The Sultan had set up a certain number of offices, each manned by a certain number of
Egyptian
and Syrian officials.
Arab-Historians-of-the-Crusades
D AD-DIN, 47-69)
Saladin marched from Ascalon to Jerusalem, victorious in his decision, accompanied by victory, escorted by glory. He had tamed the indomitable colt of his desires, and made fertile the meadow of his wealth. His hope had an easy passage, his paths were fragrant, his gifts poured out, his sweetness perfumed the air, his power was manifest, his authority supreme. The glory of his army flooded like an ocean over the plain and filled the desert, pouring out thanks and gratitude. The dust raised by his hosts had spread its cloak over the dawn; the cloud of it seemed to have replaced the clear morning hour with the shadows of evening. At times the earth groaned under the squadrons, the heavens received with joy the particles of dust. He marched on, rejoicing by his presence the surrounding regions, and the points of his lances related stories of his conquests from the mountain tops; to the scenes his hopes described he could add those that his success had made reality. Sweet and lofty fruits and flashes of light appeared from the roots of victory and from his success. Isla? m wooed Jerusalem, ready to lay down lives for her as a bride-price, bringing her a blessing that would remove the tragedy of her state, giving her a joyful face to replace an expression of torment, making heard, above the cry of grief from the Rock, calling for help against its enemies, the reply to this appeal, the prompt echo of the summons, an echo that would make the gleaming lamps rise in her sky, bring the exiled Faith back to her own country and dwelling-place and drive away from al-Aqsa those whom God drove away with his curse. Saladin marched forward to take up the reins of Jerusalem. that now hung loose, to silence the Christian clappers and allow the muezzin to be heard again, to
1 The second Caliph (634-44), under whom the Muslims took Jerusalem for the first time, in 637.
88 Arab Historians of the Crusades
remove the heavy hand of unbelief with the right hands of the Faith, to purify Jerusalem of the pollution of those races, of the filth of the dregs of humanity, to reduce the minds to silence by silencing the bells. The news flew to Jerusalem, and the hearts of its inhabitants beat with terror and their chests palpitated and throbbed with fear of the army of Isla? m. The Franks, as the news spread, wished that they had never been born. Thus it was with the Frankish leaders Balia? n ibn Barza? n and the Grand Patriarch and the heads of the Orders of the Temple and the Hospital. Balia? n was troubled, and fires of anguish consumed him; the glow of Patriarchal pride was extinguished, and all felt uneasy in their houses, as if every one of them had become a trap set for the unbelievers. They wanted to take action in their calamitous situation, but the minds of the unbelievers could not agree. The Franks despaired of finding any relief from their situation and decided all to give their lives (in defence of Jerusalem).
THE CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION1
The Franks said: 'Here our heads will fall, we will pour forth our souls, spill our blood, give up our lives; we shall endure blows and wounds, we shall be prodigal of our spirits in defence of the place where the Spirit dwells. This is our Church of the Resurrection, here we shall take up our position and from here make our sorties, here our cry goes up, here our penitence is performed, our banners float, our cloud spreads. We love this place, we are bound to it, our honour lies in honouring it, its salvation is ours, its safety is ours, its survival is ours. If we go far from it we shall surely be branded with shame and just censure, for here is the place of the crucifixion and our goal, the altar and the place of sacrifice, the place of assembly and the sanctuary, the place of descent and of ascent, the flight of steps and the observation-post, the symposium and the theatre, the place for ornament and decoration, the prologue and epilogue, the food and the nourishment, the works of marble and intaglio, the permitted and the forbidden places, the pictures and the sculptures, the views and configurations, the lions and the lioncubs, the portraits and likenesses, the columns and slabs of marble, the bodies and souls. Here are pictures of the Apostles conversing, Popes with their histories, monks in their cells, priests in their councils, the Magi with their ropes,2 priests and their imaginings; here the effigies of the Madonna and the Lord, of the Temple and the Birthplace, of the Table and the fishes, and what is described and sculpted of the Disciples and the Master, of the cradle and the Infant speaking. 3 Here are the effigies of the ox and the ass, of Paradise and Hell, the clappers and the divine laws. Here, they say, the Messiah was crucified, the sacrificial victim slain, divinity made incarnate, humanity deified. Here the dual nature was united, the cross was raised, light was extinguished and darkness covered the land. Here the nature was united
In Arabic al-Qiyama, but the Muslim writers of the time felt obliged to turn it derisively into al- Qumama, the dung-heap, and it appears in this form in 'Ima? d ad-Din; it is the Holy Sepulchre. A reference to Qur'a? n XX, 69, where the Egyptian Magi, casting their ropes down before Moses, make them appear to be serpents.
There are two Qur'a? nic references here: the table is that of the Eucharist, which according to Muhammad descends miraculously from heaven (Q. V), and the Christ child speaking is influ- enced in its turn by the Evangelium infantiae (Q. XIX, 31).
1
2
3
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 89
with the person, the existent mingled with. the non-existent, the adored Being was baptized and the Virgin gave birth to her Son. 1
They continued to attach errors like this to the object of their cult, wandering with false beliefs far from the true forms of faith, and said: 'We shall die in defence of our Lord's sepulchre, and we shall die in fear of its slipping from our hands; we shall fight and struggle for it: how could we not fight, not contend and join battle, how could we leave this for them to take, and permit them to take from us what we took from them? ' They made far-reaching and elaborate preparations, stretching out endlessly to infinity. They mounted deadly weap- ons on the walls, and veiled the face of light with the sombre curtain of walls. They sent out their demons, their wolves ran hither and thither, their impetuous tyrants raged; their swords were unsheathed, the fabric of their downfall displayed, their blazing firebrands lit. They burned with enthusiasm and surged like a wave, they launched appeals and their hostile bands rode out, their loathesome vipers glided about, their priests aroused their passions, their leaders cheered them on, their hearts were stirred. Their spies brought them messages of disaster, telling them of the advance of al-Malik an-Nasir2 and his victorious troops, with banners displayed, swords in hand, plucked from the sheaths, bloodstained lances, troops in serried ranks, chargers trained to wreak vengeance on enemies, souls inflamed with the fire of the True Faith, with burning resolution, their odd-toed horses on leading-reins, their swords stained with blood. The hills were dewy, the scabbard-bearers raged, lance-points were sharpened, the chargers' reins slackened, their burden now secure. The valleys flowed down from their hills, the champions curvetted amid their standards; their squadrons blocked the mountain passes like waves scattering the dust, like eagles over-shadowing the sun; the blades of their javelins could have ignited wicks. They were like winds blowing about the mountains, they carried their lances as if they had been cords. They were the lion's claws lurking in the thicket; their ranks advanced in the strength of their uncrushable resolution. Each believer made a covenant with his Lord, and was ready to ward off his approaching doom, prompt to soothe the troubles in his heart and to pour out generously its irrigating flood; rebutting all evil from behind the shelter of his breastplate, full of gallantry and valour, drawing the daughter of the sheath from her scabbard, washing the thirsty blade with enemy blood, grasping in his hands the white blades of India, bring- ing talk of disaster to an end with his lights and his thunder, his destiny as piercing as the sword with which he laboured. Each young man longed for the fire of battle, each man of the Faith was jealous for the Lord's religion, each army was like a tempestuous sea, every- one who stained a sharp sword with blood was defending the True Faith, everyone who believed in the other life hated this lower one and asked God for martyrdom, drawn away from desire for earthly survival and ready to pour out his wealth in the holy cause. The Sultan advanced in the authority he had won, with his valiant knights, with the lesser kings his sons and brothers, with the lion-cubs his mamlu? ks and pages, with his noble ami? rs, his
This curious jumble of Christian dogmas and rites betrays the Muslim author's lack of real infor- mation and his preconceived hostility. But apart from the stylistic frills this description, to us almost a caricature, is the usual picture of Christianity painted by mediaeval Muslims. Nor can we say that the Christian view of Isla? m was any more accurate.
'The King who brings victory to the Faith' was, as has been mentioned before, Saladin's official
1
2
name.
90 Arab Historians of the Crusades
great friends, in squadrons ranked according to their merit, in platoons drawn up in solemn cavalcades, with lances whose metal points gleamed like stars, with serried ranks bearing their sharp swords, with yellow standards that would bring disaster to the Banu l-Asfar,1 with white swords and brown lances, ready to bring crimson death to the blue-eyed enemy, with pavilions and tribes, with lances and darts, with neighing chargers pawing the earth, with pliant spear-points and knights on horseback, and people all ready, for jealous love of their Faith, to give their souls and their precious possessions. (When Saladin reached Jerusalem) he at once asked to see the Masjid al-Aqsa and wanted to know the nearest road leading to it, and who were its most distinguished devotees, expressing the noble senti- ments with which God nobly inspired him.
DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM
The Sultan said: 'If God gives us the grace to drive His enemies from Jerusalem what happiness will be ours! What blessings shall we owe to Him if He chooses to assist us! For Jerusalem has been in enemy hands for ninety-one years,2 during which time God has received nothing from us here in the way of adoration, while the zeal of (Muslim) sovereigns to ransom her languished and the generations followed one another and the Franks were settled here in power. And God has reserved the merit of conquest for a single house--the Ayyubid--to unite all hearts in appreciation of its members. He has chosen in particular the age of the Ima? m an-Nasir li Din Alla? h to be given an advantage over other ages, and has chosen to give Egypt and its army an advantage in this over every other country. And how could He not assist in the conquest of the mighty Jerusalem and of the Masjid al-Aqsa, founded in piety, since she is the seat of the prophets, the home of the saints, the place where the pious adore their God, the place that the great saints of the earth and angels of heaven visit. From there the great assembly and diaspora take place and crowd upon crowd of ambassadors of the pious friends of God go there. There is the Rock, whose eternal splendour has been preserved from any deterioration, from which the Road of the Ascension (of the Prophet to Heaven) leaves the earth; above it the proud Dome rises like a crown, there the lamp has shone and from there Bura? q1 departed, there the night of the heavenly journey, with the descent of the light-giving torch, illumined the whole world. Within its gates is the Gate of Mercy;2 he who enters by it gains the right to
The Banu l-Asfar (the Arabic could mean 'sons of the yellow', hence the pun about 'yellow standards', although the real derivation is from the Biblical Sofer, Esau's nephew), is the Arabs' name for the ancient Romans, and by extension the Latins, the man of the West. In the next line they are called 'blue eyed', referring either to an ethnic characteristic or to its traditionally evil significance.
The lunar years of the hijra, from 492/1099 to 583/1187.
The heavenly charger on whose back Muhammad left the Rock on his ascent (mi'ra? j) and his miraculous voyage beyond the tomb. In this panegyric of Jerusalem eloquent hints come through even 'Ima? d ad-Din's rhetoric of the reasons why the place was, and is, so sacred to the pious and warlike zeal of Isla? m. See also the letter from Saladin to Richard for a more sober development of the same theme.
Bab ar-Rahma, now the Golden Gate, one of the gates of the temple precinct.
