by A R Azzam
in control of the sea, Saladin could find himself cut off without supplies. In
the meantime, while Richard rebuilt the fortifications of Ascalon, Saladin
ordered the evacuation of all women and children from Damietta in Egypt.
Events followed rapidly. In February 1192 Richard was back in Acre in
dispute with Conrad. Saladin continued the diplomatic game, dispatching
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al-Adil to negotiate. Once again we are uncertain about Saiadin's intentions
but if the talks dragged on until spring, when the troops of Iraq and Egypt
arrived, then so much the better. Saladin himself remained entangled with
the issues related to Taqi ul-Din's succession and in mid-May had to send
al-Adil across the Euphrates to resolve matters. In May the situation
changed again, when news reached Saladin that Conrad was struck down by
the Assassins, though it was unclear who was ultimately behind the episode.
At the end of May Richard attacked Darum and with its fall he effectively
controlled the coast road to Egypt. If, for Saladin, the situation was critical,
it would soon become calamitous. In June 1192 Richard was informed by
the Bedouin that a huge convoy - it was so large it had been divided into
three - was heading out of Egypt. At first Richard was wary and sent two of
his men, disguised as Bedouins, to verify matters. When the spies confirmed
the news, Richard knew he had to act quickly and on the 24 June he swept
down, taldng the Muslims by surprise. The victorious Richard could hardly
beUeve his good fortune: 3,000 camels laden with gold, silver and spices fell
as booty, and as many horses. In addition numerous weapons - arrows,
lances and body armour - were taken. The loss was a disaster for the
Muslims and Saladin was inconsolable. News had reached him on the
evening of that day after evening prayer, and Ibn Shaddad was present: T
was sitting in attendance with him. A young man, one of the stable order-
lies, brought the news . . . I began to calm and console him, although he
was hardly capable of accepting any consolation.' The fact was that Saladin
was desperate for reinforcements to relieve his personal troops, who had
been campaigning non-stop. The fresh mounts were crucial, as were the
weapons. These were now in the possession of Richard, who effectively had
free movement and the ability to march on Egypt. If he did, then Saladin
would have no option but to pursue him with an army that was increasingly
dispirited and fretful. Richard should have moved on to Egypt, but the
magnet of Jerusalem was too great to resist. And once more he turned his
attention towards the Holy City.
Saladin fortifies Jerusalem
When news reached Saladin of this he ordered that all the wells around the
city should be poisoned. Then he called a war council to discuss strategy in
this most desperate of times. Present were Turldsh and Kurdish amirs and
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SALAD I N
mamluks, who had sei-ved not only Saladin but Shirkuh, veterans of many
battles and crises. Ibn Shaddad opened the proceedings and he spoke of the
sacred duty of fighting a holy war and of the defence of this most sacred of
cities. He then urged that a vow be taken by all present, at the Sacred Rock,
that the fight would be to the death. Silence followed his words and so still
were the men - each one lost in his thoughts - that in Ibn Shaddad's words
it was 'as if a bird perched on each of their heads'. It was Saladin who broke
the silence, and his words were concise and to the point, bereft of any
rhetoric or flamboyance, for those who surrounded him were those closest
to him and all present understood ftilly what was at stake:
Know that today you cire the army of Islum cmd its bulwark, as you are
aware that the blood- of the Muslims, their property and their offspring
depend on your protection. There are no Muslims who can face the enemy
but you. If you turn your reins away, which God forbid, they will roll up
these lands as one rolls up a scroll [Quran xxi, 104], This is your responsibility, for you are the ones who took on this task and have been supported
by public treasury monies. The Muslims in all lands depend on you. My
blessings£10 with you.
To these words al-Mashtub, who once had vied with Saladin for the vizier-
ate of Egypt and who had been imprisoned at Acre, replied that they would
fight to the death. Like Saladin, al-Mashtub was a Kurd and his defiant
words were perhaps inspired by a sense of pride in front of the Turks
present. Although Saladin was reassured by his support, he noted that the
others remained silent. The meeting then broke up, though no vow was
taken. Later the same evening Saladin received a note from Abul Huija the
Gross. There was much anxiety, he informed Saladin, about what might
happen if Jerusalem was besieged, for the memory of what had taken place
at Acre was still very much alive. If he wanted them to defend Jerusalem
then they would do so, but he would have to remain in the city with them.
Saladin immediately replied that he would remain, but was advised that this
was far too dangerous.
That night was a long night and Ibn Shaddad remained with Saladin
until dawn. The words of Abul Huija the Gross had brought great anxiety
to Saladin, for he was certain that Richard would soon attack Jerusalem.
