R, XII, 30-2)
In 586/1190 the King of Germany left his country, which was inhabited by one of the most numerous and vigorous of the Frankish tribes.
In 586/1190 the King of Germany left his country, which was inhabited by one of the most numerous and vigorous of the Frankish tribes.
Arab-Historians-of-the-Crusades
He called together the ami?
rs and counsellors at the end of the month, (I was among them,) and invited them to hear what he was about to say.
'In God's name,' he said, 'Praise to God and blessing to the Prophet; know that this enemy of God and of ourselves has invaded our country and seized the territory of Isla? m. Signs are already appearing of the victory that we shall win over them, God willing. Now they are left with very small forces, and it is our task to try at any cost to exterminate them, as a duty imposed upon us by God. You know that these are our entire forces, and that we shall have no reinforcements except for al-Malik al-'Adil who is on his way. If the enemy stay where they are and hold on until communications by sea can be reopened, they will get large reinforcements. My feeling, therefore, is that we should not hesitate to attack them. Each of you will now give his opinion about this. '
The date was 13 tishri? n according to the solar calendar (13 October). Various opinions were voiced and discussed, and they reached the conclusion that the best plan would be to withdraw with the army to Kharruba and allow the men to rest for a few days from carrying arms and the fatigue that it entailed, to gain strength and graze their horses. The men had been in the front line for fifty days, and the horses were exhausted with the fighting and the strain imposed on them. After a short rest they would recover their breath. 'Al-Malik al-'Adil will arrive and give us his advice as well as his support. We shall round up the deserters and muster the infantry so that they will be ready to face the enemy. '
The Sultan was very ill with various troubles exacerbated by the weight of the arms he bore and the constant wearing of a helmet, so he decided to follow their advice. The army was moved up to join the baggage on 3 ramada? n. The Sultan moved on the same night, and his health began to improve. The troops were mustered, and waited for his brother al-Malik al-'Adil, who arrived on 10 ramada? n/22 October. 1
THE SIEGE-TOWERS ARE BURNT DOWN (IBN AL-ATHI? R, XII, 28-30)
During the siege of Acre the Franks built three lofty wooden towers, each one sixty cubits tall. They had five floors, each crowded with soldiers. The wood for them had been brought
The date is more than a month earlier than that given by Ibn al-Athi? r and his source 'Ima? d ad-Din
1
(half-way through shawwa? l).
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 117
from abroad, as a very special kind was needed for these towers. They were covered with skins, vinegar, mud and fire-resisting substances. The Franks cleared a path for their advance and brought all three up under the walls of Acre. The assault began on 20 rabi? ' I (587/27 April 1190). They towered over the walls, and the men inside them fought the defenders on the walls, and pushed them back, while the Franks began to fill up the moat. Thus the city was on the point of being taken by assault. The people of Acre sent a man to escape by swimming and tell Saladin what was happening, and that capture seemed immi- nent. The Sultan ordered his army to mount and advanced on the enemy, engaging them on all sides in fierce and unceasing combat, and endeavoured by this means to distract them from their attack on the city. The Franks divided their forces, one part to attack Saladin and the other the city, and so the pressure on Acre was relieved.
The fighting lasted for eight days on end, until the 28th of the month/5th May, when the exhaustion of both sides after eight days of continuous day and night fighting brought it to an end. The Muslims were now convinced that the Franks would take the city, seeing that the defenders could not fend off attacks from their siege-towers. They had exhausted every stratagem to no avail, and followed this by showering the towers with Greek fire, but made no impression on them. They were convinced therefore that they were doomed, when God aided them and enabled the towers to be burnt.
It happened like this: there was a man from Damascus who was a passionate collec- tor of pyrotechnic devices and ingredients for reinforcing the effect of fire. His friends reproached and rebuked him for his passion, but he replied that it was an occupation that did no harm to anyone and which interested him as a hobby. By a strange coincidence this man was in Acre, and when he saw the towers being built for use against the city he began to collect together the ingredients that he knew would increase the effectiveness of fire and make it inextinguishable by earth, vinegar or any other substance. When he had everything ready he presented it to the ami? r Qaraqu? sh, commander and governor of Acre, and told him to order the artillery to aim one of their catapults at a tower and fire off what he had given him, and it would set the tower alight. Qaraqu? sh was out of his mind with fear that the city would fall, with a frenzy that almost killed him. The man's words drove him to even greater fury and he raged at him: 'These men have used all their skill to hit the towers with Greek fire and everything else, without success! ' But some of those present said: 'Who knows that God has not put our salvation in this man's hands? There is no harm in doing what he proposes. ' So Qaraqu? sh consented and told the artillery to obey the man's orders. They shot a certain number of containers full of naphtha and other things without starting a fire, and the Franks, seeing that when the containers fell they did not burn anything, called out and danced about and made jokes from the top of the tower. When the inventor saw that the containers shot from the catapult really hit the tower he sent over one that was filled with his invention, and at once the tower went up in flames. He shot a second and a third time; the fire spread through the tower, preventing the men on the five platforms from escaping to safety. Thus it was burnt with everyone in it, as well as a store of cuirasses and arms. The Franks, seeing that the first containers were ineffective, had been inclined to stay calm and make no effort to save themselves, until God gave them a foretaste of Hell-fire. When the first tower was burnt the Muslims turned to the second, whose soldiers fled in fear, and the third, and burnt them both, making this a day to stand out in the memory. The Muslims looked on and rejoiced, their faces lit up with joy again after sorrow, for the victory and
118 Arab Historians of the Crusades
preservation from death of their co-religionists, for every one of them had a friend or rela- tion in the city. The inventor was brought before Saladin who offered him great wealth and honour, but he refused to take anything. 'I did it for love of God,' he said, 'and I want no other reward than Him. ' The joyful news travelled through the provinces, and the Sultan sent for reinforcements from the East. First to arrive was 'Ima? d ad-Din Zangi ibn Maudu? d ibn Zangi, ruler of Sinja? r and the Jazira, then 'Ala? ' ad-Din son of 'Izz ad-Din ibn Maudu? d ibn Zangi, ruler of Mosul, sent by his father to command the Mosul army, then Zain ad-Din Yusuf of Arbela. As soon as each arrived he attacked the Franks with his troops and fought with the rest of the army, and after that pitched his tents.
Various Incidents during the Siege
(BAHA? ' AD-DIN, 178-9, 201-3, 211)
A SHIP FROM BEIRU? T REACHES ACRE BY MEANS OF A RUSE
The Franks, God damn them! had posted their ships all round Acre to blockade the harbour against Muslim shipping. The besieged were in dire need of food and provisions. A group of Muslims embarked at Beiru? t with a cargo of four hundred sacks of grain, cheese, onions, mutton and other provisions. They dressed in Frankish clothes, shaved their beards, put some pigs on the upper deck where they could be seen from a distance,1 set up crosses, weighed anchor and made for the city from the open sea. When they came into contact with enemy ships the Franks accosted them in small boats and galleys saying: 'We see that you are making for the city,' thinking that they too were Franks. The Muslims replied: 'But haven't you taken it yet? ' 'Not yet. ' 'Then we will make for the Frankish army. But there was another ship travelling with us on the same wind; warn it not to enter the city. ' There was in fact a Frankish ship behind them on the same route, making for the army. The patrol- boat saw it and made off to warn it. Thus the Muslim ship was free to follow its own course, and entered port on a favourable wind, safe and sound by God's grace. They brought great joy, for the inhabitants were now suffering severe hardships. This happened in the last ten days of rajab (586/August- September 1190).
THE STORY OF THE SWIMMER ISA
One of the most strange and amazing incidents of the siege was this: a Muslim swimmer called Isa used to come into the city by night with messages and money carried in his belt, eluding enemy surveillance. He would dive down, and come up on the other side of the boom. One night, carrying three purses containing a thousand dinar and messages for the army in his belt he set out on his swim, but met with an accident from which he died. It was some time before we learnt of his death. It was his custom, on entering the city, to send up a messenger-pigeon to tell of his arrival. When the bird did not appear we realized that he must be dead. One day some time later a group of people was on the beach by the city when the sea cast up a body on the shore. Examination revealed that it was Isa the swimmer. In
1
Unclean animals that a Muslim would never eat.
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 119
his belt they found the gold and the wax-paper containing the letters; the gold was used as payment for the troops. This is the only man who has faithfully carried out his duties even after death. This too happened in the last ten days of rajab.
AN AMBUSH
On 22 shawwa? l (586/22 November 1190) the Sultan decided to stage an ambush for the enemy. He selected a group of warriors and gallant knights chosen from a great number, and told them to leave camp by night and wait at the foot of a hill to the north of Acre, not far from the enemy camp, where al-Malik al-'Adil had been stationed in the battle that was called after him. A few of them were to allow the enemy to see them, and by going up to the tents to provoke them, and then, when the Franks came out to get them, to escape in the direction of the Muslims. The detachment obeyed and marched off to arrive at the hill by night and take up their positions. Saturday 23rd dawned and a small band, mounted on swift horses, emerged and made for the enemy tents, firing arrows at them. Provoked by this persistent attack about two hundred Frankish knights in full armour, with fine horses and weapons, appeared and attacked without infantry. The smallness of the Muslim band had beguiled them into giving battle. The Muslims fled before them, fighting and retreating at the same time, until they reached the ambush. At their arrival the hidden warriors burst out and with one shout fell on the Franks like lions on their prey. The Franks resisted and fought nobly, but they were put to flight. The Muslims overcame them, killed many and unseated and captured a good number and took their horses and arms.
