THE LIFE OF SALADIN AND THE FALL OF THE KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM

CHAPTER XIX.

THE COAST MARCH.

Aug. — Sept., 1191

THE surrender of Acre took Saladin by surprise, but his anger was roused more by the terms that had been arranged behind his back, than by the act itself. He had evidently realized that the city could not hold out much longer, and that his army could neither break through the enemy’s entrenchments, nor draw them into a pitched battle. So long as he had to deal with Guy de Lusignan and the Palestine Franks he had never thought of a truce; but the coming of the two Kings changed the situation, and he prepared to negotiate. The first overture, however, came from Richard. The King of England had sent very soon after he landed to request a personal interview. It was like his frank soldierly character to wish to be face to face with the man with whose courage and greatness of heart even the Christian camp was ringing. But Saladin declined the meeting: it was not well, he said, for kings at war with each other to meet in friendly converse until a treaty of peace was actually afoot. Possibly he feared being won too far by the manly presence and chivalrous manner of the hero of whose exploits he too had heard so much: more probably his reply was thrown out as a feeler towards peace.

1191] Negotiations for Peace

Other envoys came from the English camp during the King’s illness. A meeting was arranged between Richard and el-Adil; it was to take place in the middle of the plain between the two camps, but the King's sickness postponed the interview. Some passages of wit were exchanged between the ambassador and the Sultan’s brother, about a present of falcons which Richard wished to offer to Saladin, and the fowls which he required in return, and each tried to discover what the other was aiming at. On the 1st of July Saladin himself received the envoy and his Maghraby interpreter. “All these interviews”, says Baha-ed-din, “were designed to find out our temper of mind, our strength and our weakness”. It was doubtless to promote these pourparlers that the Franks stopped the bombardment for three days. The ambassadors came again on the 4th, asking for fruit and snow; and the Master of the Knights of St. John was himself announced as coming on the morrow to treat for peace. Three envoys arrived instead, and had an hour’s conference with el-Adil, but nothing was settled. There was a further dis-cussion on the 6th, but the Christian terms were too hard. Saladin kept his army in battle array, and menaced the Franks as far as he dared, to induce them to lower their demands. But up to the 11th, “they stood resolute, not to make peace nor to grant a capitulation to the citizens, unless all the prisoners in the hands of the Moslems were released, and the cities of the coast-land were restored to them. It was proposed (on our part) to surrender the city and everything in it, save only its defenders, but they would not; and we offered besides the Cross of the Crucifixion, but they would not”.

The next day came the news that the garrison had capitulated on these terms : (1) Acre to be surrendered with all its contents, ships, stores, and material of war; (2) 200,000 pieces of gold to be paid to the Franks; (3) 1500 prisoners, together with 100 prisoners of rank, to be delivered up; (4) the True Cross to be restored to them; (5) 4000 gold pieces to be paid to the Marquess of Montferrat.

On these conditions, the inhabitants were to go free, and without molestation, taking with them their families and such private possessions as they could carry.

Conditions such as these were naturally repugnant to the Sultan, still at the head of a strong army which had not lost a battle since the rout at Ramla fourteen years before. The terms had been made by Saladin’s officers, and he did not repudiate them; but it was the greatest reverse he had ever experienced, and his grief was unconcealed. Having now no further need to guard the city, he at once moved his army to Shafraamm, and awaited the commissioners who should arrange the execution of the humiliating treaty. Agents passed between the two camps, and visited Damascus, drawing up full lists of the prisoners and paving the way for a permanent treaty of peace. This went on for a month, during which the outposts of the two armies faced each other in no friendly mood, and once even indulged in a regular set-to, when the Franks were driven to their trenches.

1191] The King of France Goes Home

Meanwhile the smothered quarrel between Philip and Richard had broken out again; the King of France was ill of a fever, such as had just carried off the Count of Flanders, and he made it an excuse to desert the Crusade and return home, there to stir up “confusion in Normandy”. But if, in the words of Coeur de Lion, “Philip did  against the will of God and to the eternal dishonor of his kingdom, so shamelessly fail in his vow”, he at least left behind him the greater part of his army under the Duke of Burgundy to carry on the Crusade. The French, unfortunately, were a source of weakness rather than strength, for they opposed the King of England at every step, and in this they were cordially abetted by Conrad of Montferrat, who withdrew to Tyre on the 1st of August, when he found that his schemes for the crown of Jerusalem received no countenance from Richard.

