Part 88

Salah ad-Deen banished those of them who were left to Upper Egypt.618 By putting an end to the influence of the Sudanese and the Armenians, Salah ad-Deen weakened the Fatimid state to a large extent, and it became clear that the end of the Fatimid state itself was not far off.619 Salah ad-Deen strengthens his army As soon as he became vizier, Salah ad-Deen started working to prepare an Ayubid army to form the core of a new Egyptian army, to defend his rule and to defend Egypt from Frankish attacks. He was well aware of the deterioration of the Fatimid army, because he had learned a great deal through his three trips to Egypt between 559 and 564 AH (1163 and 1168 CE). He learned a great deal about the Fatimid army in terms of its human, financial and military resources, and the way in which it was organized and how its battalions were formed on the basis of ethnicity, such as the Sudanese, the Armenians, the Egyptians, the Daylam, the Turks and the Bedouins, and he knew in great detail about each of these battalions.620 AlQadi al-Fadil had worked in the administration of these forces at the time of Ruzayk ibn al-Salih, and he had participated with them in some battles during the second Frankish campaign against Egypt, as we referred to above. He saw the leaders of these various groups within the forces competing for power, which explains the deterioration of the troops and the weakening of Egypt to the point where it became unable to defend its independence or even to survive. Al-Qadi al-Fadil learned a great deal about the Egyptian troops through his work with them in the military department and the intelligence department which worked with the military department and was in charge of spies and messengers. He had a deep knowledge of these forces and their inner workings, and he knew each battalion among them and the intentions of each commander. He did not withhold any of this information from Salah adDeen, rather he advised him how to organize and run his Ayubid army. During the time he spent with Salah ad-Deen, he was supervising his troops, keeping an eye on them, organizing them and their financial resources, accompanying them from Egypt to Syria to fight alongside Salah ad-Deen and then from Syria to Egypt in order to prepare for future campaigns against the Franks. At the beginning of his period as vizier, Salah ad-Deen established a huge army which increased in numbers and resources with the passage of time and broadened its war efforts against the Franks. The main element of this army in Egypt was the elite guard and the regular army in Egypt, then the popular army which was composed of feudal emirs and their troops, and the Bedouin, especially in Syria and Mesopotamia after 570 AH/1174 CE. This will be discussed in detail insha' Allah when we look at the Ayubid state and Salah ad-Deen. Confronting the joint Crusader-Byzantine attack: the siege of Damietta (565 AH/1170 CE) The Franks realized the seriousness of their situation after the conquest of Egypt and after Salah ad-Deen became the vizier of that land. The king of Jerusalem, Amalric, agreed with the Byzantine Emperor to attack Egypt using their fleets, and to besiege Damietta in accordance with that agreement.621 Salah ad-Deen sent his forces, led by his maternal uncle Shihab ad-Deen Mahmood and his nephew Taqi ad-Deen 'Umar. He also sent word to Noor ad-Deen, expressing his concerns, saying: "If I do not go to Damietta, the Franks will take it over, but if I go the Egyptians will take advantage and spread mischief; they will rebel against me and pursue me, and with the Franks ahead of me we will be utterly destroyed."622 Noor ad-Deen played the role that was expected of him; he took a sound decision and sent troops to Salah ad-Deen, then he went himself to the Frankish territory in Greater Syria and launched raids against the Frankish fortresses and citadels, and his troops reached a point that they had never reached before in their land, so as to reduce the pressure against Egypt and support Salah ad-Deen, thus enabling him to gain a tight grip on Egypt, after which he would be free to help in achieving the greater strategic goal of liberating the Greater Syrian coast from Frankish occupation.623 The garrison of Damietta played a heroic role in defending the city. They spread huge chains across the river to prevent the Greek ships from approaching, and the Muslims who were defending the city inflicted huge casualties on the GreekByzantine fleet. Heavy rain turned the Crusader camp into a swamp, so they prepared themselves and left after a siege of fifty days. When the Byzantine fleet sailed off, a violent storm came and the navy that was half-dead from starvation could not control their ships, so most of them drowned, and Allah granted the Muslims a decisive victory.624 Reasons for the failure of the campaign against Damietta The failure of the Byzantine-Crusader attack against Damietta was due to a number of factors connected to the Muslims, Crusaders and Byzantines, and to both the Crusaders and Byzantines as a combined force. Factors affecting the Muslims ❖ Perseverance of the inhabitants of Damietta in withstanding the aggressors.