reverence to a solemn adjuration in the name of the common Father of mankind; and a sentiment of human sympathy mollified the rigour of fanaticism and conquest. He consented to accept the city, and to spare the inhabitants. The Greek and Oriental Christians were permitted to live under his dominion; but it was stipulated, that in forty days all the Franks and Latins should evacuate Jerusalem, and be safely conducted to the sea-ports of Syria and Egypt; that ten pieces of gold should be paid for each man, five for each woman, and one for every child; and that those who were unable to purchase their freedom should be detained in perpetual slavery. Of some writers it is a favourite and invidious theme to compare the humanity of Saladin with the massacre of the first crusade. The difference would be merely personal; but we should not forget that the Christians had offered to capitulate, and that the Mahometans of Jerusalem sustained the last extremities of an assault and storm. Justice is indeed due to the fidelity with which the Turkish conqueror fulfilled the conditions of the treaty; and he may be deservedly praised for the glance of pity which he cast on the misery of the vanquished. Instead of a rigorous exaction of his debt, he accepted a sum of thirty thousand byzants, for the ransom of seven thousand poor; two or three thousand more were dismissed by his gratuitous clemency; and the number of slaves was reduced to eleven or fourteen thousand persons. In his interview with the queen, his words, and even his tears, suggested the kindest consolations: his liberal alms were distributed among those who had been made orphans or widows by the fortune of war; and while the knights of the hospital were in arms against him, he allowed their more pious brethren to continue, during the term of a year, the care and service of the sick. In these acts of mercy the virtue of Saladin deserves our admiration and love: he was above the necessity of dissimulation, and his stern fanaticism would have prompted him to dissemble, rather than to affect, this profane compassion for the enemies of the Koran. After Jerusalem had been delivered from the presence of the strangers, the sultan made hts triumphant entry, his banners waving in the wind, and to the harmony of martial music. The great mosque of Omar, which had been converted into a church, was again consecrated to one God and his prophet Mahomet: the walls and pavement were purified with rose-water; and a pulpit, the labour of Noureddin, was erected in the sanctuary. But when the golden cross that glittered on the dome was cast down, and dragged through the streets, the Christians of every sect uttered a lamentable groan, which was answered by the joyful shouts of the Moslems. In four ivory chests the patriarch had collected the crosses, the images, the vases, and the relics of the holy place: they were seized by the conqueror, who was desirous of presenting the caliph with the trophies of Christian

The third

sea,

A. D. 1188.

idolatry. He was persuaded, however, to entrust them to the patriarch and prince of Antioch; and the pious pledge was redeemed by Richard of England, at the expense of fifty-two thousand byzants of gold (64).

The nations might fear and hope the immediate and final expulcrusade, by sion of the Latins from Syria; which was yet delayed above a century after the death of Saladin (65). In the career of victory, he was first checked by the resistance of Tyre; the troops and garrisons, which had capitulated, were imprudently conducted to the same port: their numbers were adequate to the defence of the place; and the arrival of Conrad of Montferrat inspired the disorderly erowd with confidence and union. His father, a venerable pilgrim, had been made prisoner in the battle of Tiberias; but that disaster was unknown in Italy and Greece, when the son was urged by ambition and piety to visit the inheritance of his royal nephew, the infant Baldwin. The view of the Turkish banners warned him from the hostile coast of Jaffa ; and Conrad was unanimously hailed as the prince and champion of Tyre, which was already besieged by the conqueror of Jerusalem. The firmness of his zeal, and perhaps his knowledge of a generous foe, enabled him to brave the threats of the sultan, and to declare, that should his aged parent be exposed before the walls, he himself would discharge the first arrow, and glory in his descent from a Christian martyr (66). The Egyptian fleet was allowed to enter the harbour of Tyre; but the chain was suddenly drawn, and five galleys were either sunk or taken : a thousand Turks were slain in a sally; and Saladin, after burning his engines, concluded a glorious campaign by a disgraceful retreat to Damascus. He was soon assailed by a more formidable tempest. The pathetic narratives, and even the pictures, that represented in lively colours the servitude and profanation of Jerusalem, awakened the torpid sensibility of Europe: the emperor Frederic Barbarossa, and the kings of France and England, assumed the cross; and the tardy magnitude of their armaments was anticipated by the maritime states of the Mediterranean and the Ocean. The skilful and provident Italians first embarked in the ships of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. They were speedily followed by the most eager pilgrims of France, Normandy, and the Western Isles. The powerful succour of Flanders, Frise, and Denmark, filled near an hundred vessels; and the Northern warriors were distinguished in the field by

(64) For the conquest of Jerusalem, Bohadin (p. 67-75.) and Abulfeda (p. 40-43.) are our Moslem witnesses. Of the Christian, Bernard Thesaurarius (c. 151-167.) is the most copious and authentic; see likewise Matthew Paris (p. 120-124.).

