Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/364

 328 Readings in European History Therefore, when we learned that the army of the Baby- lonians was at Ascalon, we went down to meet them, leaving our baggage and the sick, with a garrison, in Jerusalem. When our army was in sight of the enemy, we invoked up- on our knees the aid of the Lord, that he who in our other adversities had strengthened the Christian faith, might in the present battle break the strength of the Saracens and of the devil, and extend the kingdom of the Church of Christ from sea to sea, over the whole world. There was no delay; God was present when we cried for his aid, and indued us with so great boldness that one who saw us rush upon the enemy would have taken us for a herd of deer, hastening to quench their thirst in running water. It was indeed wonderful, since there were in our army not more than five thousand horsemen and fifteen thousand foot soldiers, and there were probably in the enemy's army one hundred thousand horsemen and four hundred thousand foot soldiers. Then God appeared most marvelous to his servants. For before we engaged in fighting, by our very onset alone, he turned this multitude in flight and scattered all their weapons, so that if they wished afterward to attack us they did not have the arms in which they trusted. There can be no question as to the greatness of the spoils, since the treasures of the king of Babylon were captured. More than one hundred thousand Moors perished there by the sword. Moreover their panic was so great that about two thousand were suffocated at the gate of the city. Those who perished in the sea were innumerable. Many were entangled in the thickets. The whole world was certainly fighting for us, and if many of our men had not been detained in plundering the camp, few of the great mul- titude of the enemy would have been able to escape from the battle. And although it may be tedious, the following must not be omitted. On the day preceding the battle the army cap- tured many thousands of camels, oxen, and sheep. By the command of the princes these were divided among the peo- ple. When we advanced to battle, wonderful to relate, the