He had heard canonic traditions (hadi? th) being transmitted, and had himself transmitted them, which is a meritorious act in God's eyes. As an example of his justice; he would not permit the imposition of any illegal duty or tax anywhere in his domains, but abolished them all, in Egypt, Syria, the Jazira and Mosul. He held the Holy Law in the deepest respect and applied its precepts; for example, a man summoned him to appear before a tribunal, so he appeared, together with the plaintiff, and sent to the qadi, Kama? l ad-Din ibn ash-Shahrazuri, to say: 'I am here to defend myself before the tribunal. You are to proceed as you would with any other litigants. ' In the event he won the case, but he gave the disputed object to the man who had cited him, saying: 'I had in any case intended to give him the object that he claimed, but I was afraid that my real motive might be pride and disdain to appear before the tribunal. So I appeared there, and now I am giving him what he claimed was his. ' He set up 'Houses of Justice' throughout his realm, and with his qadi sat to administer justice to the oppressed, Jew or Muslim, at the expense of the oppressor, even if it were his own son or his chief ami? r.
On the battlefield he had no equal; he carried two bows and quivers into the fray with him. The lawyer Qutb ad-Din an-Na? sawi said to him: 'In God's name, do not endanger yourself and all Isla? m! If you fell in battle, every Muslim alive would be put to the sword. ' Nur ad-Din replied: 'And who is Mahmu? d1 to be spoken to like this? Before I was born there was another to defend Isla? m and this country, and he is God, apart from whom there is no God! ' Among his public works he built walls for all the cities and fortresses of Syria, among them Damascus, Hims, Hamat, Aleppo, Shaizar, Baalbek, and many others. He built numerous Hanifite and Shafi'ite madrasas, the Great Mosque of Nur ad-Din at Mosul, hospitals and caravanserai along the great roads, Dervish monasteries in every town, and left generous endowments to each. I have heard that the monthly income of all his foundations amounted to 9,000 Tyrian dinar. He honoured scholars and men of religion, and had the deepest respect for them. He would rise to his feet in their presence and invite them to sit next to him. He was always courteous to them and never contested what they said. He used to conduct correspondences with them in his own hand. His expression was grave and melancholy, because of his great humility. Many were his virtues, innumerable his merits; this book is not large enough to encompass them all.
One of the four principal schools or systems of Islamic law. The other three are the Shafi'ite, the Malikite and the Hanbalite.
The Sultan's personal name; Nur ad-Din was simply an honorific title.
1
1
CHAPTER NINE
The following chapter, which might be called 'Frankish scenes and Frankish customs, seen through the eyes of a Muslim', consists largely of extracts from the celebrated Autobiography of Usama ibn Munqidh, the gallant and cultured ami? r of Shaizar whose life spanned almost the whole of the first century of the Crusades. His memoirs, a rich jumble of juicy anecdotes and references to historical events, are stuffed with passages recalling his encounters with the Franks in peace and in war, passages in which hostility, curiosity and sympathy appear in turn. These little episodes are sometimes delightfully paradoxical, and offer a welcome relief from the monotonous scenes of warfare that fill the pages of the professional historians.
THE FRANKISH CAVALRY (USAMA, 48)
Among the Franks--God damn them! --no quality is more highly esteemed in a man than military prowess. The knights have a monopoly of the positions of honour and importance among them, and no one else has any prestige in their eyes. They are the men who give counsel, pass judgment and command the armies. On one occasion I went to law with one of them about some herds that the Prince of Baniya? s seized in a wood; this was at a time when there was a truce between us, and I was living in Damascus. I said to King Fulk, the son of Fulk:1 'This man attacked and seized my herd. This is the season when the cows are in calf; their young died at birth, and he has returned the herd to me completely ruined. ' The King turned to six or seven of his knights and said: 'Come, give a judgment on this man's case. ' They retired from the audience chamber and discussed the matter until they all agreed. Then they returned to the King's presence and said: 'We have decided that the Prince of Baniya? s should indemnify this man for the cattle that he has ruined. ' The King ordered that the indemnity should be paid, but such was the pressure put on me and the courtesy shown me that in the end I accepted four hundred dinar from the Prince. Once the knights have given their judgment neither the King nor any other commander can alter or annul it, so great an influence do their knights have in their society. On this occasion the King swore to me that he had been made very happy the day before. When I asked him what had made him happy he said: 'They told me that you were a great knight, but I did not believe that you would be chivalrous. ' 'Your Majesty', I replied, 'I am a knight of my race and my people. '1 When a knight is tall and well-built they admire him all the more.
Fulk of Jerusalem (1131-43). For his relationship with Usama, see below.
This exchange, and the whole paragraph, depends on a play on the terms 'chivalry' and 'cavalry', for which Arabic has only one word.
1 1
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 45 FRANKISH PIRACY
(USAMA, 25-6)
I entered the service of the just King Nur ad Din--God have mercy on him! --and he wrote to al-Malik as-Salih2 asking him to send my household and my sons out to me; they were in Egypt, under his patronage. Al-Malik as-Salih wrote back that he was unable to comply because he feared that they might fall into Frankish hands. He invited me instead to return to Egypt myself:3 'You know,' he wrote, 'how strong the friendship is between us. If you have reason to mistrust the Palace, you could go to Mecca, and I would send you the appointment to the governorship of Aswa? n and the means to combat the Abyssinians. Aswa? n is on the frontier of the Islamic empire. I would send your household and your sons to you there. ' I spoke to Nur ad-Din about this, and asked his advice, which was that he would certainly not choose to return to Egypt once he had extricated himself. 'Life is too short! ' he said. 'It would be better if I sent to the Frankish King for a safe-conduct for your family, and gave them an escort to bring them here safely. ' This he did--God have mercy on him! --and the Frankish King gave him his cross, which ensures the bearer's safety by land and sea. I sent it by a young slave of mine, together with letters to al-Malik as-Salih from Nur ad-Din and myself. My family were dispatched for Damietta on a ship of the vizier's private fleet, under his protection and provided with everything they might need.
