E G Y P T. 
Sard fworn to avenge the patience and fong-ftiffering of 
the Modems ; the hour of forgivenefs was elapfed, and 
the moment was now arrived to expiate in blood, the in¬ 
nocent blood, which had been fpilt by Godfrey and the 
firft crufaders.” But a defperate and fiiccefsful druggie 
ef the Franks admonifhed the fultan that his triumph 
was not yet fecure ; he liftened with reverence to a fo- 
lemn abjuration in the name of the common Father of 
mankind ; and a fentiment of human fympathy mollified 
the rigour of fanaticifm and conqueft. He contented to 
accept the city, and to fpare the inhabitants. The Greek 
and oriental Chriftia'ns were permitted to live under his 
dominion; but it was ftipulated, that in forty days all 
the Franks and Latins fliould evacuate Jerusalem,, and 
be fafely conducted to the fea-ports of Syria and Egypt; 
that ten pieces of gold Ihould be paid for each man, five 
for each woman, and one for every child ; and that thofe 
who were unable to purchafe their freedom, fiiould be 
detained in perpetual (lavery. Of fome writers it is a 
favourite theme to compare the humanity of Saladin with 
the malfacre of the fir It crufade. The difference would 
be merely perfonal ; but we fhould not forget that the 
Chriftians had offered to capitulate, and that the Maho- 
medans of Jerufalem fuffained the laft extremities of an 
aflault-and ftorm, Juftice is, indeed, due to the fidelity 
with which Saladin fulfilled the conditions of the treaty; 
and he may be defervedly praifed for the glance of pity 
which he caff on the mifery of the vanquiflied, Inftead 
of a rigorous exaction of his debt, he accepted a fum of 
thirty thoufand byzants, for the random of feven thou- 
fand poor; two or three thoufand more were difinilfed 
by his gratuitous clemency ; and the number of Haves 
was reduced to eleven or fourteen thoufand perfons. In 
his interview with the queen, his words, and even his 
tears, fuggefted the kindeft confolations; his liberal alms 
were diftributed among thofe who had been made or- 
hans or widows by the fortune of war; and, while the 
nights of the hofpital of St. John were in arms againft 
him, he allowed their more pious brethren to continue, 
during the term of a year, the care and fervice of the 
fick. " In thefe acts of mercy, the virtue of the fultan of 
Egypt deferves our admiration : he was above the necef- 
fity of difiimulatidn ; and his (tern fanaticifm would have 
prompted him to diffembie, rather than to affect, this 
generous compafiion for the enemies of the Koran. Af¬ 
ter Jerufalem had been delivered from the prefence of 
the ({rangers, the fultan made his'triumphant entry, his 
banners waving in the wind, and to the harmony of mar¬ 
tial nutfic. The great mofq.ue of Omar, which had been 
converted into a church, was again confecrated to God 
and to Mahomet; the walls and pavement were purified 
with rofe-water ; and a pulpit, the labour of the deceafed 
Noureddin, was erected in the fandtuary. The golden 
erofs that glittered on the dome, was caft down amidll 
the (houts of tlte Modems. In four ivory chefts the pa¬ 
triarch had colledfed the croffes, the-images, the vafes, 
and the relics, of the holy place : they were feized by 
the conqueror, who was defirous of prefenting the caliph 
with thefe trophies of popifh idolatry. He was, per- 
fuaded, however, to entruft them to the patriarch and 
prince of Antioch ; and they were redeemed by Richard 
of England, at the expence of fifty-two thoufand byzants 
of gold. 
In this event, the world might have expefted the final 
expulfion of the Franks from Syria; yet the crolfades 
were continued till above a century after the death of 
Saladin. In the career of vidlory, the fultan of Egypt 
was firft checked- by the refiftarice of Tyre; the troops 
and garrifons, which had capitulated, were imprudently 
condudled to the fame port: their numbers were ade¬ 
quate to the defence of the place ; and the arrival of 
Conrad of Montferrat infpired the crowd with confidence 
and-union* His father, a venerable pilgrim, had been 
made prifoner in the battle of Tiberias ; but that difafter 
was unknown in Italy and Greece, when the fon was 
{? 
