The Loss of Jerusalem
_All Europe streaming to the mystic East:
Now on their sun-smit ranks
The dusky squadrons close in vulture-feast._
PALGRAVE: _Visions of England._
Most famous of the Sons of Islam who fought against Christendom is
Saladin, the Saracen general who made himself master of Egypt in the
days of Amalric, King of Jerusalem, and who was destined in the near
future to be the conqueror of the Holy City.
The time was ripe for such a conquest, for the little kingdom was torn
by the jealousy and strife of two deadly rivals, Raymond of Tripoli and
Guy of Lusignan.
The former was for living at peace with the Saracens, at least until
the coming of a new Crusade should drive the infidel from the borders
of the land. The latter, moved by causes far other than religious
enthusiasm, was eager to fight at once, hoping thus to obtain the upper
hand over his wretched young brother-in-law, Baldwin, the leper king.
With him was Reginald of Châtillon, who had spent long years in Saracen
dungeons, and was furiously eager for revenge.
The quarrel between Raymond and Guy and their adherents led directly to
the Fall of Jerusalem, but {120} in the meantime the details are full
of romantic interest.
A certain Gerard, a knight of France, who had come to the Holy Land
merely to make his fortune, desired to marry the Lady of Botron, a rich
ward of Raymond of Tripoli. But Raymond, as was frequently the case in
those feudal days, had his own profit to make by the marriage. He
scornfully rejected Gerard, and gave the lady to a wealthy Italian
merchant, who was glad to pay for his wife her weight in gold.
In great wrath, Gerard left Tripoli, joined the Knights Templars, and
in due course became Grand Master of the Order, and awaited his chance
for revenge. This came in 1186, when both the leper and his little son
were dead, and Raymond was known to be desirous of occupying the vacant
throne.
Hurriedly summoning Sibylla, wife of Guy of Lusignan, and sister of the
leper king, to Jerusalem, Gerard and Reginald of Châtillon caused the
gates to be shut and the walls guarded, so that none might come in or
out. But amongst those inside was a spy sent by the watchful Raymond,
who managed to get into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where he saw
Sibylla sitting with two crowns before her. One of these was handed to
her by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who said, "Lady, you have been
proclaimed queen, but since you are a woman, it is good that you have a
man to help you in your rule. Take the crown you see before you and
give it to him who can best help you to govern your realm."
Then Sibylla beckoned to her husband, Guy, and placing the crown upon
his head as he knelt before her, said, "Sire, take this, for I know not
where I could bestow it better."
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Then was Gerard, Grand Master of the Templars, heard to murmur, "This
crown is well worth the marriage of Botron."
Thus did Guy de Lusignan become King of Jerusalem, while Raymond of
Tripoli, checkmated for the time, could only refuse him his allegiance
and retire in sullen fury to his own city of Tiberias. Rumour indeed
whispered that he was on no unfriendly terms with Saladin himself. But
it was probably foresight as well as a sense of justice which roused
him to deep wrath when Reginald of Châtillon, in time of truce,
attacked a wealthy caravan passing from Damascus to Egypt, and
"dishonourably carried off the merchants as prisoners, together with
all their baggage."
"The taking of this caravan," says the chronicler, "was the ruin of
Jerusalem," for from that time dates the implacable hatred of Saladin
for those who held the city.
Meantime, urged on by Gerard, the Grand Master, Guy of Lusignan,
meanest and weakest of kings, sought to gratify his personal spite
against his former rival by besieging Tiberias, and was only prevented
by a warning that this might mean an open alliance between Saladin and
Raymond against himself.
Raymond's patriotism, however, was greater than his desire for revenge.
While absent from his own city with his troops, he heard that the
Saracens had crossed the Jordan, and were advancing upon the Holy City.
Hastening to Jerusalem, he at once put himself and his men at Guy's
disposal in face of this pressing danger.
Meantime Saladin, probably in wrath at this action of one whom he had
hoped to make his ally, began to besiege Tiberias; and a message
arrived in Jerusalem {122} from Raymond's wife, begging that an army
might be sent to her aid. A council was hurriedly summoned to see what
could be done to save the city; but Raymond, to the surprise of all,
was strongly of the opinion that Tiberias should be left to its fate.
