Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/777

753 SALADIN.] EGYPT 753 compelled him to retreat southwards as far as El-Babeyn, near Ashfnooneyn, where he risked an engagement, and gained a complete victory. This success opened to the invaders the greater part of Egypt, and Alexandria itself fell into their hands. Saiadin was placed in that city with a numerous garrison, and his uncle departed to subdue the rest of Egypt. The Crusaders, how ever, at once closely invested Alexandria, and so pressed the siege, for three months, as to oblige Sheerkooh to come to its relief. An honourable compromise was effected, by which the Syrians agreed to resign their conquests and evacuate Egypt. But fresh troubles were in store for this unfortunate country. Amaury, irritated at the result of a campaign in which he had only lost, determined on an expedition against his recent ally ; and, entering Egypt, took Bilbeys, putting its inhabitants to the sword, and laid siege to El-Kahireh, his course being marked by the most dreadful barbarities. On his approach, the ancient city of El-Fustat was set on fire by order of the vizir, to prevent it falling into the enemy s hands, and it continued burning somewhat more than fifty days. El- Adid now earnestly sought the aid of Noureddin ; and that monarch, actuated by religious zeal against the Franks, who had already felt his pover in Syria, and by the desire of conquest, once more despatched Sheerkooh. In the meantime negotiations had been opened with Amaury to raise the siege of El- Kahireh, on payment of an enormous sum of money; while, however, the conditions were yet unfulfilled, the approach of the Syrian army induced him to retreat in all haste. Sheerkooh and Saladiu entered the capital in great state, were received with honour by the caliph and with obsequiousness by the perfidious Shawir, who was contriv ing a plot which was fortunately discovered and for which he,paid with his head. Sheerkooh was then appointed vizer by El- Adid, but dying very shortly, he was succeeded in that dignity by Saiadin 564 (A.D. 1169). For the short period which elapsed before Saladin s assump tion of the title of sultan a few words will suffice. One of his first acts was to put to death the chief of the eunuchs, and a revolt of the blacks resulted ; a combat took place in El-Kahireh in the street called Beyn-el-Kasreyn ; and the malcontents being worsted, the disturbances were quelled. Baha-ed-Deen Karakoosh, a white eunuch, who afterwards played a prominent part in the reign of Saiadin, was appointed to the vacant post. This gave the vizir great influence in the palace, of which he judi ciously availed himself. In 565 we hear of Amaury with Greek allies unsuccessfully besieging Damietta ; and in the following year, Saiadin conducted an expedition against the Franks to Ascalon arid Eamleh. In, 567, by order of Noureddin, he sup pressed the name of El- Adid in the congregational prayers, and substituted that of the Abbasee caliph, a masterly stroke of policy to secure the adhesion of the orthodox Muslims. The last of the Fatimees was lying dangerously ill, and his relations con cealed from him his degradation. He died without the knowledge of it, and with him perished an illustrious but unfortunate dynasty. Saladiu was thus relieved of the most serious obstacle on his way to the throne ; yet he dared not throw off his allegiance to the sultan of Damascus, but prudently waited for a favourable opportunity. Noureddin s suspicion was already aroused, and he died (in 569) while secretly pre paring to proceed in person to Egypt. Saiadin almost immediately proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt, and inaugurated his reign with a series of brilliant successes. With the conquest of El-Mo izz, Egypt again took an important place among the nations ; and by the wars of Saiadin it became the nucleus of a great empire. But military glory was not the sole aim of this prince and his successors. The patronage they continued to extend to letters and the arts had the most beneficial effect upon the civilization of the country. Saiadin, whose full appellation was El-Melik En-Nasir Salah-ed-deen Yoosuf Ibn-Eiyoob, acquired his greatest renown by his campaigns against the Crusaders in Syria. As these belong, however, more properly to the history of those wars than to that of Egypt, they will be more briefly noticed in