Part 85

The two men met and were impressed with one another to such an extent that the king of Jerusalem supplied Salah ad-Deen with some boats to transfer the wounded Muslim warriors to Syria.593 But the problems of the city's inhabitants did not stop there; as soon as Shawar's followers entered the city they arrested everyone who was suspected of cooperating with Salah adDeen. The latter protested to Amalric I, who advised Shawar to let the prisoners go.594 This was the second time that Shawar acted treacherously, and it taught Salah ad-Deen a harsh lesson, not to try it again. He himself settled the score with Shawar when the Syrian forces returned to Egypt in 564 AH/1168 CE.595 Crusader protection for Egypt Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh and Salah ad-Deen both left Egypt in DhulQa'dah/September, whereas Amalric tarried for a few weeks because he went to Cairo to confirm the Crusader protection of the Fatimid state and Shawar. The most important implications of that were: o He would pay an annual tribute of one hundred thousand dinars to the Crusaders. o A force of knights would guard the gates of Cairo to ward off Noor ad-Deen Mahmood if he tried to attack again. o A representative of the Crusader king would stay in Cairo to participate in ruling the country.596 It seems that the idea of taking possession of Egypt was still alive in the mind of Amalric I and he was no longer able to give up this idea; he intended to come back after he had sorted out the situation in Syria, out of greed for its wealth and to protect his kingdom in Syria. Then the king returned to Palestine.597 By means of these procedures he ensured protection of Egypt, which resulted in ongoing competition between Noor ad-Deen Mahmood and Amalric.598 Noor ad-Deen's third campaign against Egypt (564 AH/1169 CE) The reason for this campaign was that the Franks had established a garrison in Cairo and were in control of the city gates, and they ruled the Muslims harshly. When they saw that there was no one in the land who could stop them, they sent word to their king, Amalric, in Jerusalem, calling him to come and take possession of Egypt, giving him the impression that it would be easy to capture. He hesitated, fearing negative consequences, then he set out reluctantly with his knights. When they reached Bilbeis at the beginning of Safar, they plundered it, killing and taking its inhabitants captive. Then they went to al-Fustat and Shawar ordered that it be burned, and ordered its inhabitants to move to Cairo and that the land be plundered lest the Franks take possession of it. So the city was plundered and the fires burned for fifty-four days. Then the Franks besieged Cairo, putting pressure on its inhabitants. Shawar himself took charge of the troops and the fighting, but found himself under tremendous pressure and was unable to ward them off, so he resorted to trickery, sending word to their king Amalric, promising him a huge sum, a million Egyptian dinars, some of which was to be paid immediately. He gave them one hundred thousand dinars, and asked them to leave so that he could collect the rest of the money for them. So they left for a while, and he started to collect the money for them, but he only managed to collect five thousand dinars, because the Egyptians' homes had been burned and their property had been plundered.599 Al-'Adid seeks the help of Noor ad-Deen Mahmood Immediately after the fire of Egypt, the ruler al-'Adid sent word to Noor ad-Deen, seeking his help and telling him of the Muslims' weakness and inability to resist the Franks. With his letter he sent some women's hairs and said: "These are the hairs of my womenfolk in my palace, who are seeking your help to save them from the Franks."600 In return for saving his country from the Franks, he offered Noor ad-Deen the following: o To give him one-third of the land of Egypt o To give allocations of land to his commanders o To allow Shirkuh to settle in Egypt.601 Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh enters Cairo: making the most of opportunity Noor ad-Deen started preparing the army and made thorough preparations. He gave the commander of the campaign — Shirkuh — two hundred thousand dinars, in addition to clothing, mounts and weapons, and gave him full authority over the troops and stores, to take whatever he needed. From among the troops he selected two thousand horsemen, and assembled six thousand Turkmen horsemen. Noor ad-Deen Mahmood and Shirkuh marched to the gate of Damascus, then they moved on to Ra's alMa'.602 Noor ad-Deen gave each horseman twenty dinars as a bonus, and gave Shirkuh an additional group of emirs, among whom was Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi.603 Asad ad-Deen travelled quickly, and when he drew near to Egypt, the Franks left and returned to their own country without having achieved anything and with their hopes dashed. Noor ad-Deen heard of their return, which cheered him, and he ordered that the good news be spread throughout the land.