1
2 1
2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 91
dwell eternally in Paradise. Within it are the Seat of Solomon and the Oratory of David, and the Fountain of Aloes, which represents for those who go down to drink it the (heavenly) river Kauthar. Jerusalem is the first of the two qibla, the second of the two Houses of God, the third of the Sacred Zones. 3 It is one of the three places of prayer of which the Prophet says in his sayings that horsemen face in their direction to mount, and ally their hopes to them. And who knows that God will not, by means of us, restore her to her former beauty, as He honours her by mentioning her among His most noble creations at the beginning of the sura4 in which He says: 'Praise Him who took His servant on a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque (at Mecca) to the Remote Mosque (in Jerusalem). ' She has prayers and virtues innumerable; the holy journey by night took place to and from her, over her heaven was opened wide, she is referred to in the accounts of the prophets, the thanksgiving of the saints, the tombs of the martyrs, the miracles of the bountiful, the symbols of the scholars. Here is the home of pious acts and the theatre of joys. Her lofty Rock is the first qibla, from which the Prophet's foot ascended, bringing eternal benediction. Beside it our Prophet prayed with the prophets, accompanied by the faithful Spirit, and from it he ascended. Here is the oratory of Mary, of whom God says: 'Each time that Zacharias entered the room to her. . . . '1 Jerusalem is the city that David founded and advised Solomon to build, and in her honour God revealed the verse: 'Praise be. . . . ' She it was that al-Faru? q2 conquered and with which a sura of the Revelation begins. How illustrious and great is she, how noble and proud, high and gleaming, lofty and glorious! O blessed are her benedictions and blessed her auspices, noble her states and sweet her beauties! God has made manifest her nobility and position in the words of the Qur'a? n: 'Whose precinct we have blessed. '3 O how many miracles God has shown to the Prophet here, and now He has set before our eyes her virtues that formerly we had only heard of! '
Thus the Sultan described her distinctions and beauty, which, as he undertook and swore, he would bring back to the brilliance they used to have, and he took an oath not to depart until he had honoured his word and raised his standard on her highest point, and had visited with his own feet the place where the Prophet had set foot, and heard the call from the Rock, for he longed to light up the faces of his family4 with the joyful news. So he advanced, certain of absolute victory and of the end of all difficulties, while the anguish of the Franks was clear to see. He reached the western side of Jerusalem on Sunday 15 rajab/ 20 September. The hearts of the unbelievers thudded, the faction of polytheists was in a confusion of breathless anguish, destiny performed the miracle. There were in Jerusalem at the time 70,000 Frankish troops, both swordsmen and archers, and champions of error armed
The qibla is the direction of prayer, originally ordained by Muhammad to be the direction of Jerusalem before he changed it definitely to Mecca. Jerusalem is God's second house after the Ka'ba at Mecca, and the third sacred precinct after Mecca and Medina.
Qur'a? n XVII, 1, the verse referring to the Prophet's nocturnal journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there to heaven.
Qur'a? n III, 32.
Honorific surname of 'Umar, see p. 146 n. Qur'a? n XVII,
I. e. the Ayyubid house.
3
4
1 2 3 4
92 Arab Historians of the Crusades
with lances, their pliant points quivering, ready to defend the city. They challenged (us) to combat and barred the pass, they came down into the lists like enemies, they slaughtered and drew blood, they blazed with fury and defended the city, they fumed and burned with wrath, they drove us back and defended themselves, they became inflamed and caused us harm, groaned and incited, called for help in a foreign tongue, entrenched themselves and acted like men enraged with thirst, whirled about and crossed, advanced and retreated, rolled about and grieved, cried out and yelled in the conflict, immolated themselves in their tragedy and flung themselves on death. They fought grimly and struggled with all their energy, descending to the fray with absolute resolution, they wielded the sockets of their spears to give their thirsty points the water of the spirit to drink; they dealt with those that had lost their nerve, and passed round the goblets of death; they hurled themselves into battle to cut off limbs, they blazed and set fire to things, they clustered together and obstinately stood their ground, they made themselves a target for arrows and called on death to stand by them. They said: 'Each of us is worth twenty, and every ten is worth a hundred! We shall bring about the end of the world in defence of the Church of the Resurrection, we shall despise our own safety in desire for her survival. ' So the battle continued and the slaughter with spear and sword went on.
On Friday 20 rajab/25 September the Sultan moved to the northern side and pitched his tent there, cutting the Frankish lines and opening up the way to death. He mounted catapults, and by this means milked the udders of slaughter, making the Rock groan under the impact of missiles; his reward was the hosts of evil behind the wall. They could no longer put a head outside the gates without meeting death and the day of disaster, and casting their souls into perdition. The Templars clamoured, the barons leapt to their destruction in Hell, the Hospitallers went to damnation, the 'Brethren' found no escape from death. No band of soldiers cast itself between the stones from the catapults and their objective; in every heart on either side burned the fire of longing, faces were exposed to the blade's kiss, hearts were tormented with longing for combat, hands cleaved to the hilts of their bloody swords, minds were intent upon finding those whose spirit was slow to devote itself fully to the cause. The bases of the walls and the teeth of their battlements were battered and broken down by stones from the catapults' slings; they seemed like madmen throwing stones at random, impregnable gallant knights, mountains crossed with ropes, living beings aided by others, mothers of disaster and death, pregnant with calamity. Their missiles were invincible, all precautions against them were useless. Their darts vibrated with. menace, their flight nourished on the bile of perceptive men. 1 How many boulders came down out of heaven upon them, how many blocks of sandstone plunged into the earth, how many blazing firebrands bespattered them! The damage caused by the catapults, the extraordinary extent of their devastation, the effects of their concentration, the whistling wind of their flight, the extent of their range were beyond compare. The attack from their catapults never ceased, the battery of their mangonels, the drawing of water with their ropes, the parading in their halters, the attacking and defending, prostrating and slashing open, shaking their buckets,
This seems to mean: they induced terror, devouring bile ducts, in those who understood their lethal power. But as in all these metaphors meaning is subservient to the puns and plays on the sound that are almost all lost in translation.
1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 93
becoming downcast at their misfortunes, dissolving the composure of strong men with the boulders that they shot one after another, smashing the huddles of buildings, breaking them down into ruins, demolishing their foundations, breaking up their joints by hauling them within their ropes, exhausting the wells by drinking from them with their own cups, until they reduced the walls to a single line of bricks and drove their defenders away. The enemy's ordnance was smashed and broken, the moat crossed and the attack sustained. The victory of Isla? m was clear, and so was the death of Unbelief. The breach was taken, the problem resolved. Every onslaught was energetic and achieved its object, the goal was reached, the enemy wounded, hindrances blown away, the work completed, the target set up for them achieved and surpassed, the task accomplished. The enemy feared that it would be crushed, and its strong morale gave way to distress. The city became Muslim and the infidel belt around it was cut. Ibn Barza? n came out to secure a treaty with the Sultan, and asked for an amnesty for his people. But the Sultan refused and upheld his claims, saying: 'Neither amnesty nor mercy for you! Our only desire is to inflict perpetual subjection upon you; tomorrow will make us your masters by main force. We shall kill and capture you wholesale, spill men's blood and reduce the poor and the women to slavery. ' He absolutely refused to grant them an amnesty, and their response was without bravura; they feared the consequences of a sudden decision, and communicated their fear. They said: 'If we must despair of your mercy and fear your power and lose all hope of your magnanimity, and if we are sure that there is no escape or way out, no peace or safety, no grace or generosity, then we shall seek death, and shall fight like men who sell their lives dearly. We shall face life with death, and advance like men going with bowed heads to perdition; we shall hurl ourselves like men who rush into the attack expecting instant death, we shall cast ourselves into the fire, but we shall not bring about our ruin and dishonour at our own hand. No one will be wounded before he has first wounded ten men himself, no one will shake hands with death before he has been seen to stave off destruction with open hands. We shall burn the houses and pull down the Dome, and leave to you the shame of reducing us to slavery. We shall tear up the Rock and leave you to enjoy the grief of losing it; we shall kill every Muslim prisoner in our hands, and we have thousands, since it is well known that each one of us spurns dishonour and honours his reputation. As for our possessions, we shall destroy them rather than hand them over, and as for our sons, we shall be quick to slay them; you shall not find us slow to do it. What advantage do you gain from this ungenerous spirit of negation, you who would only lose everything by such a gain? What delusions are born of the hope of success, when only peace will repair the evil! How many men, forced to make a journey in the dark, have wandered from the path in the gloom of night before the dawn appeared! '
Then the Sultan called a council meeting and sent for the leaders of his victorious hosts, consulting with them on the question, discussing with them in secret and in the open. He begged them to reveal to him their innermost thoughts and to display their hidden opinions; he wanted to light the spark in them, he asked to know their minds, he beguiled them into pronouncing the best solution and conferred with them on the most profitable peace treaty. 'We have been offered a chance,' he said, 'of which we should take the best advantage. The result that we begged God to secure for us is ours. If we let it go it will not return; if it slips away we shall never be able to seize it again. ' And they said: 'God has reserved good for- tune for you, and has elected you to this (His) worship. Your counsel is just, your judgment
94 Arab Historians of the Crusades
pursues the victory we have been looking for. Your commanding power brings together the scattered advantages and the means by which we might achieve success. The advice of every one of us to you in this situation is to pluck the fruits of victory. ' So after repeated requests and consultations and messages and importunings and intercessions an amount was fixed that satisfied us and would act as a weighty caution, for which they were to ran- som themselves and their possessions and save their men, women and children. Under the treaty, at the end of forty days whoever was unable to pay what he owed or refused to pay it was to become our slave by right and come into our possession. The tax was ten dinar for each man, five for a woman and two for a boy or girl. Ibn Barza? n and the Patriarch and the Grand Masters of the Temple and the Hospital stood guarantee, and Ibn Barza? n gave 30,000 dinar for the poor, fulfilling his word faithfully and without default. Every man who paid left his house in safety, never to return to live there again.
Once the tax had been fixed they surrendered the city on Friday 27 rajab/2 October, sur- rendering it under duress like ill-gotten gains rather than a legitimate deposit. There were more than 100,000 persons in the city, men, women and children. The gates were closed upon them all, and representatives appointed to make a census and demand the sum due. An ami? r or representative was appointed to each gate, to keep count of those coming and going; those who paid, went out, while those who did not settle their debt remained prison- ers within. If this money had been kept in the proper way the public treasury would have received a large share of it, but there was great negligence and widespread peculation, and anyone who paid a bribe was allowed to get out, for the officials strayed from the path of honesty to accept bribes. Some people were let down from the walls on ropes, some car- ried out hidden in luggage, some changed their clothes and went out dressed as (Muslim) soldiers, and some had the benefit of exemption, from an authority whom no one could disobey.
There was in Jerusalem a Greek princess who became a nun and sought the consolations of Christian worship. Her ardour therein comforted her in her misfortunes and she clung tenaciously to her faith. Her tearful sighs rose up on high and her tears fell like rain from a cloud. She held an exalted position and had wealth, possessions, servants, furnishings and a train of followers. The Sultan allowed her and hers to go free and to carry off all her wealth in bags and boxes. She went cheerfully, even though her heart wept for sadness.