At Damietta they transferred to a Frankish ship and set sail, but when they neared Acre, where the Frankish King1 was--God punish him for his sins--he sent out a boatload of men to break up the ship with hatchets before the eyes of my family, while he rode down to the beach and claimed everything that came ashore as booty. My young slave swam ashore with the safe-conduct, and said: 'My Lord King, is not this your safe-conduct? ' 'Indeed it is,' he replied, 'But surely it is a Muslim custom that when a ship is wrecked close to land the local people pillage it? ' 'So you are going to make us your captives? ' 'Certainly not. ' He had my family escorted to a house, and the women searched. Everything they had was taken; the ship had been loaded with women's trinkets, clothes, jewels, swords and other arms, and gold and silver to the value of about 30,000 dinar. The King took it all, and then handed five hundred dinar back to them and said: 'Make your arrangements to continue your journey with this money. ' And there were fifty of them altogether! At the time I was with Nur ad-Din in the realm of King Mas'u? d2, at Ru'ba? n and Kaisu? n; compared with the safety of my sons, my brother and our women, the loss of the rest meant little to me, except for my books. There had been 4,000 fine volumes on board, and their destruction has been a cruel loss to me for the rest of my life.
In spite of his title ('the good king') al-Malik as-Salih was in fact the Fatimid vizier Tala'i' ibn Ruzzi? k, who ruled Egypt under its Caliph al-Fa'iz and died in 1161.
Usama was deeply implicated in the intrigues and bloody revolutions of Muslim politics; this explains the reference in one of the letters mentioned in the text to his fear of 'the Palace'. Baldwin III (1143-62)
The Seljuqid Sultan of Iconium. The two forts are in the region of Samosata. These events took place in about 1155.
2
3
1 2
46 Arab Historians of the Crusades
FRANKISH MEDICINE
(USAMA, 97-8)
The ruler of Muna? itira1 wrote to my uncle asking him to send a doctor to treat some of his followers who were ill. My uncle sent a Christian called Thabit. After only ten days he returned and we said 'You cured them quickly! ' This was his story: They took me to see a knight who had an abscess on his leg, and a woman with consumption. I applied a poultice to the leg, and the abscess opened and began to heal. I prescribed a cleansing and refreshing diet for the woman. Then there appeared a Frankish doctor, who said: 'This man has no idea how to cure these people! ' He turned to the knight and said: 'Which would you prefer, to live with one leg or to die with two? ' When the knight replied that he would prefer to live with one leg, he sent for a strong man and a sharp axe. They arrived, and I stood by to watch. The doctor supported the leg on a block of wood, and said to the man: 'Strike a mighty blow, and cut cleanly! ' And there, before my eyes, the fellow struck the knight one blow, and then another, for the first had not finished the job. The marrow spurted out of the leg, and the patient died instantaneously. Then the doctor examined the woman and said; 'She has a devil in her head who is in love with her. Cut her hair off! ' This was done, and she went back to eating her usual Frankish food, garlic and mustard, which made her illness worse. 'The devil has got into her brain,' pronounced the doctor. He took a razor and cut a cross on her head, and removed the brain so that the inside of the skull was laid bare. This he rubbed with salt; the woman died instantly. At this juncture I asked whether they had any further need of me, and as they had none I came away, having learnt things about medical methods that I never knew before. 1
THE FRANKS AND MARITAL JEALOUSY (USAMA, 100-1)
The Franks are without any vestige of a sense of honour and jealousy. If one of them goes along the street with his wife and meets a friend, this man will take the woman's hand and lead her aside to talk, while the husband stands by waiting until she has finished her conversation. If she takes too long about it he leaves her with the other man and goes on his way. Here is an example of this from my personal experience: while I was in Nablus I stayed with a man called Mu'i? zz, whose house served as an inn for Muslim travellers. Its windows overlooked the street. On the other side of the rcad lived a Frank who sold wine for the merchants; he would take a bottle of wine from one of them and publicize it, announcing that such-and-such a merchant had just opened a hogshead of it, and could be found at such-and-such a place by anyone wishing to buy some; '. . . and I will give him the first right to the wine in this bottle. '
The Crusaders' Moinestre, in the Lebanon about ten miles east of Juba? il.
Not all Frankish doctors were butchers like the fiend portrayed here, but the air of ironic superiority that this passage conveys was justified by the supremacy of the great medical tradition of the East at that time.
1 1
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 47
Now this man returned home one day and found a man in bed with his wife. 'What are you doing here with my wife? ' he demanded. 'I was tired,' replied the man, 'and so I came in to rest. ' 'And how do you come to be in my bed? ' 'I found the bed made up, and lay down to sleep. ' 'And this woman slept with you, I suppose? ' 'The bed,' he replied, 'is hers. How could I prevent her getting into her own bed? ' 'I swear if you do it again I shall take you to court! '--and this was his only reaction, the height of his outburst of jealousy!
I heard a similar case from a bath attendant called Salim from Ma'arra, who worked in one of my father's bath-houses. This is his tale: I earned my living in Ma'arra by opening a bathhouse. One day a Frankish knight came in. They do not follow our custom of wearing a cloth round their waist while they are at the baths, and this fellow put out his hand, snatched off my loin-cloth and threw it away. He saw at once that I had just recently shaved my pubic hair. 'Salim! ' he exclaimed. I came toward him and he pointed to that part of me. 'Salim! It's magnificent! You shall certainly do the same for me! ' And he lay down flat on his back. His hair there was as long as his beard. I shaved him, and when he had felt the place with his hand and found it agreeably smooth he said: 'Salim, you must certainly do the same for my Dama. ' In their language Dama means lady, or wife. He sent his valet to fetch his wife, and when they arrived and the valet had brought her in, she lay down on her back, and he said to me: 'Do to her what you did to me. ' So I shaved her pubic hair, while her husband stood by watching me. Then he thanked me and paid me for my services.
