THE TRUCE.
1192
Richard and Saladin agree upon a three years' truce.--Richard's
reason for this course.--The treaty.--The coast.--Ascalon to be
dismantled.--Pilgrims to Jerusalem protected.--Events consequent
upon the truce.--Visiting the Holy City.--Saladin restraining
the Saracens from revenge.--The visit of the bishop to
Jerusalem.--Saladin's just opinion of King Richard.--The
institution for the entertainment of pilgrims.
The result of the battle of Jaffa greatly strengthened and improved
the condition of the Crusaders, and in the same proportion it weakened
and discouraged Saladin and the Saracens. But, after all, instead of
giving to either party the predominance, it only placed them more
nearly on a footing of equality than before. It began to be pretty
plain that neither of the contending parties was strong enough, or
would soon be likely to be strong enough to accomplish its purposes.
Richard could not take Jerusalem from Saladin, nor could Saladin drive
Richard out of the Holy Land.
In this state of things, it was finally agreed upon between Richard
and Saladin that a truce should be made. The negotiations for this
truce were protracted through several weeks, and the summer was gone
before it was concluded. It was a truce for a long period, the
duration of it being more than three years. Still, it was strictly a
truce, not a peace, since a termination was assigned to it.
Richard preferred to make a truce rather than a peace for the sake of
appearances at home. He did not wish that it should be understood
that, in leaving the Holy Land and returning home, he abandoned all
design of recovering the Holy Sepulchre. He allowed three years, on
the supposition that that would be time enough for him to return home,
to set every thing in order in his dominions, to organize a new
crusade on a larger scale, and to come back again. In the mean time,
he reserved, by a stipulation of the treaty, the right to occupy, by
such portion of his army as he should leave behind, the portion of
territory on the coast which he had conquered, and which he then held,
with the exception of one of the cities, which one he was to give up.
The terms of the treaty, in detail, were as follows:
STIPULATIONS OF THE TREATY.
1. The three great cities of Tyre, Acre, and Jaffa, with all
the smaller towns and castles on the coast between them,
with the territory adjoining, were to be left in the
possession of the Christians, and Saladin bound himself that
they should not be attacked or molested in any way there
during the continuance of the truce.
2. Ascalon, which lay farther to the south, and was not
necessary for the uses of Richard's army, was to be given
up; but Saladin was to pay, on receiving it, the estimated
cost which Richard had incurred in rebuilding the
fortifications. Saladin, however, was not to occupy it
himself as a fortified town. It was to be so far dismantled
as only to be used as a commercial city.
3. The Christians bound themselves to remain within their
territory in peace, to make no excursions from it for
warlike purposes into the interior, nor in any manner to
injure or oppress the inhabitants of the surrounding
country.
4. All persons who might desire to go to Jerusalem in a
peaceful way as visitors or pilgrims, whether they were
knights or soldiers belonging to the army, or actual
pilgrims arriving at Acre from the different Christian
countries of Europe, were to be allowed to pass freely to
and fro, and Saladin bound himself to protect them from all
harm.
5. The truce thus agreed upon was to continue in force three
years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three
hours; and at the end of that time, each party was released
from all obligations arising under the treaty, and either
was at liberty immediately to resume the war.
The signing of the treaty was the signal for general rejoicing in all
divisions of the army. One of the first fruits of it was that the
knights and soldiers all immediately began to form parties for
visiting Jerusalem. It was obvious that all could not go at once; and
Richard told the French soldiers who were under the Duke of Burgundy
that he did not think they were entitled to go at all. They had done
nothing, he said, to help on the war, but every thing to embarrass and
impede it, and now he thought that they did not deserve to enjoy any
share of the fruits of it.
Three large parties were formed and they proceeded, one after the
other, to visit the Holy City. There was some difficulty in respect to
the first party, and it required all Saladin's authority to protect
them from insult or injury by the Saracen people. The animosity and
anger which they had been so long cherishing against these invaders of
their country had not had time to subside, and many of them were very
eager to avenge the wrongs which they had suffered. The friends and
relatives of the hostages whom Richard had massacred at Acre were
particularly excited. They came in a body to Saladin's palace, and,
falling on their knees before him, begged and implored him to allow
them to take their revenge on the inhuman murderers, now that they had
them in their power; but Saladin would not listen to them a moment. He
refused their prayer in the most absolute and positive manner, and he
took very effectual measures for protecting the party of Christians
during the whole duration of their visit.
The question being thus settled that the Christian visitors to
Jerusalem were to be protected, the excitement among the people
gradually subsided; and, indeed, before long, the current of feeling
inclined the other way, so that, when the second party arrived, they
were received with great kindness. Perhaps the first party had taken
care to conduct themselves in such a manner during their visit, and in
going and returning, as to conciliate the good-will of their enemies.
At any rate, after their visit there was no difficulty, and many in
the camp, who had been too distrustful of Saracenic faith to venture
with them, now began to join the other parties that were forming, for
all had a great curiosity to see the city for the sake of which they
had encountered so many dangers and toils.
With the third party a bishop ventured to go. It was far more
dangerous for a high dignitary of the Christian Church to join such an
expedition than for a knight or a common soldier, both because such a
man was a more obnoxious object of Mohammedan fanaticism, and thus
more likely, perhaps, to be attacked, and also because, in case of an
attack, being unarmed and defenseless, he would be unable to protect
himself, and be less able even to act efficiently in making his escape
than a military man, who, as such, was accustomed to all sorts of
surprises and frays.
The bishop, however, experienced no difficulty. On the contrary, he
was received with marks of great distinction. Saladin made special
arrangements to do him honor. He invited him to his palace, and there
treated him with great respect, and held a long conversation with him.
In the course of the conversation Saladin desired to know what was
commonly said of him in the Christian camp.
"What is the common opinion in your army," he asked, "in respect to
Richard and to me?"
He wished to know which was regarded as the greatest hero.
"My king," replied the bishop, "is regarded the first of all men
living, both in regard to his valorous deeds and to the generosity of
his character. That I can not deny. But your fame also is very exalted
among us; and it is the universal opinion in our army that if you were
only converted to Christianity, there would not be in the world two
such princes as Richard and you."
In the course of further conversation Saladin admitted that Richard
was a great hero, and said that he had a great admiration for him.
"But then," he added, "he does wrong, and acts very unwisely, in
exposing himself so recklessly to personal danger, when there is no
sufficient end in view to justify it. To act thus evinces rashness and
recklessness rather than true courage. For myself, I prefer the
reputation of wisdom and prudence rather than that of mere blind and
thoughtless daring."
The bishop, in his conversation with Saladin, represented to him that
it was necessary for the comfort of the pilgrims who should from time
to time visit Jerusalem that there should be some public establishment
to receive and entertain them, and he asked the sultan's permission
to found such institutions. Saladin acceded to this request, and
measures were immediately adopted by the bishop to carry the
arrangement into effect.
Richard himself did not visit Jerusalem. The reason he assigned for
this was that he was sick at the time. Perhaps the real reason was
that he could not endure the humiliation of paying a visit, by the
mere permission of an enemy, to the city which he had so long set his
heart upon entering triumphantly as a conqueror.