CHAPTER III The Third Crusade and the Death of Salah ad-Deen

CHAPTER III The Third Crusade and the Death of Salah ad-Deen The Crusaders seek help from the West Hardly had the fighting ended in Hattin and the Crusaders realized the extent of their losses, than they quickly sent messengers to Western Europe to tell the kings and princes of Europe what had befallen the Crusaders in the East. Those messengers were soon followed by other messengers, after the Conquest of Jerusalem. In fact, those losses and that conquest caused a violent reaction in western society, which panicked at the news of these two disasters. The Christians in the west believed that these events had come about because of their neglect and failure to respond to the repeated calls for help that had come from the Kingdom of Jerusalem in recent years. The crusaders who had gathered in the city of Tyre realized that unless help reached them from the west, the opportunities to keep Tyre would diminish after all hope was lost of regaining the areas that had been lost. Soon Conrad de Montferrat sent Joscius, archbishop of Tyre, to Western Europe in the middle of 583 AH/ the end of the summer of 1187 CE, to seek urgent help from the pope and the kings and princes of Europe.

Joscius reached Sicily, where he met with its king, William II, who responded to this call after he was shocked by the news he heard from Joscius of the disasters that had befallen the Crusaders in the east. As he was at war with Byzantium, he made a peace deal with the Byzantine Emperor, Isaac II Angelos, in Muharram 584 AH/March 1188 CE, so that he could focus on the Crusader issue. Then he sent a fleet carrying several hundred knights to Tripoli under the leadership of the Sicilian admiral Margaritus of Brindisi, who succeeded in preventing Salah ad-Deen from conquering Tripoli.297 Then Joscius moved from Sicily to Rome, accompanied by a Sicilian delegation, to explain to Pope Urban III the Crusaders' situation in Greater Syria. He could not bear the shock and died of grief on 14 Sha'ban 583 AH/ October 1187 CE. His successor, Gregory VIII, immediately hastened to contact the kings of England and France and the German Emperor, urging them to forget their differences and mobilize their forces to fight the Muslims. As Pope Gregory VIII died on 13 Shawwal/17 December, before he could see the fruits of his efforts, his successor, Clement III (583-587 AH/ 1187-1191 CE) hastened to contact the German emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and convinced him to take part in a Crusade that was heading for the east.

This happened at the time when Joscius had headed to the west to meet the kings of France and England, Philip Augustus and Henry II. He met them in Gisors on the border between Normandy and France, and convinced them to forget the differences between them, which ran deep, and encouraged them to make a peace deal and join together in a Crusade. Despite that, they were slow to respond and the war between them resumed. Then Henry II, king of England, died in 585 AH/1189 CE, and was succeeded by his son Richard the Lionhearted, Duke of Poitou. He made a treaty with the French king and prepared to launch a joint campaign with him to the east.298 The role of the Christian clergy at times of crisis becomes clear from the actions of Joscius and the pope. Here we can learn an important lesson, which is that the scholars, jurisprudents, callers to Islam, thinkers, men of letters and politicians of our Ummah must go beyond the stage of feelings of sorrow and merely Saying La hawla wa la quwwata ilia Billah, 'There is no power nor might except with Allah', with regard to the calamities and disasters that befall the Ummah.

They must strive persistently to do the right thing, that which is loved by Allah and His Messenger, using their leadership skills and ability to convince others, plan properly and present a vision of revival, and so on, in order to support the religion of Allah and confront the invaders. The Crusaders came to Syria in large numbers, more than could be counted. This is indicated by a letter which was sent by Salah ad-Deen to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad in 586 AH/1190 CE. In this letter he told the caliph: Islam is faced with people who like death, who have answered the call and left their loved ones and homelands, forsaking their families and homes; they have come on pilgrimage and have given their hearts and souls, doing all of that in obedience to their priests and in submission to the orders of their marquises.299 The Christians set out despite the differences in their groups and in their ethnicities; those who were unable to set out themselves equipped those who were able to travel by giving them their weapons and money.300 Women also came out and took part in the Third Crusade. Some of them came out to accompany the knights and guaranteed to provide all that they needed of food supplies and weapons. For example, Abu Shamah and others stated that in 585 AH/1189 CE, there arrived in Syria by sea a Christian woman of high status, who was accompanied by five hundred knights with their horses and followers.

She had guaranteed to pay for everything that they needed, and they rode when she rode, charged when she charged, and jumped when she jumped.301 Other women went out, wearing armor and dressed like men, to take part in the battles themselves, because they believed that this action of theirs was an act of worship.302 Some of them went out to assist even strangers and give cheer to the Crusaders by offering themselves to them for physical pleasure for free, so that the fighters would not get bored or fed up.303 William II, King of Sicily, hastened to send a fleet in 585 AH/ 1189 CE which included sixty ships, on board which were ten thousand fighters. The fleet reached the city of Tyre, then went back to Tripoli and did not bring any benefit to the Crusaders, because the food supplies they carried were not even enough for the men on board 304. The German emperor on his way to the east The kings and rulers of Western Europe overlooked the differences and grudges between them, and resolved to answer the pope's call to launch a Crusade to Syria. The first one to answer this call was Frederick Barbarossa, the German emperor.305 In spring of 585 AH/1189 CE, the German armies started gathering at the city of Ratisbon (Regensburg) in preparation for the long march towards Syria. Despite its large numbers, that army maintained a precise military system: if anyone committed any offence, his punishment was none other than to be slaughtered "like a sheep.”306 The army set out, led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was accompanied by one of his sons, and followed the land route towards Constantinople, where they met with extreme hostility from the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos, who sent word to his ally Salah ad-Deen, informing him of the Germans' march and promising him that he would not let them cross his land. The sources state that the Byzantine Emperor could not prevent them from doing so, however, although he did not offer them any help in the form of food or equipment, so their supplies ran low.

They crossed the Bosphorus, and their hardship grew even more severe.307 When they crossed into Asia Minor, they were faced with many problems because they did not know anything about those places. Hence they walked through valleys with no guide; it would take them two days to travel a single parasang 308. They fell prey to kidnappings by the Turkmens who lived in the region. The onset of winter had a far-reaching effect on their march, as the snow accumulated, and they had to eat their mounts and burn their equipment, as they had no firewood with them, just as they had no fodder for their animals. They became exhausted, as did their mounts, which could no longer carry their weapons. Thus they were forced to bury what they could not carry.309 When they drew close to the Sultanate of the Seljuks of Rum, which was ruled by the Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan ibn Mas'ood, his son Qutub ad-Deen Malikshah stood up to them, and engaged in a great battle with them in which they defeated him, so he retreated to the city of Konya, the capital of the sultanate.

The Germans pursued him, entered the city and burned its markets. When they sent word to his father Arslan saying, "We have not come to take your land; rather we have come to take revenge for Jerusalem.”310 They sent gifts to him and asked him for a truce, which he granted to them. Then he and his son sent word to Salah ad-Deen, apologizing for allowing the Germans into their Land and telling him that they had been forced to do that. The German army stayed in the land of Kilij Arslan for a while and amassed all the weapons and provisions they wanted, then they continued on their way.311 Ibn Shaddad and Abu Shamah indicate that there were ties of friendship between the sultan Kilij Arslan and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and that when Kilij Arslan sent word to Salah ad-Deen apologizing for the German emperor crossing his land, he was only pretending to Salah ad-Deen that he was opposed to the German king; in fact he was secretly in agreement with him, sent guides with him, and gave him hostages to guarantee his safe passage.312 Meanwhile, Ibn al-Atheer states that among the reasons that Kilij Arslan allowed the German king to cross his land was the state of weakness in which the country found itself because of internal problems resulting from having divided his kingdom among his sons.313 In addition to that, Kilij Arslan was also in a weak position because of the alliance between his two opponents, Salah ad-Deen and the Byzantine emperor.314 Whatever the case, the help that Kilij Arslan granted to Frederick Barbarossa did not benefit the German armies at all, because whilst they were crossing his land they were subject to many attacks, which angered the German king, so he seized the guides and hostages whom Kilij Arslan had sent with him and put them in chains as captives after seizing their property.315 The Germans Enter Armenia The Germans continued their march despite the severe difficulties they faced, until they reached Armenia, where they were welcomed by the ruler Ibn Lawin, who gave them all the food, provisions and fodder they needed, and showed them the easiest route.316 The ruler of Armenia was hoping to be crowned king of Lesser Armenia, so that he would not appear to be of a lower status than the Crusader princes in Greater Syria on one hand, and so as to ward off the ambitions of the Byzantine emperor on the other hand. It seems that the Armenian ruler had pinned great hopes on both the pope and the German emperor in order to achieve this goal of his.317 Death of the German emperor The Germans did not stay in the land of Ibn Lawin for long; rather they continued their march after he had shown them the way, and stopped in Tarsus.318 The journey had exhausted them because of the hardships they had faced on the way, and they wanted to stay there for a few days in order to get some rest, but fate had something else in store for them. A sudden event turned all their plans upside down, when the emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowned in one of the rivers there.

That occurred in 586 AH/10 November 1190 CE. The historians differed as to the cause of his death. Al-Isfahani and Ibn Wasil said that when the Germans crossed the Salif River, a wave hit them, and the king looked for a place to cross by himself; he entered where the current was strong and was swept away, hitting a tree and receiving an injury to his head. They pulled him out as he was breathing his last and he died shortly afterwards.319 Ibn Shaddad and others indicate that Frederick Barbarossa stopped on the bank of a river and took a bath in the waters of that river; because the water was so cold, he became sick as a result and died a few days later.320 Ibn al-Atheer states that Frederick went into the river to bathe, and drowned.321 Whatever the case, what concerns us here is that the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa died without achieving his aim of taking part in recapturing Jerusalem from Salah ad-Deen. In addition to that, this unexpected event had a great impact on the failure of the Third Crusade, as a large part of the German army went back to Europe immediately after his death.322 Moreover, with his death, the Crusaders lost a major figure who was sincere in his devotion to the Crusader venture; if he had reached Acre he could have caused a great deal of trouble for Salah ad-Deen.323 Scattering of the Germans after the death of their king Following the death of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, many catastrophes befell the Germans. From the outset they differed as to who should succeed him as leader of the German Crusade.

Some of them wanted to appoint his son, Frederick of Swabia, whilst others wanted to appoint Frederick of Swabia's older brother.324 When the Armenian king saw the division and weakness in the ranks of the Germans after the death of Frederick Barbarossa, he decided not to deal with them anymore because he did not know how things would turn out — after all, they were Franks and he was Armenian. So he sought refuge from them in one of his fortified citadels.325 After the death of their king, the Germans dispersed. Some of them went back to Europe and some of them continued with the prince Frederick of Swabia, who had succeeded his father as commander of the German army. When the remnants of the campaign reached Antioch, they were struck by a severe epidemic to which many of their men fell victim; the rest of them staggered into Antioch as if they had been dug up from their graves, according to the historian Ibn al-Atheer.326 No sooner had the Germans arrived in Antioch than its ruler, Bohemond III, got annoyed with them and regarded them as a burden, and he wanted to take their wealth and weapons. He suggested to them that they should go to Aleppo, telling them that this was an easy route. Frederick of Swabia did not respond to Bohemond's suggestion; instead, he asked him to give him the citadel of Antioch so that he could store his possessions, treasure and supplies there.

Bohemond agreed in the hope that he would be able to get his hands on the wealth and weapons that were to be deposited there, and he did indeed get what he wanted. When the Germans left Antioch they never came back, so Bohemond took possession of all that they had left there.327 At the same time, another group of Germans was faced with a different trial that had a great impact in weakening their morale. This German group headed towards Baghras, thinking that the castle was still in the hands of their fellow Crusaders. As soon as they reached it, the gates of the citadel opened and the Muslims attacked the Germans, seizing the property, weapons and supplies they had brought with them, and killing and capturing many of them. Some of the inhabitants of Aleppo also came out and spread out in the Germans' path, and began to ambush them. They captured a number of them whom they sold in the slave markets for low prices.328 This also demonstrates to us the extent to which Salah ad-Deen had managed to completely isolate the Crusaders in Greater Syria, after strengthening his grip on the cities of the coast.

The Crusaders in the west were no longer able to distinguish between the cities and citadels that Salah ad-Deen had captured and those which were still in the hands of their fellow Crusaders in the east.329 Finally, Frederick of Swabia decided, after all these calamities that had befallen his army, to head towards Acre. In Wednesday 25 Rajab 586 AH/August 1190 CE, he marched at the head of his army via Jablah and Latakia. The Muslims in Latakia took advantage of the passage of a small band of Germans; they went out and attacked them, killing and capturing many of them. When the Germans reached Tripoli they stopped there to rest, and were struck by a severe epidemic from which most of them died. Only about a thousand of them were left, who travelled by sea, led by Frederick of Swabia, heading for Acre to join their fellows there and support them in their siege of the city. They reached Acre on 16 Ramadan 586 AH/October 1190 CE.330 Salah ad-Deen's attitude towards the German campaign Salah ad-Deen did not ignore the issue of the German campaign after he learned that it was heading towards him.

He mobilized the people for jihad and sent a messenger in Ramadan 585 AH/1189 CE, namely Al-Qadi Baha' ad-Deen ibn Shaddad, to the Abbasid caliph at that time, an-Nasir li Deen-Illah Abul-'Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Mustadi', informing him of the German march on Syria. Salah ad-Deen told Al Qadi Ibn Shaddad to go, en route to Baghdad, to the emirs of Mosul, Sinjar, Mesopotamia and Irbil, to summon them for jihad. They responded to that call and prepared to march to join Salah ad-Deen. The Abbasid caliph also promised to offer all help, and supplied Salah ad-Deen with money and equipment.331 At the same time, Salah ad-Deen kept track of the Germans' progress towards him by sending spies to find out about them. He also sent his deputies in Syria and their troops to find out about the enemy and intercept them. In one encounter, they came across a group of German soldiers who had gone out to look for fodder for their mounts, and killed and captured around five hundred of them.332 When Salah ad-Deen realized that the Germans had reached Armenia and were close to the Muslim lands, he gathered the emirs of his state and consulted them as to what he should do.

They agreed that he should send a large army to confront the enemy on its way and to protect some of the cities. The Islamic groups set out, led by a number of Muslim emirs, and inflicted huge losses on the German enemy.333 Salah ad-Deen also ordered that the walls of Tiberias, Jaffa, Arsuf, Caesarea, Sidon, and Jubayl be demolished because he was afraid that the Crusaders would capture them and use these walls in fighting the Muslims.334 In the end, the German Crusade failed when its leader, the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowned in one of the rivers of Asia Minor, and the German masses scattered in Greater Syria, which prevented them from reaching Jerusalem and achieving their goal of taking it back from the Muslims. Finally, Frederick Barbarossa had hastened to set out for the east at the head of his Crusade, choosing the land route, whereas Philip Augustus, king of France, and Richard the Lionhearted, King of England, did not leave Western Europe on their Crusade until the summer of 586 AH/1190 CE, and they chose to go to Acre by sea.335 The Crusaders besiege Acre The Franks who had gathered in Tyre had received a great deal of reinforcements in the form of men and weapons. More importantly, they had received promises from the pope that the kings of Europe were coming to save them. This is what made their resistance more vicious and violent against Salah ad-Deen when he came back to them. At the time when all of Europe was very enthusiastic about attacking the east and taking back Jerusalem, Salah ad-Deen was trying to conquer Tyre, where the spirit of resistance was embodied in the person of Count Conrad de Montferrat, who had ambitions of claiming the throne of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Hence, when Salah ad-Deen released Guy de Lusignan, the king of Jerusalem, from captivity, Conrad did not allow him to enter the city, so for six months he remained in the environs of Tripoli, in a camp far away from the city, gathering some forces around him so that he could stand up to the new leader, Montferrat. Then the two agreed to reconcile with the intention of working together to fight Salah ad-Deen, and to leave the decision concerning the throne to the papacy and the kings of Europe who were coming. Thus they decided to leave Tyre, which had become overcrowded with Crusaders, and besiege Acre. Salah ad-Deen had delegated the matter of refortifying Acre and supplying it with arms and foodstuffs to his servant Baha' ad-Deen Qaraqoosh, who made the city, including its walls and citadels, into something splendid and strong. On Salah ad-Deen's orders, he had brought in fighters, and he had brought the Egyptian fleet to Acre's port. The Franks set out in Rajab 585 AH/August 1189 CE, and their ships sailed along, parallel to their course.

Salah adDeen was not taken unawares by their arrival in Acre, because the Yazak (the scouts and guards) whom he had left in Tyre had alerted the garrison of Acre and told them to be ready. The Franks descended upon Acre from Land and sea, besieging it in huge numbers in Rajab 585 AH/August 1189 CE. Salah ad-Deen's idea was to fight the Franks whilst they were on the move towards Acre, because if they reached it, they would stay put. However, his commanders did not agree with the plan to fight them before they reached Acre, on the grounds that the route which the Franks were following was very rugged and narrow, and it was not easy to fight them there and destroy them in one go. Despite that, Salah ad-Deen set up ambushes for the Franks in the form of small bands of Bedouin who attacked them during their march, but they continued marching until they halted before Acre on Land and sea, and contact with the Muslim army there was lost. Salah ad-Deen had written letters summoning his troops who were dispersed in Antioch, Tripoli and Tyre, and along the coast of Egypt in Alexandria and Damietta with his brother al-'Adil; large numbers of them came.

Then the troops of Greater Syria and Mesopotamia arrived, and with these troops he surrounded the Franks who were in turn surrounding Acre. Thus the Franks were caught between the garrison of the city and the troops of Salah ad-Deen.336 AlIsfahani commented: Later on, it became clear to us that the sultan's idea had been the better one, because fighting them when they had arrived proved to be more difficult. The Franks descended upon Acre and surrounded it on Land and sea. Regular battles took place with the Franks every day, with large engagements taking place on some days. One of the most important battles was that in which the Muslims wanted to bring reinforcements — men and supplies — into Acre, so they attacked the Franks, pushing them back from the walls, and brought in some commanders and a large number of troops who had come from Egypt to support them. In return, before the rest of the reinforcements arrived from Egypt, the Franks attacked the Muslims and defeated them at first, even reaching the camp of al-Malik al-'Adil and Salah ad-Deen's tent, killing the troops around it, but the sultan cried out in the camp, "Ya lil-Islam (for the sake of Islam)!"and counterattacked the Franks, who were defeated, hit by the arrows of the defenders of Acre who were behind them.