You will observe a strange contradiction in their character: they are without jealousy or a sense of honour, and yet at the same time they have the courage that as a rule springs only from the sense of honour and a readiness to take offence.
ORIENTALIZED FRANKS (USAMA, 103-4)
There are some Franks who have settled in our land and taken to living like Muslims. These are better than those who have just arrived from their homelands, but they are the excep- tion, and cannot be taken as typical. I came across one of them once when I sent a friend on business to Antioch, which was governed by Todros ibn as-Safi,1 a friend of mine. One day he said to my friend: 'A Frankish friend has invited me to visit him; come with me so that you can see how they live. ' 'I went with him,' said my friend, 'and we came to the house of one of the old knights who came with the first expedition. This man had retired from the army, and was living on the income of the property he owned in Antioch. He had a fine table brought out, spread with a splendid selection of appetizing food. He saw that I was not eating, and said: 'Don't worry, please; eat what you like, for I don't eat Frankish food. I have Egyptian cooks and eat only what they serve. No pig's flesh ever comes into my house! '2 So I ate, although cautiously, and then we left. Another day, as I was passing
Theodore Sophianos, the Greek commander (ra'i? s) of the municipality of Antioch.
It is fear of this 'unclean' food that troubles the Muslim guest, who even when reassured eats cautiously.
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48 Arab Historians of the Crusades
through the market, a Frankish woman advanced on me, addressing me in her barbaric language with words I found incomprehensible. A crowd of Franks gathered round us and I gave myself up for lost, when suddenly this knight appeared, saw me and came up. 'What do you want with this man? ' 'This man,' she replied, 'killed my brother Urso. ' This Urso was a knight from Apamea who was killed by a soldier from Hama? t. The old man scolded the woman. 'This man is a merchant, a city man, not a fighter, and he lives nowhere near where your brother was killed. ' Then he turned on the crowd, which melted away, and shook hands with me. Thus the fact that I ate at his table saved my life.
THE TEMPLARS AT JERUSALEM (USAMA, 99)
This is an example of Frankish barbarism, God damn them! When I was in Jerusalem I used to go to the Masjid al-Aqsa, beside which is a small oratory which the Franks have made into a church. Whenever I went into the mosque, which was in the hands of Templars who were friends of mine, they would put the little oratory at my disposal, so that I could say my prayers there. One day I had gone in, said the Alla? h akhbar1 and risen to begin my prayers, when a Frank threw himself on me from behind, lifted me up and turned me so that I was facing east. 'That is the way to pray! ' he said. Some Templars at once intervened, seized the man and took him out of my way, while I resumed my prayer. But the moment they stopped watching him he seized me again and forced me to face east, repeating that this was the way to pray. Again the Templars intervened and took him away. They apolo- gized to me and said: 'He is a foreigner who has just arrived today from his homeland in the north, and he has never seen anyone pray facing any other direction than east. ' 'I have finished my prayers,' I said, and left, stupefied by the fanatic who had been so perturbed and upset to see someone praying facing the qibla! 2
I was present myself when one of them came up to the ami? r Mu'i? n ad-Din--God have mercy on him--in the Dome of the Rock, and said to him: 'Would you like to see God as a baby? ' The ami? r said that he would, and the fellow proceeded to show us a picture of Mary with the infant Messiah on her lap. 'This,' he said, 'is God as a baby. ' Almighty God is greater than the infidels' concept of him!
Among whom, perhaps, 'freed from the deceptive world', lay Cacciaguida, the great-great- grandfather of Dante, the only relative of his to figure significantly in the Divine Comedy (Paradiso XV).
Qur'a? n IX, 112.
The 'Norandin' of the Crusaders; Isla? m's champion before Saladin.
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Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 37
of my representatives in Damascus. If I am defeated, I shall take my army inside the city and defend it from within. If we are victorious, the city is yours, and I shall not question your right to it. ' To the Franks he sent a threatening message urging them to retreat from Damascus. The Franks broke off the fight, for they had many casualties, and were alarmed at the prospect of having to face Saif ad-Din as well as the army from Damascus. They decided to conserve their forces, while the citizens repaired the defences and drew breath after the labour of unceasing combat. Meanwhile Mu'i? n ad-Din sent to the Franks to say: 'The King of the East has arrived; if you do not retreat I shall hand the city over to him, and then by God you will repent. ' To the Syrian Franks he wrote: 'What reason have you for supporting these people against us when you know that if they take the city they will seize your possessions on the coast? I warn you that if I feel that I am losing the battle I shall hand the city over to Saif ad-Din, and you may be sure that if he becomes ruler of Damascus you will not be allowed to keep a foothold in Syria. ' This message persuaded them to break their alliance with the King of Germany in exchange for the fortress of Baniya? s from Mu'i? n ad-Din. So the Syrian Franks had a private discussion with the King of Germany and frightened him with their tales of Saif ad-Din, his vast army, his constant reinforcements, and the probability that he would take Damascus despite anything that they could do to prevent him. They were so persuasive that the king withdrew his troops from Damascus. The Syrian Franks took over Baniya? s and the German Franks returned to their homeland, which is north of Constantinople and to one side. Thus God delivered the believers from their distress. Abu l-Qasim ibn 'Asakir, in his history of Damascus, says that a certain learned lawyer said that he saw al-Findalawi in a dream and asked him: 'How has God treated you and where are you? ' and received the reply, 'God has pardoned me. I am in the garden of Eden (among the blessed) stretched on couches set to face one another. '1
(SIBT IBN AL-JAUZI, 300)
. . . It was harvest time. The Franks went down into the valley and ate much of the crop, and this gave them dysentery. Many died of it, and all the others were ill. The people of Damascus were in great need, but gave alms of what they had, each in proportion to his possessions. The whole population, men, women and children, assembled in the Great Mosque. Uthma? n's Qur'a? n2 was displayed, and the people sprinkled their heads with ashes and wept tears of supplication. And God heard their prayers.