The good news reached the Muslim camp, and voices were raised in praise and jubila- tion to God. The Sultan rode out to meet the heroes (I was on duty at his side) as far as Tall Kaisa? n, where he met the leaders of the band. There he stopped to inspect the prison- ers, while the people praised and thanked him for his gesture. The Sultan examined the prisoners and ascertained who they were. Among them was the commander of the King of France's army, whom the latter had sent to help before his own arrival. In the same way the King's treasurer was taken prisoner. The Sultan returned to his tent happy and contented, sent for the prisoners, and had the herald summon all who had captured one to bring him into his presence. They all appeared with their prisoners; I was present on the occasion. Saladin treated the most important and distinguished prisoners with respect and gave them robes of honour. He gave the captain of the King's guard a special fur robe, and to each of the others one from Jarkh, for it was very cold and they were suffering from it. He sent for food for them, which they ate, and had a tent pitched for them near his own. He continued to show honour to them and sometimes invited the commander to his table. Then he had them sent to Damascus, whither they were conducted with honour. He gave them permis- sion to write to their companions and send for clothes and other necessities from the camp. This they did, and then left for Damascus.
SALADIN'S HUMANITY
Forty-five Franks taken at Beiru? t were brought before Saladin on their arrival there that day. 1 On this occasion I was able to observe his unparalleled generosity with my own eyes. Among the prisoners was a very old man, without a tooth in his head or the strength to do
120 Arab Historians of the Crusades
more than get himself about. The Sultan told the interpreter to ask him: 'What brought you here at such an advanced age, and how far is this place from your own land? ' He replied: 'My own land is many months' voyage away from here, and my journey here was a pil- grimage to the Holy Sepulchre. ' The Sultan was moved by this to thank him and do him the honour of giving him his liberty and sending him back to the enemy camp on horseback. His small sons asked his permission to kill one of the prisoners, but he refused. They asked me to ask him why, and he said: 'One does not accustom children to shedding blood thus lightly, when they are still incapable of distinguishing a Muslim from an infidel. ' Observe the clemency, conscientiousness and scrupulousness of this King! 1
FRANKISH WOMEN OF PEACE AND WAR2 ('IMA? D AD-DIN, 228-30)
There arrived by ship three hundred lovely Frankish women, full of youth and beauty, assembled from beyond the sea and offering themselves for sin. They were expatriates come to help expatriates, ready to cheer the fallen and sustained in turn to give support and assistance, and they glowed with ardour for carnal intercourse. They were all licentious har- lots, proud and scornful, who took and gave, foul-fleshed and sinful, singers and coquettes, appearing proudly in public, ardent and inflamed, tinted and painted, desirable and appe- tizing, exquisite and graceful, who ripped open and patched up, lacerated and mended, erred and ogled, urged and seduced, consoled and solicited, seductive and languid, desired and desiring, amused and amusing, versatile and cunning, like tipsy adolescents, making love and selling themselves for gold, bold and ardent, loving and passionate, pink-faced and unblushing, black-eyed and bullying, callipygian and graceful, with nasal voices and fleshy thighs, blue-eyed and grey-eyed, broken-down little fools. Each one trailed the train of her robe behind her and bewitched the beholder with her effulgence. She swayed like a sapling, revealed herself like a strong castle, quivered like a small branch, walked proudly with a cross on her breast, sold her graces for gratitude, and longed to lose her robe and her honour. They arrived after consecrating their persons as if to works of piety, and offered and prostituted the most chaste and precious among them. They said that they set out with the intention of consecrating their charms, that they did not intend to refuse themselves to bachelors, and they maintained that they could make themselves acceptable to God by no better sacrifice than this. So they set themselves up each in a pavilion or tent erected for her use, together with other lovely young girls of their age, and opened the gates of pleasure. They dedicated as a holy offering what they kept between their thighs; they were openly licentious and devoted themselves to relaxation; they removed every obstacle to making of themselves free offerings. They plied a brisk trade in dissoluteness, adorned the patched-up fissures, poured themselves into the springs of libertinage, shut themselves up in private under the amorous transports of men, offered their wares for enjoyment, invited
At Tall al-'Ayadiyya, near Acre, on 9 rabi? ' I 587/6 April 1191.
This is one anecdote in which the Saladin of history and of legend meet.
There follows a page of baroque pornography that may be of interest to connoisseurs of literary teratology.
1 1 2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 121
the shameless into their embrace, mounted breasts on backs, bestowed their wares on the poor, brought their silver anklets up to touch their golden ear-rings, and were willingly spread out on the carpet of amorous sport. They made themselves targets for men's darts, they were permitted territory for forbidden acts, they offered themselves to the lances' blows and humiliated themselves to their lovers. They put up the tent and loosed the girdle after agreement had been reached. They were the places where tent-pegs are driven in, they invited swords to enter their sheaths, they razed their terrain for planting, they made jav- elins rise toward shields, excited the plough to plough, gave the birds a place to peck with their beaks, allowed heads to enter their ante-chambers and raced under whoever bestrode them at the spur's blow. They took the parched man's sinews to the well, fitted arrows to the bow's handle, cut off sword-belts, engraved coins, welcomed birds into the nest of their thighs, caught in their nets the horns of butting rams, removed the interdict from what is protected, withdrew the veil from what is hidden. They interwove leg with leg, slaked their lovers' thirsts, caught lizard after lizard in their holes, disregarded the wickedness of their intimacies, guided pens to inkwells, torrents to the valley bottom, streams to pools, swords to scabbards, gold ingots to crucibles, infidel girdles to women's zones, firewood to the stove, guilty men to low dungeons, money-changers to dinar, necks to bellies, motes to eyes. They contested for tree-trunks, wandered far and wide to collect fruit, and maintained that this was an act of piety without equal, especially to those who were far from home and wives. They mixed wine, and with the eye of sin they begged for its hire. 1 The men of our army heard tell of them, and were at a loss to know how such women could perform acts of piety by abandoning all decency and shame. However, a few foolish mamlu? ks and ignorant wretches slipped away, under the fierce goad of lust, and followed the people of error. And there were those who allowed themselves to buy pleasure with degradation, and those who repented of their sin and found devious ways of retracing their steps, for the hand of any man who shrinks from (absolute) apostasy dares not stretch out, and it is the nature of him who arrives there to steal away from them, suspecting that what is serious, is serious, and the door of pleasure closes in his face. Now among the Franks a woman who gives herself to a celibate man commits no sin, and her justification is even greater in the case of a priest, if chaste men in dire need find relief in enjoying her.
Another person to arrive by sea was a noblewoman who was very wealthy. She was a queen in her own land, and arrived accompanied by five hundred knights with their horses and money, pages and valets, she paying all their expenses and treating them generously out of her wealth. They rode out when she rode out, charged when she charged, flung them- selves into the fray at her side, their ranks unwavering as long as she stood firm.
Among the Franks there were indeed women who rode into battle with cuirasses and helmets, dressed in men's clothes; who rode out into the thick of the fray and acted like brave men although they were but tender women, maintaining that all this was an act of piety, thinking to gain heavenly rewards by it, and making it their way of life. Praise be to him who led them into such error and out of the paths of wisdom! On the day of battle more than one woman rode out with them like a knight and showed (masculine) endurance in
This is a hint of the true nature of these camp-followers, represented in the rest of the passage as fanatical hierodules of the Christian faith; but even this metaphor from the market, the request with the eye (or the coin) of sin, could be understood in other than a literally venial sense.
1
122 Arab Historians of the Crusades
spite of the weakness (of her sex); clothed only in a coat of mail they were not recognized as women until they had been stripped of their arms. 1 Some of them were discovered and sold as slaves; and everywhere was full of old women. These were sometimes a support and sometimes a source of weakness. They exhorted and incited men to summon their pride, saying that the Cross imposed on them the obligation to resist to the bitter end, and that the combatants would win eternal life only by sacrificing their lives, and that their God's sepulchre was in enemy hands. Observe how men and women led them into error; the latter in their religious zeal tired of feminine delicacy, and to save themselves from the terror of dismay (on the day of Judgment) became the close companions of perplexity, and having succumbed to the lust for vengeance, became hardened, and stupid and foolish because of the harm they had suffered.
1
Ibn al-Athi? r has the same story. Clearly there was more than one Clorinda in the Christian camp; but from a passage in Usama we learn that Muslim women too were capable of taking up arms if necessary.
CHAPTER FIVE
The expedition of Frederick Barbarossa, which ended in the waters of the Calycadnus and the epidemics of northern Syria, was followed with greater success by those of the kings of France and England. Despite all Saladin's efforts to mobilize all the forces of Isla? m in a counter-crusade (we owe to Abu Shama the text of one of his impassioned appeals on the subject), in 1191, her food and her army gone, Acre submitted. Baha? ' ad-Din paints for us a vivid picture of the last hours and the tragedy of the surrender with its bloody epilogue, a disgrace to the name of Coeur de Lion, when the Muslim prisoners were massacred in cold blood.