Thus they scattered and retreated.337 Imad ad-Deen al-Isfahani confirms that the number of their slain in this battle ran into the thousands. This encounter was known as the Great Battle.338 Scholars who participated in the battle Al-Faqeeh Diya' ad-Deen 'Eesa al-Hakari was in charge of the front of the core in the army of Salah ad-Deen.339 Al-Qadi Baha' ad-Deen ibn Shaddad and alFaqeeh Imad ad-Deen al-Isfahani also took part in this battle, which they described in precise detail as eyewitnesses,340 without explaining the roles they played in it. Victory was on the side of the Muslims at the end of this battle, and the Crusaders incurred huge losses in lives; the estimate of numbers slain was ten thousand.341 In this battle, al-Faqeeh Dhaheer ad-Deen al-Hakari, the brother of al-Faqeeh 'Eesa alHakari, who was the governor of Jerusalem, was martyred; he was a man who combined courage with knowledge and religious commitment.342 When al-Faqeeh 'Eesa al-Hakari learned of his brother's martyrdom, he disapproved of people's condolences, saying, "This is a day for congratulations, not a day for commiseration.”343 Also martyred in this battle was al-Faqeeh Abu 'Ali ibn Rawahah, close to the tent of Salah ad-Deen, along with a number of others. It seems that he had been among those who were defending the tent of Salah ad-Deen when a group of Crusaders rushed at the tent, aiming to kill the sultan.344 Among the qadis who took part in the battle against the Crusaders who were besieging Acre in 586 AH/ 1192 CE was Al Qadi al-Murtada ibn Quraysh, who on many occasions joined the Muslims' attempts to lift the Crusader siege of Acre, but he was martyred on Friday 10 Jumada I 586 AH/ 1190 CE.345 Scholars' impact on the fighters' morale The role of the jurisprudents during the Crusader siege of Acre during the Third Crusade was not limited to taking up arms and fighting the Crusaders in order to drive them away from Acre; they also went around among the soldiers in the Muslim camp, instilling courage in their hearts, reciting the Quran, warning the troops against fleeing, reminding them of the great reward Allah has prepared for the martyrs in paradise and quoting Qur'anic verses and hadiths to that effect, so as to raise their morale and increase their determination and steadfastness in jihad. This was true in all the battles and conquests that Salah ad-Deen engaged in. Al-Qadi Baha' ad-Deen ibn Shaddad played a major role in this regard.

When news reached Salah ad-Deen that the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had set out with his army, heading towards the east to save the Crusaders in Syria, that upset him and he decided to urge the people to engage in jihad and to inform the caliph of the day about that news.346 So he delegated Al Qadi Baha' ad-Deen ibn Shaddad to go to the Abbasid caliph an-Nasir Abul-'Abbas Ahmad, and to all the ruling emirs, so that the caliph could play his part in encouraging and inciting the Muslims in various regions and lands to mobilize for jihad and help the Muslims in Greater Syria. Ubn Shaddad stated: He summoned me for that purpose and ordered me to go to the rulers of Sinjar, Mesopotamia, Mosul and Irbil, and call them and their troops to jihad. He ordered me to go to Baghdad to inform the caliph about that and urge him to help. I set out for that purpose on 11 Ramadan, and Allah made it easy for me to reach everyone and convey the message to them, and they responded marvelously. I came back to him (Salah ad-Deen) on Thursday 5 Rabee' 1 586 AH. I reached him ahead of the troops and told him that their response had been to hear and obey, and of their interest in coming, and he was happy with that and rejoiced greatly.347 It is clear that Salah ad-Deen had the ability to keep track of enemy movements and obtain precise information about them, so he had enough time to make preparations and arrange a general mobilization.

We may conclude from the words of Ibn Shaddad the critical nature of his mission to Baghdad, especially in those difficult circumstances when the Crusaders were threatening Acre and it had almost fallen into their hands. Hence Salah ad-Deen suggested to the caliph that he should come himself to encourage the Muslims, in return for Salah ad-Deen giving up all his territory to him.348 However, the caliph was not keen to leave his palaces to live on the battlefield, so he did not respond to Salah ad-Deen's invitation. Instead, he sent him many loads of naphtha and sent him money with some merchants, which disappointed Salah ad-Deen.349 The caliph should have been leading the conflict with the Crusaders, and been keen to engage in jihad, offering his life and his wealth for the sake of Allah, in an attempt to restore the role of the caliphate in the Ummah. This would have had a great impact on the morale of the mujahideen, as well as motivating all Muslims to take part in the campaign against the great Crusader invasion. We may also note Salah ad-Deen's greatness in scorning worldly gains and offering to give up all lands under his control to the caliph. Salah ad-Deen holds a consultative meeting After the end of the battle, Salah ad-Deen called for a consultative meeting which was attended by emirs and the men of wisdom, such as Al Qadi Ibn Shaddad and Imad ad-Deen al-Isfahani al-Katib, in order to discuss the situation in Acre.

Salah ad-Deen gave a speech to them in which he said: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah and may His blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. You should understand that this enemy of Allah's and of ours had come to our Land and set foot on Muslim land. But the signs of victory have begun to appear, Insha' Allah. There are a few of them (the Crusaders) left in this land, and we must do our utmost to uproot them. That is our duty towards Allah.

You know that these are our troops and we cannot expect help from anyone else except alMalik al-'Adil who is on his way. If this enemy survives and remains for long, until the sea is open for him, he will receive a great deal of reinforcements. The best idea, as I think, is to fight them. Let each of you state us his view on this matter.350 After a lengthy discussion, the members of the council were split into two groups. The first group supported the sultan in wanting to continue fighting before the enemy could regroup and receive reinforcements by sea, whilst the others suggested that the troops should go to Kharoobah351 so that they could rest. The first group argued: The correct course of action is that we should err on the side of caution and send letters and envoys to all countries and write to all the Muslim rulers in Syria, because undoubtedly the Muslims will help and offer support, and they will not sit back.

Then there will no longer be any need to wait; we will engage the enemy with our greater numbers and force, and we will start the fight with them before the sea is opened; we will persist in attacking them morning and evening until they are defeated. We will uproot them even if they are like mountains.351 The second group countered: We have not dismounted from our horses for fifty days, and we have not had enough sleep in all this time. Our mounts are exhausted and our swords are blunt. Now winter is coming and the enemy is very determined and cannot be defeated except by a large army; the flow of water cannot be stopped except by a bigger flow. The right idea is that we should wait out the winter and re-energize ourselves and our horses; we should withdraw from this place in order to achieve that which we think is in our best interests. In the end, the opposing view prevailed, and Salah ad-Deen was forced to go along with it.

The troops moved to Kharoobah on 4 Ramadan 585 AH/1189 CE, where al-Faqeeh 'Eesa al-Hakari fell sick with an illness that would lead to his death whilst he was accompanying Salah ad-Deen in preparation for his return to answer the call of jihad for the sake of Allah, as was his wont.353 The departure of the sultan and his troops from Acre was a great opportunity for the Crusaders, who took advantage of it and intensified their siege around Acre, fortifying themselves and taking all necessary precautions to protect themselves against Salah ad-Deen.354 This ultimately resulted in the loss of Acre after a siege that had lasted for two years, on 17 Jumada II 587 AH/12 July 1191 CE.355 Request for help from a king of the Maghreb The king of the Maghrebi Almohad (Muwahhideen) faction, Abu Ya'qoob al-Mansoor ibn 'Abd al-Mu'min, was angry with Salah ad-Deen, because one of the Mamelukes of the latter's nephew, whose name was Qaraqoosh at-Taqwi, had attacked Birqah and Tripoli in Libya, then Tunis, and his master Taqi ad-Deen 'Umar was hoping to establish a kingdom for himself there, but the venture failed.356 Salah ad-Deen had sent to the king of the Maghreb a gift that included two copies of the Quran, one hundred dirhams' weight of balsam, twenty pounds of incense wood, six hundred of musk and amber, fifty Arabian bows with their strings, twenty Indian swords, and many decorated saddles.357 With this gift, Salah ad-Deen sent an eloquent letter in which he said: Praise be to Allah Who has appointed over the Muslim nation those who spread prosperity in the Land and caused its people to be independent of means, and caused the supererogatory and the obligatory to be done through them (the rulers). This letter opened with the words, "From Salah ad-Deen to the ruler of the Muslims (Ameer al-Muslimeen)," and at the beginning of it, it said, "The one who is in need of Allah, Yoosuf ibn Ayub” As-Salawi stated that Abu Ya'qoob ibn Mansoor did not like being addressed by Salah ad-Deen as Ameer al-Muslimeen (ruler of the Muslims) and not as Ameer al-Mu'mineen (ruler of the believers), and he held that against him. Thus he honored Salah ad-Deen's envoy, without fulfilling any of his aims. It was reported that al-Mansoor nevertheless prepared to send one hundred and eighty ships, but what prevented their arrival was the Crusaders' capture of the Syrian coastal cities. Ibn Khaldoon358 cited that as evidence for the superiority of the kings of the Maghreb over the kings of the Mashriq359 in building jihad fleets.360 What some historians mention about al-Mansoor al-Muwahhidi being annoyed by Salah ad-Deen's letter because he did not address him as Ameer al-Mu'mineen does not constitute the real reason for Ya'qoob al-Mansoor's not responding to Salah ad-Deen's call. Rather, the reason was that Ya'qoob al-Mansoor was always in a state of readiness to fight the Christians in Andalusia.361 Moreover, there are some statements of the Almohads which indicate that they hoped to travel to the east and annex it to their state.

AdhDhahabi refers to the desire of the sultan al-Mansoor to head towards Egypt.362 This wish was expressed clearly by the Almohad poet Abul-'Abbas ibn 'Abd as-Salam alJarawi in some of his poems, such as his words in praise of the Almohad caliph Ya'qoob ibn Mansoor: His good fortune will help him To annex Egypt to his kingdom And he will go as far as Aleppo And Iraq, and further, to the Hijaz, And as far as Khorasan, Where his army will wreak havoc...363 The Almohads were planning to invade the Muslim east and their first goal was Egypt. The Almohad ruler clearly stated his wish to invade Egypt and mentioned how widespread evils and innovations were in that land, and said, “We shall purify it, Insha'Allah.” That remained his intention until he died (may Allah have mercy on him).364 Thus the Almohads were planning to invade the entire east, and undoubtedly the emirs of the Noorid and Ayubid states were well aware of that. Hence they wanted to take initiatives. The Ayubids gave some of their senior figures the task of going to the Maghreb and establishing centers of influence there, so that these centers would be the first line of defense for the eastern emirates in withstanding the ambitions of the Almohads. The campaign of Qaraqoosh against the Maghreb was one of these steps that the Ayubids hastened to take.365 The Ayubid campaigns headed towards the Maghreb, following the desert route because it was shorter and less dangerous. Hence they avoided the coastal route, which was filled with the tribes of Banu Saleem and Banu Hilal, who had managed to subjugate eastern Libya to their rule, where they prospered and established themselves.

Hence they strove hard to hold on to this land and fought anyone who tried to settle there or capture it from them.366 Al-Mansoor refused to send help for psychological reasons, because of political grudges and internal problems, and because of enemies lying in wait outside his borders. The Almohad sultan honored the envoy of Salah ad-Deen greatly, and when Salah ad-Deen's envoy, Shams ad-Deen ibn Munqidh, praised al-Mansoor in an ode of forty lines, he gave him one thousand for every line.367 Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi did not recognize the caliphate of the Almohad sultan, and he did not address him as Ameer al-Mu'mineen in the message that he sent to him with his envoy, Ibn Munqidh. This issue is of particular importance, because that would imply recognition of the Almohad caliphate and the legitimacy of the Almohad state, which was openly based on the deviant teachings of Ibn Tumart. This is what was stated by Al Qadi al-Fadil, Salah ad-Deen's senior consultant, when he said: The verbal message is enough and it is possible to deny it, but sending a written message is proof that cannot be denied. Once it is read on the pulpits of the Maghreb, it would be as if we were giving up our commitment to the (Abbasid) caliphate and swearing allegiance to one who is not supported by Allah and has no authority and it is not permissible to follow him; we would be undermining the esteemed one (the Abbasid caliph) and doing something inappropriate: dividing the Muslims, undermining the power of the believers, obeying one to whom obedience is not permitted, and putting ourselves under the authority of one whose authority is illegitimate.368 It is possible that if Salah ad-Deen could have met with the Almohad ruler and held discussions with him, they may have reached some agreement that would have benefited the entire Ummah, because of Salah ad-Deen's unique and unparalleled political flexibility, and because of al-Mansoor's eagerness to correct the beliefs of the Almohads and bring them closer to the path of Ahl as-Sunnah walJama'ah. Allah decrees what He wants, anyway.

Whatever the case, these political and doctrinal differences that arose between Salah ad-Deen and the king of the Almohads did not prevent their peoples from cooperating at times of both ease and difficulty, as is the case at all times and in all places. It is known from biographies that large numbers of Maghrebis took part in the Crusades alongside their eastern brethren, and many of them were martyred and buried in Palestine.369 Salah ad-Deen sought to benefit from the Almohads against the Third Crusade, which is indicative of his great political flexibility. So he did what was required of him. As for the Almohad ruler, he could have overcome the sectarian differences and joined Salah ad-Deen in defending the Muslim Ummah, but he failed that test. Role of Al Qadi al-Fadil during the Crusader siege of Acre Al-Qadi al-Fadil played a very important role during the Crusader siege of Acre. He was in Egypt at that time, running its affairs on behalf of Salah ad-Deen.

Through this position he was making arrangements on the sultan's behalf to equip the troops, prepare the fleet and send money and supplies to Acre. The sultan was corresponding with him about his tasks, to which he would reply in the most eloquent terms, offering suggestions, advice and comfort, seeking to achieve the interests of Islam as much as he could.370 His correspondence with Salah ad-Deen was ongoing throughout the Frankish siege of Acre, full of sincere expressions from the depths of his heart of his love and sincerity, seeking to ease the difficulties of this siege and to share with him his sorrows and hopes. He used to encourage him in these letters, to urge him to be patient and strengthen his resolve to continue the jihad, not to give up or despair of the mercy and kindness of Allah, and to adhere to hope of the support of Allah. This relationship was based on brotherhood for the sake of Allah and a common aim; it was not one of leader and follower, nor of master and slave. In one of these letters he wrote: His highness should not dislike the period of this trial with this enemy being prolonged because the reward will be increased as a result, the impact on Islam will be longer lasting, and his conquests will, if Allah wills, be of greater significance and the end will be good for those who fear Allah. Allah grants victory to those who support His cause.

May Allah reward his highness for his jihad by his hand and through his opinion, with his children, with his close circle and with his troops in general.371 Among the other letters that Al Qadi al-Fadil sent to Salah ad-Deen were those in which he offered his apologies for the delay in the arrival of the Egyptian fleet to Syria with supplies that Salah ad-Deen had requested from Egypt, and he explained that that was due to the prevailing counter winds, and not due to any shortcoming on his part372. There can be no doubt that this letter may be regarded as confirmation of the role played in Egypt by this judge and other jurisprudents and scholars in helping Salah ad-Deen by securing requirements and sending food supplies to the troops who were fighting with him in Acre.373 It is worth mentioning that the qadi was trying by all possible means to help Salah ad-Deen and the Muslims during this siege, so he sent a letter to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad urging him in the strongest and most effective terms, urging and enjoining him to stand alongside Salah ad-Deen and the Muslims in this difficult situation, in support of the religion of Allah and His Messenger and in support of the Muslims. Perhaps the strongest words that are mentioned in this letter came when he urged the caliph: O family of Muhammad, lead this nation in such a way that would reassure him in his grave, and do your duty towards others as he expects you to do, for we and the Muslims are his trust with you, and the likeness of this servant in this situation is no more than the likeness of a slave. If it were possible for him, he would stand at the door, beseeching, and would kiss the ground in humility and would converse with (the dust of the ground). If the obstacles were removed, he would migrate to find healing with the physician of Islam — nay, its Messiah — healing for the disease he is suffering. If he felt assured that the enemy of Islam would say something different, he would have travelled to him.

Were it not for the fact that speaking frankly could undermine a person's character, he would have said things that make eyes weep and break hearts. But he is patient and seeking reward, awaiting the support of Allah, doing what he has to do.374 Nevertheless, Al Qadi al-Fadil managed to take Salah ad-Deen through this tough situation that was the siege of Acre; he by himself was like a second army fighting side-by-side with Salah ad-Deen.375 Another example of the advice and guidance that came in the letters of Al Qadi al-Fadil to Salah ad-Deen was: This is a religion that never prevailed by means of large numbers and was never victorious by means of wealth; rather, Allah chose for it people of sincere intention and pure hearts. Let his highness be a good successor to those predecessors. {There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern.} (Quran 33: 21) The worse calamity gets, the sooner relief comes, and catastrophes pass and never come back. May Allah cause the ear to hear what delights the heart, and divert from Islam and its people the intensity of this distress. We seek forgiveness from Allah the Almighty, for he never puts anyone in trial except as a result of sin.376 It says in another of his letters: We are the cause of the problems we are going through. If we are sincere to Him, He will hasten for us the good consequences of our sincerity.

If we had obeyed Him, He would not have punished us by means of our enemies. If we do what we are able to of what He commands us, He will do for us what we are unable to do except through Him. No one should think of anyone as being against him — it is only (the result of) his deeds; he should not blame anyone but himself; he should not have hope in anyone except his Lord; he should not wait for the troops to increase or for wealth to be acquired, or wait for so-andso who it is hoped will join the fight or who is expected to give advice. All of that is a distraction from Allah, and victory cannot be achieved that way; we cannot be certain that Allah may leave us to these things when victory is only by His help, mercy is from Him and relief comes from Him. We ask Allah for forgiveness for our sins; were it not for there being an obstacle to our supplication, the response to our supplication could have come down and the tears of the humble could have been wiped away. But there is an obstacle.