The Franks had with them a great Priest with a long beard, whose teachings they obeyed. On the tenth day of their siege of Damascus he mounted his ass, hung a cross round his neck, took two more in his hand and hung another round the ass's neck. He had the Testaments and the crosses and the Holy Scriptures set before him and assembled the army in his presence; the only ones to remain behind were those guarding the tents. Then he said: 'The Messiah has promised me that today I shall wipe out this city. 'At this moment the Muslims opened the city gates and in the name of Isla? m charged as one man into the face of death.
Qur'a? n XXXVII, 42-43.
A precious copy of the Holy Book dating from the time of the first collation of the text under the Caliph 'Uthma? n (644-56); it might even be the very copy he was reading when he was murdered.
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38 Arab Historians of the Crusades
Never, in pagan times or since the coming of Isla? m, was there a day like this. One of the men of the Damascus militia reached the Priest, who was fighting in the front line, struck his head from his body and killed his ass too. As the whole Muslim army bore down upon them the Franks turned and fled. The Muslims killed 10,000, smote their crosses and their cavalry with Greek fire, and pursued the army as far as the tents. Night separated them, and in the morning the Franks were gone and no trace of them remained.
CHAPTER EIGHT
In 1154, six years after Damascus had successfully resisted the Crusaders, Nur ad-Din, Zangi's son, realized his father's old dream and became ruler of the Syrian metropolis without bloodshed. From here and from his ancestral home, Aleppo, he put new enthusiasm and efficiency into the fight against the Crusaders. Fighting continued, with mixed fortunes, for twenty years, until Nur ad-Din's death in 1174. For some time before this date his reputation had paled before the new star shining in Egypt: Saladin. This obscure official at Nur ad-Din's court was destined to crown with success a century of Muslim struggles against the Christian invaders. Ibn al-Athi? r gives an idealized picture of Nur ad-Din, as he did of his father. We can credit him with at least one quality not shared by Zangi: a certain spiritual awareness and humanity.
NUR AD-DIN'S VICTORIES AND HIS TRIUMPH AT DAMASCUS (IBN AL-QALA? NISI, 340-2)
Nur ad-Din reached the well-guarded city1 on Friday 27 rabi? ' I (552/9 May 1157) to see that supplies of military equipment were being prepared for the troops. He intended to stay there for a few days and then to move directly to where his army of Turcoman and Arab troops were mustered for the Holy War against the infidel enemy. God, if He so willed, would assist in their discomfiture and hasten their downfall.
As soon as he arrived he set to work on the task that had brought him to Damascus: ordering the building of siege-engines and the manufacture of arms that his victorious army would need, and summoning the warriors and champions of Damascus, its volunteer militia of young citizens and men from the north, to equip themselves and prepare for battle against the polytheist and heretic Franks. Then he left Damascus to join his victorious army, and pressed on without rest or delay. He left on the last Saturday of rabi? ' I and was followed by a huge throng made up of militia, volunteers, ima? ms, sufis1 and holy men. Almighty God was pleased to crown his plans and decisions with glittering success, casting down the rebellious infidels and hastening their death and utter destruction and the coming of the time when no trace of them should remain. Such a thing is not difficult for God the Omnipotent, the Almighty.
On the following Saturday, 7 rabi? ' II/18 May, a short while after the just King Nur ad-Din had surrounded Baniya? s with his victorious army, set up his siege-engines and begun the attack, a messenger-pigeon arrived in Damascus from the victorious army
1 Damascus.
1 The mystics of Isla? m, members of religious fraternities.
40 Arab Historians of the Crusades
encamped around Baniya? s, with the good news2 from. Asad ad-Din,3 who was stationed at Huni? n with Arab and Turcoman troops. The Franks--God damn them! --had sent a column of more than a hundred of their commanders and other knights to make a lightning raid on Asad ad-Din's forces, thinking that there were only a few of them, and not the thousands that were really there. When they approached, our men came out upon them from the rear like lions on their prey, and there followed an orgy of slaughter, capture and looting. Few of the Franks escaped. On the following Monday the prisoners and the heads of those killed arrived in Damascus together with their equipment and a selection of horses, shields and lances. These were paraded around the city, and the spectacle caused great joy, and gratitude to God for this second manifestation of His grace. Men have faith in His power to hasten the destruction and downfall of their enemies, for such a thing is easy for Him.
This double blessing was followed by the arrival on Tuesday of a carrier-pigeon from the well-guarded camp at Baniya? s with the news that on that day, at the fourth hour, the fort had been taken by storm. Tunnels had been dug under the walls, and when they were fired the towers had crumbled and our army had rushed in, slaughtering the defenders and pillaging the fort. The survivors fled to the citadel and barricaded themselves in there, but their capture, God willing, was not far off, with God's help and blessing.
However, it was the will of fate that the Franks should decide to band together to release Honfroi1 of Baniya? s and his companions besieged in the citadel. These men had reached the end of their resistance, and urgently entreated our Lord Nur ad-Din to have pity on them. They offered to hand over the citadel and all its contents in exchange for their lives. He refused. When, soon after this, the King of the Franks2 and all his army appeared from the mountains and took the besieging army by surprise, as well as the troops stationed on the road to intercept supplies, the only prudent thing to do was to retire and allow him to reach the defenders and bring them help. But when Baldwin saw that the walls of the lower city were in ruins and its houses destroyed he saw no hope of making the place habitable. This was the end of rabi? ' II/first ten days of June 1157.