"Sire," said he, "I would give you good advice if you would only trust
me." "Speak your mind and fear nothing," they replied, whereupon he
counselled them not to send troops out of Jerusalem, even if this
should mean the loss of his own fortress.
"If I lose wife, retainers and city," said he, "so be it; I will get
them back when I can; but I had rather see my city overthrown than the
whole land lost."
Though much astonished by such disinterested advice, the council agreed
to follow it, and so dispersed.
But at dead of night there came secretly to the King the mischief-maker
Gerard, bidding him "reject the counsel of this traitor count," and
hinting that Raymond's advice had been merely to further his own ends.
Guy de Lusignan was so much in the hands of the man who had made him
king that he dared not refuse to listen to him, and at daybreak the
order was given for the army to march out of Jerusalem in order to
relieve Tiberias.
In the terrible battle of Tiberias that followed, the portents were all
against the Crusaders.
"A fearful vision was seen by the King's chamberlain, who dreamed that
an eagle flew past the Christian army bearing seven darts in its
talons, and crying with a loud voice, "Woe to thee, Jerusalem."
On a mound outside Tiberias had been placed a portion of the True
Cross, and round this the army of Guy, unable to enter the city,
rallied again and again as they were {123} dispersed by the followers
of Saladin. But heat and thirst played as much havoc as did the enemy,
and at close of day, the sacred relic itself, together with the King
and Reginald of Châtillon, the truce-breaker, fell into the hands of
the infidel.
It is said that Reginald's head was struck off in the presence of
Saladin, and possibly by his hand, in revenge for his past perfidy.
Guy was thrown into prison, and Raymond, who had made good his escape,
died of grief at the loss of all that he had held most dear.
Within two months of this battle of Tiberias, Saladin was master of
every important stronghold in the land, save only Tyre and Jerusalem,
and these were closely besieged.
The Holy City was indeed in the most perilous condition, for there were
now no soldiers within the walls, and no leader to look to in all the
land, save only Balian of Ibelin, and he was at this time a fugitive,
who had sought protection within the walls of Tyre.
Bereft of a leader, the city had well-nigh lost hope, when Balian,
acting apparently in good faith, begged leave of Saladin to conduct his
wife and family within the walls of Jerusalem, promising that he
himself would stay there but one night, and then return to Tyre.
To this Saladin agreed; but when Balian was once inside the city, the
inhabitants refused to let him leave it again.
The patriarch Heraclius, indeed, assured him that he could not keep his
promise without committing grave sin, saying, "Great shame will it be
to you and to your sons after you if you leave the Holy City in this
perilous strait."
So Balian remained and did his best, with only two knights to aid him,
and little enough of food to feed the {124} multitudes who came in day
by day from the country round, and set up their tents in the streets of
the city.
"The priests and clerks," says Geoffrey de Vinsauf, "discharged the
duties of soldiers and fought bravely for the Lord's House ... but the
people, alike ignorant and timorous, flocked in numbers round the
patriarch and the queen, bitterly complaining and earnestly entreating
that they might make terms of peace with the Sultan as soon as
possible."
Even when the city was given up on condition that Saladin would accept
a ransom for the lives of the inhabitants, there came small consolation
to the unhappy people. For some thousands of them could pay no ransom
at all, and had nothing to hope for but the miseries of slavery.
When this fact was known, it called forth all that chivalry of the
infidel chieftains upon which the chroniclers love to dwell.
Saphadim, the brother of Saladin, and his right hand during the siege,
at once begged a thousand slaves as his share of the booty.
"For what purpose do you desire them?" asked Saladin.
"To do with them as I will," replied his brother, upon which the Sultan
smiled and granted his request.
As he expected, the unhappy captives were at once given their freedom.
Then the Patriarch and Balian, who had been treated with the utmost
courtesy, each begged for seven hundred souls; and when those were
granted, Saladin said, "My brother has given his alms; the bishop and
Balian theirs. Now will I give mine also."
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With that he granted freedom to all aged folk within the city, "and
this was the alms that Saladin made."
Thus did Jerusalem fall once more into the hands of Islam, and the
Crescent shone again over the Holy City, in which for eighty-eight
years the Cross had reigned supreme.
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