CONRAD OF MONTFERRAT AND THE THIRD CRUSADE (BAHA? ' AD-DI? N, 181)
. . . the Marquis, the ruler of Tyre, was one of the most cunning and experienced of the Franks, and his was the chief responsibility for luring the crowds of Crusaders from over- seas. He had a picture of Jerusalem painted showing the Church of the Resurrection, the object of pilgrimage and deepest veneration to them; according to them the Messiah's tomb is there, in which he was buried after his crucifixion. 1 This sepulchre was the object of their pilgrimage, and they believed that every year fire came down upon it from heaven at one of their feasts. 2 Above the tomb the Marquis had a horse painted, and mounted on it a Muslim knight who was trampling the tomb, over which his horse was urinating. This picture was sent abroad to the markets and meeting-places; priests carried it about, clothed in their hab- its, their heads covered, groaning: 'O the shame! ' In this way they raised a huge army, God alone knows how many, among them the King of Germany with his troops.
FREDERICK BARBAROSSA'S CRUSADE AND HIS DEATH (IBN AL-ATHI?
R, XII, 30-2)
In 586/1190 the King of Germany left his country, which was inhabited by one of the most numerous and vigorous of the Frankish tribes. Troubled by the fall of Jerusalem to the Muslims, he marshalled his army, equipped them fully and left his land for Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor sent word of his coming to Saladin and promised that he would not let him pass through his lands. When the King of Germany reached Constantinople the Emperor was in no position to prevent his passage because of the size of his army, but he
We have already remarked on the Docetist theories of Muslim Christology.
The fire ceremony on Holy Saturday, celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre until the last century.
1 2
124 Arab Historians of the Crusades
denied him any provisions and forbade his subjects to supply the army with what it needed, so that they found themselves short of food and provisions. They crossed the Bosporus and landed on Muslim soil, in the kingdom of Qilij Arsla? n ibn Qutlumi? sh ibn Selju? q. 1 They had barely set foot there before the Turcomans attacked them, and they continued to keep up with them on their march, killing stragglers and plundering where they could. It was winter and the cold in those parts is intense. The snow settled, and cold, hunger and the Turcomans took their toll of the army and reduced its numbers. When they approached Konya, King Qutb ad-Din Maliksha? h ibn Qilij Arsla? n came out to bar their way, but he could do nothing against them and so returned to Konya and his father. This son had stripped his father of his power, and the other sons had dispersed through his lands, each seizing a part of the kingdom. As Qutb ad-Din retreated before them the German army moved quickly in his wake and set up camp outside Konya. Then they sent a gift to Qilij Arsla? n with the mes- sage: 'Your country is not our objective, but Jerusalem,' and asking him at the same time to allow his subjects to provide them with food and other necessities. He gave his permission and they got whatever they needed, satisfied themselves, gathered together provisions for the journey and set off. Then they asked Qutb ad-Din to order his subjects not to molest them, and to consign to them as hostages a certain number of his ami? rs. He was sufficiently afraid of them to hand over about twenty ami? rs whom he disliked, and they took them off. Since the brigands and others were not in fact restrained from attacking and harassing the expedition, the King of Germany had the hostages seized and put in chains, and some of them died in prison, while others succeeded in ransoming themselves. The King of Ger- many reached Lesser Armenia, whose King was called Leo, son of Stephen son of Leo, and he supplied them with food and provisions, welcomed them as lords in his country and showed them obedience. From here they advanced toward Antioch, but found a river in their path, beside which they camped. The King went down to the river to wash himself, and was drowned at a place where the water was not even up to his waist. Thus God liber- ated us from the evil of such a man.
He had with him a young son,1 who became King in his place and continued the march to Antioch. But his companions had lost their undivided loyalty to him; some wanted to turn back and go home, others wanted his brother as King, and they too split away from the main party. He went on with the remainder of his army that was faithful to him. They numbered 40,000 when he reviewed them, for death and epidemics had decimated them. They reached Antioch looking like disinterred corpses, and the ruler of the city, who was not pleased to see them, sent them off to join the Franks besieging Acre. On their journey through Jabala, Laodicea and other regions in Muslim hands they were attacked by troops from Aleppo and elsewhere; many were taken prisoner and even more died. They reached Tripoli and stayed there for several days, but the pestilence fell upon them and left not more than a thousand. These made their way to the Franks at Acre. When they got there and real- ized the losses they had suffered and the discord there was among them they decided to return home, but their ships were wrecked and not one escaped.
The Seljuqid Sultan of Iconium. Frederick, soon to die before Acre.
1 1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 125
King Qilij Arsla? n had written to Saladin advising him of their arrival and promising to prevent their passage through his lands, so when they had got through and left him behind them he sent his excuses for having failed to prevent them--his sons had seized control, stripped him of his power and dispersed, evading their obligation to him. As for Saladin, when he heard of the arrival of the King of Germany he took counsel with his companions. Many of them advised him to march against them and confront them before they reached Acre, but he said that it was better to wait until they came nearer to the Muslim armies before attacking them, in case the Muslim troops at Acre should think of surrendering. He sent contingents from. Aleppo, Jabala, Laodicea, Shaizar and elsewhere into the region of Aleppo to protect it from enemy attacks. The Muslims found themselves in the state of which God says: 'When they attacked you from above and below, and your eyes were distracted and your hearts came up into your throats, and you thought on God in all sorts of ways. Then the Believers were put to the test and seriously shaken. '1 But God freed us of their evil and turned their plotting upon themselves.
So great was the fear they aroused that this story was told: one of Saladin's ami? rs had a village in the Mosul area, administered by my brother. When the harvest was reaped, barley and straw, he sent to his lord to discuss the sale of the crop, but got in reply a letter saying; 'Do not sell a single grain, and make sure to reap the largest possible amount of straw. ' This was followed by a letter from the ami? r telling him to go ahead and sell the crop, as they had no further need of it. When the ami? r came to Mosul we asked him why he had forbidden the sale and then soon afterward authorized it. He replied: 'When we had news that the King of Germany had come we were convinced that we should no longer be able to hold Syria, and so I wrote to prevent the sale of the harvest so that there would be food in reserve when we came to you. But when God destroyed them and there was no longer any need for reserves of food I wrote to you to sell it and invest the money. '
THE ARRIVAL OF THE KINGS OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND (BAHA? ' AD-DIN 212-14, 220)
(In the spring of 1190) when the sea became navigable again and the weather was fine, the time came for both sides to return to the fray. The first of the Muslims to arrive was 'Alam ad-Din Sulaima? n ibn Jandar, one of al-Malik az-Zahir's ami? rs, an old and distinguished man, the veteran of many battles, a wise counsellor, esteemed and honoured by the Sultan, of whom he had for years been a companion at arms. After him came Majd ad-Din ibn 'Izz ad-Din Farrukhsha? h, ruler of Baalbek, and then other Muslim contingents arrived from all directions. As for the enemy army, they warned our spies and outposts of the imminent arrival of the French King,1 a great and honoured ruler, one of their mightiest princes, whom all the armies obeyed. He was to assume supreme command of them on his arrival. He arrived as they promised he would, six ships carrying him and his supplies, the horses they would need and his closest companions. This was on Saturday 23 rabi? ' 1/20 April 1191.
Qur'a? n XXXIII, 10-11, referring to the siege of Medina by the pagan confederacy in the fifth year of the hijra/627.
Philip II Augustus.
1
1
126 Arab Historians of the Crusades
He brought with him from his homeland an enormous white falcon of a rare species; I never saw a finer specimen. The King held it dear and showed it great affection. One day it escaped from his hand and flew away. He called it back but it did not respond, and instead flew over the wall of Acre, whose inhabitants seized it and sent it to the Sultan. Its arrival brought great joy, and its capture was seen as a good omen of victory for the Muslims. The Franks offered a ransom of a thousand dinar for it, but the offer was refused. After the King came the Count of Flanders,1 a famous military leader, of whom it was said that he had laid siege to Hama? t and Hari? m in the year of the fall of ar-Ramla. . . .
The King of England2 was a very powerful man among the Franks, a man of great courage and spirit. He had fought great battles, and showed a burning passion for war. His kingdom and standing were inferior to those of the French King, but his wealth, reputation and valour were greater. For example, when he reached Cyprus, he refused to proceed any further until the island was his. So he laid siege to it and gave battle, while its ruler, with a great host of warriors, moved out against him and offered strenuous resistance. The King of England sent to Acre to ask for help in taking the island, and King Guy3 sent his brother and a hundred and seventy knights, while the Franks at Acre waited to see the outcome of the conflict. . . .
On Saturday 13 jumada 1/8 June 1191 the King of England arrived, after coming to terms with the King of Cyprus and taking possession of the island. His arrival made an enormous impression: he appeared with twenty-five ships full of men, arms and equip- ment, and the Franks made a great display of joy and lit fires that night among their tents. The fires were im-pressive, and big enough to show what a vast amount of equipment he had brought with him. 1 The Frankish rulers had for a long time been telling us that he was coming, and those of them who had safe-conducts and could contact our side said that they had been waiting for his arrival to put into effect their plan to besiege the city with new vigour. The King was indeed a man of wisdom, experience, courage and energy. His arrival put fear into the hearts of the Muslims, but the Sultan met the panic with firmness and faith in God, consecrating all his actions to Him and dedicating to Him his sincere intention of fighting in the Holy War.