May Allah choose what is best for his highness with regard to what has happened and what is going to happen.377 From another letter: We have no complaint, praise be to Allah, about our troops and their resolve; the problem is simply tiredness and exhaustion. Human strength inevitably has a limit but Allah's decree has a purpose and everyone who has a plan is striving and will go as far as is decreed for him. Your servant is saying this for the sake of one purpose, so that his highness will no longer feel annoyed by those of his men who are slowing down, but praise should be shown to those of his heroes who strive hard. Allah says: {So pass over [their faults] and ask forgiveness for them; and consult them in the matter.} (Quran 3: 159) Your highness, didn't Allah examine the hearts of the people of earth and not motivate anyone to do the task, or see anyone better, or choose anyone, or make it easy for, or use, or appoint to establish His religion, make it supreme, establish His authority, protect His symbols and preserve the qiblah of those who proclaim His Oneness, except you? This at a time when there are on earth those who are more closely related to the Prophet (SAW) and those who have power and authority by inheritance, and have an abundance of wealth and huge numbers of troops, but Allah caused them to sit down and caused you to stand up, he made them lazy and made you energetic. He caused them to be idle and caused you to be active.

He caused them to love this world and made it hateful to you. He made it difficult for them and made it easy for you. He held them back and sent you forth. He caused them to sheathe their swords and caused you to unsheathe yours. He made them wretched and made you blessed. {And if they had intended to go forth, they would have prepared for it [some] preparation. But Allah disliked their being sent, so He kept them back, and they were told: Remain [behind] with those who remain..} (Quran 9: 46) Yes — another point which is more important than the first — is that when the disbelievers were united in the ends of the earth, where the sun sets and across the sea, none of them stayed behind and none of them thought that the distance between them and you was too great.

They came forth out of their evil self-motivation; no money was spent on them, no kings forced them to do that; there was no stick to drive them and no sword to scare them.378 They are coming from every direction, from all countries, by Land and sea, coming as it is said, You are not a king who is trying to defeat another king; rather you are Islam that is trying to defeat polytheism. Moreover, you do not have support from all the Muslims, except by means of calling them and you do not have anyone who will strive with you by means of words; you do not have anyone coming with you but you are worried concerning them; no one comes with you except for payment, and no one is content with you except in return for extra payment with which you buy from them their steps, one hand span for a cubit, one cubit for a fathom. So you call them to Allah as if you are calling them to yourselves; you ask them to do the obligation that they take as supererogatory; you offer paradise to them as if you want to keep it exclusively for yourself.379 He said in yet another letter: We have sins which have blocked the way of our supplications, so it is more appropriate that we should blame ourselves. Allah has decreed things that we have no weapon with which to ward them off except by Saying, "There is no power and no might except with Allah.” We are expecting a great hardship. {And say: It is Allah who saves you from it and from every distress.} (Quran 6: 64) The enemy has mobilized against us and it is said to us: {Fear him}. We reply: {Allah is sufficient for us and is the best disposer of affairs, seeking thereby a promise of returning with grace and bounty from Allah.} (Quran 3: 174) We hope only for that great grace, we have no choice but to seek help from Allah. Allah has not taught us, at times of hardship, to do other than to call upon him, seek his generosity and beseech him. {Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves?

Instead, their hearts became hardened} (Quran 6: 43) We seek refuge with Allah from hardheartedness, and from despairing of His mercy, and from despairing of relief, for no one despairs of that but one who has lost his mind, one who is cast away from Allah, who has no share of faith in Him. The best way is to give up our trust in our power and put all our trust in Allah's power, and to turn to the One whose decree is always executed without any effort on His part. If Allah knows that his highness's troops have done their utmost then He will excuse them, thus his Highness should not blame them. If Allah knows that they could have done better and have fallen short in supporting the word of Allah, then the wrath of Allah is sufficient for them.380 Your servant reminds his Highness of patience, forbearance, good attitude and fear of his Lord, and to take care of his health and bring joy to the Muslims by recovering from his illness. {If their evasion is difficult for you, then if you are able to seek a tunnel into the earth or a stairway into the sky to bring them a sign [do so]. But if Allah had willed, He would have united them through guidance.} (Quran 6: 35) His highness is more deserving of this line of poetry: He is not arrogant or proud, No matter how many blessings come. He is patient at the time of affliction, seeking the reward of Allah.

It was said to al-Muhallab: Would you like to gain victory without effort? He replied: I hate to develop the habit of incapability and inaction; the will of Allah will inevitably be executed in His creation, and there is no way to ward off His decree. So his highness should not complain about anything that He decrees, for if the decree of Allah is executed whilst he is content with it and is rewarded for it, that is better than if it happens when he is discontent and incurring sin thereby. So he would suffer the fire of hardship — may Allah protect him from it— and would not find comfort in the reward because of it. Allah will reward immensely the one who complains about his pain and grief to Allah, because He is the one to complain to and the one whose help is to be sought. If a person calls upon his lord in secret, he will respond to him openly, so let his highness’s complaint be to Allah away from us, in private, and he should not weaken the morale of the people who can only be strengthened by him, or cause distress to the people who only find relief in him.

Nothing causes sleeplessness or keeps one awake thinking all night except the hardship caused by shortage of food in Acre. His highness knows from direct experience that he is not running affairs except by the help of the One who is running all affairs, and he is not executing any decree except by the help of the One Who has decreed all things, and the problem will not go away by worrying too much. I said to the man who was in a state of anxiety: Delegate your affairs to Allah and you will sleep content.381 Any idea is subject to discussion except that of a city becoming Christian after it had become Muslim, or a city where the minbar becomes mute after having spoken. Your highness, these nights when you stayed up in front of the enemy when the people were finding it tough, and you stayed up when people slept, these days when the callers cried out, "O knights of Allah, ride.” These hours that turned people's hair grey, these intense battles, the fire of which consumes people, are a blessing from from Allah to you, they are your plants in paradise and what you are going to find in the Hereafter. {The Day every soul will find what it has done of good present.} (Quran 3: 30) They will help you to cross the bridge over Hell, they will make your balance weigh heavy and they are degrees of status of those with whom Allah is pleased.382 Praise Allah for them as you praise Him for the great victories, and remember that the reward for patience is superior to the reward for gratitude. One of the reasons for the courage of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) was his statement, "If patience and gratitude were two camels I would not mind which of them I rode.” With this resolve they went ahead of us and left us behind, and we have no hope of even catching up with their dust. They achieved a great deal, and we seek refuge with Allah from stumbling.

In establishing the truth, Allah has never used any but the best of His creation. We may know what happened from reading the biographies of the earliest Muslims and the stories of the Prophet (SAW). Allah encouraged His Prophet (SAW) to follow their guidance and to follow their path and follow the example of the Messengers of Strong Will among them. The price of paradise can never be too high. Allah never tests those of His slaves except those who He knows have patience. Worldly matters erase one another and it is as if what was, never happened.

Exhaustion will go and reward will remain. What you see with your eyes is like a dream. My best advice is that his highness should not worry to such an extent that will weaken him physically and upset his mood. The Ummah is like a structure and he — may Allah preserve him — is its foundation, and may Allah make this foundation strong to support the truth. As a Persian proverb goes, "If something befalls you that you can do something about, do not feel helpless, and if something befalls you that you cannot do anything about — Allah forbid — do not panic.” There may be someone who is going through hardship, but if he manages to forget about his worries and focus on planning with the help of Allah, he will find a way out and his hardship will be relieved. {And you do not will, except that Allah wills.} (Quran 76: 30) This is a sultan who, by the help of Allah, is more certain of his power. Kings fight because they are motivated by ambition, but he fights because he is motivated by his faith.

When Allah looks at his highness's heart, he will find no trust except in Him, no reliance on any power except His. Relief is inevitable and the protection of Allah will always be with him, so he should never despair of the mercy of Allah and he should never say: when will the help of Allah come? His highness should be patient, because he is created for patience. He should give thanks because gratitude at a time when patience is expected is the highest degree of gratitude. Let him Say to the One Who is testing him: You are the source of relief. Let him be content with Allah, may He be glorified, for the one with whom Allah is pleased is the one who is content (with Allah's decree).

With regard to the news of turmoil in Persia, Glory be to the One Who caused their tongues to express what is in their hearts. {Say: Allah [revealed it]. When leave them in their [empty] discourse, amusing themselves.} (Quran 6: 91) The Sultan wrote a letter to Al Qadi al-Fadil from the lad of the Franks telling him of the signs of victory that he had seen and saying: "I am only worried about our sins lest Allah punish us for them.” Al-Fadil wrote back to him saying, As for his highness's saying that we are worried lest we be punished for our sins, the sins were there before you took your stand (in battle), then they were erased thereby; wrong deeds were written down then were forgiven by virtue of these hours (of jihad and hardship) and were pardoned. The tongue of the red sword in jihad is sufficient reason for forgiveness, and the sound of combat with the enemies is effectively knocking at the door of paradise. Allah is watching over you, and all your jihad and efforts are for his sake. Glad tidings to the one who follows in your footsteps, glad tidings to a face that is wrapped in your dust, and glad tidings to a soul that fights and kills alongside you. Our thoughts were focused on thanking Allah for giving you to us and we were thus distracted from voicing our thanks to you.383 Such was Al Qadi al-Fadil, the devout scholar and a brilliant speaker, a man who possessed a deep understanding of the laws of Allah with regard to achieving victory.

It comes as no surprise to us, after this correspondence, that Salah ad-Deen said, "I did not conquer any land by my sword, but by the pen of Al Qadi al-Fadil.” The presence of men of the caliber of Al Qadi al-Fadil with the political and military leadership had a great effect on the Muslims' morale. It opened the gates of hope for the leaders, made them eager to gain reward with Allah, and was the cause of their being patient and steadfast. Efforts of Salah ad-Deen to lift the siege of Acre Salah ad-Deen mobilized the Muslims and their emirs to engage in jihad for the sake of Allah. He led the massed Muslims in charging at the enemy. The fighting between him and the Crusaders was ongoing: every time he destroyed a battalion of theirs, they replaced it with many more. Europe stood behind its armies, supporting them and supplying them with wealth, ships, and men, consistently.

Hatred for the Muslims filled their hearts. When the siege of Acre intensified, Salah ad-Deen was very concerned about the defenders' being supplied continuously with wealth and men, because supplies were reaching the Crusaders easily, whereas supplies were only reaching the besieged Muslims with great difficulty. Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi did not ignore any trick or military maneuver suggested by his commanders; he used every one of them.384 These tricks included the following: Penetrating the naval blockade of Acre Salah ad-Deen (may Allah have mercy on him) had prepared a large ship in Beirut, and loaded it with 400 sacks of wheat as well as cheese, onions, sheep and other food supplies. The Franks had placed their ships around Acre, to guard it from any Muslim ship entering it. There was a severe and urgent need in the city for food and provisions. The group of Muslims sailed in the ship from Beirut, dressed in Frankish clothing; they even shaved their beards, put pigs on the deck of the ship where they could be seen from a distance, and hung up crosses.

They approached the city from a distance, until they mingled with the enemy ships. The Crusaders came out to them and their warships intercepted them. They said to the disguised Muslims, "We see you are heading for the city," and they thought that they were their own people. The Muslims asked, "Did you capture the city yet?" The Crusaders replied, "No, we have not captured the city yet.” The Muslims in disguise told them, "We will sail to the troops, and behind us another large ship is on its way, so warn them not to enter the city.” Behind them there was a large Frankish ship which had sailed with them on the sea heading towards the troops. So they saw it and headed towards it to warn it, and the Muslim ship began to sail fast, as the wind was in the right direction, and entered the port safely, praise be to Allah, and that was a great relief, because the people in the city were in great need.385 In the middle ten days of Sha'ban, Baha' ad-Deen Qaraqoosh, who was the governor of the city, and the person in charge of the fleet, Admiral Lu'lu’, wrote to tell the Sultan that there were no provisions left in the city. There was only enough to last until the middle of Sha'ban and no more.

Yoosuf Salah ad-Deen kept that to himself and did not tell anyone about it, whether in his inner circle or the general public, for fear that rumors would spread and news might reach the enemy, thus weakening Muslim morale. He had returned to Egypt, telling them to prepare three ships, loaded with food, staple goods and provisions, and everything that was needed in the siege, to last throughout the winter. The three ships set out from Egypt, and went out to the deep sea, waiting for the right wind to carry them to Acre. The winds were good and remained in the right direction until they set sail and reached Acre in the middle of the month. Supplies had run out, and they had nothing left to feed the people on that day. The enemy fleet went out to fight them, and the Muslim troops were watching that from the shore and the people were shouting out, 'La ilaha ill Allah!'386 and 'Allahu Akbar!’387 The Muslims uncovered their heads, beseeching Allah to decree safety for the fleet until it reached the city.

The sultan was standing on the shore, like a bereft mother, watching the fighting and calling upon his Lord for help. He realized things about the people's hardship that no one else realized, and there was great worry in his heart, but Allah made him steadfast. The fighting continued around the ships on all sides, with Allah protecting them and the wind blowing strongly. Voices were raised on both sides and supplications were penetrating the heavens. They arrived safely in the port, praise be to Allah, and the people of Acre welcomed them like rain after drought.388 The swimmer 'Eesa penetrates the siege One of the remarkable stories about the fight for Acre is that a Muslim swimmer, whose name was 'Eesa, used to enter the city with letters and money tied to his waist, penetrating the siege at night without the enemy realizing anything. He would dive from one side of the enemy ships and emerge at the other side.

One night he tied three bags around his waist, in which there were one thousand dinars and letters to the troops. He swam in the sea, but something happened to him and he died. The Muslims began to worry about him when they did not hear anything from him. It was his habit, when he entered the city, to release a bird. The Muslims knew that he had failed to arrive because of the delay in the release of the bird, and they sensed that he had died. A few days later, while the people were on the shoreline in the city, the sea threw out a drowned body to them.

They checked it and found that it was the swimmer 'Eesa. They found the gold and the wax seals of the letters tied to his waist. The gold was funds for the mujahideen. Never before had anyone been seen who was entrusted with something during his life and Allah decreed that he should deliver the trust after his death, except this man.389 Al-Isfahani commented: It was noted that he (meaning 'Eesa) was missing, and no news was heard of him and no trace was found. The people began to speculate but there was no certainty that he had died. He undoubtedly had a great status before Allah, and Allah did not want his situation to remain vague and open to speculation.

So he was found dead in Acre, when the sea threw him onto the shore, and Allah proved him innocent of what they were saying. Thus certain truth dispelled speculation and false accusation.390 The Muslims target the siege engines and other war machines The Crusaders' hopes of capturing Acre were raised; they set up the mangonels391 on all sides, and took turns in striking the city with them night and day. When the Muslims inside the city saw the harm that was being inflicted on them by those mangonels, they were motivated by their Islamic fervor and decided to open the gates of the city and attack the Crusaders on the outside. They did that and sallied forth on all sides, and the Muslims attacked the Crusaders in their camps. The Crusaders were distracted by the need to protect their camps and they abandoned the mangonels, which were struck by flame throwers and caught fire, and every single one of them was burnt.392 Crusader siege of the 'Tower of Flies' In Sha'ban of the same year (586 AH), the Crusaders besieged the Tower of Flies', which Ibn Shaddad described as "a tower in the middle of the harbour", on a rock at the entrance to the port of Acre, which guarded the port. Once ships passed it they would be safe from enemy attack.

Capturing the tower would put the port under their control, so they would be able to prevent the ships loaded with provisions from reaching the city. The Crusaders fixed turrets on the top of the masts of their ships and filled them with wood and naphtha, intending to sail close up to the Tower of Flies and as soon as they came alongside, to set the wooden towers on fire, and hurl them onto the terrace of the Tower of Flies; they would then take possession of it after they had killed the men of the garrison. One boat was filled with combustibles to throw onto the tower as soon as it should have caught fire. The besiegers filled another ship with wood and similar materials, with a view to sending it into the midst of the Muslim vessels in the harbour, and then setting it on fire, so as to burn them and the provisions with which they were laden. The third ship was covered with a makeshift roof to protect the soldiers, who were drawn up underneath, against arrows and projectiles hurled from the engines of war. These men, as soon as they had set the tower on fire were, according to their instructions, to withdraw under the roof, so as to be sheltered from missiles.

Despite the fact that the wind direction was initially as they wanted, Allah's decree was that after they had set fire to the towers they had built on the masts of their ships, and to the ships that they wanted to send amongst the Muslim ships, the wind direction should reverse and turn against them, so their first ship on which stood the tower was set ablaze, and so was the second ship. The fires then spread to the ships in which their troops were covered by the roof, and the Crusaders inside panicked, but they could not get out from under the roof, so they all perished.393 Despite that catastrophe which befell the Crusaders when they attempted to capture the Tower of Flies, they did not lose hope of capturing that tower. So they tried again and brought a huge machine in the form of a tank,394 on which was fitted a huge iron-clad battering ram, with which they rammed the walls and destroyed them with repeated blows. They also used another device which was like a roof, under which stood a number of soldiers, and it had a pointed head like the sharp edge of a plough, which they called 'the cat'. The head of the battering ram was round and caused destruction with its weight, while the head of the cat caused destruction by means of its sharp edge. They also used rope ladders and other huge ladders, and at sea they prepared a large ship on which they built a tower which, when they wanted to topple it onto the walls, they could lower slowly, so that it would form a bridge to the place onto which it was toppled and the fighters could walk across it.

They wanted to bring this ship close to the Tower of Flies and capture it, and when their preparations were complete, they started marching towards the city and attacking it from all sides in huge numbers. The Muslims ignored them at first, until it became clear that their aim was to capture Acre so they brought out those war machines, placing them close to the walls. When the situation became critical, the Muslims all shouted as one and opened the gates, and "sold their souls to their Creator", as the historian Ibn Shaddad said. They attacked the enemy on all sides and confronted them in their trenches. When the Muslims saw how humiliated and defeated the Crusaders were, they attacked their battering ram, throwing fire and naphtha at it, managing to burn it, and the Crusader fighters fled. The fire then spread to the cat and burned it.

The Muslims then placed iron hooks on the ram and hauled it, still burning, into the city. This ram was made of a number of beams. They threw water on it until the iron cooled down — this took several days. This happened in Ramadan of 586 AH/October 1190.395 The Muslims take control of the situation From the incidents related above, we can see the extent to which the Muslims took control of the situation and, at the same time, the level of panic and fear reached by the Crusaders. The Muslims were not content only to inflict damage on the Crusaders' war engines; they also made use of them in their jihad to liquidate them. In Wednesday the 15th of Ramadan, the Muslims boarded their ships and took by surprise the Crusader ship which had been prepared to capture the Tower of Flies.