this place than would otherwise be necessary. The youth of El-Melik Es-Salih Isma eel, the son and suc cessor of Noureddiu, and the consequent confusion which prevailed in his dominions, gave Saiadin a fair pretext to occupy Damascus, as the guardian of the young prince, and enabled him to wrest from him his kingdom. He thus considerably enlarged his territory, made himself master of a great portion of Syria, and continued to consolidate his power in those parts until the year 572 (A.D. 1178), when Philip, count of Flanders, laid siege to Antioch, and Saiadin entered Palestine. Having encamped before Ascalon, the Egyptian troops ravaged the neighbouring country, and set fire to Joppa, until at length Baldwin the Leper, king of Jerusalem, issued from Ascalon and gave them battle. The result was disastrous to Saiadin : his army was totally routed, and he himself fled alone on a dromedary. After this, however, he gained some partial advantages over the Christians, till a terrible famine induced him two years later to conclude a truce with the king of Jerusalem and to retire to Egypt. In the year 576 he again entered Syria and made war on Kilij-Arslan, the Seljookee sultan of Anatolia, and on Leon, king of Armenia, the Cilicio-Armenian kingdom, both of whom he forced to make terms of peace. Not long after his return, Saiadin departed from Egypt (A.H. 578) to prosecute a war with the Crusaders in which neither side desired peace. Their hostility was aggravated by the following circumstances. A vessel bearing 1500 pilgrims had been wrecked near Damietta, and its passengers captured; and to the remonstrances of the king of Jerusalem the sultan replied by complaining of the constant inroads made by Renaud de Chatillon. At this time the latter turbulent chief undertook an expedition against Eyleh, and for this purpose constructed boats at Karak and conveyed them on camels to the sea; but this flotilla was repulsed, and the siege raised by a fleet sent thither by El- Adil (&quot; Saphedin &quot;), the brother of Saiadin, and then his viceroy; and a second attempt was still more unfor tunate, the Christian captives on that occasion were sacri ficed iu the valley of Mina. Having threatened Karak, Saiadin encamped at Tiberias, and ravaged the territory of the Franks ; he then besieged Beyroot, but in vain; and thence turned his arms against Mesopotamia and subdued the country, but the city of Mosul successfully resisted him. In the meanwhile, the Crusaders contented themselves with miserable forays across the enemy s borders, and made no serious preparations for the return of their redoubtable antagonist. The latter, having been almost everywhere suc cessful in Mesopotamia, took Tell-Khalid and Eyn-Tab in Syria and obtained possession of Aleppo ; he again be sieged Karak, ravaged the territory of Samaria, and later received the fealty of the lord of Mosul, but not the keys of the city. In the year 582 (1186 of our era) war again broke out between Saiadin and the Crusaders. The sultan had respected a truce into which he had entered with Baldwin the Leper, and Renaud, before named, was the first to break it. The capture by the latter of a rich caravan enraged Saiadin, who despatched orders to all his lieuten ants and vassals, summoning them to assist in the &quot; Holy War.&quot; He marched (A.D. 1187) from Damascus to Karak, and there laid close siege to Renaud ; at the same time a large body of cavalry under the command of his son, El-Afdal, advanced on Nazareth; and here a body of 130 Knights Hospitallers and Templars, seconded by a few hundred foot soldiers, and encouraged by the heroic Jacques de MaiHe&quot;, marshal of the Temple, by their devotion im mortalized their memory. Only the Grand Master of the Temple and two of his knights escaped from the unequal struggle. Soon after, Saiadin approached in person at the head of an army of 80,000 men ; and the Christians with their whole force encountered him on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias. The result of the battle which ensued was the heaviest blow which had yet fallen on the Crusaders. Weakened by thirst, shaken by the flight of a part of their troops on the second day of combat, and overwhelmed by numbers, the knights fought with desperate courage, but at length were forced to the hills of Hitteem. A multitude fell in this bloody fight, and among the prisoners were Guy VII. QS