SALADIN'S SUMMONS TO THE HOLY WAR (ABU SHAMA, 11, 148)
'We hope in God most high, to whom be praise, who leads the hearts of Muslims to calm what torments them and ruins their prosperity. As long as the seas bring reinforcements to the enemy and the land does not drive them off, our country will continue to suffer at their hands, and our hearts to be troubled by the sickness caused by the harm they do us. Where is the sense of honour of the Muslims, the pride of the believers, the zeal of the faithful? We shall never cease to be amazed at how the Unbelievers, for their part, have shown trust,
Philip of Alsace.
Richard Coeur de Lion.
The text has 'Godfrey' for Guy.
Western sources too speak of these great bonfires of jubilation.
1 2 3 1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 127
and it is the Muslims who have been lacking in zeal. Not one of them has responded to the call, not one intervenes to straighten what is distorted; but observe how far the Franks have gone; what unity they have achieved, what aims they pursue, what help they have given, what sums of money they have borrowed and spent, what wealth they have collected and distributed and divided among them! There is not a king left in their lands or islands, not a lord or a rich man who has not competed with his neighbours to produce more support, and rivalled his peers in strenuous military effort. In defence of their religion they consider it a small thing to spend life and soul, and they have kept their infidel brothers supplied with arms and champions for the war. And all they have done, and all their generosity, has been done purely out of zeal for Him they worship, in jealous defence of their Faith. Every Frank feels that once we have reconquered the (Syrian) coast, and the veil of their honour is torn off and destroyed, this country will slip from their grasp, and our hand will reach out toward their own countries. The Muslims, on the other hand, are weakened and demoralized. They have become negligent and lazy, the victims of unproductive stupefac- tion and completely lacking in enthusiasm. If, God forbid, Isla? m should draw rein, obscure her splendour, blunt her sword, there would be no one, East or West, far or near, who would blaze with zeal for God's religion or choose to come to the aid of truth against error. This is the moment to cast off lethargy, to summon from far and near all those men who have blood in their veins. But we are confident, thanks be to God, in the help that will come from Him, and entrust ourselves to Him in sincerity of purpose and deepest devotion. God willing, the Unbelievers shall perish and the faithful have a sure deliverance. '
THE LAST ATTACK ON ACRE AND THE SURRENDER OF THE CITY (BAHA? ' AD-DIN, 229-39)
The besiegers battered the walls ceaselessly with catapults, which was the only method of attack they used, and eventually the walls began to crumble, their structure collapsed, and exhaustion and vigilance wore the defenders out. There were few of them against a great number of enemy soldiers, and they underwent the most severe trial of endurance; in fact some of them went for several nights on end without closing their eyes, night or day, whereas the circle hemming them in consisted of a great number of men who took it in turns to fight. The defenders however were but few, and had had to share the duties of the wall, the trenches, the catapults and the galleys.
When the enemy realized this, and when the walls seemed to be tottering, their structure undermined, they began to attack on all sides, divided into groups and detachments that took it in turn to fight. Each time that a detachment exhausted itself it retired to rest and another took its place. On the seventh of the month (jumada 11 586/12 July 1191) they began a great offensive, manning night and day all the mounds surrounding their trenches with infantry and combatants. The Sultan, who learnt of the assault from eye-witnesses and by an agreed signal from the garrison--a roll of drums--mounted his horse and ordered the army to mount and attack the enemy. A great battle was fought that day. As deeply con- cerned as a mother bereft of her child, Saladin galloped from battalion to battalion inciting his men to fight for the Faith. Al-Malik al-'Adil, they say, himself led two charges that day. The Sultan moved through the ranks crying: 'For Isla? m! ' his eyes swimming with tears.
128 Arab Historians of the Crusades
Every time he looked toward Acre and saw the agony she was in and the disaster looming for her inhabitants, he launched himself once more into the attack and goaded his men on to fight. That day he touched no food and drank only a cup or two of the potion prescribed for him by his doctor. I was left behind and could not take part in the attack because of an illness that afflicted me. I was in my tent at Tall al-'Ayadiyya, and all the battle was spread out before my eyes. Night fell, the Sultan returned to his tent after the final evening prayer, exhausted and in anguish, and slept fitfully. The next morning he had the drums beaten, marshalled his army and returned to the battle he had left the night before.
On that day a letter arrived from the beleaguered men in which they said: 'We have reached such a pitch of exhaustion that we can do nothing but surrender. Tomorrow, the eighth of the month, if you can do nothing for us, we shall beg for our lives and hand over the city, securing only our personal safety. ' This was one of the saddest messages ever received by the Muslims, and it stabbed them to the heart; the more so since Acre contained all the military equipment from Palestine, Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Egypt and all the Muslim lands, as well as the army's greatest ami? rs, and such gallant champions of Isla? m as Saif ad-Din 'Ali al-Mashtu? b, Saif ad-Din Qaraqu? sh, and others. Qaraqu? sh in particular had directed the defence of the town since the enemy first besieged it. The Sultan was smitten by the news as by no other blow that had ever struck him, to such an extent that his life was feared for. But he continued his unceasing prayers to God and turned to Him throughout the crisis, with patience and pious abnegation and tenacious energy: 'And God does not waste the hire of the doer of good. '1 He wanted to try by assault to re-establish contact with the besieged men. The alarm sounded among the troops, the champions mounted their horses, cavalry and infantry assembled. But on that day the army did not support him in the attack on the enemy, for the enemy infantry stood like an unbreakable wall with weapons, ballistas and arrows, behind their bastions. Attacked on every side by the Muslims, they held firm and defended themselves most vigorously. A man who penetrated as far as their trenches told how there was a huge Frank there who leapt on to the parapet of the trench and chased back the Muslims; some men standing close to him handed him stones which he threw down on to the Muslims sheltering behind the parapet. More than fifty stones and arrows struck him without dislodging him from the defensive battle he had undertaken, until a Muslim pyrotechnician threw an incendiary bottle at him and burnt him alive. Another observant old soldier who penetrated the trenches that day told me that on the other side of the parapet was a woman dressed in a green mantle, who shot at us with a wooden bow and wounded many Muslims before she was overcome and killed. Her bow was taken and carried to the Sultan, who was clearly deeply impressed by the story. Thus the fighting continued until nightfall.
ACRE, INCAPABLE OF FURTHER RESISTANCE, NEGOTIATES WITH THE FRANKS
The attack on the city from all sides was intensified, with troops taking turns to fight, and the defenders were reduced to a handful of infantry and cavalry as a result of the great
Qur'a? n III, 165.
1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 129
losses they had suffered. The survivors lost heart at the thought of the imminence of death, and felt incapable of any further defiance. Meanwhile the enemy captured their trenches and the wall of the first bastion. The Franks had tunnelled under it, filled the mines with combustible material and set fire to it. Part of the bastion crumbled and the Franks got in. But they lost more than a hundred and fifty men there, dead or captured, including six of their leaders. One of these cried: 'Do not kill me, and I will make the Franks retreat! ' but a Kurd fell on him and killed him, and the other five were killed in the same way. The next day the Franks issued a proclamation: 'Return those six men, and we will grant freedom to all the city! ' But the Muslims replied that they were already dead, which caused great grief to the Franks, who suspended the offensive for three days after this.
It was said that Saif ad-Din al-Mashtu? b himself went out under safe-conduct to talk to the French King, and said to him: 'In the past we have taken many of your cities by storm. In every case, when the inhabitants asked for an amnesty it has been granted, and we have allowed them honourably to go into safety. Now we would surrender this city, and we hope that you will guarantee our lives. ' The King replied: 'Those whom you captured in the past were our subjects, and in the same way you are our mamlu? ks and slaves. We shall see what is to be done with you. ' To which al-Mashtu? b, they say, replied harshly and at length, saying among other things: 'We shall not hand over the city until we are all dead, and not one of us will die before he has killed fifty of your leaders,' and he went away. When al-Mashtu? b brought the news to the city some of the garrison were afraid, and climb- ing an embankment escaped to the Muslim camp by night. This was on 9 jumada II, and among the distinguished men in the party were 'Izz ad-Din Arsil, Ibn al-Jawali and Sunqu? r al-Ushaqi. When Arsil and Sunqu? r reached the camp they vanished without leaving the faintest trace, for fear of Saladin's wrath. Ibn al-Jawali was taken and thrown into prison.
On the following morning the Sultan mounted, intending to take the enemy by surprise, and took with him spades and other equipment for bridging the trenches. But the troops refused to support him in carrying out his plan, and said rebelliously: 'You want to place all Isla? m in jeopardy, but such a plan could not have a successful outcome. ' That day three messengers came from the English King asking Saladin for fruit and snow, and saying that the Grand Master of the Hospital would come out the next day to discuss peace. The Sultan treated the messengers with honour, and they went to the market and walked about there, and returned to their own camp at night-fall. That day the Sultan told Sarim ad-Din Qaima? z an-Najmi to take his men and penetrate the enemy lines. He took a group of Kurd- ish ami? rs such as al-Jana? h, (al-Mashtu? b's brother), and his friends, as far as the Frankish lines. Qaima?