Again, the wife of an imprisoned King, the daughter of King Amalric1 lived near Jeru- salem with all her serving women, domestics and handmaidens. She too left unhindered, with all her band of followers and all she needed to support the whole company. Also the Princess, daughter of Philip and mother of Humphrey,2 was exempted from payment, and her wealth and treasure left untouched. The ruler of al-Bira begged to be allowed to free about 500 Armenians who, he said, came from his country and had come to Jerusalem for religious reasons. Muzaffar ad-Din ibn 'Ali Kuchu? k claimed about 1,000 on the ground that they came from Edessa, and the Sultan granted their release as he desired.
The Sultan had set up a certain number of offices, each manned by a certain number of Egyptian and Syrian officials. Anyone who received a receipt for a completed payment
Queen Sibylla.
Stephanie, daughter of Philip of Milly, widow of Reynald of Cha^tillon and mother of Humphrey of Toron.
1 2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 95
from one of these officials could go free with those who were ransomed on exhibition of his receipt to the officials and employees at the gate. A person whose word I do not doubt said that he was in one of those offices and saw how things were done; often they would write a receipt for someone whose money went into their own pockets, and their deceit went undiscovered. They were conspirators, not real employees of the public treasury, which they defrauded of the wealth and profits that should have come to it; ill-gotten gains! In spite of all this the State treasury gained 100,000 dinar, and the rest of the population remained as prisoners in servitude, awaiting the time when the prescribed period expired and they would still be unable to pay the required sum.
THE DAY OF CONQUEST, 17 RAJAB
By a striking coincidence the date of the conquest of Jerusalem was the anniversary of the Prophet's ascension to heaven. Great joy reigned for the brilliant victory won, and words of prayer and invocation to God were on every tongue. The Sultan gave an audience to receive congratulations, and received the great ami? rs and dignitaries, sufis and scholars. His manner was at once humble and majestic as he sat among the lawyers and scholars, his pious courtiers. His face shone with joy, his door was wide open, his benevolence spread far and wide. There was free access to him, his words were heard, his actions prospered, his carpet was kissed, his face glowed, his perfume was sweet, his affection all-embracing, his authority intimidating. His city radiated light, his person emanated sweetness, his hand was employed in pouring out the waters of liberality and opening the lips of gifts; the back of his hand was the qibla of kisses1 and the palm of his hand the Ka'ba of hope.
Sweet was it for him to be victorious; his throne seemed as if surrounded by a lunar halo. Qur'anic reciters sat there reciting and admonishing in the orthodox tradition. Poets stood up to declaim and to demand, banners advanced to be displayed, pens scribbled to spread the joyful news, eyes wept with great joy, hearts felt too small to contain their joy at the victory, tongues humbled themselves in invocations to God. The secretaries prepared long and ornate dispatches; eloquent stylists, both prolix and concise, tightened up or opened out their style. I could not compare my pen to anything but the collector of the honey of good news,2 nor liken my words to anything other than the messengers of the divine graces, nor make my pen run except to apply itself to letters, to accompany virtue, divulge ben- efits, give widespread accounts and lengthy divulgence of superiority; for its arguments are long, even if its length is short, its words make it powerful although in itself its power to alarm is small, it reveals its master as well-fed although it itself is thin, it makes the army's weight felt, although it is light itself, by making clear the brilliance of the white star in the darkness of inky night, by revealing the splendour of light from the path of the shadow, by sending out decrees of death or reward, commands to bind or loose, by opposing or yield- ing, enslaving or freeing, promising and holding to it, enriching and impoverishing, break- ing and mending, wounding and healing. It is indeed the pen that brings armies together,
The direction of worship, see p. 152, n. 3.
Here begins an auto-panegyric of the pen-virtuoso, the secretary who faithfully transmits his sovereign's will.
1 2
96 Arab Historians of the Crusades
elevates thrones, alarms the confident and gives confidence to the discouraged, raises up the stumbler and causes the upright to stumble, sets the army against the enemy for the benefit of friends. Thus with my quills I gave good news to the four quarters of the earth, and with the prodigies of my pen I expressed the marvels of memorable events; I filled the towers with stars1 and the caskets with pearls. This joyful news spread far and wide, bring- ing perfume to Rayy and to the evening conversation at Samarkand;2 it was welcomed with enthusiasm and its sweetness surpassed candied fruits and sugar. The world of Isla? m was ready and adorned for a festival to celebrate the fall of Jerusalem. Her merits were illus- trated and described and the duty to visit her explained and specified to everyone.
THE CONDITION OF THE FRANKS ON THEIR DEPARTURE FROM JERUSALEM
The Franks began selling their possessions and taking their precious things out of safe- keeping to sell them for nothing in the market of abjection. People made bargains with them and bought the goods at very low prices. They sold things worth more than ten dinar for less than one and were forced to put together all that they could find of their scattered possessions. So they scavenged in their own churches, stripped them of their ornaments and carried off candelabra and vases of gold and silver, gold and silken curtains and drap- eries. They broke open and emptied the boxes in the churches1 and took from the storage chests the treasures they contained. The Grand Patriarch gathered up all that stood above the Sepulchre, the gold plating and gold and silver artifacts, and collected together the contents of the Church of the Resurrection, precious things of both metals and of the two sorts of fabric. Then I said to the Sultan: 'These are great riches, their value is quite clearly 200,000 dinar; free exit is permitted to personal property but not to that of churches and convents; do not allow these rascals to keep this in their grasp. ' But he replied: 'If we interpret the treaty to their disadvantage they will accuse us of breaking faith and of being ignorant of the true essence of the thing. I prefer to make them obey the letter of the treaty, so that they are then unable to accuse the Believers of breaking their word, but will tell others of the benefits we have bestowed upon them. ' So they left the heavy objects and car- ried away the most precious and the lightest, and shook from their hands the dust of their heritage and the sweepings of their 'dung-heap'. 2
Most of them went to Tyre, to swell shadow with shadow. About 15,000 were unable to pay the tax, and slavery was their lot; there were about 7,000 men who had to accustom themselves to an unaccustomed humiliation, and whom slavery split up and dispersed as their buyers scattered through the hills and valleys. Women and children together came to 8,000 and were quickly divided up among us, bringing a smile to Muslim faces at their lam- entations. How many well-guarded women were profaned, how many queens were ruled,
A pun on the meanings of burj: 'tower, fortress' and 'sign of the Zodiac'.
Here too there is an untranslatable play on the sound and meaning of the words: the sense is that the news cheered even the Persian and Central Asian Muslims.
The 'boxes' appear in the Arabic only for the sake of alliteration; the author is not referring explicitly to poor-boxes and the like.
The Holy Sepulchre, see p. 148, n. 1.
1 2
1 2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 97
and nubile girls married, and noble women given away, and miserly women forced to yield themselves, and women who had been kept hidden stripped of their modesty, and serious women made ridiculous, and women kept in private now set in public, and free women occupied, and precious ones used for hard work, and pretty things put to the test, and virgins dishonoured and proud women deflowered, and lovely women's red lips kissed, and dark women prostrated, and untamed ones tamed, and happy ones made to weep! How many noblemen took them as concubines, how many ardent men blazed for one of them, and celi- bates were satisfied by them, and thirsty men sated by them, and turbulent men able to give vent to their passion. How many lovely women were the exclusive property of one man, how many great ladies were sold at low prices, and close ones set at a distance, and lofty ones abased, and savage ones captured, and those accustomed to thrones dragged down!
When Jerusalem was purified of the filth of the hellish Franks and had stripped off her vile garments to put on the robe of honour, the Christians, after paying their tax, refused to leave, and asked to be allowed to stay on in safety, and gave prodigious service and worked for us with all their might, carrying out every task with discipline and cheerful- ness. They paid 'the tax for protection permitted to them, humbly'. 1 They stood ready to accept whatever might be inflicted on them, and their affliction grew as they stood waiting for it. Thus they became in effect tribute-payers, reliant upon (Muslim) protection; they were used and employed in menial tasks and in their position they accepted these tasks as if they were gifts.
SALADIN'S GOOD WORKS IN JERUSALEM, AND THE EVIL WORKS THAT HE EFFACED
When Saladin accepted the surrender of Jerusalem he ordered the mihra? b1 to be uncovered, and issued a decisive command to that effect. The Templars had built a wall before it, reducing it to a granary and, it was said, a latrine, in their evil-minded hostility. East of the qibla they had built a big house and another church. Saladin had the two structures removed and unveiled the bridal face of the mihra? b. Then he had the wall in front of it taken down and the courtyards around it cleared so that the people coming on Friday should have plenty of room. The pulpit was erected, the cleaned mihra? b exposed to the light of day again and the structures between the columns demolished. The spaces created were car- peted with deep carpets instead of matting, candelabra were hung, readings of the revealed text given, and thus truth triumphed and error was cancelled out. The Qur'a? n was raised to the throne and the Testaments cast down. Prayer-mats were laid out and the religious cer- emonies performed in their purity; the canonic prayers were heard and pious orations given continually; benedictions were scattered and sorrow was dispersed. The mists dissolved, the true directions came into view, the sacred verses were read, the standards raised, the adha? n spoken and the clappers silenced,2 the muezzins were there and not the priests, cor-
Qur'a? n IX, 29, according to F. Rosenthal's interpretation.
The mihra? b (niche marking the direction of prayer) of the Masjid al-Aqsa, to which the whole of this description applies. Compare Ibn al-Athi? r.
The adha? n is the Muslim call to prayer, and the wooden clapper was the eastern Christians' equivalent of a bell.
1 1
2
98 Arab Historians of the Crusades
ruption and shame ceased, and men's minds and breaths became calm again. The propi- tious stars rose and the unpropitious set, faith made a stranger's return to her natural home, virtue was to be found once more at its natural centre. The Qur'anic readers arrived, the official prayers were read, the ascetics and pious men congregated, with the great saints and the 'pillars'. 1 The Unique One was adored and the adorers proclaimed his unity. They joined in groups to pray and prostrate themselves, humbling themselves and beating their breasts, dignitaries and ascetics, judges and witnesses, zealots and combatants in the Holy War, standing and sitting, keeping vigil and committed to prayer by night, visitors and ambassadors. The pulpit raised its voice, the preacher expounded his truths; the crowd met and surged in, the resurrection and the supreme unity was celebrated. The traditionists recited, the holy orators comforted men's souls, the scholars disputed, the lawyers dis- cussed, the narrators narrated, the traditionists transmitted canonic traditions. The spiritual guides performed pious exercises, the pious ascetics acted as guides, the worshippers adored God with devotion, the sincere devotees lifted their prayers to heaven. The dispens- ers of indulgences(? ) were zealously prodigal, the commentators epitomized, the epitomiz- ers commented, the virtuous assembled, the preachers stood before the throng. There were many candidates to lead the ritual prayer, successful men, famous for eloquence, distin- guished for their seriousness; all were men who aspired to this grade and had given courses in preaching; authors of amazing perception and stylists of splendid eloquence, well-suited to the tasks of producing well-shaped discourses, reciters of original and superior flights of eloquence. There were some among them who offered me their sermons2 and asked me to nominate them, each desiring his worth to be the most valued and to succeed in his under- taking, so that his desire might be fulfilled before he died. Each one stretched out his neck to get what he wanted and sweated with ardour to achieve it; they were all prepared and on the alert, they solicited supporters and recommendations, sought audience and begged, searched out intercessions and put them into motion. Each had put on his dignity and made his clothing worthy of the occasion; each tried to play the game astutely and raised his eyes to that supreme position. But the Sultan still made neither appointments nor explanations, neither nominated nor promulgated. Some said: 'If I could preach the sermon on the first Friday, I should obtain the greatest favour! If I had the luck to achieve that, I should not care who came after me. . . . ' When Friday 4 sha'ba? n arrived, people began to ask the Sultan to appoint a preacher; the Great Mosque filled with people, the meetingplaces were crowded, eyes and ears were alerted, men wept with the strength of their emotions, stupen- dous marvels appeared to adorn this ceremony and the splendour of its beauty, voices were raised in deepest joy, as men clothed themselves in the mantle of delight. The courts were packed with the people gathered there, eyes fixed, thoughts ranging. People said: 'This is a noble day, a universal blessing, a high solemnity, a day in which prayers are heard, bene- dictions are profuse, tears are poured out and failings are pardoned, the negligent rouse
Strictly 'tent-pegs' or 'tent-poles': a title of one of the grades in the hierarchy of Muslim mystics and saints. In the same way we have translated al-Abda? l, literally 'the substitutes', as 'the great saints'.