They struck it with bottles of naphtha and the Crusaders' attempt to seize the Tower met with utter failure.396 Outstanding courage In Jumada II 587 AH/June 1191 CE the Crusaders attacked the Muslim ship that had set forth from Beirut laden with equipment, weapons, provisions and men. Their commander was a courageous man; as soon as he saw that they were going to be defeated he told his companions to scuttle their ships themselves, lest the enemy be able to get their hands on them. They wielded their axes on all sides until water entered the ships and they sank, along with everything that was on board including equipment and provisions, and the enemy did not get their hands on anything of it.397 Muslim attack on a four-storey siege tower The Muslims decided, as they were still inside Acre, to attack the Crusaders and inflict heavy losses on them so as to prove to them that the sinking of the ship had not affected them. It so happened that this time the enemy had made a tall tower four storeys high. The first level was made of wood, the second was of lead, the third was of iron and the fourth was of copper, and it was higher than the city walls. They loaded it with fighters and brought it close to the wall in order to attack the Muslims inside the city, but the Muslims hastened to strike it with naphtha, and continued to strike it night and day until they managed to set fire to it and burn it.398 Despite these losses that the Muslims inflicted on the Crusaders, Western Europe did not stop sending supplies to the Crusaders in Greater Syria, which enabled the Crusaders to continue their siege of Acre.

At the same time that Salah ad-Deen had achieved great victories against the Crusaders, both in battle and by destroying their equipment and war engines, the greatest Kings of Europe namely Philip Augustus, the King of France and Richard the Lionhearted, King of England, reached the Muslim East. They came by sea and undoubtedly their arrival had a far-reaching effect in raising the morale of the Crusaders.399 Changing the Muslim troops in Acre When winter came and the seas grew rough, and he felt sure that the enemy was not going to attack or try to break into the city and besiege it because there was a great deal of non-stop rain, Salah ad-Deen gave permission to the troops to go back to their homes and have some rest. Only a small group of commanders and his inner circle stayed with the sultan.400 The sultan focused on a change of troops in Acre and bringing in supplies and provisions. He also made sure to send the commanders in the city away, because they were complaining too much about having stayed there for so long and about the fighting that continued night and day. They also suffered exhaustion and sleeplessness. The commander who was in charge of the incoming troops was Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob.

On 16 Muharram 587 AH, the commander who had been in the city, whose name was Husam ad-Deen Abul-Hayja', and the commanders who were with him, left the city, and some commanders and prominent people entered the city with al-Mashtoob, who gave instructions to everyone who entered the city to bring with him provisions for a whole year.401 A great catastrophe for the Muslims Al-Malik al-‘Adil moved with his troops to Haifa on the coast, which was a port where ships were loaded and entered the city, and from which ships departed. He stayed there and began urging the people to go to Acre and guard their supplies and provisions lest the enemy attack them. Among those that entered the city were seven ships filled with provisions, supplies and money, which had arrived from Egypt. They arrived on Monday, 2n Dhul-Hijjah. One of these ships was wrecked on a rock that is near the port, and all the fighters in the city rushed to the shore to retrieve what was on board. When the enemy realized that the Muslim warriors had rushed to the shore, they gathered in greater numbers and marched towards the city from the other side.

They approached the walls and climbed up on one ladder, but the ladder broke beneath them, as Allah willed. The people of the city caught up with them and killed a large number of them, and the enemy went back defeated and frustrated.402 As for the large ships, the sea grew rough with great waves, striking some against others and against the rocks, and they were destroyed and all those aboard perished. It was said that those who perished numbered sixty persons and that there were huge supplies of provisions on board which, if they had arrived safely, could have sufficed the city for an entire year. The Muslims were weakened because of that and went through great hardship.403 The Sultan was very saddened by that and this was the first indication of the city's coming fall. Some of the Franks become Muslim Many of the Franks, prompted by hunger, sought safety in the camp of the sultan Salah ad-Deen and said, "We could sail in the sea in a small ship and capture some of the enemy, and whatever we captured would be between us and the Muslims.” He gave them permission and gave them a small ship, so they set sail in it and captured some enemy merchant ships with their trade goods, most of which was silver, both worked and un-worked; they also took the crew prisoner and brought them to the Sultan, and the Sultan gave these renegades all the booty that they had captured.404 When they were honored in this manner, they praised his generosity and half of them became Muslim. The booty included a large table of silver in which there were shelves, and with which there were plates and similar vessels of silver.

If those silver items were weighed they would weigh about fifty kilograms, but Salah ad-Deen never looked at it because he despised it.405 Martyrdom of Jamal ad-Deen Muhammad ibn Arkaz During this year the Muslim men-of-war met the Frankish men-of-war on the sea, and they burned the disbelievers' men-of-war with their crews. On the way back, one ship was delayed. Its captain was the emir Jamal ad-Deen Muhammad ibn Arkaz. It was surrounded by enemy ships, and its sailors threw themselves into the water, abandoning their captain. He fought steadfastly, and the Franks offered him security, but he said, "I will only put my hand in the hands of your leader, for a prominent man can only deal with another prominent man.” They brought him to their leader, and he thought that he was taking him as a prisoner, so they wrestled one another, and he kept holding him and did not let him go, and they fell into the sea and were drowned; they were together in death, but they parted on the way to paradise and hell.406 Arrival of Al Qadi al-Fadil at Salah ad-Deen's camp Al-Qadi al-Fadil arrived from Egypt in the camp of Salah ad-Deen in DhulHijjah. The Sultan was eagerly awaiting his arrival, as the separation between them had lasted for two years.

The affairs of Egypt were under control whilst he was in charge, and he had created both respect and love for al-Malik al-'Azeez. The Sultan trusted him a great deal, and always relied and depended on him. If he brought him to be with him, he would worry about the tasks that he had left behind, but if he left him there, he would agonize about taking decisions on his own. He used to write to him explaining the situation and consulting him, and the letter carriers were always going back and forth with letters and advice concerning different missions. The Qadi reached Jerusalem, but was delayed because of ongoing rain. He finally arrived at the camp of the sultan and Salah ad-Deen was very happy with the reunion and the arrival of his manager, by means of whose good advice Salah ad-Deen had established himself.407 Death of the chief Qadi Kamal ad-Deen ash-Shahrazoori in Mosul In the same year, the chief Qadi Muhiy ad-Deen Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Qadi al-Qudat Kamal ad-Deen ash-Shahrazoori died in Mosul.

Al-Isfahani praised him a great deal and wrote poetry for him on the topic of tawhid, confirming the attributes of Allah and declaring that "there is nothing like unto Him among His creation", and praising the Companions. The Kings of France and England arrive at Acre There came to the Muslim East the greatest kings of Europe of that time, namely King Philip Augustus, the King of France, and Richard the Lionhearted, the King of England, who came there by sea. Undoubtedly their arrival had a far-reaching effect in raising the morale of the Crusaders, when the King of France set sail from Genoa and the King of England set sail from Marseille, and they met in Sicily where they spent six months with their armies enjoying a warm winter at the time when the remnants of the Crusaders in Syria, who had gathered before the city of Acre, were anxiously awaiting their arrival.408 Philip Augustus set sail from Messina on 2 Rabee’1 587 AH/ 31st of March 1191 CE, and reached Tyre where he was welcomed by his relative Conrad de Montferrat, who then accompanied him to Acre in the midst of Crusader rejoicing. That was on the 23rd Rabee' I 587 AH/ 31st of March 1191 CE.409 In contrast, the situation of the Muslims inside Acre and outside became more difficult. The troops were tired from so much fighting, so the rulers of Sinjar, Mesopotamia and Mosul left.410 It seems that Philip Augustus did not want to wait for the arrival of Richard the Lionhearted; he immediately started to intensify the siege on Acre, after organizing the Crusader ranks. He set up towers, and the troops began assaulting the city continually; they also filled in the moat which surrounded it.

However, his attempt to attack the walls was delayed until Richard the Lionhearted and his followers arrived.411 Richard the Lionhearted had stopped in Cyprus, after leaving Messina, which was under the rule of Isaac Dukas Komnenos who was famous for his hatred of the Latins. He arrived there on 10 Rabee’1 587 AH/8 May 1191 CE and captured it, taking Isaac prisoner, then he left and headed for Syria, where his ships arrived on 10 Jumada 1/ 5 June. He landed near Tyre, but the guards of the city refused to allow him to enter it, on the instructions of Conrad de Montferrat, whereupon he continued his journey by sea to Acre at the head of 25 ships, and arrived there on 13 Jumada I /8 June. His arrival instilled hope in the hearts of the Crusaders who were besieging Acre, despite the deterioration in the relationship between him and the French King.412 In contrast, the situation of the Muslim garrison of the city deteriorated because of the pressure of these huge masses of Crusaders who intensified their siege on the city and their attacks on it.413 The fall of Acre Salah ad-Deen was watching these developments from his headquarters at Shaf’amar, then from Kharoobah, and then from al-'Ayadiyah. It the end of Jumada I/ June he received new reinforcements from Mesopotamia, whereupon he launched a number of counter attacks against the Crusaders. The Crusaders began attacking his troops, but they failed to achieve any goal after the Muslims stood up to them with great patience and steadfastness.414 The aim of the fighting was to gauge the strength of the opponent.

Salah ad-Deen wanted to prove to Richard the Lionhearted that his army was still strong and that he could sand up to him. As for Richard the Lionhearted, for his part, he wanted to find out whether he was able to impose his will on Salah ad-Deen by force of arms or force him to negotiate, after inflicting defeat on the Muslims, and to agree to his conditions. At the same time, he realized that military circumstances were on his side.415 The repeated attacks launched by the Muslims on the Crusaders who were besieging Acre had not succeeded, but the fact that they stood firm in the face of counter attacks prompted Richard the Lionhearted to seek negotiations, and he announced his desire to meet the Sultan. He was hoping to reach a peaceful settlement, but Salah ad-Deen responded cautiously, “It is not wise for two hostile Kings to meet until a truce has been drawn up between them.” Nevertheless he expressed his readiness to allow his brother al-'Adil to meet the English king and it was decided to halt the fighting for three days. It was agreed to hold a meeting in the plain that separated the Muslim and Crusader camps, but it so happened that both the King of England and the King of France fell sick suddenly, and Richard the Lionhearted’s sickness got worse, but that did not affect the morale of the Crusaders who grew more determined and more evil.416 Negotiations for the handover of Acre In fact the attacks launched by Salah ad-Deen against the Crusader forces did not succeed. Acre had grown very weak and the pressure on the Muslims inside the city had intensified.

The Crusader mangonels had destroyed part of its walls and weakened another part. Effort and sleeplessness had exhausted the people of this city because their numbers were too few and their efforts were too great. In 7 Jumada II/ 2 July, the garrison sent a letter which stated: We have reached a point where we are too weak to do anything but surrender, which we will do tomorrow; if you do not do anything we will ask for safety and surrender the city, and save only ourselves.417 This news was the worst thing that the Muslims could hear, because Acre was a large depot of weapons for the coast, as well as for Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, and Egypt; in it were the senior emirs of Salah ad-Deen, such as Sayf adDeen 'Ali ibn Ahmad al-Hakari, who was known as al-Mashtoob, and Baha' ad-Deen Qaraqoosh.418 Moreover the garrison had effectively taken the decision to stop fighting. Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob himself went to the Crusader camp to meet the French king and reach an agreement with him on the terms of surrender. He reminded him that when the Muslims captured a city from the Crusaders and other people in the city asked for safety it would be granted to them, and he offered to surrender the city to him in return for a guarantee of safety to the people inside. The King of France, who was totally lacking in the gallantry and chivalry for which Salah ad-Deen was known, refused to respond to his request and responded in a way which was indicative of his harshness, which provoked Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob to speak harshly to him.

He told the king, "We will never surrender the city until we are all killed, and none of us will be killed until we kill fifty of your leaders.” Then al-Mashtoob left and entered Acre, where he urged the people to engage in jihad and give their souls for the sake of Allah.419 Despite that stubbornness of the King of France, the Crusaders undoubtedly regarded the Muslim forces as something to be reckoned with, according to Ibn alAtheer. The Crusaders were not content to negotiate only with the leaders of the Muslim garrison in Acre; they also negotiated with Salah ad-Deen himself. They sent word to him about the issue of surrender, and he agreed to it on condition that the Muslims in Acre be allowed to leave, and he would in turn release an equal number of Crusader prisoners in the city.420 Salah ad-Deen urges the Muslims in Acre to be steadfast Whatever the case, when Salah ad-Deen saw the stubbornness of the Crusaders, he sent word to the Muslims in Acre urging them to be patient, and enjoining them to come out of the city all together after charging at the enemy as one man. He promised them that he himself would meet them at the site where they came out, with his troops, and he would fight the Crusaders so that they would be able to come out and join him. However, that attempt was not successful, because the Crusaders were in control of the city.421 At this point the Muslims inside Acre realized that they had no choice except jihad and fighting hard against the enemy. So they wrote to Salah ad-Deen telling him that they had pledged to fight to the death and that they had resolved to continue fighting and would never surrender so long as they were still alive.422 Despite that great sacrifice on the part of the people of Acre and their love for martyrdom for the sake of Allah, it seems that Salah ad-Deen and his emirs who were inside the city, such as the emir Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob and others, were very keen to save Muslim lives.

This is indicated by what is said that when Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob saw the situation, he went out to the Crusaders a second time and decided with them to handover the city in return for allowing the Muslims inside to come out with their wealth and their lives, and he would pay them a sum of 200,000 dinars and 500 prisoners, in addition to returning the ‘True Cross 'and paying a sum of money to Conrad de Montferrat, ruler of Tyre.423 Crusader treachery and breaking of the deal The Crusaders accepted this agreement and swore an oath to Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob, so he handed the city over to them and they entered it peacefully. However, when the Crusaders entered Acre, they broke their agreement as usual and betrayed the Muslims in the city, capturing them, seizing their possessions and putting them in prison. That occurred on 17 Jumada II 587 AH/ July 1191 CE. They gave the excuse that they did that so that they could receive what had been agreed upon in terms of ransoms and prisoners. At this point Salah ad-Deen began to collect money, of which he collected a large amount, and he consulted his companions about handing it over to the Crusaders. They suggested that he should go back again and ask the Crusaders to swear an oath that they would release his companions, and said that the Templars should guarantee that because they were religious men and honest.

However, the Templars refused to do that and said: We will not swear an oath and we will not guarantee anything, because we are afraid of the betrayal of those who are with us.424 When Salah ad-Deen became aware of their treachery, he did not go through with it.425 At that point, the banners of the Crusaders were flying above the towers of Acre and the Crusaders managed to enter Acre after besieging it for nearly two years, which sent a wave of grief and sorrow among the Muslims, as expressed by their historians. It seems that the Crusaders delayed implementing their side of the deal. Salah ad-Deen had sent the first installment of the money and captives, but when he asked them to do their part in full they refused, at which point he realized that they had decided to break the deal, and he refused to hand over to them the remaining men and captives.426 When Richard the Lionhearted saw that Salah ad-Deen had stopped handing over money and captives, and was not going to handover the ‘True Cross' to them, he stopped contacting Salah ad-Deen. Richard's recklessness and foolishness prompted him to drive the Muslim prisoners who were in Acre, of whom there were around 3000, to 'Ayadiyah, where he tied them up, then the Crusaders attacked them all at once and killed every single one of them. That massacre occurred on 27 Rajab 587 AH/ 20 August 1191 CE.427 Undoubtedly that cruel action taken by Richard against the Muslim prisoners in Acre could have no outcome other than provoking the zeal of the Muslims, who realized the danger posed by the Crusaders, so they rushed from all parts of the Muslim world to join the jihad against the Crusaders. Indeed the Muslim armies prevented the Crusader armies from achieving any victory after they entered Acre.

That was because of the steadfastness of the Muslim armies in the field of battle as they sensed the increasing danger posed by the Crusaders. The entry of the Crusaders into Acre was also followed by differences and divisions among their leadership, which led to their disunity and inability to achieve any further victories after Acre. That victory was in no way comparable to all the losses that befell the Crusaders.428 There was a great difference between the savage attitude of Richard towards the Muslim prisoners in Acre and the humane approach that Salah ad-Deen took with the Crusaders on many occasions. These included his treatment of the Crusader prisoners following his victory at Hattin and his subsequent capture of Jerusalem, as he was always keen to allow the Crusaders in the cities that he captured to leave safely.429 There is abundant anecdotal evidence of the Islamic humane conduct demonstrated by Salah ad-Deen during this siege of Acre, some of which is related below. The Christian woman searching for her infant son Among the Muslims there were thieves who would enter enemy tents and steal from them, even kidnapping people and then leaving. One night they took a three-month-old infant.

When his mother realized that he was missing, she stayed up all night, wailing and crying. When news of her plight reached their kings, they told her, "He (meaning Salah ad-Deen) is compassionate. We give you permission to go to him, so go and ask him and he will give (the child) back to you.” So she went out and asked the Muslim scouts for help, telling them about the situation. They took her to the Sultan so she came to him as he was riding at Tell Kharoobah. Al-Qadi Ibn Shaddad was with him, and he is the one who narrated the story. There were a lot of people around him, and she wept greatly and rubbed her face with dust.

He asked about her, so they told him her story and he felt sorry for her, his eyes overflowed with tears, and he ordered that the infant be brought. So they went and found that he had been sold in the market place. He ordered that his price be repaid to the one who had bought him and the child was taken from him. He (may Allah have mercy on him) remained standing until the child was brought and handed over to her. She took him, weeping greatly, and clasped him to her bosom as the people were looking on and weeping, and I was standing in the midst of them. She breastfed him for a while, then he ordered that she be placed on a horse and taken back to their camp with her child.430 Look at this compassion, which included all of humankind.

Dealing with the King of England Many letters came from the Franks to the Sultan but they were all a waste of time. The King of England asked to meet him, and then he changed his mind. Then the king's envoy came asking permission to give gifts of birds of prey that had been brought from overseas. The king had grown weak however, and changed his mind, wanting to receive instead chickens and other birds that they themselves could eat in order to grow strong. Only after that would the birds of prey be given as a gift to Salah ad-Deen. Salah ad-Deen understood that Richard needed that for himself, because he had just recovered from sickness.