'In God's name,' he said, 'Praise to God and blessing to the Prophet; know that this enemy of God and of ourselves has invaded our country and seized the territory of Isla? m. Signs are already appearing of the victory that we shall win over them, God willing. Now they are left with very small forces, and it is our task to try at any cost to exterminate them, as a duty imposed upon us by God. You know that these are our entire forces, and that we shall have no reinforcements except for al-Malik al-'Adil who is on his way. If the enemy stay where they are and hold on until communications by sea can be reopened, they will get large reinforcements. My feeling, therefore, is that we should not hesitate to attack them. Each of you will now give his opinion about this. '
The date was 13 tishri? n according to the solar calendar (13 October). Various opinions were voiced and discussed, and they reached the conclusion that the best plan would be to withdraw with the army to Kharruba and allow the men to rest for a few days from carrying arms and the fatigue that it entailed, to gain strength and graze their horses. The men had been in the front line for fifty days, and the horses were exhausted with the fighting and the strain imposed on them. After a short rest they would recover their breath. 'Al-Malik al-'Adil will arrive and give us his advice as well as his support. We shall round up the deserters and muster the infantry so that they will be ready to face the enemy. '
The Sultan was very ill with various troubles exacerbated by the weight of the arms he bore and the constant wearing of a helmet, so he decided to follow their advice. The army was moved up to join the baggage on 3 ramada? n. The Sultan moved on the same night, and his health began to improve. The troops were mustered, and waited for his brother al-Malik al-'Adil, who arrived on 10 ramada? n/22 October. 1
THE SIEGE-TOWERS ARE BURNT DOWN (IBN AL-ATHI? R, XII, 28-30)
During the siege of Acre the Franks built three lofty wooden towers, each one sixty cubits tall. They had five floors, each crowded with soldiers. The wood for them had been brought
The date is more than a month earlier than that given by Ibn al-Athi? r and his source 'Ima? d ad-Din
1
(half-way through shawwa? l).
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 117
from abroad, as a very special kind was needed for these towers. They were covered with skins, vinegar, mud and fire-resisting substances. The Franks cleared a path for their advance and brought all three up under the walls of Acre. The assault began on 20 rabi? ' I (587/27 April 1190). They towered over the walls, and the men inside them fought the defenders on the walls, and pushed them back, while the Franks began to fill up the moat. Thus the city was on the point of being taken by assault. The people of Acre sent a man to escape by swimming and tell Saladin what was happening, and that capture seemed immi- nent. The Sultan ordered his army to mount and advanced on the enemy, engaging them on all sides in fierce and unceasing combat, and endeavoured by this means to distract them from their attack on the city. The Franks divided their forces, one part to attack Saladin and the other the city, and so the pressure on Acre was relieved.
The fighting lasted for eight days on end, until the 28th of the month/5th May, when the exhaustion of both sides after eight days of continuous day and night fighting brought it to an end. The Muslims were now convinced that the Franks would take the city, seeing that the defenders could not fend off attacks from their siege-towers. They had exhausted every stratagem to no avail, and followed this by showering the towers with Greek fire, but made no impression on them. They were convinced therefore that they were doomed, when God aided them and enabled the towers to be burnt.
It happened like this: there was a man from Damascus who was a passionate collec- tor of pyrotechnic devices and ingredients for reinforcing the effect of fire. His friends reproached and rebuked him for his passion, but he replied that it was an occupation that did no harm to anyone and which interested him as a hobby. By a strange coincidence this man was in Acre, and when he saw the towers being built for use against the city he began to collect together the ingredients that he knew would increase the effectiveness of fire and make it inextinguishable by earth, vinegar or any other substance. When he had everything ready he presented it to the ami? r Qaraqu? sh, commander and governor of Acre, and told him to order the artillery to aim one of their catapults at a tower and fire off what he had given him, and it would set the tower alight. Qaraqu? sh was out of his mind with fear that the city would fall, with a frenzy that almost killed him. The man's words drove him to even greater fury and he raged at him: 'These men have used all their skill to hit the towers with Greek fire and everything else, without success! ' But some of those present said: 'Who knows that God has not put our salvation in this man's hands? There is no harm in doing what he proposes. ' So Qaraqu? sh consented and told the artillery to obey the man's orders. They shot a certain number of containers full of naphtha and other things without starting a fire, and the Franks, seeing that when the containers fell they did not burn anything, called out and danced about and made jokes from the top of the tower. When the inventor saw that the containers shot from the catapult really hit the tower he sent over one that was filled with his invention, and at once the tower went up in flames. He shot a second and a third time; the fire spread through the tower, preventing the men on the five platforms from escaping to safety. Thus it was burnt with everyone in it, as well as a store of cuirasses and arms. The Franks, seeing that the first containers were ineffective, had been inclined to stay calm and make no effort to save themselves, until God gave them a foretaste of Hell-fire. When the first tower was burnt the Muslims turned to the second, whose soldiers fled in fear, and the third, and burnt them both, making this a day to stand out in the memory. The Muslims looked on and rejoiced, their faces lit up with joy again after sorrow, for the victory and
118 Arab Historians of the Crusades
preservation from death of their co-religionists, for every one of them had a friend or rela- tion in the city. The inventor was brought before Saladin who offered him great wealth and honour, but he refused to take anything. 'I did it for love of God,' he said, 'and I want no other reward than Him. ' The joyful news travelled through the provinces, and the Sultan sent for reinforcements from the East. First to arrive was 'Ima? d ad-Din Zangi ibn Maudu? d ibn Zangi, ruler of Sinja? r and the Jazira, then 'Ala? ' ad-Din son of 'Izz ad-Din ibn Maudu? d ibn Zangi, ruler of Mosul, sent by his father to command the Mosul army, then Zain ad-Din Yusuf of Arbela. As soon as each arrived he attacked the Franks with his troops and fought with the rest of the army, and after that pitched his tents.
Various Incidents during the Siege
(BAHA? ' AD-DIN, 178-9, 201-3, 211)
A SHIP FROM BEIRU? T REACHES ACRE BY MEANS OF A RUSE
The Franks, God damn them! had posted their ships all round Acre to blockade the harbour against Muslim shipping. The besieged were in dire need of food and provisions. A group of Muslims embarked at Beiru? t with a cargo of four hundred sacks of grain, cheese, onions, mutton and other provisions. They dressed in Frankish clothes, shaved their beards, put some pigs on the upper deck where they could be seen from a distance,1 set up crosses, weighed anchor and made for the city from the open sea. When they came into contact with enemy ships the Franks accosted them in small boats and galleys saying: 'We see that you are making for the city,' thinking that they too were Franks. The Muslims replied: 'But haven't you taken it yet? ' 'Not yet. ' 'Then we will make for the Frankish army. But there was another ship travelling with us on the same wind; warn it not to enter the city. ' There was in fact a Frankish ship behind them on the same route, making for the army. The patrol- boat saw it and made off to warn it. Thus the Muslim ship was free to follow its own course, and entered port on a favourable wind, safe and sound by God's grace. They brought great joy, for the inhabitants were now suffering severe hardships. This happened in the last ten days of rajab (586/August- September 1190).
THE STORY OF THE SWIMMER ISA
One of the most strange and amazing incidents of the siege was this: a Muslim swimmer called Isa used to come into the city by night with messages and money carried in his belt, eluding enemy surveillance. He would dive down, and come up on the other side of the boom. One night, carrying three purses containing a thousand dinar and messages for the army in his belt he set out on his swim, but met with an accident from which he died. It was some time before we learnt of his death. It was his custom, on entering the city, to send up a messenger-pigeon to tell of his arrival. When the bird did not appear we realized that he must be dead. One day some time later a group of people was on the beach by the city when the sea cast up a body on the shore. Examination revealed that it was Isa the swimmer. In
1
Unclean animals that a Muslim would never eat.
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 119
his belt they found the gold and the wax-paper containing the letters; the gold was used as payment for the troops. This is the only man who has faithfully carried out his duties even after death. This too happened in the last ten days of rajab.
AN AMBUSH
On 22 shawwa? l (586/22 November 1190) the Sultan decided to stage an ambush for the enemy. He selected a group of warriors and gallant knights chosen from a great number, and told them to leave camp by night and wait at the foot of a hill to the north of Acre, not far from the enemy camp, where al-Malik al-'Adil had been stationed in the battle that was called after him. A few of them were to allow the enemy to see them, and by going up to the tents to provoke them, and then, when the Franks came out to get them, to escape in the direction of the Muslims. The detachment obeyed and marched off to arrive at the hill by night and take up their positions. Saturday 23rd dawned and a small band, mounted on swift horses, emerged and made for the enemy tents, firing arrows at them. Provoked by this persistent attack about two hundred Frankish knights in full armour, with fine horses and weapons, appeared and attacked without infantry. The smallness of the Muslim band had beguiled them into giving battle. The Muslims fled before them, fighting and retreating at the same time, until they reached the ambush. At their arrival the hidden warriors burst out and with one shout fell on the Franks like lions on their prey. The Franks resisted and fought nobly, but they were put to flight. The Muslims overcame them, killed many and unseated and captured a good number and took their horses and arms.
