Part 59

Poets praise for 'Imad ad-Deen after the conquest Many researchers and writers have not paid attention to literature when it comes to the Crusades; indeed, many regard it as a literature of decline, following the statements and views of the Orientalists who want us to avoid studying the literature of those wars for many reasons, such as their desire that we should not learn of the viciousness and cruelty of the Crusaders, and so that we should not feel pride when reading of the history of Muslim heroes — Arabs, Kurds and Turks — who led armies under the banner of Islam, fighting, striving, prevailing and rising above ignorant tribalism and nationalism, united by their love for Allah and His Messenger and Jihad for the sake of Allah, seeking His pleasure. The literature of that period still needs comprehensive study, research and evaluation. Then we will see a positive change in our views, because we will find much that needs to be researched, and we will find a wealth of refined poetry which speaks of zeal and describes the battles, praising the heroes; we will also find a great deal of sorrowful poetry which eulogizes the slain.375 There is a substantial amount of poetry which speaks of the conquest of Edessa and praises Imad ad-Deen al-Zangi. Military events after the conquest The conquest of Edessa was an introduction to the events that came after it, as it was not difficult for Imad ad-Deen Zangi to complete his mission by conquering the remaining Crusader fortresses belonging to this principality, taking advantage of the collapse of Crusader strength in this region.376 He headed towards Suruj, which had been abandoned by its garrison, and captured it. Soon the neighbouring fortresses began to fall into his hands, one after another.377 He did not pass by any of its towns or fortresses but it surrendered to him immediately.378 He then proceeded to the citadel of Bira, overlooking the Euphrates, which was one of the most important fortresses still in the hands of Joscelin II, and one of the most strongly fortified, and laid siege to it, preventing food and supplies from reaching it, until it was about to surrender. At that point, news reached Zangi of the killing of his deputy in Mosul, so he was compelled to lift the siege and hasten back to his capital in order to deal with the situation there. The Crusaders in the fort were afraid that he would return to attack them again, so they sent word to Hussam ad-Deen Timurtash al-Artuqi telling him that they wanted to surrender this position of theirs to him before it fell into the hands of their bitter enemy. Thus the Crusaders of Edessa lost all their fortresses east of the Euphrates,379 as a direct result of their main base falling into the hands of Zangi. Joscelin had nothing left of his vast principality except a few scattered fortresses west of the Euphrates, such as Turbessel, Mar'ash, Duluk, Samosata,'Ayntab and ' Azaz380, which Noor ad-Deen Mahmood was able to capture later on. Thus the first Crusader principality was wiped out.381 Ways in which 'Imad ad-Deen Zangi fought the Crusaders Imad ad-Deen Zangi did not limit his fighting with the Crusaders solely to regular warfare, because that would have required him to stay in Syria all the time, and his strength would all have been exhausted in fighting these enemies, with the result that he would not have been able to focus on sorting out his numerous problems in Iraq. He understood the importance of benefiting from raids, that is, attacks followed by a sudden withdrawal, especially during his periods of absence from Syria. That is because this type of fighting yielded good results: (i) it made the Crusaders anxious and did not give them room to reorganize their troops and draw up a plan of attack on Muslim locations in the area, thus enabling the Muslims to defend and retain their positions; (ii) it weakened the enemy's military and economic strength, because of the killing, capture of prisoners, plundering and destruction that these attacks wrought; (iii) it interrupted communications between the Crusader positions in northern Syria, and did not give them the opportunity to come together and direct a united blow against the Muslims.382 In this type of fighting Zangi relied on his Turkmen troops; he had paved the way for that by strengthening his ties with their leaders and giving them high military positions. Zangi appointed brilliant Turkmen commanders, such as Aytkeen, Lujat at-Turki, al-Yaruq and others, and courageous fighters, to launch what is known nowadays as a resistance struggle and guerrilla warfare. He made Aleppo a centre for them, because of its geographical importance in relation to both Crusader and Muslim fortresses, as it lay between the Crusader states of Antioch and Edessa and controlled the transportation routes between them. It was also regarded as the best military base for launching rapid attacks against Crusader locations and movements, as well as against the caravans bringing them supplies and reinforcements. These groups of Turkmens launched many raids against the enemy's armies, camps, caravans and rendezvous. There was not one year during the years of conflict and guerrilla warfare in which these Turkmen did not in this manner inflict various losses on their enemies.