Then Richard sent a Maghrebi prisoner whom he had with him, and the sultan Salah ad-Deen set him free. Then the king sent word asking for fruit and ice, and the sultan sent it to him.431 Reasons for the fall of Acre There were many reasons which in combination led to the terrible fall of Acre, after the Muslims had defended it for nearly two years. Perhaps the most important of them were the following. Arrival of new European forces The arrival of reinforcements from Europe tipped the balance in favor of the Crusaders, despite the fact that large numbers of them had been killed. Innumerable fresh troops reached them by sea from many nations that participated in this huge crusader campaign. Princes prepared themselves for it by means of the wealth and equipment that they had.

The Italian cities took it upon themselves to give their help and take part in the transfer of troops and equipment, not letting the Muslim ships bring any supplies or equipment that were needed in the besieged city. Their naval superiority was clear.432 The city resisted the Crusader siege for two whole years, during which it witnessed the most intense military operations in which the Crusaders took part with more than a quarter of a million troops. The Crusaders had the advantage during this siege because of their strong fleet and huge war machines.433 Crusaders' use of various new weapons During the Battle of Acre the Crusaders used many kinds of weapons and war machines, both ancient types and those that they improved, whether to attack and breach the walls of the city or to defend themselves behind the walls and trenches that they had built to prevent Salah ad-Deen's forces reaching them. After a lengthy standoff, sandwiched between the walls of acre and the troops of Salah ad-Deen, they managed to create gaps in the walls.434 In a letter prepared by Al Qadi al-Fadil and sent by Salah ad-Deen to the Abbasid caliph, he announced that the Crusaders fought sometimes with towers, sometimes with mangonels, sometimes with testudos or battering rams, sometimes by drilling and boring, even fighting at night, sometimes by filling in the trenches and sometimes by setting up ladders, sometimes charging by night and by day, and sometimes attacking by sea in boats.435 Richard's men were able to breach the walls by means of a newfangled invention which they called the cat, as well as with mangonels, which could throw huge rocks that shook the walls and sent Shockwaves wherever they fell in the city.436 A lengthy siege The length of this siege by Land and by sea exhausted the Muslims despite the system that Salah ad-Deen had introduced of alternating the troops by sending replacements into the city. But he was unable to continue that, especially when the Crusaders intensified their siege of the city. The successes achieved by Salah adDeen's army that beset the Crusaders from time to time, especially at the beginning of the Crusader siege, were of no benefit.437 The inevitable outcome was a slowdown in making real efforts; then the commanders began to complain about Salah ad-Deen, and their complaints soon became a habit and developed into criticism and then into opposition, and that weakened the Muslim ranks.438 In a letter to the Abbasid caliph, the sultan explained the situation with regard to Acre; he described how the emirs withdrew, one after another, because the lengthy period and heavy costs had undermined their ability but not their willingness, and had sapped their physical strength but not their courage.

So their clothes had worn out, their weapons had become blunt, and their money had run out at a time when the sea was bringing reinforcements to the Franks in ship after ship, seemingly as numerous as the number of waves of the sea. If the Muslims killed one Crusader on land, they would send a thousand to replace him, and if one group of them was wiped out, larger groups came to replace them.439 The sultan did not regret anything as much as he regretted the absence of his nephew Taqi adDeen 'Umar who had gone to his emirate in Mesopotamia on the condition that he return soon, but events in his emirate had kept him from returning quickly. Salah ad-Deen believed that the absence of Taqi ad-Deen was one of the main factors that led to the fall of Acre.440 Financial woes in Salah ad-Deen’s army The lengthy conflict with the Crusaders and the fall of Acre highlighted the financial weak points in Salah ad-Deen's army. It is known that Salah ad-Deen did not pay sufficient attention to financial matters and he did not save money for the time of need, and he justified his generous spending for which he was known by saying that the circumstances of jihad dictated it. His highness spent the wealth of Egypt to conquer Syria, he spent the wealth of Syria to conquer Mesopotamia, and he spent the wealth of all his empire to conquer the coast.441 He quickly found himself in urgent need of money to pay for weapons, food supplies, fodder, equipment and troops' salaries. He was also unable to reduce the burden of financial hardship among the troops stationed in Acre, who were forced to take loans; he was also unable to bring in new horses and weapons to replace those that had been worn out.

The horses were exhausted by jihad and the equipment had lost its effectiveness, and had deteriorated beyond repair. They had run out of arrows: the quivers were empty.442 Al-Isfahani added that there was a need during those years for quantities of weapons; the craftsmen and laborers could not meet this need.443 These are the most important causes that led to the fall of Acre. After Acre The fall of Acre had a great effect on the Muslims; even though it was not a knockout blow as such, this event weakened the Muslims greatly to such an extent that after that they resorted to passive resistance, one of the manifestations of which was their destruction of some citadels and castles so that they would not fall into enemy hands and then be turned into bases for attacking Muslim regions. It is true that the failure of Salah ad-Deen's army in the siege of Tyre is regarded as the beginning of decline for the Muslims, but this failure may ultimately be classified under the heading of failures of Salah ad-Deen's army, not under the heading of crusader victories. What that means is that what happened in Tyre was that the Muslims were unable to besiege one city; as for Acre, the defenders of the city were defeated and the Crusaders were victorious.444 The battle of Arsuf Richard the Lionhearted set out a plan to regain control over the cities on the coast of Palestine from Acre to Ascalon before heading to the interior to take back Jerusalem. He left Acre on Thursday the 29th of Rajab 587 AH/ 22 August 1191 CE, at the head of the Crusader army, taking the coastal route where the right flank would be protected and supplied by the crusader fleet.

The journey was not easy: the Crusaders suffered from the intense heat and lack of provisions; the cities and villages through which they passed were already devastated and thus could not provide them with any sustenance; and the Muslims harassed their rearguard.445 In fact, Salah ad-Deen did not want to let the crusader army march in peace; he set out after them, for he was afraid that Richard the Lionhearted would move towards Ascalon and occupy it, using it as a base from which to cut off the communication lines between him and Jerusalem and Egypt, which had been providing him with a striking force. After the Crusaders captured Haifa, which had been abandoned by its Muslim garrison, they resumed their march towards Caesarea. When they drew close to it on 7 Sha'ban/ 30 August, it looked as if an engagement between the two armies was about to take place; the Muslims had the advantage of free movement at a time when the Crusaders had cornered themselves between the Muslims and the sea.446 Intense fighting was about to break out any day, and Salah ad-Deen tried to draw the Crusaders into the interior so that they would drift away from their route parallel to the coast and thus lose the advantage of the support of the fleet, but Richard the Lionhearted, who is regarded as a military genius, did not fall into Salah ad-Deen's trap; he continued on his course and he called his men to stay in order and not be diverted by Muslim provocation, thus causing Salah ad-Deen to lose the opportunity that he was always hoping for.447 The Crusaders captured Caesarea, which lay in ruins after the Muslims had destroyed it, so they did not benefit from it in terms of provisions or money. Then they continued their march until they reached the outskirts of Arsuf; there they moved towards the forest that lies to the north-east of the city, two miles from the sea, where the plain was wide and open enough for two armies to engage.448 Salah ad-Deen, who had reached the forest before the enemy, decided to confront them in this place. So he mobilized his forces to prepare for a confrontation. When Richard the Lionhearted realized what his plan was, he did two things: he sent word requesting help from the Crusaders in Acre; and he tried to settle matters with Salah ad-Deen by peaceful means.

It is most likely that Salah ad-Deen wanted to win time until the Turkmen forces that he had requested could arrive. So he pretended to accept the offer of negotiation and delegated his brother al-'Adil to negotiate on his behalf. The later met with Richard the Lionhearted on the 12th of Sha'ban/ fifth of September, but the negotiations foundered because of the stubborn attitude of Richard the Lionhearted, as he insisted that the Muslims give up the places they had conquered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Al-'Adil immediately halted the negotiations, and the two parties had no option left but to fight.449 In the meantime, military help reached both sides and they prepared to fight. The battle began on the morning of Saturday, 14 Sha'ban 587 AH/ 7 September 1191. In the beginning, the Muslim horsemen surrounded the Crusaders and nearly finished them off, but Richard the Lionhearted stood firm and quickly reorganized his troops; the balance tipped in his favor and the Muslim ranks soon started to collapse.450 When Salah ad-Deen saw what had befallen the Muslims, he shouted to them and urged them to fight in jihad for the sake of Allah; he himself stood firm in the battle, and when the people saw his courage and patience, they rallied around him, and fought the Crusaders heroically until they were able to defeat them and force them to retreat to their original positions.451 Destruction of Ascalon After the battle of Arsuf, Richard headed towards Jaffa and seized it without any resistance because there were no Muslims there to defend it, according to Ibn al-Atheer,452 and he began to rebuild its fortifications.

As for Salah ad-Deen, he headed towards Ramlah where he held a council of war, consulting his general staff as to what he should do. The emir 'Alam ad-Deen Sulayman ibn Jundur suggested that he should evacuate Ascalon and then destroy it, because the enemy's target after Acre and Jaffa was Ascalon and then Jerusalem, and because Jaffa, where Richard had camped, was located between Jerusalem and Ascalon and there was no way to protect both cities at the same time.453 The emirs who were calling for the destruction of Ascalon stated that defending the city would require a large garrison to be posted there, numbering some thirty thousand fighters, or at least twenty thousand.454 They said to Salah ad-Deen, You have seen what happened to us yesterday. If the Franks come to Ascalon and we confront them, we can divert them from it; then they will undoubtedly fight us in order to expel us from it and take over the city. If that happens, we will be in the same situation as at Acre, and it will be even worse for us, because the enemy has become stronger by capturing acre and the weapons and other supplies in it, and we have grown weaker because of what we have lost. Salah ad-Deen objected to this opinion and asked some of his commanders to enter Ascalon and organize its defenses, but they refused and replied to him in a harsh and rough manner that was not their usual way. However, this behavior became their habit from then onwards, as is apparent from the reports of al-Isfahani and Ibn al-Atheer, according to whom they told him, "If you want to protect it (Ascalon), then you should enter it with us or send one of your older sons, otherwise none of us will enter it lest there happen to us what happened to the people of Acre.455 Salah ad-Deen was unable to convince the emirs, hence he was very saddened and he stayed up all night worrying.

Ibn Shaddad reported that the sultan only slept a little that night. ...and he called me to meet with him before dawn. So I came and he brought his son al-Malik al-Afdal and consulted him about the matter, then he said: By Allah, if I were to lose all my children that would be dearer to me than knocking down a single stone of Ascalon, but if Allah has decreed that and it could serve the interests of the Muslims, what can I do? 456 Finally he was forced to accept the suggestion of his commanders, and he agreed to destroy it. They ordered the governor of the city to take charge of that himself. The governor wielded the pickaxe to destroy the city at dawn on the 19th of Sha'ban 587 AH/ 12th of September 1191 CE, then he mobilized the people, dividing the wall of the city among them by assigning each group with its leader a part of the wall, and he and his son took part in destroying it. He sent word to his brother al-Adil, who was staying in the city of Yabna near Ramlah and Jaffa, asking him to prolong the peace talks in the hopes that he would be able to finish destroying the city.457 The people were very upset at what they were doing and began to mourn and weep, because Ascalon was a very beautiful city and was very dear to them; its walls were well fortified and it was well built, and people so liked to live there that it was called the 'bride of Syria', because of its beauty.458 After its demolition was complete, he ordered that the ruins be set on fire. Its inhabitants left it and dispersed into Egypt and Syria.

The process of demolishing and burning it lasted until the beginning of Ramadan 587 AH/ the end of September 1191 CE. After the destruction of Ascalon was complete, Yabna became the headquarters of al-Adil, but he went to Ramlah 459 As for Richard, he was very busy establishing fortifications in Jaffa, and he did not take the risk of attacking Jerusalem, because if he were to set out towards that city, there was a strong possibility that Salah ad-Deen's army could cut off communications between him and the sea. So it was wise and rational to make sure of the fortifications of Jaffa before starting any further adventures, because loss would be more painful to the Crusaders' reputation if they captured the city and were then forced to leave it again.460 Despite that, the delay clearly became too lengthy, and gave Salah ad-Deen the opportunity to reinforce his means of defending the holy city and reorganizing his army in preparation for the next round at the time when the Crusaders were enjoying themselves and relaxing in Jaffa. Richard's concern for renovating and fortifying Jaffa was no less than Salah ad-Deen's concern for destroying Ascalon, because the Crusader leader realized that it was impossible to take Jerusalem without consolidating his control of Jaffa, especially now that Ascalon had been destroyed.461 Organization of the defenses of Jerusalem Salah ad-Deen did not return to Jerusalem until later on, at the end of DhulQa'dah 587 AH, but he sent al-Malik al-'Adil to it to check on it and see to its fortifications.462 He preferred to stay in the areas close to it which the army had destroyed, such as the vicinity of Ramlah. His intention by doing so was to be close to the enemy and to Jerusalem at the same time, so that if the enemy thought of attacking Jerusalem, he could stop them and confront them in open battle. On the sixth of Shawwal, Salah ad-Deen gathered his senior emirs and commanders and consulted them as to what he should do if the enemy set out, as many reports about them showed that they had agreed to set out towards the Muslim camp.

It was unanimously agreed that they should stay where they were, and if the Franks came out they would meet them.463 In fact, two of the Crusaders who had been granted safety came to his camp and told him that the enemy had decided to set out the day after next. Then one of the Muslims, who had been a prisoner of the Crusaders and had escaped from captivity, arrived and told them that the enemy was intending to set out. At that point Salah ad-Deen began to fortify Jerusalem, and he sent word to different cities asking for men to do these tasks, and the Sultan and his sons and emirs also worked on it, along with the qadis and scholars.464 A large group, estimated at 50 Hijazi men, arrived from Mosul for the purpose of cutting stones to strengthen the walls and ditches of Jerusalem.465 When this work was completed, a caller was ordered to announce to the troops in the camp to get ready and set up the banners, to confront the enemy. At this point the Ayubid army suffered a terrible setback with the death of the most prominent of its commanders, namely Taqi ad-Deen 'Umar, in Mesopotamia. The sultan grieved deeply, but he concealed the news from the troops so that this news would not reach the enemy at that critical moment.466 The brave commander and emir Husam Muhammad ibn 'Umar ibn Lajeen, the nephew of Salah ad-Deen, also died at the age of 19 of a sickness that had befallen him, on the same day that Taqi ad-Deen 'Umar died. That was 19 Ramadan 587 AH, in the autumn of 1191 CE.467 It is possible that news of the Ayubid army's preparations reached Richard, but he did not want to meet them on the battlefield.

Furthermore, the king maintained his insistence that the principle of negotiations should form the basis of the relationship between the two sides, as the events of the following days showed. As soon as winter 587 AH/ 1191 CE began, the two sides halted preparations and no confrontation or meeting on the battlefield occurred between them. When the rain became very heavy, Salah ad-Deen went to Jerusalem, and the Crusaders returned to Jaffa; some of them went to Acre. Richard continued sending envoys to Salah adDeen, urging him to make peace. We find that Salah ad-Deen was not very enthusiastic about a peace deal, but he wanted to benefit from the atmosphere of negotiation during the season in which his emirs' armies had returned to their homelands. Hence he asked al-Malik al- 'Adil once again to stall Richard until the troops had come back from the provinces.

Al-Malik al-'Adil left Jerusalem at the beginning of Rabee' I 588 AH/ March 1192 CE,468 but the negotiations did not lead anywhere, whereupon some groups of Crusaders occupied some cities and fortresses whose defenses were weak, such as Ascalon, which Richard had rebuilt469 and made into the strongest citadel on the entire Palestinian coast.470 They took over the fortress of Darum, which Salah ad-Deen had previously ordered to be destroyed, and when Richard took it over he punished its defenders severely471 They also occupied fortresses and other minor sites along the Palestinian coast.472 Negotiations between al-'Adil and Richard The negotiations began on 18 Shawwal 588 AH/ 9 November 1192 CE, when Richard the Lionhearted sent a message to Salah ad-Deen from his camp near Bazoor, asking him to enter into negotiations to reach an agreement because fighting had destroyed many of the forces on both sides and ruined the land.473 These negotiations, which Salah ad-Deen delegated to his brother al-Adil, soon faltered, however, because of Richard the Lionhearted's insistence on taking Jerusalem and the region west of the Jordan with all its fortresses, in addition to holding on to Ascalon, and he wanted the return of the ‘True Cross'. All of these conditions were rejected by Salah ad-Deen, so a few days later Richard the Lionhearted proposed new terms, as follows: 1. Al-Malik al-'Adil, the brother of Salah ad-Deen, was to marry the Princess Joanna, the sister of Richard the Lionhearted and widow of the King of Sicily. 2. Salah ad-Deen would give to his brother everything that was under his control in Palestine, and Richard the Lionhearted would give his sister all the cities of the coast that were under his control, including Ascalon. 3. The couple would live in Jerusalem, and the Christians would be able to come and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 4. The Christians would regain possession of the ‘True Cross'. 5.

Prisoners would be released by both sides. 6. Some villages in Palestine would be given back to the Templars and Hospitallers, but not the fortresses.474 Al-Adil welcomed this offer and thought that it was a good idea, and perhaps he aimed to unite the Muslims and Crusaders in Syria under his rule and bring about peace in that and on the basis of ties of love and marriage between the two sides.475 Salah ad-Deen thought that this offer was some kind of joke, but he pretended to be happy to agree to it. It seems that his acceptance of this venture was because he believed that the King of England would never be able to carry out this plan and that this was a mockery and plot on his part476 It quickly became apparent that the obstacle that prevented implementation of this plan came from Joanna herself, who was alarmed to hear of this deal and said that there was nothing that would make her marry a Muslim man, which prompted Richard the Lionhearted to ask al-'Adil to convert to Christianity in order to overcome this obstacle, but al-'Adil refused.477 Actually, the fact that these three statesmen accepted this plan only indicates that they were becoming closer politically and culturally in Syria, a century after the Crusades began, in addition to the spirit of tolerance which had clearly begun to grow in the attitude and behavior of both parties. This is indicated by the fact that King Richard the Lionhearted met with al-'Adil at a splendid feast that was held on 18 Shawwal 588 AH, then they parted after the bond of friendship had become strong between them. The English king expressed his desire to meet Salah ad-Deen, but alAdil refused his request and said, "If kings meet, there will be greater enmity between them after that, but if they reach a peace deal beforehand then the meeting will be good.”478 From then on Richard the Lionhearted became preoccupied with solving the Crusaders' problems, especially the fierce dispute between Conrad de Montferrat and Guy de Lusignan.479 Salah ad-Deen's political acumen and attitude towards the war At the time when negotiations were ongoing with Richard the Lionhearted, Salah ad-Deen received Renaud of Sidon as an envoy from Conrad de Montferrat, who offered him an alliance in return for the acquisition of Sidon and Beirut; he even suggested that Acre should be given back to the Muslims. He was aiming to divert the course of negotiations towards his own interests.480 When Richard the Lionhearted found out about the actions of Conrad de Montferrat, he did his utmost to bring him back to the Crusader ranks, but his efforts met with failure and Conrad de Montferrat renewed his attempts to reach an understanding with Salah ad-Deen.