“While the king of France was hastening home, king Richard was paying heed to the repair of the city walls, building them higher and stronger than before. He himself was always making the round of them, encouraging the workmen and masons, just as if his sole business were to regain God’s heritage. He was still awaiting the end of the time fixed upon between himself and the Turks, occupying himself in the meanwhile with collecting his mangonels and baggage ready for carrying them away. After the period agreed upon for the return of the Holy Cross and the captives had been over passed by three weeks to see if Saladin would keep his word; when the Saracens kept demanding a further delay, the Christians began to enquire when the Holy Cross was coming. One said: “Already has the Cross come!”  Another said: “It has been seen in the Saracens' army”.

(The fate of the “True Cross” is obscure. When it was taken at the battle of Hittin the sacred wood is described as mounted in red gold and adorned with pearls and precious stones. It was sent first to Damascus and then to Baghdad, where the Caliph buried it (4th of June, 1 189) under the threshold of the Bab en-Nuby to be trodden under Moslem feet: a bit of the gold could be seen. Yet Baha-ed-din says the “ True Cross” was exhibited in Saladin’s camp at Acre and included in the first installment of the proffered indemnity. When the negotiations were broken off, this Cross was sent to Damascus and exposed to contempt in the Omayyad Mosque. It should be noted that as the Moslems hold the story of the Crucifixion to be an unworthy fable, contempt for what they regard as a superstitious forgery involves no disrespect towards the honored name of Jesus, whom they reverence. From Damascus the Cross is said to have been sent as a gift to Isaac the Emperor of Constantinople. Yet the Bishop of Salisbury is reported to have seen it at Jerusalem by permission of Saladin in September, 1192. Emoul, moreover, has a curious story of a Frank soldier who undertook to find it on the field of Hittin at the spot where he had buried it with his own hands during the battle; but after three nights’ digging he gave up the search. Another presumed fragment was shown to Richard by the Abbot of St. Elias at Beyt Nuba. There were doubtless several “True Crosses”  — and imitations.

1191] Negotiations for Peace.

But each was deceived, for Saladin was not even setting about its restoration; nay, he neglected the hostages, in the hope that he would get better terms if he kept it in his possession. And all the while he kept sending frequent presents and envoys, while he made it his aim to waste time in long talks and ambiguous words.

The Holy Cross (or a convincing imitation) was actually in Saladin’s camp, for Baha-ed-din says it was shown to some English officers, who devoutly prostrated themselves in the dust. Whether Saladin was prolonging the negotiations merely to gain time can neither be proved nor disproved; but his secretary’s account seems genuine, and does not confirm the insinuation of bad faith. By this account  these English officers brought, on the 2nd of August, Richard’s acceptance of Saladin’s proposal to deliver up the prisoners and money specified in the treaty, in three separate installments, at intervals of a month each. The first of these installments was ready at the end of the first month. The officers sent by the Franks certified that the numbers were correct, except that certain prisoners specified by name were not yet included. On the 11th of August they came to exact their full due, and Saladin, to meet the difficulty, said “Either give us up our comrades (the captives at Acre) and take what has been agreed upon for this installment, and we will give you hostages for the fulfillment of the remaining terms; or take what we offer you now, and give us hostages to hold until our comrades in your hands shall rejoin us”. The commissioners replied: “We will not do that: but do you give us what is due for this term, and take our pledge that your people shall be given up to you”. To this Saladin would not consent; he had already had too much experience of what a Christian oath was worth. Obviously neither side trusted the other, and Saladin’s natural demand for some guarantee that his fulfillment of the treaty would be followed by a corresponding release of the captives at Acre was regarded by the Christians as an evasion. If we believe Baha-ed-din’s statement, there was no reason for this suspicion; but, believe it or not as we may, there is no imaginable excuse or palliation for the cruel and cowardly massacre that followed. The horrible scene is described by the admiring chronicler:

“Orders were then given to cut off the heads of the hostages with the exception of a few of the nobler prisoners, who perhaps might yet be relieved or exchanged for captive Christians. King Richard, always eager to destroy the Turks, to confound the law of Mahomet utterly, and vindicate that of Christ, on the Friday after the Assumption bade 2700 Turkish hostages to be led out of the city and beheaded. Nor was there any delay. The king’s followers leapt forward eager to fulfill the commands, and thankful to the Divine Grace that permitted them to take such a vengeance for those Christians whom these very [captives] had slain with bolts and arrows”.