I. e. 'they offered themselves to me as preacher', asking the Sultan's secretary for his influential support and intercession. This whole episode of anxious rivalry and competition for the post is full of lively wit in spite of the literary affectations with which the author has clothed it.
1
2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 99
themselves and the diligent permit themselves to give advice. Blessed is the man who has lived long enough to see this day on which Isla? m has arisen and taken wing! Beautiful is this crowd here present, this pure company, this victorious community, noble this victory of an-Nasir, this stock of Isla? m, this profession of Abbasid loyalty,1 this Ayyubid kingdom, Saladin's dynasty! Is there anywhere in Isla? m an assembly more noble than this that God, by His help, has done the honour of allowing to obey Him in this way? ' They discussed who would preach the sermon and who would be appointed to the office and to whom it should be entrusted, and discussed it openly and by allusion. Standards were raised high, the pulpit was draped with gorgeous cloths, voices were lifted, groups assembled, throngs crowded together, waves beat upon one another, the devotees made the uproar that 'pil- grims at 'A? rafa' make,1 until the hour arrived at which the sun began to set, the midday equilibrium failed and the call to prayer rang out, and the people thronged together. Then the Sultan with his rescript named the preacher, making his choice known after mature consideration. He ordered the Qadi Muhyi ad-Din Abu l-Ma'ali Muhammad ibn Zaki ad- Din Ali al-Qu? rashi to ascend the pulpit steps, causing by his choice the foreheads of the other candidates to break out into sweat. I myself presented him with a black robe of hon- our, the Caliph's honorific gift, so that he had, in perfection, the honour of the grace bestowed on him and gained by him. He mounted the staircase as he was told, and was well received. The sides of the pulpit shook, and the assembly rose from height to height of enthusiasm. He addressed them and they listened, he spoke and they were silent, he was eloquent and expressive, fluent and ornate, unsurpassed and marvellous, concise and dif- fuse; he exhorted in his double sermon and preached in his double address. He explained the significance of Jerusalem and its holiness, of the Masjid al-Aqsa from its foundation, of its purification after profanation, of having reduced their clappers to silence and expelled their priests. He prayed for the Caliph and the Sultan and concluded with the words of God: 'God commands good and the doing of good. ' Then he came down and prayed at the mihra? b, and began the 'In the name of God' that begins the first sura of the Qur'a? n,2 leading the whole community in prayer. Thus perfect mercy fell from heaven and absolute grace was given. When prayers were over the people dispersed in conspicuous cor-diality; the general consensus was established and the analogical reasoning began. 1 A seat for homilies was set before the qibla in order that some distinguished person could inaugurate it. There sat Zain ad-Din Abu l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Naja and advised those who feared and those who hoped, the fortunate and the distressed, those destined for damnation and those on the way to salvation. He intimidated those endowed with reason with apt arguments and dispatched the doubters' gloom with the light of his pious exhortation, brought every pious warning to bear on the sleepers to waken them, to incite wrath for the wicked, tenderness for friends
Saladin, strictly orthodox, maintained his theoretical subjection to the Abbasid Caliphate, and destroyed the heretical Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.
'Arafa, near Mecca, is a stopping place for the Pilgrimage where the pilgrims camp and stand in worship from noon to sunset.
The 'Mother of the Qu'ra? n', called the first sura or fa? tiha (opening), which begins with the eulogy 'In the name of God, the merciful, the forgiving'.
The 'consensus' of scholars and 'analogical reasoning' in establishing a judicial ruling are two of the basic principles of Muslim law.
1
1
2
1
100 Arab Historians of the Crusades
and harshness for the enemies of God. The cries of men weeping, the babble of lamenta- tion, rose up far and near; hearts melted and cares were lightened, cries rose up and tears fell down. Sinners repented, the wicked wereconverted, penitents groaned, those who had turned to God lamented for themselves. Brilliant mystic ecstasies and sweet revelations occurred, prayers rose on high, supplications were heard, examples of divine love were collated and many blessings of divine providence were confirmed. The Sultan prayed in the Dome of the Rock amid throngs of believers who occupied the whole extent of the atrium, the whole community supplicating God to continue their victories. To him were turned the faces raised to the qibla; hands were raised to God and prayers went up to heaven for him. Saladin also appointed a preacher to a permanent post in the Masjid al-Aqsa.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE SACRED ROCK--GOD PRESERVE IT!
As for the Rock, the Franks built over it a church and an altar, so that there was no longer any room for the hands that wished to seize the ba? raka2 from it or for the eyes that longed to see it. They had adorned it with images and statues, set up dwellings there for monks and made it the place for the Gospel, which they venerated and exalted to the heights. Over the place of the (Prophet's holy) foot they set an ornamented tabernacle with columns of marble, marking it as the place where the Messiah had set his foot; a holy and exalted place, where flocks of animals, among which I saw species of pig,1 were carved in marble. But the Rock, the object of pilgrimage, was hidden under constructions and submerged in all this sumptuous building. So the Sultan ordered that the veil should be removed, the curtain raised, the concealments taken away, the marble carried off, the stones broken, the structures demolished, the covers broken into. The Rock was to be brought to light again for visitors and revealed to observers, stripped of its covering and brought forward like a young bride. He wanted the pearl extracted from its shell, the full moon brought from behind the clouds, the prison torn down, the condemned ransomed, its beauty revealed, its blessed aspect allowed to shine, its true face made clear, its genuine honour brought to light, its fine state restored, its high honour and standing brought back. Surely it is something whose beauty consists in being unadorned, whose nakedness is clothing and whose clothing is nakedness. It was restored to its former state and the outstanding splendour of its beauty was brought into the open. Before the conquest only a small part of the back of it was exposed, and the Unbelievers had cut it about shamefully; now it appeared in all its beauty, revealed in the loveliest of revelations. Candelabra gleamed upon it, light on light, and over it was placed an iron grille.
Even up to this day concern for its adornment has not come to an end, but still grows. The Sultan appointed an ima? m for the Dome of the Rock; one of the finest readers of the Qur'a? n, a man of the highest eloquence, clarity of voice, reputation for religious piety and knowledge of the seven--no, of the ten Qur'anic readings,1 and one who breathed
The healthful influence flowing from a sacred person or object.
Romanesque animal carvings (on capitals, bas-reliefs? ); the pigs may really have been there, or the author may be referring to the Christians.
Readings of the Sacred Book, handed down in seven or more slightly differing versions.
2 1
1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 101
the sweetest odour of sanctity. He gave him money and satisfaction and the benefit of his favour in the office assigned to him. He gave him a house and a garden as a pious endow- ment to his office, and conferred copious benefits upon him. He had brought to the Dome of the Rock and the mihra? b of al-Aqsa complete copies, portions and venerated sections of the Qur'a? n, now raised up on their lecterns and placed on their shelves in view of the visi- tors. What is more he set up for the Rock in particular and Jerusalem in general custodians to keep it all in good condition. He nominated only men of piety and devotion, dedicated to the worship of God. O the glorious nights there, the crowds assembled, the great candles blooming, conspicuous humility, devoted contrition, the tears of the pious falling fast, the hearts of the devotees glowing in their breasts. Here was every friend of God who vener- ated his Lord and hoped for blessing and bounty from him, and every poor, ill-clad, obscure wretch who, if he swore an oath in God's name, carried it out, everyone who passed the night in prayer and exalted the divine truth and exposed it to view, everyone who held regu- lar, intoned recitals of the Qur'a? n, who drove out the devil and convicted him of falsity, who was well known in the mornings for his religious exercises and familiar by night for his recital of the offices and his prayers. O happy day for this sanctuary, when the angels moved against its invaders and the sun reached it again with its light and its blooms, and hearts brought their secrets to it, and sinners cast down their burden of sin there, and the dawn of every day begged it as a gift to reveal itself! O victorious one who undertook to purify it, O pure one who sought to bring it back into the light!
The Franks had cut pieces from the Rock, some of which they had carried to Con- stantinople and Sicily and sold, they said, for their weight in gold, making it a source of income. When the Rock reappeared to sight the marks of these cuts were seen and men were incensed to see how it had been mutilated. Now it is on view with the wounds it suffered, preserving its honour for ever, safe for Isla? m, within its protection and its fence. This was all done after the Sultan left and after an ordered pattern of life had been estab- lished. Saladin also had the mihra? b of al-Aqsa lined with marble in a magnificent and splendid manner,1 and the Ayyubid sovereigns vied with each other in the liberality of the good works they performed here, assuring themselves of the love of men's hearts and the gratitude of their tongues. Not one of them but has showered largesse and benefits upon it to the heights of his powers, illuminating and glorifying it, ornamenting and beautifying it, tending and adorning it, enriching and providing for it, perfecting and completing it, preferring and patronizing it. Thus al-Malik al-'Adil Saif ad-Din Abu Bakr2 had works of art executed for it worthy of the deepest gratitude, and increased its resources with copi- ous benefits, gracious and conspicuous concessions and praiseworthy generosity, with the virtuous acts he was well known for and the meritorious service that ensured its success. Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Taqi ad-Din 'Umar3 performed there every deed of universal and widespread munificence, with prohibitions and commands, constructions and restorations. Among his laudable acts and famous deeds of generosity was his appearance one day at the Dome of the Rock with a band of noble princes of his house carrying rose-water and
The commemorative inscription, still in position, records for posterity the great Sultan's names. Saladin's brother (Saphadin), Sultan of Egypt and Syria until 1218.
Saladin's nephew, ruler of Hama? t (1178-91).
1 2 3
102 Arab Historians of the Crusades
money for charity and public donation. He seized the opportunity to perform this original act of virtue, taking water and sprinkling the courts and colonnades with his own hand, washing them several times with water until they were clean. After the water he sprinkled the place with rose-water, so that the courts were impregnated with the fragrance; thus he washed the walls and cleaned the pavements. Then he called for censers of perfume and perfumed the mosque, and the believers breathed in all this sweetness, entirely against the will of the enemy. Nor did he and his followers cease for the whole of that day purifying that blessed precinct until they were sure that it was purified, that its sweetness was clear and its cleanness pleasing, and that no one could contemplate it without admiring it. Then he distributed the money to the deserving and was proud to surpass even generous men in his expenditure.