323 
urged by ambition and piety to vifit Jerufalem-, the in¬ 
heritance of his royal nephew, the infant Baldwin. The 
view of the Mohammedan banners warned him from the 
hoflile coaff of Jaffa: and Conrad was unanimoufly hail¬ 
ed as the prince and champion of Tyre, which was already 
befieged by the conqueror of Jerufalem. The firmnefs 
of his zeal enabled him to brave the threats of the ful¬ 
tan, and -to declare, that (liould his aged parent be ex- 
pofed before the walls, lie himfelf would difeharge the 
firft arrow, and glory in his defeent from a Chriffian mar¬ 
tyr;. The Egyptian fleet was allowed to enter the har¬ 
bour of Tyre ; when the chain was fuddenly drawn, and 
five galleys were either funk or taken : a thoufand of the 
fultan’s beft troops were (lain in a fally ; and Saladin, 
after burning his engines, made a difgraeeful retreat to 
Damafeus. Fie was foon aflailed by a more formidable 
tempeff. The pathetic narratives, and even the pictures, 
that reptefented in lively colours the fervitude and pro¬ 
fanation of Jerufalem, awakened the torpid fenfibility of 
Europe : the emperor Frederic Barbaroffa, and the kings 
of France and of England, affirmed the Holy War; and 
the tardy magnitude of their armaments was anticipated 
by the maritime ftates of the Mediterranean and the ocean. 
The fkilfu! and provident Italians firff embarked in tire 
Ihips of Genoa, Pifa, and Venice. Tlrey were fpeedily 
followed by the nroft eager pilgrims of France, Norman¬ 
dy, and the weftern ifles. The powerful fuccour of 
Flanders, Frife, and Denmark, filled near a hundred vef- 
fds ; and thefe northern warriors were diftinguiflied in 
the field by a lofty ftature and a ponderous battle-axe. 
Their increafing multitudes could no longer be confined 
within the walls of Tyre, or remain obedient to the voice 
of Conrad. They pitied tire misfortunes, and revered 
the dignity, of Lufignan, who was releafed from prifon, 
perhaps, to divide the army of the Franks. He propofed 
the recovery of Ptolemais, cr Acre, thirty miles to the 
fouth of Tyre ; and the place was firft inverted by two 
thoufand horfe and thirty thoufand foot under his nomi¬ 
nal command. This memorable fiege lafted near two 
years, and 'confirmed, in a narrow fpace, the forces of 
Europe and Alia. Never did the flame of enthufiafm 
burn w ith fiercer and more deftrufilive rage ; nor could 
the true believers, who confecrated their own martyrs, 
refufe fome applaufe to tire miftaken zeal and courage of 
their adverfaries. At the found of the brazen trumpet, 
the Modems of Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and the oriental 
provinces, affembled under the fultan Saladin ; his camp 
was pitched within a few miles of Acre ; and he labour¬ 
ed, night and day, for the fuccefs of his army, and the 
annoyance of the Franks. Nine battles were fought in 
the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel, with fiich vicifiitude 
of fortune, that, in one attack, the fultan forced his way 
into the city ; that, in one {ally, the Chriftians pene¬ 
trated to the Egyptian tent. By the means cf divers and 
pigeons, a regular correfpondence was maintained with 
the befieged : and, as often as the fea was left open, the 
exhaurted garrifon was withdrawn, and a frefti fupply 
was poured into the place. The Latin camp was thin¬ 
ned by famine, the fword, and the climate; but the 
tents of the dead were replenilhed with new pilgrims, 
who exaggerated the ftrength and fpeed of their ap¬ 
proaching countrymen. The vulgar was aftoni-fhed by 
the report, that the pope himfelf,, with an innumerable 
crufade, was advanced as far as Conftantinople. The 
march of the emperor filled the eart with more ferious 
alarms; the obftacles which he encountered in Alia, and, 
perhaps, in Greece, were railed by the policy of. Saladin; 
his joy, on the-death of Barbaroffa, was rneafured by his. 
efteem; and the Chriftians were rather difmayed titan 
encouraged at the fight of the duke of. Suabia, and his 
way-worn remnant of only five thoufand Germans. At 
length, in the fpring of the fecond year, the royal fleets 
of France and England majeftically caft anchor in the 
bay of Acre; and the fiege was more vigoroufly profe- 
cuted by the youthful emulation of the two kings, PhU 