1191] Massacre of Hostages by Richard.

When the Saracen outpost over against Acre saw their countrymen being butchered in cold blood beneath their very eyes, they rushed madly forward to prevent the slaughter; but though they fought till night they could not save them. “Only those had been spared who were of note or were strong to work”; and the aged and weak, apparently even women and children, had been ruthlessly put to the sword. After Saladin’s almost quixotic acts of clemency and generosity, the King of England’s cruelty will appear amazing. But the students of the Crusades do not need to be told that in this struggle the virtues of civilization, magnanimity, toleration, real chivalry, and gentle culture, were all on the side of the Saracens.

Immediately after the massacre, Richard prepared to march down the coast to Ascalon, on his way to the Holy City where Saladin had so conspicuously taught the lesson of mercy. There was great difficulty in getting the Crusaders to move. No less than 300,000 men were under the King's command, but they left the city “slowly and surlily”. “The people, given up to sloth and luxury, were loth to leave a city so rich in comforts, to wit, in the choicest of wines and the fairest of damsels. Many, by a too intimate acquaintance with these pleasures, became dissolute, till the city was polluted by their luxury, whose gluttony and wantonness put wiser men to the blush”. Richard’s order that no women, save washerwomen, “who could not be an occasion of sin”, were to follow the army, hardly encouraged the zeal of these worthy warriors. He managed to collect 100,000 however, and these he marshaled on the eve of St. Bartholomew.

On the surrender of Acre, Saladin had at once fallen back upon his line of retreat, and massed his main army on the hills which commanded the two great roads, the one leading east to Tiberias and Damascus, the other south-east through Nazareth to Jerusalem. The hill of Shafraamm overlooked both routes. Richard, however, did not gratify his adversary by attempting to force the passes; daring as he was, he would not risk an advance through hills completely held by the Saracens. He chose the longer but safer route by the old Roman road which skirts the coast, where if he had the enemy on the hills on his left, he had also the protection of the sea and the support of his fleet on his right. His plan was to descend the coast as far as Jaffa and Ascalon, and after making a fortified base, to strike across to Jerusalem. The distance to Jaffa, in a straight line, was a little over sixty miles; but there were eight rivers to be forded, the road was often difficult through brushwood and long grass, the season was the hottest in the year; and the whole route was commanded by a range of low wooded hills, which offered vantage ground for the Saracens, and, if Saladin had possessed field artillery, would have made the march utterly impossible. As it was, only the firm resolution of Richard in keeping his men in close order and pushing doggedly on, without attempting to follow the Moslems into the hills, saved him from disaster.

1191] Saladin Crosses Carmel

On Friday, the 22nd of August, the Franks crossed the Belus and encamped on the southern side. At daybreak on Sunday Saladin saw the fires of the enemy, which announced that they were breaking camp. He instantly loaded up his baggage and set out for the hill of Keymun, a spur of the Carmel range, which commanded the main southern road from Acre and Haifa into the interior of Palestine. The detachments he had sent out to harass the Franks brought word that the enemy had crossed the Kishon and camped at Haifa. Apparently they were not going to march inland. A line of troops was posted for the night to watch their movements, and next morning, leaving a strong detachment close to the enemy, under Jurdik, a trusty emir of Shirkuh’s old Egyptian staff, Saladin himself rode across the hills towards Caesarea, where the shore land woods began, and where the Franks, if they kept the coast, must make their next camp. Here he examined the lie of the land to find a good position for a pitched battle. “He came back to the camp very tired after the time of evening prayer”, and announced that the Franks were still at Haifa, and that nothing could be done till their movements were decided. The next day he reviewed his troops, and put them in heart by presents and compensations to those who had lost their goods and horses. On the 27th he rode out thrice towards  the coast, searching for a suitable place to engage the enemy, who were slowly rounding the shoulder of land formed by the jutting spurs of Mount Carmel; and on the following day he moved the army on, so as to cover Caesarea. Prisoners were brought in, who told him that the Franks were waiting for the fleet which carried their supplies. All prisoners, except women, were sternly executed: the King of England's cruelty was not to pass unavenged, even by Saladin. Eighteen Franks were thus put to death in one day.

