E G Y P T. 



381 



History, and disease : yet still the views of Saladin were toward 

 l *^"Y"* / Syria and the East. At the commencement of this 

 campaign, his army was defeated both at Aleppo and 

 Mossul ; and, in the mean time, the Christians of the 

 crusade had assembled a fleet in the Red Sea, which 

 threatened the cities of Mecca and Medina ; but Abu- 

 beker, Saladin's viceroy in Egypt, fitted out a fleet un- 

 der the command of the brave and experienced Lulu, 

 which defeated the European expedition, and gave fresh 

 vigour to the exertions of Saladin. In the spirit of 

 conquest, he entered the provinces of the East ; and 

 to trace his progress, would be to follow him like light- 

 ning from field to siege, and from siege to battle. 



Having run a triumphant course through Syria, he 

 entered Palestine with victory and terror. Having ob- 

 tained possession of Aleppo and Mossel, he aimed a 

 blow at the Holy Land. For the space of three years, 

 Saladin continued to gain advantages over the armies 

 of the crusade. Various places of strength having fallen, 

 Tiberias was at length taken, and Lusignan, king of 

 Jerusalem, was desirous of meeting Saladin in the 

 field. The armies met upon the banks of the Jordan, 

 and victory was declared in favour of Saladin. The 

 king himself was taken prisoner, as well as Arnold, 

 lord of Carac. The king of Jerusalem was treated with 

 respect, but Arnold was put to death by Saladin's own 

 hand, because he had inflicted many miseries on the 

 followers of Mahommed. Ptolemais, Neapolis, Caesa- 

 rea, and other cities, fell into the power of Saladin. 

 Finding nothing to oppose his course, he marched di- 

 rectly toward Jerusalem, and besieged the city. The 

 garrison was numerous, and made a desperate defence ; 

 but after Saladin had made a breach in the walls, and 

 was on the point of entering the town, the commander 

 made offers of capitulation. 



But Saladin refused to accept of the terms, and vow- 

 ed that he would sack and destroy the city. His cruel 

 threatenings roused the spirit of the Christians, and a 

 herald declared, that they would first put 5000 mussul- 

 man prisoners to death ; and, that no European might 

 be exposed to their revenge, they would also destroy 

 their wives and children. That no booty might be 

 found, they would destroy every thingwaluable in the 

 city ; and, having levelled the rock which the Mahom- 

 medans held sacred, they would sallv out in body up- 

 011 the besiegers ; and it they were not victorious, their 

 destruction should be accomplished by an unexampled 

 expence of blood and misery. This desperate resolu- 

 tion moved Saladin to more reasonable terms ; and the 

 garrison, as well as the citizens, were spared by pay- 

 ing a stipulated sum of money. 



In this enfeebled state of the Christian armies, a 

 third crusade was determined on in Europe ; and the 

 emperor of Germany, together with Philip II. of France, 

 and Richard I. of England, having arrived in Pales- 

 tine, encamped before the city of Acca or Ptolemais, 

 whilst many European ships rode in the harbour. In 

 this city, Saladin had assembled a numerous army ; and 

 the powers of Europe were combined to defeat him. 

 Richard I. of England was of great courage, and there- 

 fore was surnamed Coeur de Lion ; and his skill in war, 

 added to his prowess, had rendered him the most fa- 

 mous general of the age. If there had been as much 

 harmony as there was power among the different ar- 

 mies of the crusade, the city of Ptolemais must soon 

 have fallen ; but, after all the distractions in the views 

 and counsels of the allies, Saladin was compelled to 

 capitulate. The garrison were allowed to inarch out 



with the honours of war ; but a sum of money was to History, 

 be paid to the besiegers. X< T"'""' 



The sultan of Egypt refused to pay the ransom; 

 and historians tell us, that 3000 prisoners answered for 

 it with their lives. The siege was extremely bloody ; 

 and it is not supposed that fewer than 300,000 persons 

 on either side were cut off during the conflict ; and the 

 flower of Europe, as well as Egypt, Asia, and Syria, 

 perished in the combats. Ptolemais, or Acca, became 

 the residence of the hospitalers of St John, and, since 

 that period, the town has been denominated St Jolm 

 d'Acre. 



Of all the European potentates, the king of Eng- 

 land only remained ; and, having laid siege to Ashke- 

 lon, he took possession of that city. Upon this event, 

 Saladin hastened to Jerusalem ; and Richard followed 

 him to the holy city. The king of England held it in 

 close siege ; but when the hour arrived that the city 

 was to be delivered up, the besieging army retreated, 

 and the enterprise was abandoned. The cause of this 

 sudden and extraordinary conduct has never been well 

 explained ; and different authors have presented differ- 

 ent views of the subject. It may justly be supposed 

 to have been involuntary on the part of Richard ; for 

 his courage has never been questioned ; and the value 

 which he set upon his honour could not permit him 

 to tarnish it by unworthiness of conduct. The retreat 

 of the army, it is said, overwhelmed him with grief; 

 and the misfortune was probably occasioned by the 

 discord and jealousy of the combined army. The 

 Duke of Burgundy, who was left in Palestine by the 

 king of France with 10,000 soldiers, is said to have 

 been as jealous as his master of the fame and valour of 

 the English king ; but, even in his retreat, Richard 

 was formidable. He concluded a truce with Stiladin 

 for three years and upwards ; various places of strength 

 were dismantled ; the whole sea-coast from Jaffa to 

 Tyre was surrendered to the Christians ; and the pil- 

 grims of Europe, travelling to Jerusalem, were to be 

 under the protection of the powerful Saladin. But 

 scarcely had the king of England returned to his coun- 

 try, when the health of Saladin began to decline ; and 

 he finished his life about the 55th year of his age, and 

 after he had reigned in Egypt 24 years. See Abul- 

 pfiarag, LfHerbclot, Riiiaudot, Will. Tt/r. Vertot, Sa- 

 nut, Jttc. de Vitriaco, and Dr Wilson's Hist. 



Alaziz, the second son of Saladin, was appointed to ^laziz 

 the government of Egypt; but, not being contented A. D. 1193. 

 with the portion of his father's dominions assigned to 

 him, he made successful inroads into Syria ; but died 

 suddenly in the midst of his triumphs. Upon his 

 death, several important changes took place with re- 

 spect to the affairs of Egypt and Syria ; but nothing 

 worthy of notice till the reign of Alcamel. 



When this prince was raised to the throne, he was AlcameL 

 well received by the Egyptians ; but he found the state A. D. 1218 

 of public affairs full of disorder, and attended with dan- 

 ger. The Mahommedans and the Christians were plot- 

 ting each other's destruction ; and the Christians were 

 at variance among themselves. In this state of inter- 

 nal disquietude, the soldiers of the fifth crusade land- 

 ed in Egypt, and laid siege to Damietta. The united 

 forces of Egypt and Damascus could not overcome the 

 European army ; but Alcamel offered such terms of 

 accommodation as were acceptable to all the chiefs of 

 the iTtK.-itlr, except D'Albano, the Pope's legate. 



Such influence had the see of Rome then acquired, 

 that his single voice prevented the negotiation. The 