The good news reached the Muslim camp, and voices were raised in praise and jubila- tion to God. The Sultan rode out to meet the heroes (I was on duty at his side) as far as Tall Kaisa? n, where he met the leaders of the band. There he stopped to inspect the prison- ers, while the people praised and thanked him for his gesture. The Sultan examined the prisoners and ascertained who they were. Among them was the commander of the King of France's army, whom the latter had sent to help before his own arrival. In the same way the King's treasurer was taken prisoner. The Sultan returned to his tent happy and contented, sent for the prisoners, and had the herald summon all who had captured one to bring him into his presence. They all appeared with their prisoners; I was present on the occasion. Saladin treated the most important and distinguished prisoners with respect and gave them robes of honour. He gave the captain of the King's guard a special fur robe, and to each of the others one from Jarkh, for it was very cold and they were suffering from it. He sent for food for them, which they ate, and had a tent pitched for them near his own. He continued to show honour to them and sometimes invited the commander to his table. Then he had them sent to Damascus, whither they were conducted with honour. He gave them permis- sion to write to their companions and send for clothes and other necessities from the camp. This they did, and then left for Damascus.
SALADIN'S HUMANITY
Forty-five Franks taken at Beiru? t were brought before Saladin on their arrival there that day. 1 On this occasion I was able to observe his unparalleled generosity with my own eyes. Among the prisoners was a very old man, without a tooth in his head or the strength to do
120 Arab Historians of the Crusades
more than get himself about. The Sultan told the interpreter to ask him: 'What brought you here at such an advanced age, and how far is this place from your own land? ' He replied: 'My own land is many months' voyage away from here, and my journey here was a pil- grimage to the Holy Sepulchre. ' The Sultan was moved by this to thank him and do him the honour of giving him his liberty and sending him back to the enemy camp on horseback. His small sons asked his permission to kill one of the prisoners, but he refused. They asked me to ask him why, and he said: 'One does not accustom children to shedding blood thus lightly, when they are still incapable of distinguishing a Muslim from an infidel. ' Observe the clemency, conscientiousness and scrupulousness of this King! 1
FRANKISH WOMEN OF PEACE AND WAR2 ('IMA? D AD-DIN, 228-30)
There arrived by ship three hundred lovely Frankish women, full of youth and beauty, assembled from beyond the sea and offering themselves for sin. They were expatriates come to help expatriates, ready to cheer the fallen and sustained in turn to give support and assistance, and they glowed with ardour for carnal intercourse. They were all licentious har- lots, proud and scornful, who took and gave, foul-fleshed and sinful, singers and coquettes, appearing proudly in public, ardent and inflamed, tinted and painted, desirable and appe- tizing, exquisite and graceful, who ripped open and patched up, lacerated and mended, erred and ogled, urged and seduced, consoled and solicited, seductive and languid, desired and desiring, amused and amusing, versatile and cunning, like tipsy adolescents, making love and selling themselves for gold, bold and ardent, loving and passionate, pink-faced and unblushing, black-eyed and bullying, callipygian and graceful, with nasal voices and fleshy thighs, blue-eyed and grey-eyed, broken-down little fools. Each one trailed the train of her robe behind her and bewitched the beholder with her effulgence. She swayed like a sapling, revealed herself like a strong castle, quivered like a small branch, walked proudly with a cross on her breast, sold her graces for gratitude, and longed to lose her robe and her honour. They arrived after consecrating their persons as if to works of piety, and offered and prostituted the most chaste and precious among them. They said that they set out with the intention of consecrating their charms, that they did not intend to refuse themselves to bachelors, and they maintained that they could make themselves acceptable to God by no better sacrifice than this. So they set themselves up each in a pavilion or tent erected for her use, together with other lovely young girls of their age, and opened the gates of pleasure. They dedicated as a holy offering what they kept between their thighs; they were openly licentious and devoted themselves to relaxation; they removed every obstacle to making of themselves free offerings. They plied a brisk trade in dissoluteness, adorned the patched-up fissures, poured themselves into the springs of libertinage, shut themselves up in private under the amorous transports of men, offered their wares for enjoyment, invited
At Tall al-'Ayadiyya, near Acre, on 9 rabi? ' I 587/6 April 1191.
This is one anecdote in which the Saladin of history and of legend meet.
There follows a page of baroque pornography that may be of interest to connoisseurs of literary teratology.
1 1 2
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 121
the shameless into their embrace, mounted breasts on backs, bestowed their wares on the poor, brought their silver anklets up to touch their golden ear-rings, and were willingly spread out on the carpet of amorous sport. They made themselves targets for men's darts, they were permitted territory for forbidden acts, they offered themselves to the lances' blows and humiliated themselves to their lovers. They put up the tent and loosed the girdle after agreement had been reached. They were the places where tent-pegs are driven in, they invited swords to enter their sheaths, they razed their terrain for planting, they made jav- elins rise toward shields, excited the plough to plough, gave the birds a place to peck with their beaks, allowed heads to enter their ante-chambers and raced under whoever bestrode them at the spur's blow. They took the parched man's sinews to the well, fitted arrows to the bow's handle, cut off sword-belts, engraved coins, welcomed birds into the nest of their thighs, caught in their nets the horns of butting rams, removed the interdict from what is protected, withdrew the veil from what is hidden. They interwove leg with leg, slaked their lovers' thirsts, caught lizard after lizard in their holes, disregarded the wickedness of their intimacies, guided pens to inkwells, torrents to the valley bottom, streams to pools, swords to scabbards, gold ingots to crucibles, infidel girdles to women's zones, firewood to the stove, guilty men to low dungeons, money-changers to dinar, necks to bellies, motes to eyes. They contested for tree-trunks, wandered far and wide to collect fruit, and maintained that this was an act of piety without equal, especially to those who were far from home and wives. They mixed wine, and with the eye of sin they begged for its hire. 1 The men of our army heard tell of them, and were at a loss to know how such women could perform acts of piety by abandoning all decency and shame. However, a few foolish mamlu? ks and ignorant wretches slipped away, under the fierce goad of lust, and followed the people of error. And there were those who allowed themselves to buy pleasure with degradation, and those who repented of their sin and found devious ways of retracing their steps, for the hand of any man who shrinks from (absolute) apostasy dares not stretch out, and it is the nature of him who arrives there to steal away from them, suspecting that what is serious, is serious, and the door of pleasure closes in his face. Now among the Franks a woman who gives herself to a celibate man commits no sin, and her justification is even greater in the case of a priest, if chaste men in dire need find relief in enjoying her.
Another person to arrive by sea was a noblewoman who was very wealthy. She was a queen in her own land, and arrived accompanied by five hundred knights with their horses and money, pages and valets, she paying all their expenses and treating them generously out of her wealth. They rode out when she rode out, charged when she charged, flung them- selves into the fray at her side, their ranks unwavering as long as she stood firm.
Among the Franks there were indeed women who rode into battle with cuirasses and helmets, dressed in men's clothes; who rode out into the thick of the fray and acted like brave men although they were but tender women, maintaining that all this was an act of piety, thinking to gain heavenly rewards by it, and making it their way of life. Praise be to him who led them into such error and out of the paths of wisdom! On the day of battle more than one woman rode out with them like a knight and showed (masculine) endurance in
This is a hint of the true nature of these camp-followers, represented in the rest of the passage as fanatical hierodules of the Christian faith; but even this metaphor from the market, the request with the eye (or the coin) of sin, could be understood in other than a literally venial sense.
1
122 Arab Historians of the Crusades
spite of the weakness (of her sex); clothed only in a coat of mail they were not recognized as women until they had been stripped of their arms. 1 Some of them were discovered and sold as slaves; and everywhere was full of old women. These were sometimes a support and sometimes a source of weakness. They exhorted and incited men to summon their pride, saying that the Cross imposed on them the obligation to resist to the bitter end, and that the combatants would win eternal life only by sacrificing their lives, and that their God's sepulchre was in enemy hands. Observe how men and women led them into error; the latter in their religious zeal tired of feminine delicacy, and to save themselves from the terror of dismay (on the day of Judgment) became the close companions of perplexity, and having succumbed to the lust for vengeance, became hardened, and stupid and foolish because of the harm they had suffered.
1
Ibn al-Athi? r has the same story. Clearly there was more than one Clorinda in the Christian camp; but from a passage in Usama we learn that Muslim women too were capable of taking up arms if necessary.
CHAPTER FIVE
The expedition of Frederick Barbarossa, which ended in the waters of the Calycadnus and the epidemics of northern Syria, was followed with greater success by those of the kings of France and England. Despite all Saladin's efforts to mobilize all the forces of Isla? m in a counter-crusade (we owe to Abu Shama the text of one of his impassioned appeals on the subject), in 1191, her food and her army gone, Acre submitted. Baha? ' ad-Din paints for us a vivid picture of the last hours and the tragedy of the surrender with its bloody epilogue, a disgrace to the name of Coeur de Lion, when the Muslim prisoners were massacred in cold blood.
