9 

 SIEGE AND BATTLE OF JAFFA; 



FROM RICHARD I. IN PALESTINE; A LECTURE, 



BY COL. C. H. SMITH. 



The French chivalry and the wreck of the Crusaders 

 with Richard in person directed their retreat upon Acre, 

 and during the march he resumed his negotiations with 

 the Sultan, but both parties stood upon terms reciprocal- 

 ly deemed inadmissible. The King wished to secure to 

 the Christians the whole coast of Syria, it being already 

 almost entirely m their hands ; Saladin wanted the prin- 

 cipal fortresses to be razed, or in fact did not wish to 

 conclude a treaty because he was well informed of the 

 circumstances which would soon compel the English 

 Prince to withdraw from the scene of conflict in Pales- 

 tine ; and as he, of all Christians then living, was the 

 man who had a right to obtain the most favourable 

 terms of peace, it was his policy not to grant it, in hopes 

 that the force of circumstances would call him away 

 without a final treaty or that more treason and further 

 desertions would at least render him powerless. — Thus 

 nothing amicable was effected, and Saladin judging 

 with military ability that the King would probably en- 

 deavour to secure to himself the only points on the coast 

 still held by the Moslem, concluded that from his 

 present central position, he would march to the north, 

 and besiege Bairout or Berytus, this movement, he 

 thought, offered to the Saracens a fine opportunity of 

 making a sudden march to the south and surprize J op- 

 pa or Jaffa ; before the Crusaders could arrive at and 

 relieve it. The King had indeed thrown competent 

 garrisons into all the tenable places, but the walls of 

 Jaffa were lately rebuilt and still so new that it would be 

 easy to make breaches in them. 



To carry this plan into effect, Saladin having made 

 several detachments, and left a large corps in the moun- 

 tains facing Ptolemais, for the purpose of keeping the 

 the King in check, observing his motions and conceal- 

 ing his own operations ; departed with a select body of 

 above twenty thousand men ; chiefly horse ; command- 

 voL. II.— 1833. B 