Saladin marched from Ascalon to Jerusalem, victorious in his decision, accompanied by victory, escorted by glory. He had tamed the indomitable colt of his desires, and made fertile the meadow of his wealth. His hope had an easy passage, his paths were fragrant, his gifts poured out, his sweetness perfumed the air, his power was manifest, his authority supreme. The glory of his army flooded like an ocean over the plain and filled the desert, pouring out thanks and gratitude. The dust raised by his hosts had spread its cloak over the dawn; the cloud of it seemed to have replaced the clear morning hour with the shadows of evening. At times the earth groaned under the squadrons, the heavens received with joy the particles of dust. He marched on, rejoicing by his presence the surrounding regions, and the points of his lances related stories of his conquests from the mountain tops; to the scenes his hopes described he could add those that his success had made reality. Sweet and lofty fruits and flashes of light appeared from the roots of victory and from his success. Isla? m wooed Jerusalem, ready to lay down lives for her as a bride-price, bringing her a blessing that would remove the tragedy of her state, giving her a joyful face to replace an expression of torment, making heard, above the cry of grief from the Rock, calling for help against its enemies, the reply to this appeal, the prompt echo of the summons, an echo that would make the gleaming lamps rise in her sky, bring the exiled Faith back to her own country and dwelling-place and drive away from al-Aqsa those whom God drove away with his curse. Saladin marched forward to take up the reins of Jerusalem. that now hung loose, to silence the Christian clappers and allow the muezzin to be heard again, to
1 The second Caliph (634-44), under whom the Muslims took Jerusalem for the first time, in 637.
88 Arab Historians of the Crusades
remove the heavy hand of unbelief with the right hands of the Faith, to purify Jerusalem of the pollution of those races, of the filth of the dregs of humanity, to reduce the minds to silence by silencing the bells. The news flew to Jerusalem, and the hearts of its inhabitants beat with terror and their chests palpitated and throbbed with fear of the army of Isla? m. The Franks, as the news spread, wished that they had never been born. Thus it was with the Frankish leaders Balia? n ibn Barza? n and the Grand Patriarch and the heads of the Orders of the Temple and the Hospital. Balia? n was troubled, and fires of anguish consumed him; the glow of Patriarchal pride was extinguished, and all felt uneasy in their houses, as if every one of them had become a trap set for the unbelievers. They wanted to take action in their calamitous situation, but the minds of the unbelievers could not agree. The Franks despaired of finding any relief from their situation and decided all to give their lives (in defence of Jerusalem).
THE CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION1
The Franks said: 'Here our heads will fall, we will pour forth our souls, spill our blood, give up our lives; we shall endure blows and wounds, we shall be prodigal of our spirits in defence of the place where the Spirit dwells. This is our Church of the Resurrection, here we shall take up our position and from here make our sorties, here our cry goes up, here our penitence is performed, our banners float, our cloud spreads. We love this place, we are bound to it, our honour lies in honouring it, its salvation is ours, its safety is ours, its survival is ours. If we go far from it we shall surely be branded with shame and just censure, for here is the place of the crucifixion and our goal, the altar and the place of sacrifice, the place of assembly and the sanctuary, the place of descent and of ascent, the flight of steps and the observation-post, the symposium and the theatre, the place for ornament and decoration, the prologue and epilogue, the food and the nourishment, the works of marble and intaglio, the permitted and the forbidden places, the pictures and the sculptures, the views and configurations, the lions and the lioncubs, the portraits and likenesses, the columns and slabs of marble, the bodies and souls. Here are pictures of the Apostles conversing, Popes with their histories, monks in their cells, priests in their councils, the Magi with their ropes,2 priests and their imaginings; here the effigies of the Madonna and the Lord, of the Temple and the Birthplace, of the Table and the fishes, and what is described and sculpted of the Disciples and the Master, of the cradle and the Infant speaking. 3 Here are the effigies of the ox and the ass, of Paradise and Hell, the clappers and the divine laws. Here, they say, the Messiah was crucified, the sacrificial victim slain, divinity made incarnate, humanity deified. Here the dual nature was united, the cross was raised, light was extinguished and darkness covered the land. Here the nature was united
In Arabic al-Qiyama, but the Muslim writers of the time felt obliged to turn it derisively into al- Qumama, the dung-heap, and it appears in this form in 'Ima? d ad-Din; it is the Holy Sepulchre. A reference to Qur'a? n XX, 69, where the Egyptian Magi, casting their ropes down before Moses, make them appear to be serpents.
There are two Qur'a? nic references here: the table is that of the Eucharist, which according to Muhammad descends miraculously from heaven (Q. V), and the Christ child speaking is influ- enced in its turn by the Evangelium infantiae (Q. XIX, 31).
1
2
3
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 89
with the person, the existent mingled with. the non-existent, the adored Being was baptized and the Virgin gave birth to her Son. 1
They continued to attach errors like this to the object of their cult, wandering with false beliefs far from the true forms of faith, and said: 'We shall die in defence of our Lord's sepulchre, and we shall die in fear of its slipping from our hands; we shall fight and struggle for it: how could we not fight, not contend and join battle, how could we leave this for them to take, and permit them to take from us what we took from them? ' They made far-reaching and elaborate preparations, stretching out endlessly to infinity. They mounted deadly weap- ons on the walls, and veiled the face of light with the sombre curtain of walls. They sent out their demons, their wolves ran hither and thither, their impetuous tyrants raged; their swords were unsheathed, the fabric of their downfall displayed, their blazing firebrands lit. They burned with enthusiasm and surged like a wave, they launched appeals and their hostile bands rode out, their loathesome vipers glided about, their priests aroused their passions, their leaders cheered them on, their hearts were stirred. Their spies brought them messages of disaster, telling them of the advance of al-Malik an-Nasir2 and his victorious troops, with banners displayed, swords in hand, plucked from the sheaths, bloodstained lances, troops in serried ranks, chargers trained to wreak vengeance on enemies, souls inflamed with the fire of the True Faith, with burning resolution, their odd-toed horses on leading-reins, their swords stained with blood. The hills were dewy, the scabbard-bearers raged, lance-points were sharpened, the chargers' reins slackened, their burden now secure. The valleys flowed down from their hills, the champions curvetted amid their standards; their squadrons blocked the mountain passes like waves scattering the dust, like eagles over-shadowing the sun; the blades of their javelins could have ignited wicks. They were like winds blowing about the mountains, they carried their lances as if they had been cords. They were the lion's claws lurking in the thicket; their ranks advanced in the strength of their uncrushable resolution. Each believer made a covenant with his Lord, and was ready to ward off his approaching doom, prompt to soothe the troubles in his heart and to pour out generously its irrigating flood; rebutting all evil from behind the shelter of his breastplate, full of gallantry and valour, drawing the daughter of the sheath from her scabbard, washing the thirsty blade with enemy blood, grasping in his hands the white blades of India, bring- ing talk of disaster to an end with his lights and his thunder, his destiny as piercing as the sword with which he laboured. Each young man longed for the fire of battle, each man of the Faith was jealous for the Lord's religion, each army was like a tempestuous sea, every- one who stained a sharp sword with blood was defending the True Faith, everyone who believed in the other life hated this lower one and asked God for martyrdom, drawn away from desire for earthly survival and ready to pour out his wealth in the holy cause. The Sultan advanced in the authority he had won, with his valiant knights, with the lesser kings his sons and brothers, with the lion-cubs his mamlu? ks and pages, with his noble ami? rs, his
This curious jumble of Christian dogmas and rites betrays the Muslim author's lack of real infor- mation and his preconceived hostility. But apart from the stylistic frills this description, to us almost a caricature, is the usual picture of Christianity painted by mediaeval Muslims. Nor can we say that the Christian view of Isla? m was any more accurate.
'The King who brings victory to the Faith' was, as has been mentioned before, Saladin's official
1
2
name.
90 Arab Historians of the Crusades
great friends, in squadrons ranked according to their merit, in platoons drawn up in solemn cavalcades, with lances whose metal points gleamed like stars, with serried ranks bearing their sharp swords, with yellow standards that would bring disaster to the Banu l-Asfar,1 with white swords and brown lances, ready to bring crimson death to the blue-eyed enemy, with pavilions and tribes, with lances and darts, with neighing chargers pawing the earth, with pliant spear-points and knights on horseback, and people all ready, for jealous love of their Faith, to give their souls and their precious possessions. (When Saladin reached Jerusalem) he at once asked to see the Masjid al-Aqsa and wanted to know the nearest road leading to it, and who were its most distinguished devotees, expressing the noble senti- ments with which God nobly inspired him.
DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM
The Sultan said: 'If God gives us the grace to drive His enemies from Jerusalem what happiness will be ours! What blessings shall we owe to Him if He chooses to assist us! For Jerusalem has been in enemy hands for ninety-one years,2 during which time God has received nothing from us here in the way of adoration, while the zeal of (Muslim) sovereigns to ransom her languished and the generations followed one another and the Franks were settled here in power. And God has reserved the merit of conquest for a single house--the Ayyubid--to unite all hearts in appreciation of its members. He has chosen in particular the age of the Ima? m an-Nasir li Din Alla? h to be given an advantage over other ages, and has chosen to give Egypt and its army an advantage in this over every other country. And how could He not assist in the conquest of the mighty Jerusalem and of the Masjid al-Aqsa, founded in piety, since she is the seat of the prophets, the home of the saints, the place where the pious adore their God, the place that the great saints of the earth and angels of heaven visit. From there the great assembly and diaspora take place and crowd upon crowd of ambassadors of the pious friends of God go there. There is the Rock, whose eternal splendour has been preserved from any deterioration, from which the Road of the Ascension (of the Prophet to Heaven) leaves the earth; above it the proud Dome rises like a crown, there the lamp has shone and from there Bura? q1 departed, there the night of the heavenly journey, with the descent of the light-giving torch, illumined the whole world. Within its gates is the Gate of Mercy;2 he who enters by it gains the right to
The Banu l-Asfar (the Arabic could mean 'sons of the yellow', hence the pun about 'yellow standards', although the real derivation is from the Biblical Sofer, Esau's nephew), is the Arabs' name for the ancient Romans, and by extension the Latins, the man of the West. In the next line they are called 'blue eyed', referring either to an ethnic characteristic or to its traditionally evil significance.
The lunar years of the hijra, from 492/1099 to 583/1187.
The heavenly charger on whose back Muhammad left the Rock on his ascent (mi'ra? j) and his miraculous voyage beyond the tomb. In this panegyric of Jerusalem eloquent hints come through even 'Ima? d ad-Din's rhetoric of the reasons why the place was, and is, so sacred to the pious and warlike zeal of Isla? m. See also the letter from Saladin to Richard for a more sober development of the same theme.
Bab ar-Rahma, now the Golden Gate, one of the gates of the temple precinct.