Salah ad-Deen held a meeting with his general staff to decide with which of the two crusader parties he should continue negotiations. Al-Malik al-'Adil and some of the emirs were inclined to continue negotiations with the English king, because he was going to leave the East, whereas Conrad de Montferrat was intending to stay and settle in Palestine, so he decided to accept the suggestions of Richard the Lionhearted in principle.481 Whatever the case concerning the attempts to reach a deal between the Muslims and the Crusaders and what happened during that period of fighting between them, although it was limited, there was no reason for trying to draw closer. In the meantime bad news reached Richard the Lionhearted from the West. His brother John had revolted against him, which meant that he had to return to his homeland quickly. Nonetheless, he did not want to leave the East before solving the internal problems of the Crusaders and reaching an understanding with the Muslims. As for the internal problems, they were solved with the assassination of Conrad de Montferrat by the Assassins on the 13 Rabee' II 588 AH/28 April 1192 CE.482 Richard the Lionhearted got rid of a stubborn opponent and gained authority over Tyre, and Henri de Champagne chose what was offered to him of the Kingdom of Jerusalem after marrying Isabella, the widow of Conrad and heiress to the throne of the kingdom.483 As for Richard's problems with the Muslim side, they required a different kind of solution, based on strength.

He hoped to recapture Jerusalem, and he captured the Citadel of ad-Darum on 9 Jumada 1/ 23 May, after resistance on the part of the garrison, but he failed to capture Majdal Yafa, so he headed towards Ascalon, from which he set out towards Jerusalem, and he arrived in Bayt Nubah on 27 Jumada 1/ 11 June.484 Salah ad-Deen for his part prepared to resist him, and headed towards Jerusalem. Salah ad-Deen's preparations to defend Jerusalem Salah ad-Deen instantly made arrangements to defend the holy city, including the following: 1. He divided its walls among his commanders and equipped them with what they needed to defend them. 2. He sabotaged the water sources surrounding the city, so that there would be nothing left to drink around Jerusalem at all, which would make the enemy very thirsty if they tried to attack it. 3. He summoned the forces from other regions, so al-Malik al-Afdal came with the eastern troops, Badr ad-Deen Daldarim al-Yarooqi came with the Turkmen troops, and Izz ad-Deen ibn al-Muqaddim came too.485 4. The Muslim horsemen launched swift and sudden raids against the Crusader camp.486 Salah ad-Deen held a meeting in Jerusalem on 19 Jumada II/ beginning of July with his general staff to consult them about the best way of defending the city against the Crusader hordes.

The Sultan asked Al Qadi Ibn Shaddad to open the meeting, so he began by speaking of the virtues of jihad, and called upon them to follow the example of the noble Messenger. They were all pleased with his words, then they fell silent and it was as if you could hear a pin drop. After a short while, Salah ad-Deen began to speak. He told them: The blood of the Muslims and their wealth and their children are your responsibility. No one among the Muslims can stand up to this enemy except you. If you turn your horses around and flee, the enemy will roll up these lands like a scroll and you will be to blame.

You are the ones who took on this responsibility and you have consumed the wealth of the state treasury. The Muslims of all lands are depending on you. Was-Salam.487 The emir Sayf ad-Deen al-Mashtoob answered him, saying: Your Highness, we are your Mamelukes and slaves, and you are the one who bestowed upon us, made us great, gave to us and made us independent of means. We have nothing but our souls, and they are in your hands. By Allah, not one of us will ever stop supporting you until he dies. The others agreed with what al-Mashtoob said.

The Sultan was happy with that, but the emirs quickly retracted their statement the following day, according to Abul-Hayja'. They declared that it would be a mistake to corner themselves inside Jerusalem, because they were afraid that the same thing would happen to them as had happened to the people of Acre, and they thought that they should meet them outside the walls of Jerusalem. They said, "If Allah decrees that we should defeat them, we will take over the rest of their lands, and if it is otherwise — meaning defeat — then the troops will be safe even if Jerusalem falls.”488 Salah ad-Deen was not convinced by the emirs' answer because Jerusalem was very important to him, a responsibility so great that even mountains could not bear it. Indeed they replied to him in the harsh manner that they had been using for some time, as we mentioned above. It seems that the conflict between elements of his troops and his commanders, who were Kurds and Turkmen, had become stronger and reached a serious level. That was apparent in their words when they said, "If you want us to do that, then you or one of your family should be with us (inside Jerusalem), so that we can rally behind him, otherwise the Kurds will not submit to the Turks and the Turks will not submit to the Kurds.”489 In fact, Salah ad-Deen found himself in an unenviable position.

Ibn Shaddad clearly sensed the helplessness of the situation when he asked him to delegate his affairs to Allah and to acknowledge his helplessness before Him with regard to what he was facing, and asked Allah to respond to his prayer. The historian saw him when he was praying, with tears falling onto his prayer mat when he prostrated, and he spent Friday weighed down with worry. Then his intelligence agents came and told him that the Crusaders had decided to halt their march towards Jerusalem.490 Ibn al-Atheer says that Richard asked the old Crusaders, the Syrian Franks, to describe to him the location of the city of Jerusalem and its fortifications that Salah ad-Deen had built around it. So they described to him everything that he asked about. When he had got a precise idea about the location of the city, he said, "This is a city that cannot be besieged so long as Salah ad-Deen is still alive and the Muslims are united.”491 This attitude caused a split among the Crusaders, as some wanted to attack Jerusalem whilst others called for a halt; Richard was with the latter group, whereas the French were with the former group, when they said, "We have only come from our homelands because of Jerusalem, and we will not go back without capturing it. Richard replied to them, "The water in this place has been spoiled, and there is no water left around it at all, so from whence shall we drink?" They said, "We will drink the water of Nuqoo'492 — which was located a league from Jerusalem —and we will be content to drink once a day.493 The Crusaders decided to put the matter to a vote and let the majority rule, and it was decided to stop the attack, so they moved on towards Ramlah.494 The sultan was very relieved about that.495 The Battle of Jaffa The Battle of Jaffa, is regarded as the last serious armed confrontation between the Muslims and the Third Crusade.

Richard the Lionhearted had used this city as his base after his victory over Salah ad-Deen at Arsuf, because of its proximity to Jerusalem.496 Whilst negotiations were ongoing between the two sides, Muslim and Crusader, with regard to a peace deal, Richard the Lionhearted left Jaffa for Acre, having made plans to set sail for his homeland if a deal was not signed with the Muslims. According to this plan he would march towards Beirut and then set sail from there to Europe.497 This action gave Salah ad-Deen an opportunity, and he made the most of it to organize a campaign against Jaffa. It is possible that he was aiming to achieve four goals: o He wanted to capture Jaffa in the absence of the English king. o He hoped to achieve a decisive victory over the Crusaders in Jaffa. o He was attempting to raise the morale of his troops. o He wanted to prevent Richard the Lionhearted from occupying Beirut.498 As soon as Salah ad-Deen approached Jaffa on 15 Rajab 588 AH/ 27 July 1192 CE, an urgent message was sent to Richard the Lionhearted, bringing him the news of the attack on Jaffa. He hastened to defend it and save it. He decided to approach it by sea, supported by the Pisans and Genoans, as well as sending an army by land. The winds were against him, however, and he was detained at the head of Mount Carmel.

His land army did not want to reach Jaffa before their king arrived, so they slowed down their march.499 These military developments gave the Muslims a good opportunity to liberate Jaffa, and in fact they entered the city on Friday 18 Rajab/ 30 July, after bitter fighting with its garrison and laying siege to its citadel, so the Crusaders were forced to seek a peace deal. At the time appointed for the handover of the citadel to the Muslims, Richard the Lionhearted landed and launched a counter-attack; he managed to enter the city and force the Muslims out, and Salah ad-Deen withdrew his army from the city.500 Richard's illness had gotten worse however, and he sent messengers repeatedly to Salah ad-Deen asking him for fruits and ice. His sickness also made him crave pears and plums, and Salah ad-Deen, with his tolerant attitude, supplied him with these.501 Richard the Lionhearted renewed his offer of a peace deal to Salah adDeen, motivated by several factors: o He was suffering from a worsening sickness, and his health had deteriorated noticeably to the point that he was unable to lead his forces and plan soundly. o He had received disturbing news from England that his brother John was up to no good, which meant that he had to return quickly. o Military support from Europe was cut off. o He despaired of taking back Jerusalem. o The Crusaders were beset by exhaustion, and his nephew Henry and other religious and military groups demonstrated their lack of confidence in his policies.502 Salah ad-Deen indicated the reasons that prompted him to accept the peace deal, which included: o There was ongoing conflict between the Kurds and Turks in his army. o The troops were fed up and were showing open defiance. o The enemy's strength had increased. o He feared a dispute within his family after his death, and that they would neglect the public interest.503 Negotiations and the Treaty of Ramlah The negotiations with the Franks continued for 15 months, and it took 42 delegations and much starting and stopping of negotiations. The one who always initiated it was the King of England, Richard.504 The negotiations passed through six distinct stages before they were crowned with the peace deal. The first stage Only 10 days after the arrival of King Richard, he hastened to send an envoy to Salah ad-Deen. The envoy was permitted to go to al-Malik al-'Adil first, who then brought him to Salah ad-Deen.

The message that Richard sent may be summed up as follows: the English King was asking to meet with Salah ad-Deen. When Salah ad-Deen learned of that, he responded without hesitation, "Kings do not meet until after they have made a truce.” As Richard wanted to meet Salah ad-Deen, it was essential to agree upon a truce before meeting, and it was essential to have an interpreter who was trusted by both sides, who could understand what each side was saying. If a truce was agreed upon, he would meet the English king. The envoy went back to Richard, and returned a second time to speak with al-Malik al-'Adil. The matter ended with an agreement that al-'Adil would meet King Richard in Murj 'Akka, with the troops around them and accompanied by an interpreter. The envoy returned, but he was delayed for a few days because of illness.

It is most likely that Richard was the one who was sick, not the envoy. According to another report, the Crusader leaders rejected the idea of a peace treaty with the Muslims Saying that it posed a risk to Christianity. The envoy came back again and apologized for the delay because of sickness. Among the things that the envoy said was that kings, when they become close to one another, exchange gifts and he added, "I have something that is befitting for the sultan, and I shall ask for permission to deliver it. Al-Malik al-'Adil agreed to that, on condition that a gift would be sent in return to the English king. The envoy accepted that and said, "The gift is some eagles brought from across the sea; they have grown weak, so it would be good if you offered us some birds and chickens, so that we may feed them to them and they will become stronger and we will bring them to you.” Al-Malik al-'Adil joked with him, saying, "The king needs some fowl and chicken and he wants to take it from us with this excuse.” The talks stopped for a number of days, then the envoy came back, accompanied by a Muslim Maghrebi man who had been captured and held by the Crusaders for a long time.

This man was a gift to the sultan, who accepted that and set him free, and sent the envoy back honoured.505 The historian Ibn Shaddad summed up the real reasons that lay behind the exchange of envoys, saying: The Crusaders' aim in sending these messages repeatedly was to find out how strong the morale and resolve of the Muslims were, and the aim of the Muslims in receiving these envoys was to find out the same about the Crusaders.506 The second stage On 9 Jumada II 587 AH/ 4 July 1191 CE, during the fighting between the Muslims and the Crusaders in Acre, when the Muslim garrison decided to give up fighting and sent word to Richard, he rejected the offer from the garrison of the city, but on the same day he sent three envoys to Salah ad-Deen asking for fruits and ice. The envoys stated that the Hospitaller Grandmaster Gamier de Nablus was coming the next day to talk about a peace deal. Salah ad-Deen honored the envoys and admitted them to the marketplace of the camp, which they saw; they returned on the same day to their own camp. That was followed by the surrender of the city of Acre to the Crusaders, and Salah ad-Deen's reception of the crusader envoys concerning the handover of Acre. This aspect has to do with the city of Acre only. We have explained above that this incident did not affect the foundation of the general peace deal that we are discussing here.507 The third stage The third stage of negotiations took place prior to the battle of Arsuf.

In 11 Sha'ban 587 AH/3 September 1191 CE, some Crusader envoys came, asking to speak to al-Malik al-'Adil, and they were allowed to do so. In essence, what the envoys said was that the fighting has gone on for too long, and too many men and heroes had been killed on both sides. They had come only to support the Franks of the coast, so if Salah ad-Deen were to make a peace deal with them, each party would go back whence it had come. Salah ad-Deen realized the implications of what these envoys proposed, so he wrote to his brother al-'Adil asking him to prolong the talks with the envoys until Muslim reinforcements came. On the following day, al-Malik al-'Adil met with the English King Richard, and Humphrey of Torun acted as interpreter. Al-'Adil asked Richard about his conditions for the peace treaty.

Richard replied, "All the land should return to us and you should go back to your country.” What he meant was that things should go back to the way they were before the battle of Hattin. Al-Malik al-'Adil did not accept these conditions and he spoke harshly to the English king in response; an argument took place that led to the English king and his entourage departing. Subsequently, the battle of Arsuf took place in which the Crusaders were victorious, even though it was not decisive. Eight days later, whilst the Crusader forces under the leadership of Richard were in the city of Jaffa, and Salah ad-Deen was in the process of destroying the city of Ascalon, on 19 Sha'ban 587 AH/11 September 1191, a messenger came to Salah ad-Deen from alMalik al-'Adil telling him that the Crusaders were talking about a peace deal, and that their conditions included the return of all the coastal land. Salah ad-Deen asked his brother al-'Adil to reopen negotiations because he could see that the Muslims were tired and fed up with fighting. He also asked him again to prolong the negotiations, so that he could complete the demolition of Ascalon.

During the following days there occurred an incident which had implications for the history of the Third Crusade. In 12 Ramadan 587 AH/ 3 October 1191, envoys arrived from Conrad de Montferrat, 'the Marquis'. Conrad sensed that the Crusaders wanted to capture Tyre, so he split from the troops of the Third Crusade, and sent word to Salah ad-Deen asking for a peace deal. He offered a cessation of hostilities, in return for which Salah ad-Deen would cede Sidon and Beirut to him. Conrad in his turn would show open hostility towards Richard, and with his own forces he promised to besiege and capture Acre. It was known that Conrad was crafty and envious; hence Salah ad-Deen wanted to know if his intentions were good, so he asked him initially to lay siege to Acre and capture it, and to release the Muslim prisoners in Acre and Tyre.

Only after that would Salah ad-Deen handover Sidon and Beirut. Later that same day, the envoys of King Richard arrived to talk again about the issue of a peace deal. Richard had heard about the envoys sent by Conrad de Montferrat to Salah ad-Deen, so he returned to Acre to try to cancel the idea of a peace deal that Conrad had initiated, and also to win Conrad back to the Crusader ranks. No doubt, what happened made Salah ad-Deen realize the extent of the division between the local Crusaders and the forces of the Third Crusade. Richard also realized that what had happened on Conrad's part was to be regarded as a blow against him and the forces of the Third Crusade, which had suffered and gone through a great deal to defend the local Crusaders. All of that had the greatest impact on the course of negotiations and the conditions stipulated in the following stages.508 The fourth stage On 24 Ramadan 587 AH/ 15 October 1191, an envoy arrived from the English King Richard, bringing a horse as a gift to al-Malik al-'Adil in return for a gift that al-Malik al-'Adil had sent to him.

This was the beginning of the negotiations of the fourth stage. Two days later, Richard sent word asking al-Malik al-'Adil to send his envoy to talk to him with regard to a peace deal. Al-'Adil responded to his request and sent his envoy to meet King Richard. The king said: The Muslims and the Franks are exhausted; the country is ruined and is no longer under the authority of either of the two parties. Property and lives have been destroyed on both sides. This matter has run its course and now there is no talk about anything except Jerusalem, the Cross and the cities.

Jerusalem is our place of worship and we will never give it up, even if not one of us is left. As for the other cities, whatever is beyond the River Jordan should be returned to us. As for the Cross, it is wood that has no value to you, but to us it is of great importance, so the Sultan should do us a favor and return it to us; then we will bring about peace and be relieved from these ongoing troubles. When al-Malik al-'Adil heard of what Richard was asking for, he in turn, conveyed it to Salah ad-Deen, who said in response to the English king: Jerusalem is the same for us as it is for you. It is more important for us than it is for you, for it is the place to which our Prophet (SAW) was taken on his Night Journey and it is the meeting place of the angels. It cannot be imagined that we would give it up, and we cannot even utter such words among the Muslims.

As for the other cities, they are also originally ours, and your capture of them is something that happened later, because of the weak state in which the Muslims were at that time. As for the cross, destroying it is a great act of worship for us, and it is not permissible for us to give it away for nothing, except for a purpose which serves the interests of Islam and outweighs that.509 Three days later, the envoy of King Richard came back from Jaffa with a new suggestion, which may be summed up as the idea that al-Malik al-'Adil should marry King Richard's sister Joanna, the former queen of Sicily, and the capital of their kingdom should be Jerusalem; Richard would give her the coastal lands that he had conquered, from Acre to Jaffa, Ascalon and so on, and he would make her queen of the coast. Salah ad-Deen for his part was to give his brother al-'Adil all the lands of the coast and make that his possession, in addition to whatever other lands and fiefs al-'Adil already possessed; he was also to handover to him the 'True Cross'. The villages and fortresses would belong to the Templars and Hospitallers, prisoners would be released on both sides, and the King of England would return to his homeland. When Salah ad-Deen heard the suggestions of the English king, he hastened to agree, believing that Richard would not agree to it. This was a trick and plot on his part, in other words a kind of joke.