(65) The sieges of Tyre and Acre are most copiously described by Bernard Thesaurarius (de Acquisitione Terræ Sanctæ, c. 167-179.), the author of the Historia Hierosolymitana (p. 1150-1172. in Bongarsius), Abulfeda (p. 43-50.), and Bohadin (p. 75-179.)..

(66) I have followed a moderate and probable representation of the fact: by Vertot, who adopts without reluctance a romantic tale, the old marquis is actually exposed to the darts of the besieged.

I shall not ex- Siege of Acre,
A. D. 1189,

a lofty stature and a ponderous battle-axe (67). Their increasing
multitudes could no longer be confined within the walls of Tyre, or
remain obedient to the voice of Conrad. They pitied the misfor-
tunes, and revered the dignity, of Lusignan, who was released from
prison, perhaps, to divide the army of the Franks. He proposed
the recovery of Ptolemais, or Acre, thirty miles to the south of
Tyre; and the place was first invested by two thousand horse and
thirty thousand foot under his nominal command.
patiate on the story of this miserable siege; which lasted near two
years, and consumed, in a narrow space, the forces of Europe and
Asia. Never did the flame of enthusiasm burn with fiercer and
more destructive rage; nor could the true believers, a common ap-
pellation, who consecrated their own martyrs, refuse some applause
to the mistaken zeal and courage of their adversaries. At the sound
of the holy trumpet, the Moslems of Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and the
Oriental provinces, assembled under the servant of the prophet (68):
his camp was pitched and removed within a few miles of Acre; and
he laboured, night and day, for the relief of his brethren and the
annoyance of the Franks. Nine battles, not unworthy of the name,
were fought in the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel, with such vi–
cissitude of fortune, that in one attack, the sultan forced his way
into the city; that in one sally, the Christians penetrated to the
royal tent. By the means of divers and pigeons, a regular corres-
pondence was maintained with the besieged; and, as often as the
sea was left open, the exhausted garrison was withdrawn, and a
fresh supply was poured into the place. The Latin camp was thinned
by famine, the sword, and the climate; but the tents of the dead
were replenished with new pilgrims, who exaggerated the strength
and speed of their approaching countrymen. The vulgar was asto-
nished by the report, that the pope himself, with an innumerable
crusade, was advanced as far as Constantinople. The march of the
emperor filled the East with more serious alarms: the obstacles
which he encountered in Asia, and perhaps in Greece, were raised
by the policy of Saladin: his joy on the death of Barbarossa was
measured by his esteem; and the Christians were rather dismayed
than encouraged at the sight of the duke of Swabia and his way-
worn remnant of five thousand Germans. At length, in the spring
of the second year, the royal fleets of France and England cast an-
chor in the bay of Acre, and the siege was more vigorously prose-
cuted by the youthful emulation of the two kings, Philip Augustus
and Richard Plantagenet. After every resource had been tried,

(67) Northmanni et Gothi, et cæteri populi insularum quæ inter occidentem et septentrionem sitæ sunt, gentes bellicosa, corporis proceri, mortis intrepidæ, bipennibus armatæ, navibus rotundis, quae Ysnachiæ dicuntur, advectæ.

(68) The historian of Jerusalem (p. 1108.) adds the nations of the East from the Tigris to India, and the swarthy tribes of Moors and Getulians, so that Asia and Africa fought against Europe.

July

A. D. 1191,

July.

Richard of England, in Palestine,

A. D.

1191-1192.

and every hope was exhausted, the defenders of Acre submitted to their fate; a capitulation was granted, but their lives and liberties were taxed at the hard conditions of a ransom of two hundred thousand pieces of gold, the deliverance of one hundred nobles, and fifteen hundred inferior captives, and the restoration of the wood of the holy cross. Some doubts in the agreement, and some delay in the execution, rekindled the fury of the Franks, and three thousand Moslems, almost in the sultan's view, were beheaded by the command of the sanguinary Richard (69). By the conquest of Acre, the Latin powers acquired a strong town and a convenient harbour; but the advantage was most dearly purchased. The minister and historian of Saladin computes, from the report of the enemy, that their numbers, at different periods, amounted to five or six hundred thousand; that more than one hundred thousand Christians were slain; that a far greater number was lost by disease or shipwreck; and that a small portion of this mighty host could return in safety to their native countries (70).

