Part 50

Timurtash released him and had him brought to his court, where they ate and drank, and Timurtash gave him a royal cloak and returned to him his horse which Balak had taken from Baldwin the day he captured him.309 Soon after that, Timurtash withdrew to his province of Diyarbakir so that he could follow his policy of isolationism, and did not so much as shoot an arrow against the invaders. Thus the Crusaders got another opportunity to tighten their stranglehold on Aleppo and strive to achieve their goal which they had failed to accomplish in previous years. Hence in 518 AH Aleppo was subjected to one of the most intense sieges that it faced during the entire lengthy Crusader period.310 Betrayal by the Emir of Hillah The attempt to capture Aleppo began with an act of betrayal by one of the Arab emirs, Dabees ibn Sadaqah al-Mazeedi, the Emir of Hillah, which lay to the south of Baghdad. The emir was fleeing from the 'Abbasid caliphate and the Seljuk authorities because of his continual provocation towards them and his conspiracies against them. He told the Crusaders that he had followers in Aleppo, and that when they saw him at the head of the attacking army they would surrender the city to him. Among the things that he told the Crusaders was, "The people of Aleppo are Shiite and they are inclined towards me because of the sect. As soon as they see me they will surrender the city to me." In return for helping him, he offered to do a great deal for them, and he promised Baldwin, Count of Antioch, and Joscelin, Count of Edessa, that he would do many things for them if they helped him. He said to them, "I will be your representative in Aleppo and will obey you."311 Finally he managed to reach an agreement with the Crusaders that Aleppo would be his, but the wealth would be theirs, in addition to some locations close to Aleppo.312 Baldwin came at the head of his forces and camped beside the Quwayq river, close to Aleppo, and destroyed the surrounding agricultural areas. Then he went to Aleppo and camped outside the city at the end of Sha'ban 518 AH. Joscelin came accompanied by Dabees ibn Sadaqah313 — who was a Shiite like his forebears314 — from another direction to the outskirts of Aleppo, and his forces started to destroy another large agricultural area, causing losses estimated at one hundred thousand dinars. They moved on and camped beside Baldwin outside Aleppo. They were joined there by other traitors whose aim was to serve their own interests and get their hands on some of the booty if Aleppo fell: Sultan Shah ibn Radwan as-Seljuki, 'Eesa ibn Salim ibn Malik al-4Aqeeli and Yaghi Sayan ibn 'Abdul-Jabbar al-Artuqi. They lay siege to Aleppo from all directions.315 They prepared themselves for a lengthy stay, aiming not to leave until they had taken possession of the city, and they built houses to withstand the cold and heat,316 in addition to three hundred tents. In Aleppo at that time there were no more than five hundred horsemen.317 Crusaders provoke and taunt the people of Aleppo The invaders began to launch regular attacks against Aleppo; they cut down its trees and destroyed its gardens and crops in an attempt to destroy its economy which relied primarily on agriculture. They also destroyed the shrines of the Muslims and dug up the graves of their dead, stealing the shrouds and using the coffins and vessels for their meals. When they found a body that had not yet disintegrated, they tied the legs together with a rope and dragged it within view of the Muslims who were besieged in Aleppo, shouting, "This is your (Messenger (SAAW) Muhammad)!" Some of them took a mus-haf (pure Arabic copy of the Quran) from one of the shrines surrounding Aleppo and shouted, "O Muslims, look at your Book!" Then one of them made a hole in it with his hand and tied it with two strings to the rear end of a nearby mule, which began defecating on it. When the mule's owner saw the dung falling onto the holy Book he began clapping and laughing with pride.318 Popular resistance in Aleppo The Crusaders did not stop there; they began to mutilate every Muslim who fell into their hands, which forced the Muslims to respond in kind. The Islamic resistance was led by al-Qadi Abul-Fadl ibn al-Khash-shab who had become experienced in defence activity over the last decade, and who was very popular in Aleppo. He issued orders to direct blows at the heart of the invaders' camps. Groups of Aleppan fighters would go out secretly to raid these camps, killing some, taking some prisoners and then returning to the city. At the same time, messengers were going back and forth between the two sides seeking to reach an agreement, but to no avail.319 The people of Aleppo ask for help from the Emir of Diyarbakir The situation grew worse for the people of Aleppo and they became extremely exhausted and hungry. Their emir Badr ad-Deen al-Artuqi and a number of prominent officials agreed to send a delegation of Aleppan leaders to Diyarbakir to seek help from its emir Hussam ad-Deen Timurtash.