CONRAD OF MONTFERRAT AND THE THIRD CRUSADE (BAHA? ' AD-DI? N, 181)
. . . the Marquis, the ruler of Tyre, was one of the most cunning and experienced of the Franks, and his was the chief responsibility for luring the crowds of Crusaders from over- seas. He had a picture of Jerusalem painted showing the Church of the Resurrection, the object of pilgrimage and deepest veneration to them; according to them the Messiah's tomb is there, in which he was buried after his crucifixion. 1 This sepulchre was the object of their pilgrimage, and they believed that every year fire came down upon it from heaven at one of their feasts. 2 Above the tomb the Marquis had a horse painted, and mounted on it a Muslim knight who was trampling the tomb, over which his horse was urinating. This picture was sent abroad to the markets and meeting-places; priests carried it about, clothed in their hab- its, their heads covered, groaning: 'O the shame! ' In this way they raised a huge army, God alone knows how many, among them the King of Germany with his troops.
FREDERICK BARBAROSSA'S CRUSADE AND HIS DEATH (IBN AL-ATHI?
R, XII, 30-2)
In 586/1190 the King of Germany left his country, which was inhabited by one of the most numerous and vigorous of the Frankish tribes. Troubled by the fall of Jerusalem to the Muslims, he marshalled his army, equipped them fully and left his land for Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor sent word of his coming to Saladin and promised that he would not let him pass through his lands. When the King of Germany reached Constantinople the Emperor was in no position to prevent his passage because of the size of his army, but he
We have already remarked on the Docetist theories of Muslim Christology.
The fire ceremony on Holy Saturday, celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre until the last century.
1 2
124 Arab Historians of the Crusades
denied him any provisions and forbade his subjects to supply the army with what it needed, so that they found themselves short of food and provisions. They crossed the Bosporus and landed on Muslim soil, in the kingdom of Qilij Arsla? n ibn Qutlumi? sh ibn Selju? q. 1 They had barely set foot there before the Turcomans attacked them, and they continued to keep up with them on their march, killing stragglers and plundering where they could. It was winter and the cold in those parts is intense. The snow settled, and cold, hunger and the Turcomans took their toll of the army and reduced its numbers. When they approached Konya, King Qutb ad-Din Maliksha? h ibn Qilij Arsla? n came out to bar their way, but he could do nothing against them and so returned to Konya and his father. This son had stripped his father of his power, and the other sons had dispersed through his lands, each seizing a part of the kingdom. As Qutb ad-Din retreated before them the German army moved quickly in his wake and set up camp outside Konya. Then they sent a gift to Qilij Arsla? n with the mes- sage: 'Your country is not our objective, but Jerusalem,' and asking him at the same time to allow his subjects to provide them with food and other necessities. He gave his permission and they got whatever they needed, satisfied themselves, gathered together provisions for the journey and set off. Then they asked Qutb ad-Din to order his subjects not to molest them, and to consign to them as hostages a certain number of his ami? rs. He was sufficiently afraid of them to hand over about twenty ami? rs whom he disliked, and they took them off. Since the brigands and others were not in fact restrained from attacking and harassing the expedition, the King of Germany had the hostages seized and put in chains, and some of them died in prison, while others succeeded in ransoming themselves. The King of Ger- many reached Lesser Armenia, whose King was called Leo, son of Stephen son of Leo, and he supplied them with food and provisions, welcomed them as lords in his country and showed them obedience. From here they advanced toward Antioch, but found a river in their path, beside which they camped. The King went down to the river to wash himself, and was drowned at a place where the water was not even up to his waist. Thus God liber- ated us from the evil of such a man.
He had with him a young son,1 who became King in his place and continued the march to Antioch. But his companions had lost their undivided loyalty to him; some wanted to turn back and go home, others wanted his brother as King, and they too split away from the main party. He went on with the remainder of his army that was faithful to him. They numbered 40,000 when he reviewed them, for death and epidemics had decimated them. They reached Antioch looking like disinterred corpses, and the ruler of the city, who was not pleased to see them, sent them off to join the Franks besieging Acre. On their journey through Jabala, Laodicea and other regions in Muslim hands they were attacked by troops from Aleppo and elsewhere; many were taken prisoner and even more died. They reached Tripoli and stayed there for several days, but the pestilence fell upon them and left not more than a thousand. These made their way to the Franks at Acre. When they got there and real- ized the losses they had suffered and the discord there was among them they decided to return home, but their ships were wrecked and not one escaped.
The Seljuqid Sultan of Iconium. Frederick, soon to die before Acre.
1 1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 125
King Qilij Arsla? n had written to Saladin advising him of their arrival and promising to prevent their passage through his lands, so when they had got through and left him behind them he sent his excuses for having failed to prevent them--his sons had seized control, stripped him of his power and dispersed, evading their obligation to him. As for Saladin, when he heard of the arrival of the King of Germany he took counsel with his companions. Many of them advised him to march against them and confront them before they reached Acre, but he said that it was better to wait until they came nearer to the Muslim armies before attacking them, in case the Muslim troops at Acre should think of surrendering. He sent contingents from. Aleppo, Jabala, Laodicea, Shaizar and elsewhere into the region of Aleppo to protect it from enemy attacks. The Muslims found themselves in the state of which God says: 'When they attacked you from above and below, and your eyes were distracted and your hearts came up into your throats, and you thought on God in all sorts of ways. Then the Believers were put to the test and seriously shaken. '1 But God freed us of their evil and turned their plotting upon themselves.
So great was the fear they aroused that this story was told: one of Saladin's ami? rs had a village in the Mosul area, administered by my brother. When the harvest was reaped, barley and straw, he sent to his lord to discuss the sale of the crop, but got in reply a letter saying; 'Do not sell a single grain, and make sure to reap the largest possible amount of straw. ' This was followed by a letter from the ami? r telling him to go ahead and sell the crop, as they had no further need of it. When the ami? r came to Mosul we asked him why he had forbidden the sale and then soon afterward authorized it. He replied: 'When we had news that the King of Germany had come we were convinced that we should no longer be able to hold Syria, and so I wrote to prevent the sale of the harvest so that there would be food in reserve when we came to you. But when God destroyed them and there was no longer any need for reserves of food I wrote to you to sell it and invest the money. '
THE ARRIVAL OF THE KINGS OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND (BAHA? ' AD-DIN 212-14, 220)
(In the spring of 1190) when the sea became navigable again and the weather was fine, the time came for both sides to return to the fray. The first of the Muslims to arrive was 'Alam ad-Din Sulaima? n ibn Jandar, one of al-Malik az-Zahir's ami? rs, an old and distinguished man, the veteran of many battles, a wise counsellor, esteemed and honoured by the Sultan, of whom he had for years been a companion at arms. After him came Majd ad-Din ibn 'Izz ad-Din Farrukhsha? h, ruler of Baalbek, and then other Muslim contingents arrived from all directions. As for the enemy army, they warned our spies and outposts of the imminent arrival of the French King,1 a great and honoured ruler, one of their mightiest princes, whom all the armies obeyed. He was to assume supreme command of them on his arrival. He arrived as they promised he would, six ships carrying him and his supplies, the horses they would need and his closest companions. This was on Saturday 23 rabi? ' 1/20 April 1191.
Qur'a? n XXXIII, 10-11, referring to the siege of Medina by the pagan confederacy in the fifth year of the hijra/627.
Philip II Augustus.
1
1
126 Arab Historians of the Crusades
He brought with him from his homeland an enormous white falcon of a rare species; I never saw a finer specimen. The King held it dear and showed it great affection. One day it escaped from his hand and flew away. He called it back but it did not respond, and instead flew over the wall of Acre, whose inhabitants seized it and sent it to the Sultan. Its arrival brought great joy, and its capture was seen as a good omen of victory for the Muslims. The Franks offered a ransom of a thousand dinar for it, but the offer was refused. After the King came the Count of Flanders,1 a famous military leader, of whom it was said that he had laid siege to Hama? t and Hari? m in the year of the fall of ar-Ramla. . . .
The King of England2 was a very powerful man among the Franks, a man of great courage and spirit. He had fought great battles, and showed a burning passion for war. His kingdom and standing were inferior to those of the French King, but his wealth, reputation and valour were greater. For example, when he reached Cyprus, he refused to proceed any further until the island was his. So he laid siege to it and gave battle, while its ruler, with a great host of warriors, moved out against him and offered strenuous resistance. The King of England sent to Acre to ask for help in taking the island, and King Guy3 sent his brother and a hundred and seventy knights, while the Franks at Acre waited to see the outcome of the conflict. . . .
On Saturday 13 jumada 1/8 June 1191 the King of England arrived, after coming to terms with the King of Cyprus and taking possession of the island. His arrival made an enormous impression: he appeared with twenty-five ships full of men, arms and equip- ment, and the Franks made a great display of joy and lit fires that night among their tents. The fires were im-pressive, and big enough to show what a vast amount of equipment he had brought with him. 1 The Frankish rulers had for a long time been telling us that he was coming, and those of them who had safe-conducts and could contact our side said that they had been waiting for his arrival to put into effect their plan to besiege the city with new vigour. The King was indeed a man of wisdom, experience, courage and energy. His arrival put fear into the hearts of the Muslims, but the Sultan met the panic with firmness and faith in God, consecrating all his actions to Him and dedicating to Him his sincere intention of fighting in the Holy War.
