Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 6 (1897).djvu/369

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 347 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 ' ad 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 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. "2 The nations might fear and hope the immediate and final ex- The third pulsion of the Latins from Syria ; which was yet delayed above tyiea.*' a century after the death of Saladin.'^ In the career of victory, he was first checked by the resistance of Tyre ; the troops and [Tyre garrisons, which had capitulated, were imprudently conducted Novf I? ' to the same port : their numbers were adequate to the defence of the place ; and the arrival of Conrad of Montferrat inspired the disorderly crowd 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 in- heritance 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 know- ledge 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."^ The Egyptian '2 For the conquest of Jerusalem, Bohadin (p. 67-75) and Abulfeda (P- 4043) are our Moslem witnesses. Of the Christian, Bernard Thcsaurarius (c. 151-167) is the most copious and authentic ; see likewise Matthew Paris (p. 120-124). [See also Ibn al-Athir ; Imad ad-Din ; Abu Shama (in Goergens, Quellenbeitrage zur Gcschichte der Kreuzzuge) ; De expugn. Terree Sanctre (cp. Appendix i).] ''•"The sieges of Tyre and Acre are most copiously described by Bernard Thesaurarius (de Acquisitione Terras Sanctis, c. 167-179), the author of the His- toria Hierosolymitana (p. 1150-1172, in Bongarsius), Abulfeda (p. 43-50), and Bohadin (p. 75-179). ^■'a[It was at Acre that Conrad called.] '■■' I have followed a moderate and probable representation of the fact ; hy Vertot, who adopts without reluctance a romantic tale, the old marquis is actually exposed to the darts of the besieged.