1
2 1
2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 91
dwell eternally in Paradise. Within it are the Seat of Solomon and the Oratory of David, and the Fountain of Aloes, which represents for those who go down to drink it the (heavenly) river Kauthar. Jerusalem is the first of the two qibla, the second of the two Houses of God, the third of the Sacred Zones. 3 It is one of the three places of prayer of which the Prophet says in his sayings that horsemen face in their direction to mount, and ally their hopes to them. And who knows that God will not, by means of us, restore her to her former beauty, as He honours her by mentioning her among His most noble creations at the beginning of the sura4 in which He says: 'Praise Him who took His servant on a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque (at Mecca) to the Remote Mosque (in Jerusalem). ' She has prayers and virtues innumerable; the holy journey by night took place to and from her, over her heaven was opened wide, she is referred to in the accounts of the prophets, the thanksgiving of the saints, the tombs of the martyrs, the miracles of the bountiful, the symbols of the scholars. Here is the home of pious acts and the theatre of joys. Her lofty Rock is the first qibla, from which the Prophet's foot ascended, bringing eternal benediction. Beside it our Prophet prayed with the prophets, accompanied by the faithful Spirit, and from it he ascended. Here is the oratory of Mary, of whom God says: 'Each time that Zacharias entered the room to her. . . . '1 Jerusalem is the city that David founded and advised Solomon to build, and in her honour God revealed the verse: 'Praise be. . . . ' She it was that al-Faru? q2 conquered and with which a sura of the Revelation begins. How illustrious and great is she, how noble and proud, high and gleaming, lofty and glorious! O blessed are her benedictions and blessed her auspices, noble her states and sweet her beauties! God has made manifest her nobility and position in the words of the Qur'a? n: 'Whose precinct we have blessed. '3 O how many miracles God has shown to the Prophet here, and now He has set before our eyes her virtues that formerly we had only heard of! '
Thus the Sultan described her distinctions and beauty, which, as he undertook and swore, he would bring back to the brilliance they used to have, and he took an oath not to depart until he had honoured his word and raised his standard on her highest point, and had visited with his own feet the place where the Prophet had set foot, and heard the call from the Rock, for he longed to light up the faces of his family4 with the joyful news. So he advanced, certain of absolute victory and of the end of all difficulties, while the anguish of the Franks was clear to see. He reached the western side of Jerusalem on Sunday 15 rajab/ 20 September. The hearts of the unbelievers thudded, the faction of polytheists was in a confusion of breathless anguish, destiny performed the miracle. There were in Jerusalem at the time 70,000 Frankish troops, both swordsmen and archers, and champions of error armed
The qibla is the direction of prayer, originally ordained by Muhammad to be the direction of Jerusalem before he changed it definitely to Mecca. Jerusalem is God's second house after the Ka'ba at Mecca, and the third sacred precinct after Mecca and Medina.
Qur'a? n XVII, 1, the verse referring to the Prophet's nocturnal journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there to heaven.
Qur'a? n III, 32.
Honorific surname of 'Umar, see p. 146 n. Qur'a? n XVII,
I. e. the Ayyubid house.
3
4
1 2 3 4
92 Arab Historians of the Crusades
with lances, their pliant points quivering, ready to defend the city. They challenged (us) to combat and barred the pass, they came down into the lists like enemies, they slaughtered and drew blood, they blazed with fury and defended the city, they fumed and burned with wrath, they drove us back and defended themselves, they became inflamed and caused us harm, groaned and incited, called for help in a foreign tongue, entrenched themselves and acted like men enraged with thirst, whirled about and crossed, advanced and retreated, rolled about and grieved, cried out and yelled in the conflict, immolated themselves in their tragedy and flung themselves on death. They fought grimly and struggled with all their energy, descending to the fray with absolute resolution, they wielded the sockets of their spears to give their thirsty points the water of the spirit to drink; they dealt with those that had lost their nerve, and passed round the goblets of death; they hurled themselves into battle to cut off limbs, they blazed and set fire to things, they clustered together and obstinately stood their ground, they made themselves a target for arrows and called on death to stand by them. They said: 'Each of us is worth twenty, and every ten is worth a hundred! We shall bring about the end of the world in defence of the Church of the Resurrection, we shall despise our own safety in desire for her survival. ' So the battle continued and the slaughter with spear and sword went on.
On Friday 20 rajab/25 September the Sultan moved to the northern side and pitched his tent there, cutting the Frankish lines and opening up the way to death. He mounted catapults, and by this means milked the udders of slaughter, making the Rock groan under the impact of missiles; his reward was the hosts of evil behind the wall. They could no longer put a head outside the gates without meeting death and the day of disaster, and casting their souls into perdition. The Templars clamoured, the barons leapt to their destruction in Hell, the Hospitallers went to damnation, the 'Brethren' found no escape from death. No band of soldiers cast itself between the stones from the catapults and their objective; in every heart on either side burned the fire of longing, faces were exposed to the blade's kiss, hearts were tormented with longing for combat, hands cleaved to the hilts of their bloody swords, minds were intent upon finding those whose spirit was slow to devote itself fully to the cause. The bases of the walls and the teeth of their battlements were battered and broken down by stones from the catapults' slings; they seemed like madmen throwing stones at random, impregnable gallant knights, mountains crossed with ropes, living beings aided by others, mothers of disaster and death, pregnant with calamity. Their missiles were invincible, all precautions against them were useless. Their darts vibrated with. menace, their flight nourished on the bile of perceptive men. 1 How many boulders came down out of heaven upon them, how many blocks of sandstone plunged into the earth, how many blazing firebrands bespattered them! The damage caused by the catapults, the extraordinary extent of their devastation, the effects of their concentration, the whistling wind of their flight, the extent of their range were beyond compare. The attack from their catapults never ceased, the battery of their mangonels, the drawing of water with their ropes, the parading in their halters, the attacking and defending, prostrating and slashing open, shaking their buckets,
This seems to mean: they induced terror, devouring bile ducts, in those who understood their lethal power. But as in all these metaphors meaning is subservient to the puns and plays on the sound that are almost all lost in translation.
1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 93
becoming downcast at their misfortunes, dissolving the composure of strong men with the boulders that they shot one after another, smashing the huddles of buildings, breaking them down into ruins, demolishing their foundations, breaking up their joints by hauling them within their ropes, exhausting the wells by drinking from them with their own cups, until they reduced the walls to a single line of bricks and drove their defenders away. The enemy's ordnance was smashed and broken, the moat crossed and the attack sustained. The victory of Isla? m was clear, and so was the death of Unbelief. The breach was taken, the problem resolved. Every onslaught was energetic and achieved its object, the goal was reached, the enemy wounded, hindrances blown away, the work completed, the target set up for them achieved and surpassed, the task accomplished. The enemy feared that it would be crushed, and its strong morale gave way to distress. The city became Muslim and the infidel belt around it was cut. Ibn Barza? n came out to secure a treaty with the Sultan, and asked for an amnesty for his people. But the Sultan refused and upheld his claims, saying: 'Neither amnesty nor mercy for you! Our only desire is to inflict perpetual subjection upon you; tomorrow will make us your masters by main force. We shall kill and capture you wholesale, spill men's blood and reduce the poor and the women to slavery. ' He absolutely refused to grant them an amnesty, and their response was without bravura; they feared the consequences of a sudden decision, and communicated their fear. They said: 'If we must despair of your mercy and fear your power and lose all hope of your magnanimity, and if we are sure that there is no escape or way out, no peace or safety, no grace or generosity, then we shall seek death, and shall fight like men who sell their lives dearly. We shall face life with death, and advance like men going with bowed heads to perdition; we shall hurl ourselves like men who rush into the attack expecting instant death, we shall cast ourselves into the fire, but we shall not bring about our ruin and dishonour at our own hand. No one will be wounded before he has first wounded ten men himself, no one will shake hands with death before he has been seen to stave off destruction with open hands. We shall burn the houses and pull down the Dome, and leave to you the shame of reducing us to slavery. We shall tear up the Rock and leave you to enjoy the grief of losing it; we shall kill every Muslim prisoner in our hands, and we have thousands, since it is well known that each one of us spurns dishonour and honours his reputation. As for our possessions, we shall destroy them rather than hand them over, and as for our sons, we shall be quick to slay them; you shall not find us slow to do it. What advantage do you gain from this ungenerous spirit of negation, you who would only lose everything by such a gain? What delusions are born of the hope of success, when only peace will repair the evil! How many men, forced to make a journey in the dark, have wandered from the path in the gloom of night before the dawn appeared! '
Then the Sultan called a council meeting and sent for the leaders of his victorious hosts, consulting with them on the question, discussing with them in secret and in the open. He begged them to reveal to him their innermost thoughts and to display their hidden opinions; he wanted to light the spark in them, he asked to know their minds, he beguiled them into pronouncing the best solution and conferred with them on the most profitable peace treaty. 'We have been offered a chance,' he said, 'of which we should take the best advantage. The result that we begged God to secure for us is ours. If we let it go it will not return; if it slips away we shall never be able to seize it again. ' And they said: 'God has reserved good for- tune for you, and has elected you to this (His) worship. Your counsel is just, your judgment
94 Arab Historians of the Crusades
pursues the victory we have been looking for. Your commanding power brings together the scattered advantages and the means by which we might achieve success. The advice of every one of us to you in this situation is to pluck the fruits of victory. ' So after repeated requests and consultations and messages and importunings and intercessions an amount was fixed that satisfied us and would act as a weighty caution, for which they were to ran- som themselves and their possessions and save their men, women and children. Under the treaty, at the end of forty days whoever was unable to pay what he owed or refused to pay it was to become our slave by right and come into our possession. The tax was ten dinar for each man, five for a woman and two for a boy or girl. Ibn Barza? n and the Patriarch and the Grand Masters of the Temple and the Hospital stood guarantee, and Ibn Barza? n gave 30,000 dinar for the poor, fulfilling his word faithfully and without default. Every man who paid left his house in safety, never to return to live there again.
Once the tax had been fixed they surrendered the city on Friday 27 rajab/2 October, sur- rendering it under duress like ill-gotten gains rather than a legitimate deposit. There were more than 100,000 persons in the city, men, women and children. The gates were closed upon them all, and representatives appointed to make a census and demand the sum due. An ami? r or representative was appointed to each gate, to keep count of those coming and going; those who paid, went out, while those who did not settle their debt remained prison- ers within. If this money had been kept in the proper way the public treasury would have received a large share of it, but there was great negligence and widespread peculation, and anyone who paid a bribe was allowed to get out, for the officials strayed from the path of honesty to accept bribes. Some people were let down from the walls on ropes, some car- ried out hidden in luggage, some changed their clothes and went out dressed as (Muslim) soldiers, and some had the benefit of exemption, from an authority whom no one could disobey.
There was in Jerusalem a Greek princess who became a nun and sought the consolations of Christian worship. Her ardour therein comforted her in her misfortunes and she clung tenaciously to her faith. Her tearful sighs rose up on high and her tears fell like rain from a cloud. She held an exalted position and had wealth, possessions, servants, furnishings and a train of followers. The Sultan allowed her and hers to go free and to carry off all her wealth in bags and boxes. She went cheerfully, even though her heart wept for sadness.
Again, the wife of an imprisoned King, the daughter of King Amalric1 lived near Jeru- salem with all her serving women, domestics and handmaidens. She too left unhindered, with all her band of followers and all she needed to support the whole company. Also the Princess, daughter of Philip and mother of Humphrey,2 was exempted from payment, and her wealth and treasure left untouched. The ruler of al-Bira begged to be allowed to free about 500 Armenians who, he said, came from his country and had come to Jerusalem for religious reasons. Muzaffar ad-Din ibn 'Ali Kuchu? k claimed about 1,000 on the ground that they came from Edessa, and the Sultan granted their release as he desired.