SALADIN'S SUMMONS TO THE HOLY WAR (ABU SHAMA, 11, 148)
'We hope in God most high, to whom be praise, who leads the hearts of Muslims to calm what torments them and ruins their prosperity. As long as the seas bring reinforcements to the enemy and the land does not drive them off, our country will continue to suffer at their hands, and our hearts to be troubled by the sickness caused by the harm they do us. Where is the sense of honour of the Muslims, the pride of the believers, the zeal of the faithful? We shall never cease to be amazed at how the Unbelievers, for their part, have shown trust,
Philip of Alsace.
Richard Coeur de Lion.
The text has 'Godfrey' for Guy.
Western sources too speak of these great bonfires of jubilation.
1 2 3 1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 127
and it is the Muslims who have been lacking in zeal. Not one of them has responded to the call, not one intervenes to straighten what is distorted; but observe how far the Franks have gone; what unity they have achieved, what aims they pursue, what help they have given, what sums of money they have borrowed and spent, what wealth they have collected and distributed and divided among them! There is not a king left in their lands or islands, not a lord or a rich man who has not competed with his neighbours to produce more support, and rivalled his peers in strenuous military effort. In defence of their religion they consider it a small thing to spend life and soul, and they have kept their infidel brothers supplied with arms and champions for the war. And all they have done, and all their generosity, has been done purely out of zeal for Him they worship, in jealous defence of their Faith. Every Frank feels that once we have reconquered the (Syrian) coast, and the veil of their honour is torn off and destroyed, this country will slip from their grasp, and our hand will reach out toward their own countries. The Muslims, on the other hand, are weakened and demoralized. They have become negligent and lazy, the victims of unproductive stupefac- tion and completely lacking in enthusiasm. If, God forbid, Isla? m should draw rein, obscure her splendour, blunt her sword, there would be no one, East or West, far or near, who would blaze with zeal for God's religion or choose to come to the aid of truth against error. This is the moment to cast off lethargy, to summon from far and near all those men who have blood in their veins. But we are confident, thanks be to God, in the help that will come from Him, and entrust ourselves to Him in sincerity of purpose and deepest devotion. God willing, the Unbelievers shall perish and the faithful have a sure deliverance. '
THE LAST ATTACK ON ACRE AND THE SURRENDER OF THE CITY (BAHA? ' AD-DIN, 229-39)
The besiegers battered the walls ceaselessly with catapults, which was the only method of attack they used, and eventually the walls began to crumble, their structure collapsed, and exhaustion and vigilance wore the defenders out. There were few of them against a great number of enemy soldiers, and they underwent the most severe trial of endurance; in fact some of them went for several nights on end without closing their eyes, night or day, whereas the circle hemming them in consisted of a great number of men who took it in turns to fight. The defenders however were but few, and had had to share the duties of the wall, the trenches, the catapults and the galleys.
When the enemy realized this, and when the walls seemed to be tottering, their structure undermined, they began to attack on all sides, divided into groups and detachments that took it in turn to fight. Each time that a detachment exhausted itself it retired to rest and another took its place. On the seventh of the month (jumada 11 586/12 July 1191) they began a great offensive, manning night and day all the mounds surrounding their trenches with infantry and combatants. The Sultan, who learnt of the assault from eye-witnesses and by an agreed signal from the garrison--a roll of drums--mounted his horse and ordered the army to mount and attack the enemy. A great battle was fought that day. As deeply con- cerned as a mother bereft of her child, Saladin galloped from battalion to battalion inciting his men to fight for the Faith. Al-Malik al-'Adil, they say, himself led two charges that day. The Sultan moved through the ranks crying: 'For Isla? m! ' his eyes swimming with tears.
128 Arab Historians of the Crusades
Every time he looked toward Acre and saw the agony she was in and the disaster looming for her inhabitants, he launched himself once more into the attack and goaded his men on to fight. That day he touched no food and drank only a cup or two of the potion prescribed for him by his doctor. I was left behind and could not take part in the attack because of an illness that afflicted me. I was in my tent at Tall al-'Ayadiyya, and all the battle was spread out before my eyes. Night fell, the Sultan returned to his tent after the final evening prayer, exhausted and in anguish, and slept fitfully. The next morning he had the drums beaten, marshalled his army and returned to the battle he had left the night before.
On that day a letter arrived from the beleaguered men in which they said: 'We have reached such a pitch of exhaustion that we can do nothing but surrender. Tomorrow, the eighth of the month, if you can do nothing for us, we shall beg for our lives and hand over the city, securing only our personal safety. ' This was one of the saddest messages ever received by the Muslims, and it stabbed them to the heart; the more so since Acre contained all the military equipment from Palestine, Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Egypt and all the Muslim lands, as well as the army's greatest ami? rs, and such gallant champions of Isla? m as Saif ad-Din 'Ali al-Mashtu? b, Saif ad-Din Qaraqu? sh, and others. Qaraqu? sh in particular had directed the defence of the town since the enemy first besieged it. The Sultan was smitten by the news as by no other blow that had ever struck him, to such an extent that his life was feared for. But he continued his unceasing prayers to God and turned to Him throughout the crisis, with patience and pious abnegation and tenacious energy: 'And God does not waste the hire of the doer of good. '1 He wanted to try by assault to re-establish contact with the besieged men. The alarm sounded among the troops, the champions mounted their horses, cavalry and infantry assembled. But on that day the army did not support him in the attack on the enemy, for the enemy infantry stood like an unbreakable wall with weapons, ballistas and arrows, behind their bastions. Attacked on every side by the Muslims, they held firm and defended themselves most vigorously. A man who penetrated as far as their trenches told how there was a huge Frank there who leapt on to the parapet of the trench and chased back the Muslims; some men standing close to him handed him stones which he threw down on to the Muslims sheltering behind the parapet. More than fifty stones and arrows struck him without dislodging him from the defensive battle he had undertaken, until a Muslim pyrotechnician threw an incendiary bottle at him and burnt him alive. Another observant old soldier who penetrated the trenches that day told me that on the other side of the parapet was a woman dressed in a green mantle, who shot at us with a wooden bow and wounded many Muslims before she was overcome and killed. Her bow was taken and carried to the Sultan, who was clearly deeply impressed by the story. Thus the fighting continued until nightfall.
ACRE, INCAPABLE OF FURTHER RESISTANCE, NEGOTIATES WITH THE FRANKS
The attack on the city from all sides was intensified, with troops taking turns to fight, and the defenders were reduced to a handful of infantry and cavalry as a result of the great
Qur'a? n III, 165.
1
Part Two: Saladin and the Third Crusade 129
losses they had suffered. The survivors lost heart at the thought of the imminence of death, and felt incapable of any further defiance. Meanwhile the enemy captured their trenches and the wall of the first bastion. The Franks had tunnelled under it, filled the mines with combustible material and set fire to it. Part of the bastion crumbled and the Franks got in. But they lost more than a hundred and fifty men there, dead or captured, including six of their leaders. One of these cried: 'Do not kill me, and I will make the Franks retreat! ' but a Kurd fell on him and killed him, and the other five were killed in the same way. The next day the Franks issued a proclamation: 'Return those six men, and we will grant freedom to all the city! ' But the Muslims replied that they were already dead, which caused great grief to the Franks, who suspended the offensive for three days after this.
It was said that Saif ad-Din al-Mashtu? b himself went out under safe-conduct to talk to the French King, and said to him: 'In the past we have taken many of your cities by storm. In every case, when the inhabitants asked for an amnesty it has been granted, and we have allowed them honourably to go into safety. Now we would surrender this city, and we hope that you will guarantee our lives. ' The King replied: 'Those whom you captured in the past were our subjects, and in the same way you are our mamlu? ks and slaves. We shall see what is to be done with you. ' To which al-Mashtu? b, they say, replied harshly and at length, saying among other things: 'We shall not hand over the city until we are all dead, and not one of us will die before he has killed fifty of your leaders,' and he went away. When al-Mashtu? b brought the news to the city some of the garrison were afraid, and climb- ing an embankment escaped to the Muslim camp by night. This was on 9 jumada II, and among the distinguished men in the party were 'Izz ad-Din Arsil, Ibn al-Jawali and Sunqu? r al-Ushaqi. When Arsil and Sunqu? r reached the camp they vanished without leaving the faintest trace, for fear of Saladin's wrath. Ibn al-Jawali was taken and thrown into prison.
On the following morning the Sultan mounted, intending to take the enemy by surprise, and took with him spades and other equipment for bridging the trenches. But the troops refused to support him in carrying out his plan, and said rebelliously: 'You want to place all Isla? m in jeopardy, but such a plan could not have a successful outcome. ' That day three messengers came from the English King asking Saladin for fruit and snow, and saying that the Grand Master of the Hospital would come out the next day to discuss peace. The Sultan treated the messengers with honour, and they went to the market and walked about there, and returned to their own camp at night-fall. That day the Sultan told Sarim ad-Din Qaima? z an-Najmi to take his men and penetrate the enemy lines. He took a group of Kurd- ish ami? rs such as al-Jana? h, (al-Mashtu? b's brother), and his friends, as far as the Frankish lines. Qaima?