Philip Augustus, and Richard the First, are the only kings of France and England who have fought under the same banners; but the holy service, in which they were enlisted, was incessantly disturbed by their national jealousy; and the two factions, which they protected in Palestine, were more averse to each other than to the common enemy. In the eyes of the Orientals, the French monarch was superior in dignity and power; and, in the emperor's absence, the Latins revered him as their temporal chief (71). His exploits were not adequate to his fame. Philip was brave, but the statesman predominated in his character; he was soon weary of sacrificing his health and interest on a barren coast; the surrender of Acre became the signal of his departure; nor could he justify this unpopular desertion, by leaving the duke of Burgundy, with five hundred knights, and ten thousand foot, for the service of the Holy Land. The king of England, though inferior in dignity, surpassed his rival in wealth and military renown (72) ; and if heroism be confined to brutal and ferocious valour, Richard Plantagenet will

(69) Bohadin, p. 180.; and this massacre is neither denied nor blamed by the Christian historians. Alacriter jussa complentes (the English soldiers), says Galfridus a Vinesauf (l. iv. c. 4. p. 346.), who fixes at 2700 the number of victims; who are multiplied to 5000 by Roger Hoveden (p. 697, 698.). The humanity or avarice of Philip Augustus was persuaded to ransom his prisoners (Jacob. a Vitriaco, l. i. c. 98. p. 1122.).

(70) Bohadin, p. 14. He quotes the judgment of Balianus, and the prince of Sidon, and adds, ex illo mundo quasi hominum paucissimi redierunt. Among the Christians who died before St. John d'Acre, I find the Euglish names of De Ferrers earl of Derby (Dugdale, Baronage, part i. p. 260.), Mowbray (idem, p. 124.), De Mandevil, De Fiennes, St. John, Scrope, Bigot, Talbot, &c.

(71) Magnus hic apud eos, interque reges eorum tum virtute, tum majestate eminens summus rerum arbiter (Bohadin, p. 159.). He does not seem to have known the names either of Philip or Richard.

(72) Rex Angliæ, præstrenuus. rege Gallorum minor apud eos censebatur ratione regni atque dignitatis; sed tum divitiis florentior, tum bellica virtute multo erat celebrior (Bohadin, p. 161.). A stranger might admire those riches; the national historians will tell with what lawless and wasteful oppression they were collected.

stand high among the heroes of the age. The memory of Cœur de Lion, of the lion-hearted prince, was long dear and glorious to his English subjects; and, at the distance of sixty years, it was celebrated in proverbial sayings by the grandsons of the Turks and Saracens, against whom he had fought: his tremendous name was employed by the Syrian mothers to silence their infants; and if an horse suddenly started from the way, his rider was wont to exclaim, "Dost thou think king Richard is in that bush (73)?" His cruelty to the Mahometans was the effect of temper and zeal; but I cannot believe that a soldier, so free and fearless in the use of his lance, would have descended to whet a dagger against his valiant brother Conrad of Montferrat, who was slain at Tyre by some secret assassins (74). After the surrender of Acre, and the departure of Philip, the king of England led the crusaders to the recovery of the sea-coast; and the cities of Cæsarea and Jaffa were added to the fragments of the kingdom of Lusignan. A march of one hundred miles from Acre to Ascalon was a great and perpetual battle of eleven days. In the disorder of his troops, Saladin remained on the field with seventeen guards, without lowering his standard, or suspending the sound of his brazen kettle-drum: he again rallied and renewed the charge; and his preachers or heralds called aloud on the unitarians, manfully to stand up against the Christian idolaters. But the progress of these idolaters was irresistible; and it was only by demolishing the walls and buildings of Ascalon, that the sultan could prevent them from occupying an important fortress on the confines of Egypt. During a severe winter, the armies slept; but in the spring, the Franks advanced within a day's march of Jerusalem, under the leading standard of the English king; and his active spirit intercepted a convoy, or caravan, of seven thousand camels. Saladin (75) had fixed his station in the holy city; but the city was struck with consternation and discord: he fasted; he prayed; he preached; he offered to share the dangers of the siege; but his Mamalukes, who remembered the fate of their companions at Acre, pressed the sultan with loyal or seditious clamours, to re

(73) Joinville, p. 17. Cuides-tu que ce soit le roi Richart?

(74) Yet he was guilty in the opinion of the Moslems, who attest the confession of the assassins, that they were sent by the king of England (Bohadin, p. 225.); and his only defence is an absurd and palpable forgery (Hist. de l'Académie des Inscriptions, tom. xvi. p. 155-163.), a pretended letter from the prince of the assassins, the Sheich, or old man of the mountain, who justified Richard, by assuming to himself the guilt or merit of the murder.*

(75) See the distress and pious firmness of Saladin, as they are described by Bohadin (p. 7-9. 235-237.), who himself harangued the defenders of Jerusalem; their fears were not unknown to the enemy (Jacob. a Vitriaco, 1. i. c. 100. p. 1123. Vinisauf, l. v. c. 50. p. 399.).

*Von Hammer (Geschichte der Assassinen, p. 202.) sums up against Richard; Wilken (vol. iv. p. 485.) as strongly for acquittal. Michaud, vol. ii. p. 420. delivers no decided opinion. This crime was also attributed to Saladin, who is said, by an oriental authority (the continuator of Tabari), to

have employed the assassins to murder both Conrad and Richard. It is a melancholy admission; but it must be acknowledged, that such an act would be less inconsistent with the character of the Christian than of the Mahometan king. — M.