The Sultan had set up a certain number of offices, each manned by a certain number of Egyptian and Syrian officials. Anyone who received a receipt for a completed payment
Queen Sibylla.
Stephanie, daughter of Philip of Milly, widow of Reynald of Cha^tillon and mother of Humphrey of Toron.
1 2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 95
from one of these officials could go free with those who were ransomed on exhibition of his receipt to the officials and employees at the gate. A person whose word I do not doubt said that he was in one of those offices and saw how things were done; often they would write a receipt for someone whose money went into their own pockets, and their deceit went undiscovered. They were conspirators, not real employees of the public treasury, which they defrauded of the wealth and profits that should have come to it; ill-gotten gains! In spite of all this the State treasury gained 100,000 dinar, and the rest of the population remained as prisoners in servitude, awaiting the time when the prescribed period expired and they would still be unable to pay the required sum.
THE DAY OF CONQUEST, 17 RAJAB
By a striking coincidence the date of the conquest of Jerusalem was the anniversary of the Prophet's ascension to heaven. Great joy reigned for the brilliant victory won, and words of prayer and invocation to God were on every tongue. The Sultan gave an audience to receive congratulations, and received the great ami? rs and dignitaries, sufis and scholars. His manner was at once humble and majestic as he sat among the lawyers and scholars, his pious courtiers. His face shone with joy, his door was wide open, his benevolence spread far and wide. There was free access to him, his words were heard, his actions prospered, his carpet was kissed, his face glowed, his perfume was sweet, his affection all-embracing, his authority intimidating. His city radiated light, his person emanated sweetness, his hand was employed in pouring out the waters of liberality and opening the lips of gifts; the back of his hand was the qibla of kisses1 and the palm of his hand the Ka'ba of hope.
Sweet was it for him to be victorious; his throne seemed as if surrounded by a lunar halo. Qur'anic reciters sat there reciting and admonishing in the orthodox tradition. Poets stood up to declaim and to demand, banners advanced to be displayed, pens scribbled to spread the joyful news, eyes wept with great joy, hearts felt too small to contain their joy at the victory, tongues humbled themselves in invocations to God. The secretaries prepared long and ornate dispatches; eloquent stylists, both prolix and concise, tightened up or opened out their style. I could not compare my pen to anything but the collector of the honey of good news,2 nor liken my words to anything other than the messengers of the divine graces, nor make my pen run except to apply itself to letters, to accompany virtue, divulge ben- efits, give widespread accounts and lengthy divulgence of superiority; for its arguments are long, even if its length is short, its words make it powerful although in itself its power to alarm is small, it reveals its master as well-fed although it itself is thin, it makes the army's weight felt, although it is light itself, by making clear the brilliance of the white star in the darkness of inky night, by revealing the splendour of light from the path of the shadow, by sending out decrees of death or reward, commands to bind or loose, by opposing or yield- ing, enslaving or freeing, promising and holding to it, enriching and impoverishing, break- ing and mending, wounding and healing. It is indeed the pen that brings armies together,
The direction of worship, see p. 152, n. 3.
Here begins an auto-panegyric of the pen-virtuoso, the secretary who faithfully transmits his sovereign's will.
1 2
96 Arab Historians of the Crusades
elevates thrones, alarms the confident and gives confidence to the discouraged, raises up the stumbler and causes the upright to stumble, sets the army against the enemy for the benefit of friends. Thus with my quills I gave good news to the four quarters of the earth, and with the prodigies of my pen I expressed the marvels of memorable events; I filled the towers with stars1 and the caskets with pearls. This joyful news spread far and wide, bring- ing perfume to Rayy and to the evening conversation at Samarkand;2 it was welcomed with enthusiasm and its sweetness surpassed candied fruits and sugar. The world of Isla? m was ready and adorned for a festival to celebrate the fall of Jerusalem. Her merits were illus- trated and described and the duty to visit her explained and specified to everyone.
THE CONDITION OF THE FRANKS ON THEIR DEPARTURE FROM JERUSALEM
The Franks began selling their possessions and taking their precious things out of safe- keeping to sell them for nothing in the market of abjection. People made bargains with them and bought the goods at very low prices. They sold things worth more than ten dinar for less than one and were forced to put together all that they could find of their scattered possessions. So they scavenged in their own churches, stripped them of their ornaments and carried off candelabra and vases of gold and silver, gold and silken curtains and drap- eries. They broke open and emptied the boxes in the churches1 and took from the storage chests the treasures they contained. The Grand Patriarch gathered up all that stood above the Sepulchre, the gold plating and gold and silver artifacts, and collected together the contents of the Church of the Resurrection, precious things of both metals and of the two sorts of fabric. Then I said to the Sultan: 'These are great riches, their value is quite clearly 200,000 dinar; free exit is permitted to personal property but not to that of churches and convents; do not allow these rascals to keep this in their grasp. ' But he replied: 'If we interpret the treaty to their disadvantage they will accuse us of breaking faith and of being ignorant of the true essence of the thing. I prefer to make them obey the letter of the treaty, so that they are then unable to accuse the Believers of breaking their word, but will tell others of the benefits we have bestowed upon them. ' So they left the heavy objects and car- ried away the most precious and the lightest, and shook from their hands the dust of their heritage and the sweepings of their 'dung-heap'. 2
Most of them went to Tyre, to swell shadow with shadow. About 15,000 were unable to pay the tax, and slavery was their lot; there were about 7,000 men who had to accustom themselves to an unaccustomed humiliation, and whom slavery split up and dispersed as their buyers scattered through the hills and valleys. Women and children together came to 8,000 and were quickly divided up among us, bringing a smile to Muslim faces at their lam- entations. How many well-guarded women were profaned, how many queens were ruled,
A pun on the meanings of burj: 'tower, fortress' and 'sign of the Zodiac'.
Here too there is an untranslatable play on the sound and meaning of the words: the sense is that the news cheered even the Persian and Central Asian Muslims.
The 'boxes' appear in the Arabic only for the sake of alliteration; the author is not referring explicitly to poor-boxes and the like.
The Holy Sepulchre, see p. 148, n. 1.
1 2
1 2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 97
and nubile girls married, and noble women given away, and miserly women forced to yield themselves, and women who had been kept hidden stripped of their modesty, and serious women made ridiculous, and women kept in private now set in public, and free women occupied, and precious ones used for hard work, and pretty things put to the test, and virgins dishonoured and proud women deflowered, and lovely women's red lips kissed, and dark women prostrated, and untamed ones tamed, and happy ones made to weep! How many noblemen took them as concubines, how many ardent men blazed for one of them, and celi- bates were satisfied by them, and thirsty men sated by them, and turbulent men able to give vent to their passion. How many lovely women were the exclusive property of one man, how many great ladies were sold at low prices, and close ones set at a distance, and lofty ones abased, and savage ones captured, and those accustomed to thrones dragged down!
When Jerusalem was purified of the filth of the hellish Franks and had stripped off her vile garments to put on the robe of honour, the Christians, after paying their tax, refused to leave, and asked to be allowed to stay on in safety, and gave prodigious service and worked for us with all their might, carrying out every task with discipline and cheerful- ness. They paid 'the tax for protection permitted to them, humbly'. 1 They stood ready to accept whatever might be inflicted on them, and their affliction grew as they stood waiting for it. Thus they became in effect tribute-payers, reliant upon (Muslim) protection; they were used and employed in menial tasks and in their position they accepted these tasks as if they were gifts.
SALADIN'S GOOD WORKS IN JERUSALEM, AND THE EVIL WORKS THAT HE EFFACED
When Saladin accepted the surrender of Jerusalem he ordered the mihra? b1 to be uncovered, and issued a decisive command to that effect. The Templars had built a wall before it, reducing it to a granary and, it was said, a latrine, in their evil-minded hostility. East of the qibla they had built a big house and another church. Saladin had the two structures removed and unveiled the bridal face of the mihra? b. Then he had the wall in front of it taken down and the courtyards around it cleared so that the people coming on Friday should have plenty of room. The pulpit was erected, the cleaned mihra? b exposed to the light of day again and the structures between the columns demolished. The spaces created were car- peted with deep carpets instead of matting, candelabra were hung, readings of the revealed text given, and thus truth triumphed and error was cancelled out. The Qur'a? n was raised to the throne and the Testaments cast down. Prayer-mats were laid out and the religious cer- emonies performed in their purity; the canonic prayers were heard and pious orations given continually; benedictions were scattered and sorrow was dispersed. The mists dissolved, the true directions came into view, the sacred verses were read, the standards raised, the adha? n spoken and the clappers silenced,2 the muezzins were there and not the priests, cor-
Qur'a? n IX, 29, according to F. Rosenthal's interpretation.
The mihra? b (niche marking the direction of prayer) of the Masjid al-Aqsa, to which the whole of this description applies. Compare Ibn al-Athi? r.
The adha? n is the Muslim call to prayer, and the wooden clapper was the eastern Christians' equivalent of a bell.
1 1
2
98 Arab Historians of the Crusades
ruption and shame ceased, and men's minds and breaths became calm again. The propi- tious stars rose and the unpropitious set, faith made a stranger's return to her natural home, virtue was to be found once more at its natural centre. The Qur'anic readers arrived, the official prayers were read, the ascetics and pious men congregated, with the great saints and the 'pillars'. 1 The Unique One was adored and the adorers proclaimed his unity. They joined in groups to pray and prostrate themselves, humbling themselves and beating their breasts, dignitaries and ascetics, judges and witnesses, zealots and combatants in the Holy War, standing and sitting, keeping vigil and committed to prayer by night, visitors and ambassadors. The pulpit raised its voice, the preacher expounded his truths; the crowd met and surged in, the resurrection and the supreme unity was celebrated. The traditionists recited, the holy orators comforted men's souls, the scholars disputed, the lawyers dis- cussed, the narrators narrated, the traditionists transmitted canonic traditions. The spiritual guides performed pious exercises, the pious ascetics acted as guides, the worshippers adored God with devotion, the sincere devotees lifted their prayers to heaven. The dispens- ers of indulgences(? ) were zealously prodigal, the commentators epitomized, the epitomiz- ers commented, the virtuous assembled, the preachers stood before the throng. There were many candidates to lead the ritual prayer, successful men, famous for eloquence, distin- guished for their seriousness; all were men who aspired to this grade and had given courses in preaching; authors of amazing perception and stylists of splendid eloquence, well-suited to the tasks of producing well-shaped discourses, reciters of original and superior flights of eloquence. There were some among them who offered me their sermons2 and asked me to nominate them, each desiring his worth to be the most valued and to succeed in his under- taking, so that his desire might be fulfilled before he died. Each one stretched out his neck to get what he wanted and sweated with ardour to achieve it; they were all prepared and on the alert, they solicited supporters and recommendations, sought audience and begged, searched out intercessions and put them into motion. Each had put on his dignity and made his clothing worthy of the occasion; each tried to play the game astutely and raised his eyes to that supreme position. But the Sultan still made neither appointments nor explanations, neither nominated nor promulgated. Some said: 'If I could preach the sermon on the first Friday, I should obtain the greatest favour! If I had the luck to achieve that, I should not care who came after me. . . . ' When Friday 4 sha'ba? n arrived, people began to ask the Sultan to appoint a preacher; the Great Mosque filled with people, the meetingplaces were crowded, eyes and ears were alerted, men wept with the strength of their emotions, stupen- dous marvels appeared to adorn this ceremony and the splendour of its beauty, voices were raised in deepest joy, as men clothed themselves in the mantle of delight. The courts were packed with the people gathered there, eyes fixed, thoughts ranging. People said: 'This is a noble day, a universal blessing, a high solemnity, a day in which prayers are heard, bene- dictions are profuse, tears are poured out and failings are pardoned, the negligent rouse
Strictly 'tent-pegs' or 'tent-poles': a title of one of the grades in the hierarchy of Muslim mystics and saints. In the same way we have translated al-Abda? l, literally 'the substitutes', as 'the great saints'.
