Part 25

Perhaps the reason for that has to do with the fact that both the Abbasid and Fatimid states were preoccupied with the conflict between themselves, and the attempts of each to overpower the other and gain dominance. They remained profoundly unaware until the first Crusader campaign actually reached Syria.113 This may be supported by what is mentioned by Ibn al-Qalanisi, in which he states that news of the Crusade did not reach the Muslims in Syria until 490 AH/1097 CE. He writes, "News concerning this plot against Islam arrived and caused great anxiety and fear."114 Despite that, the only Muslim reaction which appeared just before the Crusaders reached Syria came from the Seljuks in Asia Minor, when they managed easily to destroy the first part of the Crusader forces (which was a campaign of the masses known as the 'people's crusade'), as well as defending their possessions in Asia Minor,115 as we shall see below, in shd' Allah.116 The Crusaders were moving under qualified leadership, with a clear goal, great energy and careful deliberation, using the power of rhetoric to influence people and using various factors — economic, social and religious — to motivate the people of Western Europe. The spiritual status of the Pope was also effective in motivating armies to move eastwards. The Pope mobilized all available resources for this enterpr CHAPTER III The Beginning of the First Crusade After the speech of Urban II at Clermont in France, in which he called for a crusader war, he ordered his clergymen to go back to their countries and preach war, and they made great efforts in doing so. The natural outcome of the propaganda campaign launched by the Pope and those whom he trusted was the launch of the First Crusade, which had two parts: (i) the campaign of the masses and (ii) the campaign of the princes. The First Crusade, in both aspects, attracted a great deal of unprecedented attention from contemporary historians, whether they were Latin, Byzantine or Muslim, as well as from modern historians who specialize in the study of the Crusades. The reason for that may be the serious consequences that resulted from that campaign in particular, as it led to the establishment of Crusader principalities in the east, some of which lasted as long as two centuries.117 The Crusader campaign was successful to a large extent in establishing four Latin principalities: 1. In the headwaters of the Euphrates, at Edessa 2. In northern Syria, at Antioch 3. On the Syrian coast, at Tripoli 4. In the heart of Palestine, at Jerusalem.118 In addition there were four major seigneuries: Sidon, Jaffa, Ascalon and Galilee; and twelve smaller territories that were given to their owners by the Crusader kings in return for their loyalty and obedience. These were: Arsuf, Hebron, Darum, Caesarea, Nablus, Bethsan, Haifa, Toron (Tibnin), Baniyas, Hasankeyf, Lod and Beirut.119 It is worth mentioning that this success was due to a number of factors, including the following: — Lack of political unity in the Muslim world — Contest for power within the Seljuk dynasty — Presence of the Rafidi120 Fatimid state The role of the Christians who were living in Greater Syria The attitude of some of the Arab emirates towards the Crusader attack The role of the unorthodox Rafidi Batini Ismaili movement in putting obstacles in the path of the Jihad against the Crusaders The spread of the unorthodox Shiite doctrine and speculative theological ideas Shiite Rafidi and Batini ideas The decline in economic prosperity prior to the Crusader attack Weakness of the Byzantine state Military experience of the Frankish knights Continual European reinforcements for the Crusader campaign Political tyranny and its effects on religion and life Preoccupation of the Muslim scholars with arguing over minor issues of fiqh These causes have been discussed in detail in my book Dawlat asSaldjiqah wal-Mashroo1 al-Isldmi li Muqdwamat at-Taghulghul alBdtini wal-Ghazw as-Saleebi.121 Crusader strategy after occupation The occupying Frankish forces which were able and made plans to live in a strange environment had no choice but to adopt a number of strategies that could be developed further, in order to maintain their occupation for a long time. These strategies included the following: a) As much as possible, and by all available means, maintaining one of the most important means of their success, which was keeping the surrounding Islamic forces divided as much as possible, because that would cancel out the possibility of the Muslims confronting them with one united force. For that reason they strove continuously from the outset to occupy regions of strategic importance, which served the purpose of isolating the Islamic regions and preventing the Muslim forces from uniting. This involved occupying Edessa (in Arabic, ar-Ruha) so as to prevent contact between Iraq and Syria; later on they took control of southern regions of Syria such as Kerak (in present-day Jordan) and ash-Shawbak (also in present-day Jordan, known to the Crusaders as Montreal or Mons Regalis) with the aim of preventing communication between Egypt and Syria. This approach made use of the geographical features of the land.