At last, on the 30th, the news came that the enemy were at hand. The Saracens were still near Caesarea, and Saladin at once formed them up along the line of advance. Baha-ed-din was with his master close to the enemy, and describes the first engagement. He says that the Moslem archers could do little against the armour of the Franks:

“their infantry drawn up in front of the horsemen stood firm as a wall, and every foot-soldier wore a thick gambeson and a hawberk, so dense and strong, that our arrows took no effect, whilst their cross-bows wounded both our horses and their riders. I saw soldiers with from one to ten arrows sticking in them, still marching on”.

1191] The Coast March.

The divisions nearest the shore, being unexposed to the Saracen attack, relieved in turn the fighting battalions on the left, and the knights were kept in the centre protected by the infantry, and were not permitted to charge. In this formation the Christians marched steadily on, fighting on the left all the way. “The Moslem archers harassed them and tried to induce them to break the ranks, but the men controlled themselves admirably, and went on, without hurry, their ships following along the coast”.  

This engagement is typical of the whole march. The Franks pressed doggedly on, whilst the Moslems, “like mountain torrents, raining down from the heights”, worried them at every step. They came on in small parties, trying to tempt the Crusaders to break their impenetrable formation, but Richard’s orders were strict. Yet we read in the “Itinerary”  how “the Duke of Burgundy and his French who were in the rear followed at less speed, and thanks to their delay, came near to suffering a most terrible loss. The army was marching having the sea on its right, whilst from the mountain heights on the left the Turks kept a watch on all our movements ... The army had now reached a narrow passage along which the provision wagons had to go. Here on account of the narrowness of the way there was some confusion and disorder, which the Saracens noting swept down upon the packhorses and wagons, cutting off unwary men and steeds, plundering much of the baggage, breaking through and dispersing those who offered any resistance, and driving them in flight and slaughter to the brink of the sea. There both sides fought with manful courage for dear life. On this occasion when a Turk had cut off the right hand of a certain Everard, one of the Bishop of Salisbury’s men, he without changing countenance seized his sword with the left hand and closing with the Turks stoutly defended himself against them all, brandishing his weapon”.

Then King Richard came to the rescue, and “thundered on against the Turks, slaying them right and left with his sword. Nor was there any loitering, but right and left as of old the Philistines fled from the face of the Machabee, so now did the Turks scatter and flee from the face of king Richard till they gained the mountain heights, leaving, however, some of their number headless in our hands”.

Richard, of course, was always to the fore in these emergencies, “thundering on like a wild boar”, and taking heads as a Red Indian took scalps. Nor was Saladin behind-hand: he was often seen riding between the front ranks, with the arrows flying about his head and only a couple of grooms with spare horses as his escort. But it was not his habit to fight in person, and he certainly never encountered Richard on the field of battle.

The days were now intolerably hot, and both sides suffered severely; the unseasoned Franks fell fainting by the way, and many died of sunstroke. But they kept up their courage, and every night as they were turning in to sleep, a herald went through the camp crying in the midst “Help us. Holy Sepulchre!”

“On hearing these words the whole multitude would take up the cry, stretching out their hands to heaven and, with copious tears, praying God for aid and mercy. Then a second time would the herald repeat the same words, calling out as before, sanctum sepulchrum adjuva, after which the words were repeated by the whole host; likewise, when he cried aloud for the third time, all imitated him with the utmost sorrow of heart and bursts of tears”.

1191] Battle of Arsuf.

