Part 89

❖ Salah ad-Deen's swiftness in supplying the city with food and weapons, which raised the morale of its inhabitants. ❖ Sincere cooperation between the Muslim forces in both Syria and Egypt, with the aim of resisting the aggressors. ❖ The fighting skills, good planning and precise organization of the Muslim forces.625 ❖ The supportive attitude of Noor ad-Deen Mahmood, who sent many delegations one after another, then Noor ad-Deen took advantage of the Franks' absence from their land to head towards them with his huge army, who wreaked havoc in their land, seizing their wealth as booty, killing many of their men and taking many of their women and children captive. When news reached the Franks in Damietta of what Noor ad-Deen had done, they had no choice but to leave Damietta.626 The Muslims making good use of the opportunities that were available to them. They took advantage of the fact that the Byzantines were suffering starvation and launched attacks against them that proved effective. They also took advantage of the wind blowing from the south to set fire to the Byzantine fleet.627 More important than all of that was the help and protection of Allah, Who was with them and bestowed His support upon His fighting slaves. Factors affecting the Crusaders ❖ King Amalric I delayed his attack on the city for three days, until the Byzantine fleet arrived, which gave the Muslims ample opportunity to fortify the city and bring in men and supplies.628 ❖ The Crusader forces failed to supply the Byzantine forces with food when they were exposed to Muslim attacks, during which they stood watching and waiting.629 Factors affecting the Byzantines ❖ The commander Contostefanos did not make proper military use of the Byzantine fleet. It seems that he knew how to lead on land but not at sea. ❖ The role of the Byzantine fleet was limited to transferring troops to the coast of Damietta. ❖ The Byzantine commander was lacking in sound military skills, as he left the Byzantine ships next to one another in the Nile, which made it easy for the Muslim forces to set fire to a number of them. ❖ The Byzantine commanders' negligence in applying military principles which would have guaranteed the safety of their ships when their crews stayed away from the ships overnight during the days of military operations. ❖ Starvation in the Byzantine ranks. Factors common to both the Crusaders and Byzantines ❖ Bad timing for the campaign to set out and lay siege, as both occurred during the winter, when the allied forces were exposed to floods which swamped their camp and storms which pushed the fleet away from the shore. ❖ Poor choice of location for the joint forces' camps, which was a region stretching along the shore for a distance of one mile. This area could not contain all the forces of the expedition who numbered fifty thousand. They were crowded into this narrow area and had no freedom to move and spread out in order to start a successful battle. ❖ Poor choice of location in which the allied forces became easy targets for the arrows of the Muslim archers. ❖ Lack of unified leadership and lack of coordination between the Crusader and Byzantine commanders, which led to the failure of their attacks on the city and the spread of rumours within their camps, in which each side accused the other of being the cause of the campaign's failure.630 Outcomes of the attack on Damietta After the failure of the joint Crusader-Byzantine attack on Damietta, this incident became an important turning point in the history of the Near East, because if the Christian alliance had succeeded in achieving its goals, it would have been possible to prevent the union of Syria and Egypt, which formed a direct threat to the Crusader locations in Greater Syria, and it would have placed an obstacle in the way of Muslim efforts to resist the Crusaders and kick them out of the region. The failure of this Christian campaign is also regarded as an important turning point for the future of Salah ad-Deen, who emerged as capable of defending Egypt and convinced the dwindling Fatimid state that he was capable of defending the land against the attacks of aggressors as well as defending it against the plots of conspirators. Thus he gained the admiration of many. The Muslims started to threaten the Crusader principalities directly, as the Crusaders began to see an increase in Muslim pressure day after day. After having focused their attention on the threat of Noor ad-Deen Mahmood in the north, they started to split their forces between the north and the south, to confront both Noor ad-Deen Mahmood and Salah ad-Deen.631 Salah ad-Deen's appointment as vizier marked the beginning of the end for the Fatimid state. The defeat of the Christians at Damietta was another nail in the coffin of this state, as the caliph al-'Adid was hoping to escape the influence of Salah ad-Deen, but the deterioration in which his state ended up dashed his hopes and gave Salah ad-Deen the opportunity to be in sole authority in Egypt and to focus his attention on weakening the Shiite Ismaili madh-hab.