Part 60

In Rajab 524 AH, for example, Zangi prepared a force to attack 'Azaz.383 In the following year, fighting broke out between Suwar and Joscelin north of Aleppo, which resulted in victory for the Crusaders and the killing of many Muslims. This prompted Suwar to attack Rabd al-Atharib and capture some of its property and crops soon afterwards. One year later, in 526 AH, he ambushed the Crusaders of Turbessel and killed many of them.384 Suwar and his Turkmen troops continued to launch raids against the Crusaders every time they got the opportunity to do so. Safar 527 AH saw many fights between the two sides, one of which took place near Qinassareen when King Baldwin of Jerusalem attempted to attack the outskirts of Aleppo. He was confronted by Suwar and some of his troops, and the battle led to defeat for the Muslims and their withdrawal to Aleppo, but their brave leader soon led them out again and they attacked a group of Crusaders, killing many and taking many others captive. Those who escaped fled back to their own land and Suwar returned to Aleppo, carrying the heads of the slain and bringing captives, and that was a great day.385 Only a few days passed before the Crusaders of Edessa tried again to attack areas outside Aleppo, but Suwar went out to meet them, accompanied by Hassan al-Balbeki, the Emir of Manbij, and took them by surprise; he managed to decimate them and take the rest captive, then he returned to Aleppo without any of his own soldiers being injured.386 In Jumada II of the same year, Suwar, at the head of a detachment of horsemen, raided Turbessel and was confronted by the Crusaders of that county, but he managed to defeat them and harvested the heads of a thousand men, which he carried back with him to Aleppo.387 In Rabee' I of the following year, the commander of the Crusader fortress of al-Qadmoos came to Qinassareen, leading a force of knights from Antioch, where they were met by the troops of Aleppo led by Suwar. The fighting resulted in a victory for the Crusaders, and Zangi's commander was forced to make a peace deal with them, but he soon took one of their brigades by surprise in a rapid attack and managed to kill most of its soldiers. Then he went back to Aleppo, and the people were cheered by that after having been distressed. It was not long before the knights of Edessa attacked the northern outskirts of Aleppo on their way to one of the Crusader camps. Suwar and his ally the emir of Manbij counterattacked and killed many of them, whilst most of the rest were taken captive.388 Soon after that, in the same year, Suwar launched a big raid against the Crusader positions in the region of al-Jazar389 and Zaradna; he defeated his enemies at Harim then returned to Aleppo carrying booty and plunder.390 The range of raids and sudden attacks gradually started to increase, and in Rajab 530 AH, a great attempt was made by Suwar, who led three thousand Turkmen horsemen and launched a surprise attack on Latakia and its environs, which the Crusaders were not expecting. Thus he managed to capture seven thousand prisoners and seize a large amount of booty, and he swept aside dozens of Crusader villages and farmsteads, from which the Muslims filled their hands with booty and took many prisoners. The Muslims of the region were delighted with this great victory achieved by Suwar, which was a disaster for the Crusaders of the north who had never suffered anything like it.391 In fact the internal strife witnessed by Antioch between 529 and 530 AH due to the contest for power contributed to a large extent to the inability of this county to defend itself against Muslim attacks.392 This prompted the Muslim commander to take the opportunity to achieve a great victory against the Crusaders of the north. At the end of the following year, Suwar launched a sudden attack against a large Byzantine expedition that was heading eastwards, and managed to kill and capture a number of its troops before heading back to his base in Aleppo.393 No more than a few months had passed following this attack before the Crusaders and Byzantines sent a joint expedition to occupy the citadel of al-Atharib, near Aleppo. After these forces had achieved their goal, a garrison was appointed to guard the Muslim prisoners who had been brought together there. Suwar soon came out, leading his forces, and attacked the Crusader-Byzantine garrison, and he managed to free most of the Muslim prisoners and bring them back to Aleppo, where there was great rejoicing at this victory that had been achieved by its emir.394 In 533 AH, Suwar attacked a number of Crusader sites and captured some booty, but the Crusader knights managed to catch up with him and inflict a defeat on his forces that led to the capture of more than a thousand horsemen, and he withdrew to Aleppo with those of his troops who had escaped.395 The clashes between the two sides continued for the next few years and then slowed down somewhat during the period 534-535 AH, after Zangi failed to capture Damascus and the Damascenes and Crusaders formed an alliance against him. However, these clashes soon flared up again in 536 AH and the following years.