Meanwhile Saladin had at last chosen a site for a set battle. It was near Arsuf, where the downs shelve gently to the seashore; the dense woods of oaks offered shelter to within a couple of miles of the beach, yet there was space for the exercise of cavalry. Here, if anywhere, the Christian array might be broken and their advance stayed. The news that a Saracen army, magnified by rumor to the size of 300,000 men, was waiting for battle seems to have shaken the fortitude of the invaders, who reckoned their own numbers more modestly at 100,000. For on the 5th of September, Richard asked for a parley. He was weary of the daily fighting and grieved at the sufferings and losses of his troops.

El-Adil went to meet him; but when the King proposed that peace should be made on the basis of the Saracens’ restoring all Palestine and retiring into “their own country”, Saladin’s brother scornfully broke off the conference. Nothing remained but to leave the issue to the battle. The Franks were now at Rochetaillie, the “Stream of the Cleft” (Nahr el-Falik), halfway between Caesarea and Jaffa. There they rested a day, protected by the great bog of Ramadan, and on the 7th they began the six miles’ march along the road to Arsuf. The Saracens were posted on the downs on the left, between Rochetaillie and Arsuf. The battle is finely narrated in the “Itinerary”:

“On Saturday [Sept. 7] the eve of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary, at earliest dawn all prepared themselves most carefully as though the Turks were going to attack immediately; for they knew the enemy to have forestalled our path, and that the insolence of the Turks would not abate before a very severe contest had taken place. Indeed the Turks were already setting their men in order, and always drawing a little nearer. For this reason all our men looked to their own affairs very carefully, and the ranks were ranged with the utmost precaution. King Richard, who was very skilful in military matters, drew up the squadrons according to a special scheme, arranging who had better lead the vanguard, and who bring up the rear. With this intent he appointed twelve squadrons; and arranged [his whole army] into five battalions, assigning to each men of great skill in warfare — warriors whose betters were not to be found on earth had their hearts only been firmly staid in God. On this day the Templars led the first rank; after them went the Bretons and the men of Anjou in due order; next went king Guy with the men of Poitou; in the fourth rank were the Normans and the English, with the royal banner under their charge. Last of all went the Hospitallers in due rank. This last array of all was made up of choice knights divided into squadrons, and its members marched so close together that an apple could not be thrown to the ground without touching the men or their horses. Our army occupied the whole space between Saladin's and the sea-shore ...  Count Henry of Champagne kept guard on the side of the mountains: as did also the followers on foot. Last of all were drawn up the bowmen and the cross-bowmen closing the rear. The packhorses and wagons carrying provisions, baggage, &c., journeyed between the army and the sea so as to be safe from attack. Thus did the army advance at a gentle pace so as to guard against separation ...

1191] Arsuf : The Saracens Attack.

“The third hour was now drawing on, when lo! a host of Turks, 10,000 in numbers, swept rapidly down upon our men, hurling darts and arrows, and making a terrible din with their confused cries. After these came running up a race of daemons very black in color; for which cause, because they are black, they are not unfittingly called the negro pack. [Then too came on] those Saracens who live in the desert and are commonly called Bedawis, rough, darker than smoke, most pestilent foot-men with their bows and round targets — a people light of foot and most eager for battle. These were ever threatening our army. And beyond those we have mentioned, you might see along the smoother ground well-equipt phalanxes of Turks advancing with their several ensigns, banners, and emblems. They seemed to number more than 20,000 men. On steeds swifter than eagles they thundered down upon us, till the whirling dust raised by their rapid flight blackened the very air. Before the emirs there went men clanging away with trumpets and clarions; others had drums, others pipes and timbrels, rattles, gongs, cymbals, and other instruments fitted to make a din. . . .