Now his own men had told him that they would not defend the city unless
he remained behind. In addition, the troops which he urgently needed from
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Iraq were talcing their time to arrive and lie suspected it was because they
wanted to avoid a possible siege. For him it meant only one thing: Jerusalem
was going to be lost. Towards Jerusalem, Ibn Shaddad wrote, Saladin felt
a great concern that would move mountains. That night Ibn Shaddad tried
to relieve Saladin's anxiety, and the two men prayed together until dawn
broke. Later that day, as Ibn Shaddad performed the Friday communal
prayer at al-Aqsa mosque, he noticed Saladin praying: T saw him prostrat-
ing himself and repeating words with tears pouring down on to his prayer
mat'. All expected the first attack on the city would take place the next day
as Richard received reinforcements.
The attack never came. On the Friday evening, 3 July, a report arrived
from Izz al-Din Jurdik, who was stationed with the advanced detachment,
in which he declared that the enemy had mounted but then had returned
to their tents. Saladin perhaps did not know how disunited the crusading
force were. As he had done previously, Richard tested opinion, and the local
knights once again argued against attacldng Jerusalem. The water supplies
were poisoned, they pointed out, and it was the height of summer. Other
arguments were now made: as long as Richard was outnumbered by the
Muslims then Jerusalem was an impossible target. Only a massive influx of
new setders could ensure that Jerusalem was retained as a Christian city.
Oth
erwise what would be gained today would be lost tomorrow. If an
attack had to take place, it should be in the direction of Egypt. But even that
idea was increasingly fancifiil, for the French, under Hugh of Burgundy, saw
no reason to follow an English king. They even camped apart from the
other crusaders and their camp echoed with anti-Richard songs. Only by the
capture of Jerusalem could Richard hope to have maintained their support.
But they certainly had no intention of following him in what they perceived
as an Angevin adventure in Egypt, and when it was announced that there
would be no attack on Jerusalem, they were the first to commence the
march back to the coast. As far as they were concerned, the crusade was over
and Richard of England had betrayed them.
Diplomatically Richard remained defiant, 'the ram draws back to
butt' he had threatened, but this was mere diplomatic face-saving. An envoy
from Henry of Champagne, whom Richard had appointed as the king of
the Latin Kingdom, arrived at Saladin's court and the message remained
defiant: 'Restore to me my lands so that I may malce peace with you'. Ibn
Shaddad, who was an eyewitness, noted that Saladin was raised to a fury by
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this demand and almost struck the envoy before having him removed. No
matter Henry's posture, the tide had turned in Saladin's favour and Richard
had little choice but to open negotiations. He was prepared to abandon his
claim to Jerusalem, except for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and free
access for pilgrims. The stumbling block - and a reflection of its strategic
position vis-a-vis Jerusalem - was Ascalon. Although the crusaders had
attempted to refortify it, it was a shadow of its formidable past, but Richard
insisted on retaining it, as it would give him a grip on Egypt. Saladin nat-
urally was never going to accept this demand. He, too, wanted peace, as
his army's morale was as low as it had ever been and his empire almost
banlcrupt. Eventually he agreed to offer Lydda by way of compensation, but
Ascalon could not remain under the control of Richard. In any case he was
not in a huny to conclude matters - he Icnew that Richard was desperate to
return to England where urgent matters awaited him, and Saladin was being
strengthened daily as troops flooded in. On 22 July 1192 Richard, having
dismantled Darum and placed 300 Templars and Hospitallers in the garri-
son of Ascalon, withdrew to Acre and many thought that he was setting sail
for home. In fact he was preparing to attack Beirut, thereby ensuring that
the coast was totally in Franldsh hands.
The attack on Jaffa and the defiance of Richard
Afonce Saladin responded. He dispatched Al-Afdal with troops from Mosul
and Sinjar to defend Beirut; and meanwhile he commanded his Turlcish
and Kurdish troops and took tlie offensive, his right wing commanded by
al-Zahir and the left commanded by al-Adil. The target was Jaffa and
Saladin was certain the city would fall easily, but the resistance was stiffer
than he anticipated. For four days the garrison resisted, until finally a breach
was made and the Muslims broke into the town, with the Christian soldiers
retreating to the citadel. Envoys came to discuss surrender terms and they
requested that Saladin hold his men back, but he replied that he was unable
to do so since the urge for plunder was too strong. He advised the
Christians to retire to the citadel so as not to be harmed. When they had
done so, Jaffa was ransacked. At the same time Saladin accepted the formal
surrender of the city on the same terms as he had taken from Jerusalem.
