Part 33

He began to look down on them, thinking that they would stay with him in this situation, which led to them feeling offended by his attitude.170 d) The Crusaders' morale was lifted after hearing the story about the 'Holy Lance'; in addition, before Kerbogha arrived at Antioch, the Crusader leaders corresponded with Daqqaq, the ruler of Damascus, and told him that their aims went no further than regaining the lands in Northern Syria that had been in Byzantine hands.171 This does not rule out the proposition that Kerbogha's attempt to prevent Antioch from falling into Crusader hands was the starting point for the initiative of an Islamic Jihad against the Crusaders and that it highlighted to the Crusaders the extent of the Muslims' strength when they were united. It also demonstrated the right way for subsequent Muslim leaders who took it upon themselves to raise the banner of Islamic Jihad and complete the mission after him. This fact may be proven by noting that Imad ad-Deen Zangi lived under the care of Kerbogha after his father died.172 However, Kerbogha, ruler of Mosul, died in the city of Khawa in Azerbaijan in 495 AH/1102 CE, during the conflict between the sultan Barkiyaruq ibn Malikshah and his brother Muhammad ibn Malikshah. Thus Mosul lost one ruler who was not distracted by the existing conflict among the Seljuks from working on reviving the idea of Islamic Jihad against the Crusaders.173 Jekermish and Suqman join forces in Jihad The death of the atabeg of Mosul, Kerbogha, made the situation very precarious and led to the outbreak of civil war, because Kerbogha had appointed as his heir Sunqurjah, who was one of his commanders, and ordered the Turks to obey him. However, Moosa at-Turkmani, his representative in Hasankeyf (Hisn Kayfa), disputed with Sunqurjah after he was summoned by the prominent figures in Mosul, and he managed to kill his opponent and take over in Mosul as the deputy of the sultan Barkiyaruq.174 Shams ad-Dawlah Jekermish (Chokurmish), the ruler of Jazeerat Ibn 'Umar, made the most of the opportunity given by the chaos and intervened in these internal disputes. He marched to Nusaybin and captured it. Moosa fled to Mosul and fortified himself there, where Jekermish besieged him for a lengthy period. Moosa had no choice but to seek help from Suqman al-Artuqi in Diyarbakir, offering to give him Hasankeyf and ten thousand dinars in return for his help. Suqman accepted this offer and sent military help. Jekermish was forced to end his siege of Mosul, but when Moosa came out to meet Suqman, some of Moosa's own slaves killed their master en route, so his army scattered and Suqman quickly returned to Hasankeyf and captured it, whilst Jekermish went on to Mosul and entered the city, where he was welcomed by its inhabitants.175 Jekermish became the ruler of Mosul from 495-500 AH/1101-1106 CE, where he formed an alliance with Suqman ibn Artuq, the ruler of the Artuqids in Diyarbakir. Together, they aimed to block the advance of the Crusaders eastwards towards the heart of Mesopotamia, for following the swift victories that the Crusaders had achieved they were resolved to capture Harran, which lay at the crossroads of the routes to Iraq, Mesopotamia and Syria, and thus take advantage of the conflicts among the Muslim rulers. In addition to that, taking over Harran would sever communications between the Muslims in Persia, Iraq, Mesopotamia and Syria, and give the Crusaders the opportunity to attack Mosul, secure Edessa and gain control over the Mesopotamia region. All of these factors had a decisive impact: Jekermish and Suqman had to forget all their previous disputes and work together to stop the Crusader advance.176 The Battle of Balikh (the Battle of Harran) Jekermish and Suqman sent word to one another, calling for a meeting to tackle the issue of Harran, and stating that each was offering himself for the sake of Allah and His reward. Each accepted the invitation of the other, and they met at al-Khaboor at Ra's al- 'Ayn, where they reaffirmed their alliance and set out with ten thousand Arab, Turkish and Kurdish horsemen to besiege Edessa before others could attack them. When Baldwin II, ruler of Edessa, heard news of this mobilization in Ra's al-'Ayn, he sent word to Bohemond and Joscelin, who were attempting to besiege Harran, seeking their help and suggesting that they should now redirect their attack. After leaving a small group to protect Edessa, Baldwin went to Harran, leading a small group of knights and Armenians. Near Harran he was met by Joscelin the ruler of Turbessel (in Arabic, Tel Bashir), Bohemond the ruler of Antioch and his nephew Tancred, the Patriarch of Antioch, an army composed of Crusader knights and princes, and a huge number of Armenians and clergymen. There were nearly three thousand cavalry and three times that number of foot soldiers. In fact this army represented the entire striking force of the Crusaders in northern Syria, apart from the garrisons in the fortresses.