When Joanna heard of her brother's suggestion that she should marry al-Malik al-'Adil, a Muslim, she got angry and swore the most solemn vow that she would never do that. Hence Richard suggested that al-'Adil should convert to Christianity. Al-'Adil refused to agree to that, but he left the door to further negotiations open.510 The fifth stage During the fifth stage, there were twofold, parallel negotiations. The first line had to do with the negotiations with the envoys of Conrad de Montferrat, and the second line had to do with the negotiations with the English King Richard. This stage began on the 15 Shawwal 587 AH/ 5 November 1191, when Reynald Grenier of Sidon, arrived as an envoy from Conrad. It may be understood from the historical texts that the negotiations with Conrad had not stopped.

The Muslims received him warmly and hosted him until arrangements were made for him to meet Salah ad-Deen. After four days, Salah ad-Deen met Reynald Grenier and showed him great honour and hospitality. The Islamic sources describe Conrad de Montferrat as one of the toughest of the Crusaders and one of the most experienced in war, a man of deep insight who knew how to plan. Conrad's offer may be summed up as follows: the Muslims were to give up Sidon to him; in return, he would make an alliance with the Muslims against the forces of the Third Crusade and declare enmity towards them. Salah ad-Deen listened to the suggestions from the envoy, and promised him that he would give his response later on. On the same day that Salah ad-Deen met the envoy of Conrad, in the evening, Humphrey of Toron arrived as the envoy of the English King Richard.

Salah ad-Deen met him and the Crusader envoy presented his suggestions. It may be noted that the war was still ongoing during these negotiations. In 4 Rabee' I 588 AH/ 20 March 1192, al-'Adil set out from Jerusalem with a specific offer for a peace deal, which would allow the Crusaders to take control of Beirut, if they insisted on their demands, on the condition that it should remain in ruins and not be rebuilt. The 'True Cross' would be handed over to them, a Frankish priest would be appointed in charge of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the gates of Jerusalem would be open to the Crusaders to visit, on condition that they did not carry arms.511 The motive for these new suggestions was that the Muslims were suffering from exhaustion due to the ongoing campaigns, a heavy burden of debt, and being far away from their homelands. King Richard's desire for a peace deal and to go back to his homeland only increased when an envoy reached his camp from England, telling him that Prince John, the brother of King Richard, was trying to seize power and gain control of England, and asked him in the name of the senior minister of England to return to his kingdom. This news worried Richard.

In addition to that, around 20 March 1192/4 Rabee' I 588, Hugh, the Duke of Burgundy, who was the commander of the remnants of the French forces, summoned them back from Richard's camp, because the king was not supplying these forces with the equipment necessary for fighting. The following month, Conrad de Montferrat was assassinated, as we have explained previously. Thus another stage of negotiations began, in different circumstances than those of previous stages. Conrad had disappeared from the Crusader political stage, and the situation in England had become critical; the English king had to end the war and go back to his own country.512 The sixth stage The sixth and final stage of the negotiations was lengthy and complicated, and lasted nearly 5 months.513 On the 22 Sha'ban 588 AH/ 2 September 1192CE, Salah ad-Deen's envoys brought their final offer, which was then signed by Richard the Lionhearted. These envoys also wrote their names beside his as witnesses to the treaty, which stated the following: o The Crusaders would have the coastal cities, from Tyre in the north to Jaffa in the south, and including Caesarea, Haifa and Arsuf. o Ascalon would revert to Muslim control, provided that it was demolished. o The Muslims and Crusaders would divide Lod and Ramlah each evenly between them. o The Christians would have the right to visit Jerusalem freely. o Both Muslims and Christians would have the right to pass through the land of the other party. o This treaty was to last for three years and three months. Salah ad-Deen stipulated that the land of the Assassins should be included in the treaty, meaning that the regions controlled by them were to be regarded as part of the Muslim territory that was included in the treaty.

In return, Richard the Lionhearted stipulated that the principalities of both Antioch and Tripoli were to be included.514 When the truce was concluded, Salah ad-Deen gave the Crusaders permission to visit Jerusalem. The Muslim troops mixed with the Crusader troops, and a group of Muslims went to Jaffa seeking trade, whilst many Crusaders came to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. Salah ad-Deen sent guards to protect them, and his aim in doing so was to let them enjoy their visit and then go back to their country.515 Outcome of the Third Crusade and the most important events before the death of Salah ad-Deen With the departure of Richard the Lionhearted to his homeland, after the Treaty of Ramlah, the Third Crusade came to an end. There would never be such a mass of kings and princes heading to the Islamic East again. Even though Western Europe was united in this task, and prepared a campaign which was one of the largest crusades, the results it achieved were minimal. What happened with regard to saving Tyre from the hands of Conrad de Montferrat and rescuing Tripoli from the Sicilian fleet, took place before the Third Crusade arrived.

All they contributed was to capture Acre and the coastal cities as far as Jaffa, in addition to the island of Cyprus. If one important thing was achieved, it was that they had managed to put a stop to the activities of Salah ad-Deen in liberating other cities.516 Historians regard the Third Crusade as a failed campaign in the history of the Crusades, because it did not achieve results commensurate with the great efforts put into it, let alone the fact that it did not succeed in achieving the goal for which it had been brought into being, which was to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims. The military and political circumstances that this campaign faced played a role in its ultimate failure, because it was not possible for an army that was devoid of united leadership, divided by political rivalry and fighting in a foreign land, to attain victory over armies that were united by one goal and one leadership and which had all rallied under the leadership of one man such as Salah ad-Deen. One of the factors that led to failure was the fact that the kings of England and France brought with them to the east the local political rivalry that existed between them, despite their agreement, before they had left Western Europe, to overlook it. The spiritual nature of the campaign was largely absent, because in contrast to the First Crusade, the pope did not play a large role in organizing this one. The Third Crusade was mostly of a political nature, with all its problems and contradictions operating in the background.517 The Islamic front remained cohesive after the disappearance of religious and political disputes, even though the Muslims' military power began to decline because they were so worn down and exhausted.

The Islamic forces had had to carry out ongoing military operations for three years and in unusual circumstances; in addition to this, tensions had arisen, which Salah ad-Deen dealt with wisely. Of these, we may mention the dispute that took place between the Turkish and Kurdish elements in his army.518 Were it not for the mercy of Allah, followed by the leadership of Salah ad-Deen, there could have been great and unimaginable losses. Salah ad-Deen's strong leadership and the steadfastness of the Muslims in the face of this fierce campaign caused frustration to the kings of Europe and made their plans fail, and they were unable to take back Jerusalem. This is regarded as a great victory for Salah ad-Deen, despite the losses sustained by the Muslims. This Crusade was distinguished by unprecedented understanding between the European Christians and the Muslims of the East. There were strong lines of communication between both parties, which led to the suggestion of a peace deal, and the sending of fruits and ice to Richard the Lionhearted during his illness, and to sending Salah ad-Deen's private physician to treat him.519 From this interaction the following resulted in the life of Europe: a) They transmitted from the Muslims a great deal of science and knowledge which was prevalent among them during that period.

The Muslims had written books containing many new and innovative ideas, laying down the foundations of these sciences. b) They also transmitted from the Muslims many handicrafts and arts, such as the manufacture of textiles, dyes, enamel, metals and glass. They also transmitted from them the art of architecture, which had a profound effect on the industrial, commercial and artistic life of Europe. According to Gustav le Bon, "The influence of the Crusaders on manufacturing and the arts was no less than that… From the Muslims, Europe learned the manufacture of silk cloth and advanced methods of dyeing. And architecture soon changed completely.”520 c) Western civilization was influenced by the Islamic civilization to such a significant extent that it led to the growth and flourishing of Western civilization. Were it not for the Crusades, the growth of civilization in Europe would have been delayed as long as only Allah knows. Fair-minded Orientalists admitted this fact before the Muslim historians mentioned it.521 Gustave Le Bon writes: If we examine the long-term impact of the Crusades, it will become clear to us the importance of this impact.

The West's contact with the East lasted for two centuries. The time during which the Crusaders were present in Muslim lands was one of the greatest factors that led to the development of civilization in Europe. Thus the Crusades produced a different result to that at which they were aimed. As for the East, it was enjoying a prosperous civilization thanks to the Muslims, whereas the West was sinking in an ocean of savagery.522 That is how Europe benefited from the Crusades, even though it suffered huge losses and fatal defeats, and it did not achieve what it came for, which was regaining Jerusalem from the Muslims. Nevertheless, it made all these great gains that revived Europe and quickly brought civilization to it.523 As for the Muslims, the Crusaders did not have anything that they could benefit from, because in their conduct they were like savages; they would rob friends and enemies alike, and slaughter them indiscriminately.524 The Crusader Bishop of Acre, Jacques de Vitry, described the invaders as follows, "Nothing of them were seen in the Promised Land except heretics, thieves, adulterers, murderers, traitors, jokers, promiscuous monks and prostituted nuns.”525 An army of prostitutes was brought with the Crusade specifically to entertain the fighters; that was not limited to the Crusader soldiers only; rather it went further to include immoral and evil people among the Muslims.526 Ibn Katheer wrote: Frankish reinforcements were coming by sea constantly. Frankish women came with the intention of fighting, and some came with the intention of comforting the strangers in a strange land, so that they might find some comfort, service and physical enjoyment, because that way they would persevere with fighting and put up with being away from home.

Even many immoral Muslims joined them because of these women, and this became a matter that was very well known.527 The historian Abu Shamah mentioned that during the Crusader siege of Acre: A boat arrived, on board which were three hundred pretty Frankish women, who had come from different islands beyond the sea and had been asked to offer their services, so they went to a foreign land to offer relief to those who were strangers in a strange land. Their aim was to offer themselves for free to those wretched people, and they would not refuse any man at all. They believed that there was no better act of charity or worship than this, especially if they offered their services to one who was single in a strange land.528 He also commented: Women came out to take part in the Third Crusade. Some of them came out wearing armor or men's clothing to take part themselves in the battles, because they believed that this was an act of worship.529 Others came out to offer relief to the strangers, and to bring joy to the Crusaders by making themselves available to the soldiers so that they would not feel tired and fed up.530 Salah ad-Deen implemented the principle from fiqh of weighing the pros and cons. The Treaty of Ramlah came about because of economic and military circumstances which made Salah ad-Deen accept it, even though he knew that the Franks were in a weak situation. According to the estimates of his men and consultants, the departure of the Frankish military forces to their homelands was in their own interests, and their staying would lead to the arrival of new forces from Europe which would cause harm to the Muslims.531 If we examine the history of treaties, agreements and truces that the Muslims formed with the Franks, such as those made by 'Imad ad-Deen, Noor adDeen Mahmood Zangi and Salah ad-Deen, we will see that they had some specific aims: principally, to give the Muslim forces the opportunity to prepare themselves and increase their fighting capabilities in readiness for the next round or rounds against the Franks.

Most of these agreements came about at the request of the Franks themselves and the Muslim leaders would not hesitate to sign them. They served an interest for them: to fight other principalities with whom there was no peace deal; to make things easy for the Muslims and give them freedom of movement and travel between Egypt and Syria; to make it easy for trade caravans to travel across Arab regions; or to provide security and reassurance to pilgrim caravans so that they could perform Hajj without being exposed to danger. As for the last peace deal, which was the peace deal of Ramlah, it was given a three-year limit, and Salah ad-Deen and his consultants found that there were interests to be served by accepting this deal. These interests included the health problems that had begun to affect the soldiers, in addition to the battle fatigue and exhaustion that they were suffering. They thought that this was an opportunity to prepare for the coming rounds of battles.532 Ibn Shaddad noted: The sultan thought that there was an interest to be served because the people were overwhelmed with exhaustion, lack of provisions and homesickness. So he wanted to give them time to rest, to forget the situation in which they found themselves and to prosper again.

He loaded Jerusalem with whatever weapons he could, and focused on building it up.533 Ibn Shaddad also mentions that Salah ad-Deen was not happy with this peace deal, but he saw that it was in the interests of the Muslims because the troops were so fatigued and had begun to show disobedience. Ibn Shaddad thought that the peace deal was in the interests of the Muslims, because Salah ad-Deen died shortly thereafter; if his death had coincided with intense fighting between the Muslims and Franks, then Islam would have been in danger. Therefore, this treaty was no less than a blessing.534 The murder of Richard the Lionhearted: After the Treaty of Ramlah, Richard set sail from Acre, heading back to his homeland. His ship sank at sea, but he managed to reach the coast safely, then he entered the land of Austria in disguise, until he was recognized in one of the inns near the city of Vienna on 11 December 1192. He was taken to Leopold, the Duke of Austria, who accused him of killing the Marquis Conrad de Montferrat. The Duke wanted to sell him to his enemies, but he soon handed him over to Henry VI, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and he remained in captivity until he paid a large ransom.535 Richard the Lionhearted was released in March 1194, and he continued to fight his princely rivals until he was assassinated — by an arrow —and died on 26 March 1199.536 After the demolition of Ascalon, a letter arrived from the deputies in Damascus, attached to which was a letter from Baghdad, from the embassy of the caliph, which contained three main points.

The first was an objection to al-Malik alMuzaffar's going to Baktamar; the second was an objection to Muzaffar ad-Deen's capture of Hasan ibn Qafjaq and an order to return him to Karkhani; the third was an order to send Al Qadi al-Fadil to them to discuss matters with him. The sultan responded to the first by saying, "We did not tell him to do that.” He responded to the second by noting that it was well known that Ibn Qafjaq had spread mischief in the land, and he responded to the third by stating that he was very sick and was too weak to travel to Iraq.537 Al-Qadi al-Fadil also sent his apologies in writing for not going to the embassy. The city of Jerusalem was fortified and inspected after the peace deal. AlIsfahani wrote: After the peace deal, the sultan returned to Jerusalem to check on it and inspect the troops; he strengthened and fortified its walls, restored and beautified its historic sites, made its ditches deeper, paved its roads and added a market to the endowment of the school with all its shops, and lands with all their gardens. He also organized the affairs of the Sufis, allocating complete endowments to guarantee them enough to live on. He allocated the church in Qumamah Street to be turned into a hospital, and brought to it drugs and medicines of all types.

He extended the walls of Jerusalem as far as Mount Zion and incorporated it into the city, and he issued orders that the trenches be extended around the entire city. He decided to go on Hajj, but it was not decreed for him and he regretted missing it after having prepared himself for it. He stayed (in al-Quds) for the month of Ramadan, and was very generous and kind. He appointed 'Izz ad-Deen Jurdeek as governor of Jerusalem and its environs when he dismissed Husam ad-Deen Siyarookh from this post; and he appointed his Mameluke, 'Alam ad-Deen Qaysar, as governor of the territories beyond Jerusalem, such as Hebron, Gaza, Darum and Ascalon.538 Al-Qadi al-Fadil objected to Salah ad-Deen's plan to go on Hajj. When Al Qadi al-Fadil heard that the Sultan had decided to go on Hajj, he wrote to him advising him to cancel it on the basis that the Franks had not yet left Syria, and they had not forgotten about Jerusalem. They could not be trusted not to break the peace deal.

There is no guarantee, if the Franks are still here, our troops have dispersed and our Sultan is travelling for a specific, known period of absence, that they will not march one night and arrive at Jerusalem in the morning, catching it unawares, and enter it — Allah forbid —and it would be lost to Islam. In this case (your) Hajj would become a major sin and unforgivable; a mistake which could never be overlooked. He added: The pilgrims of Iraq and Khorasan: are they not two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand strong or more? Is there any guarantee that it will not be said that the sultan marched to settle some scores, shed blood and disturb the Hajj, so they would not go? Then it would become a bad precedent, I seek refuge with Allah from that. These consequences are not unlikely and foolish people are not unlikely to think that way… Your Highness, dealing with the wrongs done to the people is more important than anything by means of which you could draw closer to Allah.

It is not only one case; around Damascus the wrongs done to the peasants make one wonder that rain still falls, and there is a great deal of injustice on the part of the fief-holders against those who are working for them. In the valleys of Barada and Zabadani there is trouble and turmoil, the swords are still dripping with blood and no one is trying to stop it. The Muslims have borders that need fortifications and weapons. Another essential task is the creation of a balance between the state's income and outgoings. It is impossible to spend without sufficient income or to have a branch without a root. This is a matter which we have discussed a great deal before, but his highness was distracted from paying attention to it.

Although the financial affairs of the state are in difficulty, when things settle down — Allah forbid that the problems come back — the most serious issue to be faced is the fact that the state treasury is empty. Your servant is not asking to collect more money from the people; rather he is asking to manage financial affairs in such a way that they stabilise.539 This letter indicates the depth of Al Qadi al-Fadil's understanding of the aims of Islamic law; it also demonstrates the importance of the presence of devoted scholars alongside the political and military leadership. Sultan Salah ad-Deen responded to Al Qadi al-Fadil's advice; he listened to him, appreciated his sincerity, accepted it and decided not to perform the Hajj that year. He wrote about that to all the provinces, and remained in Jerusalem for the entire month of Ramadan, fasting, praying and reading the Quran. Every time one of the Christian leaders came to him, he honored him with a gift and showed him generosity, so as to soften their hearts and to confirm the covenant between them, and in hopes of instilling faith in their hearts. There was not one of their kings who did not come to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in disguise, and he came to the table of the sultan among the masses who came, so as not to be recognized.

The sultan was aware of that; he knew of it in general terms, but not in detail. Hence he honored them, and showed them great tolerance, kindness and generosity.540 The sultan returned to Damascus. In 5 Shawwal 588 AH, he set out with his troops from Jerusalem heading towards Damascus. He appointed as his deputy in Jerusalem Izz ad-Deen Jurdeek and as its judge Baha' ad-Deen Yoosuf ibn Rafi' ibn Tameem Al-Shafi'i. He passed through the valley of Habeeb541 and stayed overnight at the Templar pond. He then arrived in Nablus in the morning, where he examined and inspected the city, then he left it and started passing through fortresses and towns to check on their situation and financial affairs, restore rights, put an end to transgression and encourage good deeds.

