Part 62

'Imad ad-deen's political and military role in Islamic history It may be said that Imad ad-Deen Zangi was able to fulfil a large part of his plan and carve out for himself a special position in Islamic history as a brilliant politician, capable military leader and wise Muslim who understood the danger posed to the Islamic world by the Crusaders. He managed to direct historical circumstances in the Muslims' favour by bringing together the Muslim forces after eliminating the factors that led to division and dissent, uniting the various cities and emirates within the framework of a single state, and making the most of what that state had to offer in terms of resources that could stop the Crusader advance. Once he had accomplished this he could organize attacks against the Crusader bases. These were the factors that prompted Zangi to form a policy of attack and occasionally interrupted the peaceful relations and truces that were dictated by circumstances. At the same time, Zangi strove to secure the borders of his emirate towards the east and north-east, where Kurds and Turkmen in these regions formed an element of grave danger to his emirate, especially when his relations with the western emirates were in crisis or when he ventured far from his base in Mosul.402 The importance of the role played by Zangi in Muslim history is clear to us because he is regarded as the first commander who brought the Muslim forces together in accordance with a specific plan to confront the increasing Crusader danger — a danger which had not been stopped by the previous attempts that had been made before Zangi, especially those which had been carried out by Mawdood ibn al-Tuntagin (502-507 AH) and by the Artuqids Ilghazi and Balak (512-518 AH).403 It is most likely that if Zangi had been able to capture Damascus and his attempt to unite Syria had succeeded, and if he had not been killed at the peak of his series of victories against the Crusaders, he would have been able to complete the remaining stages of his plan. The modern researcher would then have had a clear, complete picture of the role that Zangi played in Islamic history, which is a decisive role the significance of which becomes clear if we realize that the efforts of Noor adDeen Mahmood, and Salah ad-Deen after him, were no more than the completion of the work begun by Imad ad-Deen Zangi.404 The Second Crusade There was a violent reaction in western Europe to the fall of Edessa into Muslim hands, and it prompted Europe to send another Crusade quickly, for its fall instilled fear in the people's hearts, not only because of the religious status enjoyed by this city in Christian history, but also because it was the first state established by the Crusaders in the Near East. Thus its fall came as a warning that shook the structure that the Crusaders had set up in the Near East during the First Crusade, and Western Europeans realized that if they did not hasten to repair this structure, it would soon collapse.405 The calls for help reached the Pope, Eugenius III, from the Franks in the east; the Queen of Jerusalem sent a high-level delegation to the Pope seeking help after the fall of Edessa,406 and the Pope sent envoys to the Kings of Germany and France, urging them to hasten to save the Franks in the east from the Muslim danger. At the same time, he appointed one of the most influential clergymen of France, Bernard de Clairvaux, to promote the Crusade against the Muslims in the east, and this priest played the same role as had been played by Urban II in 488AH/1095 CE, when he had called for the first Frankish campaign.407 The King of Germany, Konrad III and Louis VII, King of France, responded to the Pope's call; they each set out with their armies, crossing Europe towards Constantinople and thence across the Bosporus to Asia The Seljuks destroy the German army The German army set out a few days ahead of the French army. When it reached the area of Dorylaeum, east of Nicaea — the same site where the Franks of the First Crusade had defeated the Seljuks under Kilij Arslan fifty years before — the German army fell prey to the army of Sultan Mas'ood, the emir of the Seljuks of Rum in Asia. The sultan retreated in accordance with a smart military plan, until the German army continued its advance towards the heart of Phrygia. Sultan Mas'ood had spread his forces across the surrounding mountain peaks, and when the German soldiers reached the Batees river, near Dorylaeum, the Seljuk army attacked them. The Germans were overwhelmed with exhaustion and thirst, and their commanders lost control of them. They tried to seek protection in the mountain passes, but the Seljuks surrounded them and rained down arrows upon them. The German troops lost the advantage of using arrows to keep the Turks away at the time when their horses needed to be fed and watered, at which point Konrad III decided to withdraw and return from whence he had come, but the Seljuks did not leave them alone; they attacked the rearguard, vanguard and core of his army. Chaos spread through the ranks and heavy losses were inflicted on the troops, with many being killed or taken captive.