I. e. 'they offered themselves to me as preacher', asking the Sultan's secretary for his influential support and intercession. This whole episode of anxious rivalry and competition for the post is full of lively wit in spite of the literary affectations with which the author has clothed it.
1
2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 99
themselves and the diligent permit themselves to give advice. Blessed is the man who has lived long enough to see this day on which Isla? m has arisen and taken wing! Beautiful is this crowd here present, this pure company, this victorious community, noble this victory of an-Nasir, this stock of Isla? m, this profession of Abbasid loyalty,1 this Ayyubid kingdom, Saladin's dynasty! Is there anywhere in Isla? m an assembly more noble than this that God, by His help, has done the honour of allowing to obey Him in this way? ' They discussed who would preach the sermon and who would be appointed to the office and to whom it should be entrusted, and discussed it openly and by allusion. Standards were raised high, the pulpit was draped with gorgeous cloths, voices were lifted, groups assembled, throngs crowded together, waves beat upon one another, the devotees made the uproar that 'pil- grims at 'A? rafa' make,1 until the hour arrived at which the sun began to set, the midday equilibrium failed and the call to prayer rang out, and the people thronged together. Then the Sultan with his rescript named the preacher, making his choice known after mature consideration. He ordered the Qadi Muhyi ad-Din Abu l-Ma'ali Muhammad ibn Zaki ad- Din Ali al-Qu? rashi to ascend the pulpit steps, causing by his choice the foreheads of the other candidates to break out into sweat. I myself presented him with a black robe of hon- our, the Caliph's honorific gift, so that he had, in perfection, the honour of the grace bestowed on him and gained by him. He mounted the staircase as he was told, and was well received. The sides of the pulpit shook, and the assembly rose from height to height of enthusiasm. He addressed them and they listened, he spoke and they were silent, he was eloquent and expressive, fluent and ornate, unsurpassed and marvellous, concise and dif- fuse; he exhorted in his double sermon and preached in his double address. He explained the significance of Jerusalem and its holiness, of the Masjid al-Aqsa from its foundation, of its purification after profanation, of having reduced their clappers to silence and expelled their priests. He prayed for the Caliph and the Sultan and concluded with the words of God: 'God commands good and the doing of good. ' Then he came down and prayed at the mihra? b, and began the 'In the name of God' that begins the first sura of the Qur'a? n,2 leading the whole community in prayer. Thus perfect mercy fell from heaven and absolute grace was given. When prayers were over the people dispersed in conspicuous cor-diality; the general consensus was established and the analogical reasoning began. 1 A seat for homilies was set before the qibla in order that some distinguished person could inaugurate it. There sat Zain ad-Din Abu l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Naja and advised those who feared and those who hoped, the fortunate and the distressed, those destined for damnation and those on the way to salvation. He intimidated those endowed with reason with apt arguments and dispatched the doubters' gloom with the light of his pious exhortation, brought every pious warning to bear on the sleepers to waken them, to incite wrath for the wicked, tenderness for friends
Saladin, strictly orthodox, maintained his theoretical subjection to the Abbasid Caliphate, and destroyed the heretical Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.
'Arafa, near Mecca, is a stopping place for the Pilgrimage where the pilgrims camp and stand in worship from noon to sunset.
The 'Mother of the Qu'ra? n', called the first sura or fa? tiha (opening), which begins with the eulogy 'In the name of God, the merciful, the forgiving'.
The 'consensus' of scholars and 'analogical reasoning' in establishing a judicial ruling are two of the basic principles of Muslim law.
1
1
2
1
100 Arab Historians of the Crusades
and harshness for the enemies of God. The cries of men weeping, the babble of lamenta- tion, rose up far and near; hearts melted and cares were lightened, cries rose up and tears fell down. Sinners repented, the wicked wereconverted, penitents groaned, those who had turned to God lamented for themselves. Brilliant mystic ecstasies and sweet revelations occurred, prayers rose on high, supplications were heard, examples of divine love were collated and many blessings of divine providence were confirmed. The Sultan prayed in the Dome of the Rock amid throngs of believers who occupied the whole extent of the atrium, the whole community supplicating God to continue their victories. To him were turned the faces raised to the qibla; hands were raised to God and prayers went up to heaven for him. Saladin also appointed a preacher to a permanent post in the Masjid al-Aqsa.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE SACRED ROCK--GOD PRESERVE IT!
As for the Rock, the Franks built over it a church and an altar, so that there was no longer any room for the hands that wished to seize the ba? raka2 from it or for the eyes that longed to see it. They had adorned it with images and statues, set up dwellings there for monks and made it the place for the Gospel, which they venerated and exalted to the heights. Over the place of the (Prophet's holy) foot they set an ornamented tabernacle with columns of marble, marking it as the place where the Messiah had set his foot; a holy and exalted place, where flocks of animals, among which I saw species of pig,1 were carved in marble. But the Rock, the object of pilgrimage, was hidden under constructions and submerged in all this sumptuous building. So the Sultan ordered that the veil should be removed, the curtain raised, the concealments taken away, the marble carried off, the stones broken, the structures demolished, the covers broken into. The Rock was to be brought to light again for visitors and revealed to observers, stripped of its covering and brought forward like a young bride. He wanted the pearl extracted from its shell, the full moon brought from behind the clouds, the prison torn down, the condemned ransomed, its beauty revealed, its blessed aspect allowed to shine, its true face made clear, its genuine honour brought to light, its fine state restored, its high honour and standing brought back. Surely it is something whose beauty consists in being unadorned, whose nakedness is clothing and whose clothing is nakedness. It was restored to its former state and the outstanding splendour of its beauty was brought into the open. Before the conquest only a small part of the back of it was exposed, and the Unbelievers had cut it about shamefully; now it appeared in all its beauty, revealed in the loveliest of revelations. Candelabra gleamed upon it, light on light, and over it was placed an iron grille.
Even up to this day concern for its adornment has not come to an end, but still grows. The Sultan appointed an ima? m for the Dome of the Rock; one of the finest readers of the Qur'a? n, a man of the highest eloquence, clarity of voice, reputation for religious piety and knowledge of the seven--no, of the ten Qur'anic readings,1 and one who breathed
The healthful influence flowing from a sacred person or object.
Romanesque animal carvings (on capitals, bas-reliefs? ); the pigs may really have been there, or the author may be referring to the Christians.
Readings of the Sacred Book, handed down in seven or more slightly differing versions.
2 1
1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 101
the sweetest odour of sanctity. He gave him money and satisfaction and the benefit of his favour in the office assigned to him. He gave him a house and a garden as a pious endow- ment to his office, and conferred copious benefits upon him. He had brought to the Dome of the Rock and the mihra? b of al-Aqsa complete copies, portions and venerated sections of the Qur'a? n, now raised up on their lecterns and placed on their shelves in view of the visi- tors. What is more he set up for the Rock in particular and Jerusalem in general custodians to keep it all in good condition. He nominated only men of piety and devotion, dedicated to the worship of God. O the glorious nights there, the crowds assembled, the great candles blooming, conspicuous humility, devoted contrition, the tears of the pious falling fast, the hearts of the devotees glowing in their breasts. Here was every friend of God who vener- ated his Lord and hoped for blessing and bounty from him, and every poor, ill-clad, obscure wretch who, if he swore an oath in God's name, carried it out, everyone who passed the night in prayer and exalted the divine truth and exposed it to view, everyone who held regu- lar, intoned recitals of the Qur'a? n, who drove out the devil and convicted him of falsity, who was well known in the mornings for his religious exercises and familiar by night for his recital of the offices and his prayers. O happy day for this sanctuary, when the angels moved against its invaders and the sun reached it again with its light and its blooms, and hearts brought their secrets to it, and sinners cast down their burden of sin there, and the dawn of every day begged it as a gift to reveal itself! O victorious one who undertook to purify it, O pure one who sought to bring it back into the light!
The Franks had cut pieces from the Rock, some of which they had carried to Con- stantinople and Sicily and sold, they said, for their weight in gold, making it a source of income. When the Rock reappeared to sight the marks of these cuts were seen and men were incensed to see how it had been mutilated. Now it is on view with the wounds it suffered, preserving its honour for ever, safe for Isla? m, within its protection and its fence. This was all done after the Sultan left and after an ordered pattern of life had been estab- lished. Saladin also had the mihra? b of al-Aqsa lined with marble in a magnificent and splendid manner,1 and the Ayyubid sovereigns vied with each other in the liberality of the good works they performed here, assuring themselves of the love of men's hearts and the gratitude of their tongues. Not one of them but has showered largesse and benefits upon it to the heights of his powers, illuminating and glorifying it, ornamenting and beautifying it, tending and adorning it, enriching and providing for it, perfecting and completing it, preferring and patronizing it. Thus al-Malik al-'Adil Saif ad-Din Abu Bakr2 had works of art executed for it worthy of the deepest gratitude, and increased its resources with copi- ous benefits, gracious and conspicuous concessions and praiseworthy generosity, with the virtuous acts he was well known for and the meritorious service that ensured its success. Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Taqi ad-Din 'Umar3 performed there every deed of universal and widespread munificence, with prohibitions and commands, constructions and restorations. Among his laudable acts and famous deeds of generosity was his appearance one day at the Dome of the Rock with a band of noble princes of his house carrying rose-water and
The commemorative inscription, still in position, records for posterity the great Sultan's names. Saladin's brother (Saphadin), Sultan of Egypt and Syria until 1218.
Saladin's nephew, ruler of Hama? t (1178-91).
1 2 3
102 Arab Historians of the Crusades
money for charity and public donation. He seized the opportunity to perform this original act of virtue, taking water and sprinkling the courts and colonnades with his own hand, washing them several times with water until they were clean. After the water he sprinkled the place with rose-water, so that the courts were impregnated with the fragrance; thus he washed the walls and cleaned the pavements. Then he called for censers of perfume and perfumed the mosque, and the believers breathed in all this sweetness, entirely against the will of the enemy. Nor did he and his followers cease for the whole of that day purifying that blessed precinct until they were sure that it was purified, that its sweetness was clear and its cleanness pleasing, and that no one could contemplate it without admiring it. Then he distributed the money to the deserving and was proud to surpass even generous men in his expenditure.