Later the same afternoon he received news that Richard had given up his
march on Beirut and was heading to rescue Jaffa. Although the French
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contingent refased to aid him, he had gathered a force of English and
Angevin knights and had set off by galley. The knights marched down the
coast but in fact were held up and Richard, unawares, sailed virtually alone
to confront Saladin's army. At dawn the sound of trumpets heralded the
arrival of Richard to Jaffa, and at once Saladin ordered Ibn Shaddad to pass
the news to Saladin's son al-Zahir and to tell him to take position outside
the south gate. Ibn Shaddad rushed to al-Zahir: 'I woke him up and he rose
with sleep still in his eyes'. At the same time Saladin became increasingly
anxious to take over the citadel, and although a number of knights surren-
dered and were given safe conduct, the sighting of Richard's galley, painted
red, covered with a red awning and flying a red flag, encouraged the remain-
der to continue the fight for the citadel. Barely had the galley reached shore
than Richard, still in his boating shoes, leapt into the sea brandishing an axe
and roaring with fury. It was a formidable sight and a display of courage
which terrified the watching Muslims, who scattered. While Richard landed,
Saladin was unaware of what was talcing place, as he was negotiating with
the envoys of Jaffa for the surrender of the citadel. Ibn Shaddad rushed
back: 'I whispered in his ear what had happened, so he stopped writing and
kept them busy in conversation'. Within two days Saladin had taken Jaflfa
with a force of 60,000 and Richard had retaken it with less than 3,000.
That day Richard was in fine form, taunting that Saladin, the greatest
leader in Islam, had run away while he, Richard, had not even removed
his boating shoes. But he also revealed that urgent matters meant that he
had to return to England, and once again the bargaining commenced.
Saladin agreed that the Franks could keep the coast from Caesarea to Tyre
and he agreed that Richard could keep Jaffa, but there was no negotiation
over Ascalon. On 2 August Richard sent a message to Saladin once again
requesting Ascalon. If terms could be agreed, the envoy claimed that
Richard would leave within six days, but that otherwise he would winter on
the coast. Saladin coolly replied that Ascalon would not be given up and
Richard was most welcome to winter on the coast:
If it is easy for him to winter here cmd to be far from his family and home-
land, two months' travellin^g time away, when he is a, young man in the
flower of his youth and at a time when he seeks his pleasures, how easy is it
for me to spend a winter, a- summer, then a winter and another summer in
the middle of my own lands, surrounded by my sons and family.
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Time was not on the side of the Idng of England.
In the meantime the Muslim army had withdrawn to Ramla. But when,
on 4 August, Saladin heard that Richard was camping outside Jaffa with few
tents and a small force, he at once decided on a surprise attack to seize the
king of England. Thus he set out in the first part of the night, with Bedouin
guides preceding him. It is estimated that Richard had no more than 17
horses and less than 1,000 foot soldiers, but when the Muslims charged, the
Franks held firm. 'Like dogs of war they snarled, willing to fight to the
&nb
sp; death. Our troops were frightened of them, dumbfounded by their stead-
fastness', wrote Ibn Shaddad. It was during this clash that Richard's horse
was slain, and Saladin sent him two horses as it was unfitting for a Idng to
fight on foot. The Muslim forces then withdrew and surrounded the camp,
and Saladin ordered them to charge again, but his men refused. Of his men,
only his son al-Zahir charged. The rest of the Muslim troops refused to
charge. That day Richard was in his element. Lance in hand he rode along
the whole length of the Muslim army, but not one of the Muslim soldiers
dared attack him. Psychologically it was a devastating blow for Saladin, who
was faced by a near-mutiny. To prevent any fiarther loss of face, he moved
off in fury. Such was his anger that day that many of those who had refused
to attack were convinced that they would be crucified. Even al-Zahir, the
only one who had attacked, was terrified of his father and recalled how he
did not have the courage to enter his father's tent. AVhen finally summoned,
he Entered with trepidation, to find that a quantity of fruit had arrived from
Damascus. 'Send for the amirs', Saladin requested and it was clear that his
anger had dissipated, 'and let them taste this fruit.'
A1 Janah, al Mashtub's brother, had rebuked Saladin and told him that
the troops refusal to attack was due to their anger at missing their chance of
booty at Jaffa, but the fact was Saladin's anger had been replaced by a weary
realisation that his men would fight no more. Saladin himself had been
on campaign for five years and though his soul continued to burn with
the desire to fight the holy war, he could not expect his men to follow.
Throughout his empire there was an acute shortage of food and his land was
ruined. His men were weary and tired and in debt. Al-Qadi al-Fadil, who
had remained in Egypt, wrote to him and, as usual, captured the moment
precisely: 'None among all the Muslims will help in the holy war except by
empty words. No one will follow you except for money.' It is universally
accepted that Saladin's greatest achievement was his capture of Jerusalem
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