“That day our own losses and the sufferings of our horses, who were pierced through and through with arrows and darts, showed how persistently the enemy kept up the attack: and then indeed we found out the use of our stalwart cross-bowmen, our bowmen, and those closely-wedged followers who at the very rear beat back the Turkish onset by constant hurling of their weapons so far as they could. Yet for all this, the enemy in a little while rushed on them again like a torrent of waters, redoubling their blows and so drunk with fury that at last many of our cross-bowmen could hold out no longer, but, throwing away their bows and cross-bow, in sheer dread of death, gave way before the intolerable onset of the Turks and forced a path within the close ranks of our main army, lest they should be cut off from their comrades. But the better men and bolder, whom shame forbade to yield, faced about and strove against the Turks with unflagging valor. So they marched backwards in their anxiety to keep themselves from the danger they would run by advancing too confidently in the ordinary method; and all that day they went on, picking their way rather than marching, with their faces turned toward the Turks, who threatened at their rear. Ay! in the stress and bitter peril of that day there was no one who did not wish himself safe at home, with his pilgrimage finished ...

“The Turks pressed on so stoutly that they nearly crushed the lines of the Hospitallers, who sent word to king Richard that they could bear up no longer unless their knights were allowed to charge the enemy:

But he, forbidding, bids them wait

In closer line and patient state.

Wherefore, for all the peril they were in, they endured on; though with many a heavy gasp, since they were not suffered to breathe freely. So they pursued their way, the excessive heat adding to their toil. Men might well augur that ill things were in store for so small an army hemmed in with so great a host. And now our assailants smote on the backs of our men as they advanced, as if with mallets; so that it was no longer a case for using arrows and darts from a distance, but for piercing with lances or crushing with heavy maces at close quarters: for hand to hand attacks with drawn swords, whilst the blows of the Turks resounded as if from an anvil. The battle raged most severely in the rear rank of the Hospitallers because they might not repay the enemy, but had to go along patient under their sufferings, silent though battered by clubs, and, though struck, not striking in return. At last, unable to bear up against so vast a host, they began to give way and press upon the squadron ahead of them. They fled before the Turks, who were madly raging in their rear ...

1191] Arsuf: Distress of the Hospitallers,

“At last more than 20,000 Turks made a sudden confused rush, battering at close quarters with clubs and swords, redoubling their blows against the Hospitallers and pressing on in every way, when lo! one of this brotherhood, Garnier de Napes, cried out with a loud voice, “O illustrious knight St. George, why dost thou suffer us to be thus confounded? Christendom itself is now perishing if it does not beat back this hateful foe! Thereupon, the Master of the Hospital going off to the king said:

-Lord king, we are grievously beset and are likely to be branded with eternal shame as men who dare not strike in their own defence. Each one of us is losing his own horse for nothing, and why should we put up with it any longer?  

To whom the king made reply:  

-My good master, it must needs be endured, [seeing that] none can be everywhere.

So the Master returned to find the Turks pressing on and dealing death in the rear, while there was no chief or count who did not blush for very shame”.

At last two of the Knights of the Hospital could bear it no longer; calling on St. George, they spurred out against the Saracens; the rest would not be denied, and squadron after squadron wheeled round, until there was a general cavalry charge from end to end. Baha-ed-din witnessed this wonderful charge, which burst out when the Franks reached the woods and gardens of Arsuf.

“I myself saw their knights gather together in the middle of the infantry; they grasped their lances, shouted their shout of battle like one man, the infantry opened out, and through they rushed in one great charge in all directions — some on our right wing, some on our left, and some on our centre, till all was broken”.

The charge had anticipated Richard’s signal, but the movement was not ill-timed, and he hastened to direct it.

“King Richard, seeing the army in confusion, put spurs to his horse and flew up to the spot, not slacking his course till he had made his way through the Hospitallers, to whose aid he brought his followers. Then he bore on the Turks, thundering against them and mightily astonishing them by the deadly blows he dealt. To right and left they fell away before him ... Fierce and alone, he pressed on the Turks, laying them low; none whom his sword touched might escape; for wherever he went he made a wide path for himself, brandishing his sword on every side. When he had crushed this hateful race by the constant blows of his sword, which mowed them down as if they were a harvest for the sickle, the remainder, freighted at the sight of their dying friends, began to give him a wider berth; for by now the corpses of the Turks covered the face of the ground for half a mile ...

1191] Arsuf : Charge of the Knights.