On Wednesday 9 jumada 1/19 June more carrier-pigeons arrived with letters from Nur ad-Din's well-guarded camp. The just King had learnt that the Franks were encamped at Mallaha, between Tiberias and Baniya? s, and had pursued them with his victorious army of Turks and Arabs. As the Muslim army came upon them from behind, the Franks saw the shadow that their banners cast on them as they closed in. They seized their arms and leapt on to their horses, dividing into four detachments to attack the enemy. Then Nur ad-Din and his knights dismounted and crushed them beneath the blows of their arrows and swords. In less time than it takes to tell the enemy was completely overwhelmed and the fighting was over. Almighty and all-conquering God had sent His virtuous supporters victory and condemned the infidel rebels to hell. The Frankish cavalry was killed or captured and a great number of their infantry put to the sword; one authority says that not more than ten survived, delivered from death for the time being, but overwhelmed with terror. Some say that their King was among the survivors; some that he was killed; certainly nothing more
Nur ad-Din was the first Muslim ruler to organize a regular information service by pigeon post. Asad ad-Din Shirku? h, Nur ad-Din's faithful Kurdish general, Saladin's uncle.
Humphrey of Toron.
Baldwin III.
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Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 41
was heard of him, although the Franks searched for him far and wide. God will help us to subdue them! The Muslim army lost only two men: one of the champions mentioned earlier, who killed four infidel champions before his time came and he reached the end of his allotted span and was killed; and one other, an unknown foreigner. Both died as martyrs for the Faith, deserving a heavenly reward. May God have mercy on them. The soldiers filled their hands with booty: horses, harnesses, flocks, and provisions of all sorts. Their church with its famous treasure was Nur ad-Din's share. This was a great victory and a glorious triumph sent by Almighty God the bringer of victory to honour Isla? m and its believers and to debase polytheism and its faction.
The prisoners and the heads of the slain reached Damascus on the Sunday after the victory. On each camel the Muslims set two captive knights, and spread one of their standards filled with a certain number of scalps of hair. Their generals, commanders and governors were each mounted on a horse, fully armed and in their helmets and each carrying a standard. The infantry, Turcopules1 and sergeants walked bound together by a single rope in small groups. A huge crowd of citizens, old men, young men, women and children came out to see the glorious victory granted by God to all Muslims, and they praised and blessed Him for permitting His friends to triumph and enabling them to defeat the adversary. They praised the just King Nur ad-Din sincerely and unceasingly for being their defender and champion, honouring him for the kingly gifts with which he was endowed. Poems were also composed on the subject, one of which said:
Thus the day came for the Franks when the shame of capture, defeat and disaster engulfed them.
They were led in procession on their camels, with their standards, downcast in anguish and pain,
After they had been proud, honoured and famous, in battle and in conflict.
Thus, thus enemies perish when devastation is let loose upon them.
Taken shamefully like sheep in the pasture, shrouded night and morning in disaster. They, fools, broke the peaceful truce after it had been legally sealed.
They reaped the reward of their perfidy, and brought down the ruin and hatred that
engulfed them.
May God not defend their assembled hosts, assailed by the sharpest swords ever to
strike a blow!
The result of ungratefulness is death or imprisonment; the result of gratitude is the
highest reward.
Let us therefore praise and thank God ceaselessly, and may His grace endure for ever.
THE DEATH OF NUR AD-DIN (IBN AL-ATHI? R, XI, 264-7)
On Wednesday 11 shawwa? l 569/15 May 1174 Nur ad-Din Mahmu? d ibn Zangi ibn Aq Sunqu? r, ruler of Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt, died of a heart attack. He was buried in the
'Sons of the Turks'; local troops serving as auxiliaries in the armies of the Crusaders.
1
42 Arab Historians of the Crusades
citadel at Damascus, and later transferred to the madrasa1 that he had founded in Damascus near the osier-workers' market. An amazing coincidence occurred: on 2 shawwa? l he was riding out with a pious ami? r, who said: 'Praise be to Him who alone knows whether or not we shall meet here again in a year's time. ' Nur ad-Din replied, 'Do not say that, but rather, praise be to Him who alone knows whether we shall meet here in a month's time. ' And Nur ad-Din, God have mercy upon him, was dead at the end of eleven days, and the Ami? r before the year's end, so that they both died as their words had fore-shadowed. Nur ad-Din was making preparations to invade Egypt and take it from Saladin,1 in whom he divined a certain reluctance to fight the Franks as he should. He knew that it was fear of himself, Nur ad-Din, and of finding himself face to face with his Lord, that weakened Saladin's enthusiasm, and made him content to have the Franks as a bulwark between them. Nur ad-Din sent messengers to Mosul, in the Jazira, and to Diya? r Bakr to mobilize troops for the assault. He intended to leave his nephew Saif ad-Din in command of Mosul and Syria, and to lead his army to Egypt, but in the midst of his preparations there came a command from God that he could not disobey.
A distinguished doctor who attended Nur ad-Din told me: 'when Nur ad-Din was struck down by the illness from which he died he sent for me together with other doctors. When we arrived we found him lying in a small room in the citadel in Damascus, in the clutches of an attack of angina and even then at the point of death--he could not even speak loudly enough to be heard. He was taken ill in the room to which he used to withdraw to pray, and he had not been moved. When we entered the room and I saw the condition he was in I said: "You should not have waited until you were as ill as this to call us. You should be moved at once to a large, well-lit room. In an illness such as this it is important. " We gathered round to examine him, and blood-letting was advised. Then he spoke: "You would not bleed a man of sixty"; and he refused to be treated. So we tried other specifics, but they did him no good, and he grew worse and died; may God show him mercy and compassion. '
Nur ad-Din was a tall, swarthy man with a beard but no moustache, a fine forehead and a pleasant appearance enhanced by beautiful, melting eyes. His kingdom extended far and wide, and his power was acknowledged even in Medina and Mecca and the Yemen, when Shams ad-Daula ibn Ayyu? b entered them and proclaimed himself their ruler. 1 He was born in 511/ 1117, and was known throughout his realms as a wise and just ruler. I have read the lives of the kings of old, and after the right-guided Caliphs and 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azi? z2 I have not found one more upright or a sterner advocate of justice. I have written about him at length in my history of the dynasty,3 and am giving only an extract here, in the hope that men in authority will read it and take him for their model.