On his journey, Bohemond of Antioch came to him and he honored him, treated him kindly, and gave him a great deal of wealth and beautiful clothing. Al-Imad al-Katib al-Isfahani was among his entourage, and he wrote about every halt he made and every stage he passed. He noted: On Monday he crossed 'Ayn al-Jarr,542 heading towards Marj Yaboos,543 and all his troubles ceased. Prominent people of Damascus came out and we camped on Tuesday at al-'Arradah.544 People came out to receive him as usual, and on Wednesday morning (meaning 16 Shawwal) we came to the Garden of Damascus, entering it safe and sound but not immortal. The Sultan's absence from the city had lasted for four years. All the people of Damascus came out to receive him, women and men, and it was a day of celebration.

Everyone who was in the city came out; the people gathered in the forenoon and there was joy and happiness everywhere. He met with his children, both old and young, and the envoys of the kings came to him from all over. He spent the rest of that year hunting, attending the courthouse to pass judgments, and striving to do good deeds. When Eid al-Adha came, one of the poets praised him in an ode.545 The leader of the Hajj was accused of writing to Salah ad-Deen against the caliph. In 588 AH, the leader of the Hajj in Baghdad, whose name was Tashtigin — who had been the leader of the pilgrims for twenty years, and was of outstanding good character — was accused of writing to Salah ad-Deen ibn Ayub, telling him to come to Iraq to capture it because no one would stop him. This was a fabrication against him, but despite that he was arrested and humiliated and his property confiscated.546 In 588 AH, Abul-Murhaf an-Numayri died.

He had studied hadith and was a man of letters. He had contracted smallpox at the age of fourteen, which had weakened his eyesight so that he was unable to see distant objects, but he could see things that were close to him, and he did not need a guide. He travelled to Iraq to seek treatment for his eyes, but the doctors told him that there was no hope. So he occupied himself with memorizing the Quran, he kept company with righteous people and ascetics, and he did the right thing. He wrote reams of poetry. On one occasion he was asked about his madh-hab and beliefs, and he composed the following lines of verse: I love ‘Ali and Fatimah and their children, but I do not deny the Superiority of the two shaykhs (Abu Bakr and'Umar).

I disavow myself of anyone who harmed 'Uthman, as I disavow myself of Ibn Muljam (the one who killed 'Ali). I like the people of Hadith for their truthfulness, and I cannot choose for company anyone other than them.571 Salah ad-Deen's illness and death: 589 AH The final days of the life of Salah ad-Deen Al-Isfahani stated: The Sultan remained in Damascus in his house, and the rulers throughout the Muslim lands were awaiting instructions. The world was shining with the brightness of his face, and envoys from different regions were gathered at his door, waiting for permission to enter upon him, guests were enjoying his generosity, and the poor were enjoying his charity. Every day he sat down to exercise his generosity, show his kindness, do righteous deeds and put an end to wrongdoing. He went out hunting to the east of Damascus with provisions for fifteen days, and he took with him his brother al-'Adil. He went very far in the wilderness, heading eastwards, and he had good opportunities for hunting.

He hunted what he liked, then returned on Monday 11 Safar, which coincided with the return of the Syrian pilgrims, so he went out to meet them. When he met the pilgrims, tears fell from his eyes: how could he have missed out on the Hajj that he wished to perform? He asked them about the situation in Makkah, its emir and people, its rainfall and weather, and how much support they had received from Egypt, about its charities and poor, the people who stayed there, and its income and administration. He was happy because the pilgrims had gone and come back safely, and because the route (to Makkah) was safe. His nephew Sayf al-Islam arrived from Yemen, and he received him and honored him.548 Salah ad-Deen’s sickness When Friday night came, he was very lethargic; halfway through the night he was overcome with a bilious fever which affected his stomach more than his back. On Saturday morning, 16 Safar, the effects of the fever could be seen in him but he did not show that to the people.

Nonetheless, Al Qadi Ibn Shaddad and Al Qadi alFadil stayed by his side, and his son al-Afdal came in. Al-Qadi Ibn Shaddad reported: We stayed with him for a long time; he complained at first about the bad night he had had, but after that he seemed to take pleasure in talking to us. This lasted until noon, when we left, leaving our hearts with him. He told us to go and partake of the meal in attendance with al-Malik al-Afdal. Al-Qadi al-Fadil was not accustomed to doing that, so he returned (to his home); for my part, I went into the great Southern Hall, and found the table laid, and al-Afdal sitting in his father's seat. As I could not endure this sight, I left without sitting down at the table.

Several others, seeing his son seated in his place, took it as a bad omen and shed tears at the sight. From that time on, the Sultan's illness grew ever more serious, and we never omitted to visit him both morning and evening. Al-Qadi al-Fadil and I used to go into the sickroom several times a day, whenever a lull in the pain he was suffering allowed him to receive visits. It was from pain in his head that he suffered most. One of the things for which we augured that his life would be taken was the absence of his chief physician, who knew his constitution better than anyone, having always attended him both in the city and on his journeys. On the fourth day of his illness, the other physicians thought it necessary to bleed him, and from that moment he grew seriously worse, and the humors of the body began to cease their flow.

His condition was aggravated by the predominance of this dryness, and he was reduced to the last degree of weakness. On the sixth day we got him to sit up, propping him up at the back with a pillow; we then brought him a cup of lukewarm water to drink, which was to act as an emollient after the medicine he had taken. He tasted it and found it too hot; another cup was brought to him which he thought too cold, but still he did not get vexed or angry, but only said, "Subhan-Allah, perhaps there is no one who can make the water of the right temperature!" Al-Fadil and I left with tears streaming from our eyes, and he said to me, "Look at this attitude of this great man whom the Muslims are about to lose! By Allah, any other man in his place would have thrown the cup at the head of the man who brought it!" During the sixth, seventh and eighth days the illness increased, and then his mind began to wander. On the ninth day, he began to tremble and refused to take the draught that was brought to him. The whole city was in turmoil, and the merchants, being afraid, began to carry away their goods out of the bazaars.

It is impossible to give any idea of the sorrow and trouble with which one and all were oppressed. Every evening Al Qadi al-Fadil and I would sit up for the first third of the night together; then we would go to the gates of the house. If we found a means, we would take a look at him and then immediately withdraw, and if not, we would still find out how he was. When we came out, we would find the people waiting to gather, from the expression on our faces, what the sultan's state was.549 On the tenth day of his illness they treated him twice with a suppository, which gave him some relief. After that it gave the greatest delight to all to hear that he had drunk some barley water. That night, as usual, we waited some hours and then we went to the house, where we found Jamal ad-Dawlah Iqbal.

When we asked about the health (of the sultan), he went in and sent us word from al-Malik al-Mu'adh-dham Turanshah that perspiration was visible on both legs. We gave thanks to Allah for this news, and asked him to check the rest of the body and let us know of any perspiration elsewhere. He did as we asked him and came back to us, saying that the perspiration was all over. We then departed with lighter hearts. On the following day, which was Tuesday the eleventh day of his sickness and the twenty-sixth of the month of Safar, we went to the gate to ask for news. They told us that the perspiration was so profuse that it had gone right through the mattress and the mat, and the moisture could be seen on the floor.

As the dehydration of his body had increased to such a degree, his strength deteriorated, and the doctors realized that.550 The people swear allegiance to al-Malik al-Afdal When al-Malik al-Afdal saw his father's condition, and realized that there was no hope of his recovery, he made all haste to secure the oath of allegiance of the people. He held a reception for that purpose in Dar Radwan, which was known to be his residence. He summoned the judges and instructed them to draft a brief oath, promising fidelity to the sultan as long as he lived, and after his death to al-Afdal. The emir excused himself to the people on the grounds that the sultan's illness was most critical, and that one could not tell what might happen, and it was necessary to provide for any event after the manner of kings.551 The text of the oath was as follows: From this moment forth, with single aim and unflinching purpose, I swear my allegiance to al-Malik an-Nasir (Salah ad-Deen) as long as he lives, and I will never relax my efforts to uphold his government, consecrating to his service my life and wealth, my sword and my men; I will obey his commands and conform to his will. Afterwards I will keep the same faith with his son, alMalik al-Afdal 'Ali. I take Allah to witness that I will obey him and uphold his government and land, consecrating to his service my life and wealth, my sword and my men; I will observe his commands and prohibitions, and I swear that my private resolutions correspond with my oath.

I call upon Allah to be Witness to my words.552 His death (may Allah have mercy on him) Ibn Shaddad related: The eve of Wednesday 27 Safar in the year 589 was the twelfth night of the illness. He grew worse and his strength failed, and from the beginning of the night there was no hope. The presence of the women (of his family) prevented us from going to see him; but that night they sent for me as well as Al Qadi alFadil and Ibn az-Zaki, and it was not the usual time for our presence there. AlMalik al-Afdal wanted us to spend the night with him, but the qadi objected, because people used to wait for us on our return from the citadel, and he feared that if we did not make our appearance, an alarm might spread through the city, and they might begin pillaging. We therefore thought it best for us to leave. Al-Afdal then decided to summon Abu Ja'far, imam of Kallasah, and a man of known rectitude, in order that he might be on hand in the citadel if Allah should call the sick man to Himself that night.

But he was prevented from being with him by the women. He (Salah ad-Deen) was reminded of the shahddah553and of Allah, and he recited the shahadah. The qadi and I took our leave; both of us would have readily laid down our lives for his. He remained all night in the state of one going to meet Allah; Shaykh Abu Ja'far recited to him passages from the Quran and reminded him of Allah Almighty. Since the ninth day of the fever, his mind had been wandering, and his brain was clear only at intervals. The Shaykh afterwards assured us thus, "I was reciting the words of Allah (SWT) to him: {He is Allah, beside whom none has the right to be worshipped, the Knower of the unseen and the seen} (Quran 59: 22) and I heard him say (may Allah have mercy on him), ‘It is true!' He woke up at the right time, and it was a sign of Allah's favor to him.

Allah be praised for that.554 The Sultan died at the hour of the dawn prayer on Wednesday 27 Safar in the year 589 (4 March 1193 CE). Al-Qadi al-Fadil had hastened back to the palace before dawn at the time of his passing away (may Allah have mercy on him). I was told that whilst Shaykh Abu Ja'far was reciting the verse: {La ilaha illa Huwa [none has the right to be worshipped but He], in Him I put my trust} (Quran 9: 129) He smiled, his face grew radiant and he submitted his soul to his Lord.555 Never, since Islam and the Muslims lost the [four] first caliphs, never, from that time, had the faith and the faithful suffered a blow such as that they received on the day of the Sultan's death. The citadel, the city, and the whole world were thereby plunged into grief, of which Allah alone could fathom the intensity.556 I had often heard people Say they would lay down their own lives for that of someone very dear to them, but I thought it was only a manner of speaking, from which a great deal must be deducted in reality; I know from myself and from others that if a ransom could have been accepted, we would have given ourselves as a ransom for him.557 Reception of condolences and burial Ibn Shaddad's description of the events continues: Al-Malik al-Afdal then held a reception in the North Hall, to receive the condolences of his officers; but he placed a guard at the entrance to the castle, and only admitted emirs of high rank and scholars. It was, indeed, a melancholy day; everyone was so entirely given up to sorrow and anxiety, to tears and lamentations, that they thought of nothing else. No poet was admitted to the audience chamber to recite elegies; no preacher appeared to exhort the people.

The Sultan's children went out into the streets to excite the compassion of the public, and the sorrow of the piteous sight almost killed all who saw them. This went on until the midday prayer. They were meanwhile busy in washing the body, and putting it in its shroud. We were obliged to borrow money to purchase everything necessary for the funeral, even down to things that cost but a halfpenny, such as the straw to be mixed with the clay (to make the bricks). Ad-Doola'i, the faqeeh, was charged with the task of washing the body. They asked me to superintend this operation, but I was not strong enough to bear it.

When the midday prayer was over, the bier was brought forth, covered with a piece of striped cloth. Al-Qadi al-Fadil had provided this, and other garments necessary to shroud the body, and he had been careful to select such as were proper and suitable. When the crowd saw the bier, they raised cries of sorrow, and the air resounded with their wailings. They were so distracted by their grief that instead of regular supplication the people could only exclaim. Then the people offered the funeral prayer for him in groups, one after another, and the first to lead the prayer was Al Qadi Muhiy ad-Deen ibn az-Zaki. The body was then brought round to the house in the garden, where the sultan had lived during his illness, and it was buried at the west side of the house.

It was a little before the hour of the 'asr prayer that the sultan was committed to the grave. During the day his son al-Malik adh-Dhahir went out into the city to console the people, and to calm the minds of the inhabitants, but the people were too much taken up with weeping to think of pillaging or making any disturbance. Everyone was heartbroken. All eyes were filled with tears, and there were very few who did not weep. After this, everyone went home with death in their very souls, and no one appeared again (in the streets) all that night. We alone went to visit and to recite passages from the Quran over the grave, and renewed our grief.

Al-Malik al-Afdal spent the whole of the day writing to his brothers and his uncle, informing them of the sad event. The next day he held a public reception to receive the condolences of the people, and threw open the gates of the citadel to the jurisprudents and the scholars. Sermons were delivered, but no poets recited any elegy, and shortly after midday the assembly broke up. The people went to the tomb in crowds from morning till night, reciting passages from the Quran and imploring Allah's blessings on him.558 Ibn Katheer noted: Then condolences were offered in the Umayyad Mosque for three days, attended by the elite, the public, commoners and rulers, during which the poets recited many eulogies, among the most beautiful of which was composed by al-‘Imad al-Katib (al-Isfahani) in his book Sana al-Barq ashShami, and was 232 lines long.559 The sword of Salah ad-Deen in his grave It was said that his sword which he carried with him in his jihad and when fighting was buried with him. That was done on the orders of Al Qadi al-Fadil, one of the most virtuous and prominent people. They hoped that it would be with him on the Day of Resurrection, and he would be leaning on it until he entered paradise, because of what Allah had blessed him with of defeating His enemies and supporting His friends.

What a great blessing that was.560 Last words of Salah ad-Deen to his son al-Malik adhDhahir On his deathbed, the sultan told his son: I urge you to fear Allah, for it is the basis of all goodness. I enjoin upon you all that Allah enjoins upon you, for it is the cause of your salvation. I warn you against bloodshed and indulging therein, for blood does not sleep. I enjoin you to be kind to people and to check on their situation, for you are a trustee and the trustee of the people over them. I enjoin you to pay attention to the feelings of the emirs and prominent figures in the state, for I have not achieved what I have except by being kind to the people. Do not bear grudges against anyone, for death does not leave anyone alone.

Be careful about the way you deal with people, for nothing will be forgiven except with their consent, but whatever is between you and Allah, Allah will forgive it when you repent to Him, for He is Most Generous.561 The sultan's estate He left behind in his stores nothing of gold except a single dinar and 36 dirhams, or 47 dirhams, according to another report. He left behind no house, no property, no farm, no garden, nothing of any kind of possessions.562 The only reason he did not leave any wealth or property behind was because he gave so much away as gifts and charity, and as favors to his emirs, viziers, close friends and even his enemies. He had very little in the way of clothing, food, drink and mounts. He wore nothing but cotton, linen and wool, and it is not known that he chose anything that might be disliked by Allah after Allah blessed him with leadership. His main concern and goal was always to support Islam and defeat its enemies. He was thinking of that all the time, and discussing it openly by night and by day with those who could be trusted.

This was in addition to the virtues, righteous deeds and unique gifts that he had in his knowledge and use of language, literature and history. It was even said that he memorized a poem called Al-Hamasah in its entirety. He always offered the prayers on time in congregation, and for a long time before his death he never missed any congregational prayer, not even during his final illness of which he died. The imam would come in and lead him in prayer, and he would make himself stand even though it was difficult.563 A most brilliant letter announcing the death of Salah adDeen Ibn Tagharri recorded: At the hour of the death of the sultan Salah ad-Deen, Al Qadi al-Fadil wrote to (Salah ad-Deen's) son al-Malik adh-Dhahir, the ruler of Aleppo, a letter that read: {There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern.} (Quran 33: 21) {Verily, the convulsion of the final Hour (of Judgement) is a terrible thing.} (Quran 22: 1) I write to our master the Sultan al-Malik adh-Dhahir, may Allah console him and make him follow in the footsteps of the departed king; may Allah have mercy on him. The Muslims have been shaken as by a tremendous earthquake, many tears have been shed, and the hearts have reached the throats. I kissed your father and my master in farewell, a farewell after which there will be no meeting.

I kissed his face on my behalf and yours, and I surrendered him to Allah with helplessness and weakness, content with Allah; there is no power and no strength except with Allah. He died with the troops at his door, and with weapons sheathed that could not ward off calamity or ward off the divine decree. Eyes fill with tears and hearts feel sorrow, but we do not say anything but that which pleases the Lord. O Yusuf, we grieve for you. As for advice, there is no need for it; as for opinions, I am too distracted to offer any opinion. As the matter seems to be, if you keep in agreement (with your brothers), you will have lost nothing but his noble character, but if it is otherwise then his death is the least of future afflictions, at a time when his death is a great calamity indeed.

Was-Salam (With Peace).564 A good dream Abu Shamah said in Kitab ar-Rawdatayn, In one of the letters of Al Qadi al-Fadil, I found that on the night the Sultan died, he saw (in a dream) someone saying to him: this night Yusuf has left the prison. This may be interpreted in the light of the hadith which goes: 565 The situation of our Yoosuf — may Allah have mercy on him — in this world compared to his position in the hereafter, was like that of a prisoner. May Allah be pleased with that soul, and open the gates of paradise to him, for that is the final victory that he hoped for.566 The people were deeply moved by the death of Salah ad-Deen; even European historians prayed for mercy for Salah ad-Deen and praised his justice, strength and tolerance; they regarded him as the greatest character of the entire Crusader era. As for Salah ad-Deen's status, it will remain great for all time. What he did to unite the Muslims and defend them and then continue his jihad in an unwavering manner in order to expel the invaders was sufficient.567 His love of jihad gained control of his heart and all his faculties, to such an extent that he talked about nothing else, he thought only about weapons for it, he had no concern except the men of jihad, and no inclination except towards those who would remind him of it and encourage him to engage in it. In his love of jihad for the sake of Allah, he forsook his family, his children, his homeland, his house and all his land. In this world he was content to live in the shade of a tent blown right and left by the wind.568 Undoubtedly the death of Salah ad-Deen was a great loss to the united Muslim front, and this death was a harbinger of the conflicts that would come between the sons of the Ayubid house, which we will discuss in detail, if Allah wills, in the fourth book of our series on the Crusades, entitled: The Ayubids after the Death of Salah ad-Deen.