A school of higher learning, teaching Muslim law and theology.
Saladin was sent to Egypt by Nur ad-Din as his representative, and after removing the Fatimid Caliphate had himself made ruler there, but he had not yet brought himself to break the normal bond of subjection to Nur ad-Din. The latter is therefore described here as 'ruler of Egypt', although in fact he never exercised any real power there. IntheHija? z('thetwoHolyPlaces':MedinaandMecca)andintheYemenconqueredbySaladin'sbrother, Nur ad-Din's authority was no more real than in Egypt; they were in fact part of the Ayyubid empire. The 'rightly guided' or orthodox Caliphs were Muhammad's first four successors: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthma? n, 'Ali. These, with the Umayyad Caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azi? z (Umar II, 717-19), are the ideal rulers of orthodox tradition, the eternal example of just government. History of the Ata-begs of Mosul.
1 1
1 2
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Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 43
Among his virtues were austerity, piety and a knowledge of theology. His food and clothing and all his personal expenditure came out of income from properties bought with his legal share of booty and money allocated for communal Muslim interests. His wife complained to him of his austerity, and so he allotted to her, from his private property, three shops in Hims that would bring her in about twenty dinar a year. When she objected that this was not much he said: 'I have no more. Of all the wealth I have at my disposal, I am but the custodian for the Muslim community, and I do not intend to deceive them over this or to cast myself into hell-fire for your sake. '
He often got up to pray at night, and his vigils and meditations inspired praise. As the poet said:
He unites prowess in war with devotion to his Lord; what a splendid sight is the warrior at prayer in the Temple!
He had a good knowledge of Muslim law (fiqh) of the Hanafite school1 but he was not a fanatic. He had heard canonic traditions (hadi? th) being transmitted, and had himself transmitted them, which is a meritorious act in God's eyes. As an example of his justice; he would not permit the imposition of any illegal duty or tax anywhere in his domains, but abolished them all, in Egypt, Syria, the Jazira and Mosul. He held the Holy Law in the deepest respect and applied its precepts; for example, a man summoned him to appear before a tribunal, so he appeared, together with the plaintiff, and sent to the qadi, Kama? l ad-Din ibn ash-Shahrazuri, to say: 'I am here to defend myself before the tribunal. You are to proceed as you would with any other litigants. ' In the event he won the case, but he gave the disputed object to the man who had cited him, saying: 'I had in any case intended to give him the object that he claimed, but I was afraid that my real motive might be pride and disdain to appear before the tribunal. So I appeared there, and now I am giving him what he claimed was his. ' He set up 'Houses of Justice' throughout his realm, and with his qadi sat to administer justice to the oppressed, Jew or Muslim, at the expense of the oppressor, even if it were his own son or his chief ami? r.
On the battlefield he had no equal; he carried two bows and quivers into the fray with him. The lawyer Qutb ad-Din an-Na? sawi said to him: 'In God's name, do not endanger yourself and all Isla? m! If you fell in battle, every Muslim alive would be put to the sword. ' Nur ad-Din replied: 'And who is Mahmu? d1 to be spoken to like this? Before I was born there was another to defend Isla? m and this country, and he is God, apart from whom there is no God! ' Among his public works he built walls for all the cities and fortresses of Syria, among them Damascus, Hims, Hamat, Aleppo, Shaizar, Baalbek, and many others. He built numerous Hanifite and Shafi'ite madrasas, the Great Mosque of Nur ad-Din at Mosul, hospitals and caravanserai along the great roads, Dervish monasteries in every town, and left generous endowments to each. I have heard that the monthly income of all his foundations amounted to 9,000 Tyrian dinar. He honoured scholars and men of religion, and had the deepest respect for them. He would rise to his feet in their presence and invite them to sit next to him. He was always courteous to them and never contested what they said. He used to conduct correspondences with them in his own hand. His expression was grave and melancholy, because of his great humility. Many were his virtues, innumerable his merits; this book is not large enough to encompass them all.
One of the four principal schools or systems of Islamic law. The other three are the Shafi'ite, the Malikite and the Hanbalite.
The Sultan's personal name; Nur ad-Din was simply an honorific title.
1
1
CHAPTER NINE
The following chapter, which might be called 'Frankish scenes and Frankish customs, seen through the eyes of a Muslim', consists largely of extracts from the celebrated Autobiography of Usama ibn Munqidh, the gallant and cultured ami? r of Shaizar whose life spanned almost the whole of the first century of the Crusades. His memoirs, a rich jumble of juicy anecdotes and references to historical events, are stuffed with passages recalling his encounters with the Franks in peace and in war, passages in which hostility, curiosity and sympathy appear in turn. These little episodes are sometimes delightfully paradoxical, and offer a welcome relief from the monotonous scenes of warfare that fill the pages of the professional historians.
THE FRANKISH CAVALRY (USAMA, 48)
Among the Franks--God damn them! --no quality is more highly esteemed in a man than military prowess. The knights have a monopoly of the positions of honour and importance among them, and no one else has any prestige in their eyes. They are the men who give counsel, pass judgment and command the armies. On one occasion I went to law with one of them about some herds that the Prince of Baniya? s seized in a wood; this was at a time when there was a truce between us, and I was living in Damascus. I said to King Fulk, the son of Fulk:1 'This man attacked and seized my herd. This is the season when the cows are in calf; their young died at birth, and he has returned the herd to me completely ruined. ' The King turned to six or seven of his knights and said: 'Come, give a judgment on this man's case. ' They retired from the audience chamber and discussed the matter until they all agreed. Then they returned to the King's presence and said: 'We have decided that the Prince of Baniya? s should indemnify this man for the cattle that he has ruined. ' The King ordered that the indemnity should be paid, but such was the pressure put on me and the courtesy shown me that in the end I accepted four hundred dinar from the Prince. Once the knights have given their judgment neither the King nor any other commander can alter or annul it, so great an influence do their knights have in their society. On this occasion the King swore to me that he had been made very happy the day before. When I asked him what had made him happy he said: 'They told me that you were a great knight, but I did not believe that you would be chivalrous. ' 'Your Majesty', I replied, 'I am a knight of my race and my people. '1 When a knight is tall and well-built they admire him all the more.
Fulk of Jerusalem (1131-43). For his relationship with Usama, see below.
This exchange, and the whole paragraph, depends on a play on the terms 'chivalry' and 'cavalry', for which Arabic has only one word.
1 1
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 45 FRANKISH PIRACY
(USAMA, 25-6)
I entered the service of the just King Nur ad Din--God have mercy on him! --and he wrote to al-Malik as-Salih2 asking him to send my household and my sons out to me; they were in Egypt, under his patronage. Al-Malik as-Salih wrote back that he was unable to comply because he feared that they might fall into Frankish hands. He invited me instead to return to Egypt myself:3 'You know,' he wrote, 'how strong the friendship is between us. If you have reason to mistrust the Palace, you could go to Mecca, and I would send you the appointment to the governorship of Aswa? n and the means to combat the Abyssinians. Aswa? n is on the frontier of the Islamic empire. I would send your household and your sons to you there. ' I spoke to Nur ad-Din about this, and asked his advice, which was that he would certainly not choose to return to Egypt once he had extricated himself. 'Life is too short! ' he said. 'It would be better if I sent to the Frankish King for a safe-conduct for your family, and gave them an escort to bring them here safely. ' This he did--God have mercy on him! --and the Frankish King gave him his cross, which ensures the bearer's safety by land and sea. I sent it by a young slave of mine, together with letters to al-Malik as-Salih from Nur ad-Din and myself. My family were dispatched for Damietta on a ship of the vizier's private fleet, under his protection and provided with everything they might need.
At Damietta they transferred to a Frankish ship and set sail, but when they neared Acre, where the Frankish King1 was--God punish him for his sins--he sent out a boatload of men to break up the ship with hatchets before the eyes of my family, while he rode down to the beach and claimed everything that came ashore as booty. My young slave swam ashore with the safe-conduct, and said: 'My Lord King, is not this your safe-conduct? ' 'Indeed it is,' he replied, 'But surely it is a Muslim custom that when a ship is wrecked close to land the local people pillage it? ' 'So you are going to make us your captives? ' 'Certainly not. ' He had my family escorted to a house, and the women searched. Everything they had was taken; the ship had been loaded with women's trinkets, clothes, jewels, swords and other arms, and gold and silver to the value of about 30,000 dinar. The King took it all, and then handed five hundred dinar back to them and said: 'Make your arrangements to continue your journey with this money. ' And there were fifty of them altogether! At the time I was with Nur ad-Din in the realm of King Mas'u? d2, at Ru'ba? n and Kaisu? n; compared with the safety of my sons, my brother and our women, the loss of the rest meant little to me, except for my books. There had been 4,000 fine volumes on board, and their destruction has been a cruel loss to me for the rest of my life.
In spite of his title ('the good king') al-Malik as-Salih was in fact the Fatimid vizier Tala'i' ibn Ruzzi? k, who ruled Egypt under its Caliph al-Fa'iz and died in 1161.
Usama was deeply implicated in the intrigues and bloody revolutions of Muslim politics; this explains the reference in one of the letters mentioned in the text to his fear of 'the Palace'. Baldwin III (1143-62)
The Seljuqid Sultan of Iconium. The two forts are in the region of Samosata. These events took place in about 1155.
2
3
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46 Arab Historians of the Crusades
FRANKISH MEDICINE
(USAMA, 97-8)
The ruler of Muna? itira1 wrote to my uncle asking him to send a doctor to treat some of his followers who were ill. My uncle sent a Christian called Thabit. After only ten days he returned and we said 'You cured them quickly! ' This was his story: They took me to see a knight who had an abscess on his leg, and a woman with consumption. I applied a poultice to the leg, and the abscess opened and began to heal. I prescribed a cleansing and refreshing diet for the woman. Then there appeared a Frankish doctor, who said: 'This man has no idea how to cure these people! ' He turned to the knight and said: 'Which would you prefer, to live with one leg or to die with two? ' When the knight replied that he would prefer to live with one leg, he sent for a strong man and a sharp axe. They arrived, and I stood by to watch. The doctor supported the leg on a block of wood, and said to the man: 'Strike a mighty blow, and cut cleanly! ' And there, before my eyes, the fellow struck the knight one blow, and then another, for the first had not finished the job. The marrow spurted out of the leg, and the patient died instantaneously. Then the doctor examined the woman and said; 'She has a devil in her head who is in love with her. Cut her hair off! ' This was done, and she went back to eating her usual Frankish food, garlic and mustard, which made her illness worse. 'The devil has got into her brain,' pronounced the doctor. He took a razor and cut a cross on her head, and removed the brain so that the inside of the skull was laid bare. This he rubbed with salt; the woman died instantly. At this juncture I asked whether they had any further need of me, and as they had none I came away, having learnt things about medical methods that I never knew before. 1
THE FRANKS AND MARITAL JEALOUSY (USAMA, 100-1)
The Franks are without any vestige of a sense of honour and jealousy. If one of them goes along the street with his wife and meets a friend, this man will take the woman's hand and lead her aside to talk, while the husband stands by waiting until she has finished her conversation. If she takes too long about it he leaves her with the other man and goes on his way. Here is an example of this from my personal experience: while I was in Nablus I stayed with a man called Mu'i? zz, whose house served as an inn for Muslim travellers. Its windows overlooked the street. On the other side of the rcad lived a Frank who sold wine for the merchants; he would take a bottle of wine from one of them and publicize it, announcing that such-and-such a merchant had just opened a hogshead of it, and could be found at such-and-such a place by anyone wishing to buy some; '. . . and I will give him the first right to the wine in this bottle. '
The Crusaders' Moinestre, in the Lebanon about ten miles east of Juba? il.
Not all Frankish doctors were butchers like the fiend portrayed here, but the air of ironic superiority that this passage conveys was justified by the supremacy of the great medical tradition of the East at that time.
1 1
Part One: From Godfrey to Saladin 47
Now this man returned home one day and found a man in bed with his wife. 'What are you doing here with my wife? ' he demanded. 'I was tired,' replied the man, 'and so I came in to rest. ' 'And how do you come to be in my bed? ' 'I found the bed made up, and lay down to sleep. ' 'And this woman slept with you, I suppose? ' 'The bed,' he replied, 'is hers. How could I prevent her getting into her own bed? ' 'I swear if you do it again I shall take you to court! '--and this was his only reaction, the height of his outburst of jealousy!
I heard a similar case from a bath attendant called Salim from Ma'arra, who worked in one of my father's bath-houses. This is his tale: I earned my living in Ma'arra by opening a bathhouse. One day a Frankish knight came in. They do not follow our custom of wearing a cloth round their waist while they are at the baths, and this fellow put out his hand, snatched off my loin-cloth and threw it away. He saw at once that I had just recently shaved my pubic hair. 'Salim! ' he exclaimed. I came toward him and he pointed to that part of me. 'Salim! It's magnificent! You shall certainly do the same for me! ' And he lay down flat on his back. His hair there was as long as his beard. I shaved him, and when he had felt the place with his hand and found it agreeably smooth he said: 'Salim, you must certainly do the same for my Dama. ' In their language Dama means lady, or wife. He sent his valet to fetch his wife, and when they arrived and the valet had brought her in, she lay down on her back, and he said to me: 'Do to her what you did to me. ' So I shaved her pubic hair, while her husband stood by watching me. Then he thanked me and paid me for my services.
You will observe a strange contradiction in their character: they are without jealousy or a sense of honour, and yet at the same time they have the courage that as a rule springs only from the sense of honour and a readiness to take offence.
ORIENTALIZED FRANKS (USAMA, 103-4)
There are some Franks who have settled in our land and taken to living like Muslims. These are better than those who have just arrived from their homelands, but they are the excep- tion, and cannot be taken as typical. I came across one of them once when I sent a friend on business to Antioch, which was governed by Todros ibn as-Safi,1 a friend of mine. One day he said to my friend: 'A Frankish friend has invited me to visit him; come with me so that you can see how they live. ' 'I went with him,' said my friend, 'and we came to the house of one of the old knights who came with the first expedition. This man had retired from the army, and was living on the income of the property he owned in Antioch. He had a fine table brought out, spread with a splendid selection of appetizing food. He saw that I was not eating, and said: 'Don't worry, please; eat what you like, for I don't eat Frankish food. I have Egyptian cooks and eat only what they serve. No pig's flesh ever comes into my house! '2 So I ate, although cautiously, and then we left. Another day, as I was passing
Theodore Sophianos, the Greek commander (ra'i? s) of the municipality of Antioch.
It is fear of this 'unclean' food that troubles the Muslim guest, who even when reassured eats cautiously.
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48 Arab Historians of the Crusades
through the market, a Frankish woman advanced on me, addressing me in her barbaric language with words I found incomprehensible. A crowd of Franks gathered round us and I gave myself up for lost, when suddenly this knight appeared, saw me and came up. 'What do you want with this man? ' 'This man,' she replied, 'killed my brother Urso. ' This Urso was a knight from Apamea who was killed by a soldier from Hama? t. The old man scolded the woman. 'This man is a merchant, a city man, not a fighter, and he lives nowhere near where your brother was killed. ' Then he turned on the crowd, which melted away, and shook hands with me. Thus the fact that I ate at his table saved my life.
THE TEMPLARS AT JERUSALEM (USAMA, 99)
This is an example of Frankish barbarism, God damn them! When I was in Jerusalem I used to go to the Masjid al-Aqsa, beside which is a small oratory which the Franks have made into a church. Whenever I went into the mosque, which was in the hands of Templars who were friends of mine, they would put the little oratory at my disposal, so that I could say my prayers there. One day I had gone in, said the Alla? h akhbar1 and risen to begin my prayers, when a Frank threw himself on me from behind, lifted me up and turned me so that I was facing east. 'That is the way to pray! ' he said. Some Templars at once intervened, seized the man and took him out of my way, while I resumed my prayer. But the moment they stopped watching him he seized me again and forced me to face east, repeating that this was the way to pray. Again the Templars intervened and took him away. They apolo- gized to me and said: 'He is a foreigner who has just arrived today from his homeland in the north, and he has never seen anyone pray facing any other direction than east. ' 'I have finished my prayers,' I said, and left, stupefied by the fanatic who had been so perturbed and upset to see someone praying facing the qibla! 2
I was present myself when one of them came up to the ami? r Mu'i? n ad-Din--God have mercy on him--in the Dome of the Rock, and said to him: 'Would you like to see God as a baby? ' The ami? r said that he would, and the fellow proceeded to show us a picture of Mary with the infant Messiah on her lap. 'This,' he said, 'is God as a baby. ' Almighty God is greater than the infidels' concept of him!