“But still the Christians pounded away with their swords till the Turks grew faint with terror, though the issue is doubtful yet. Oh! how many banners and standards of many shapes, what countless pennons and flags might you see falling to earth; aye, and just as many good swords lying everywhere, lances of reed tipt with iron heads, Turkish bows and clubs bristling with sharpened teeth. Twenty or more wagon loads of quarrels, darts, and other arrows and missiles might have been collected on the field. There you might see many a bearded Turk lie maimed and mutilated, but still striving to resist with the courage of despair until, as our men began to prevail, some of the enemy, shaking themselves free from their steeds, hid among the bushes or climbed up the trees, from which they fell dying with horrid yells before the arrows of our men. Others leaving their horses strove to slip off by circuitous ways toward the sea, into which they plunged headlong from the promontories, some five perches high”.  

The rout of the Saracens is confirmed by their  own historian. Baha-ed-din saw centre, left, and right wing all flying pell-mell, till only seventeen men stood by the standard, where the Sultan’s drum still beat to action. Three separate charges he records, and each drove the Moslems further up the hillocks: but as each retired the Moslems rallied. Saladin remained immovable by his standard, trying to check the panic and bring the men back to the battle. At last he managed to collect a large number round the flag, and it is clear from the following passages from the “Itinerary” that the Saracens returned more than once to the attack.

“The Normans and English chosen to guard the Standard drew up gradually and with cautious steps towards that part of our army that was fighting, keeping no great distance from the battle, so that all might have a sure place of refuge. At last, having finished their slaughter our men paused, but the Turks continued their flight till, seeing our slackness, they regained their courage, and immediately more than 20,000 strong fell upon our men in the rear, threatening them with clubs in the hope of releasing our captives. With deadliest effect they kept launching forth their darts and arrows; smashing, lopping, bruising the heads, arms, and other limbs of our knights, till these bent stupidly over their saddle bows. At last our men recovering their courage, fierce as a lioness robbed of her whelps, rushed upon them again, forcing a way through them as if they were merely tearing through meshes ...

“Over this host of Turks there was a certain Emir, a kinsman of Saladin. This warrior had a banner marked with a wonderful device, to wit, a pair of breeches. These he bore — a device well known to his men. This Tekedin pursued the Christians with a peculiarly fierce hatred ; and he had with him on this occasion more than 700 choice and sturdy Turks attached to his person. They were selected from Saladin’s special followers. Each squadron of this body carried a yellow banner in front with a pennon of a different color. And now, coming on at full speed, with noise and pride they fell upon our men who began to turn off from them towards the Standard ... Then the king, sitting on his peerless Cyprian steed, with his chosen band made towards the hills, routing all the Turks he met; helmets clinked as the enemy fell before him, and sparks leapt out from the battery of his sword. So fierce was his onset this day that the Turks very soon all turned off from his irresistible attack, and left a free passage to our army. Thus at last, despite their wounds, our men reached the Standard, the ranks were formed again, and the host proceeded to Arsuf, outside which town it pitched its tents.

1191] Arsuf: Rout of the Saracens.

“Whilst busied in this work a huge mass of Turks fell upon our rear. Hearing the din of conflict king Richard, calling his own folk to battle, gave reins to his horse, and with only fifteen comrades rushed against the Turks, crying out with a loud voice “God and the Holy Sepulchre aid us”. This cry he uttered a second and a third time and, when the rest of his men heard his voice, they hurriedly followed him, fell upon the foe, and drove them in headlong rout right up to the wood of Arsuf, whence they had formerly come ...

“Then the king returned to his camp, and our men, wearied with so fierce a combat, rested for the night. Those who were eager for spoil went back to the battle-field and got as much plunder as they desired. Men who in this way returned used to say that they counted thirty-two emirs whom they found lying dead-all cut off on this day. These they reckoned to be men of the greatest authority and power, from their splendid arms and costly gear; and the Turks afterwards begged leave to carry them off because of their rank. In addition they brought back news of 7,000 Turkish corpses, to say nothing of the wounded, who, straggling here and there out of the fight, died later on, and lay scattered over the fields. But thanks to God's protection, hardly a tenth or even a hundredth of this number fell on our side”.

No emir of the first rank fell, except Musik the Kurd; but the Christians lost that peerless knight James of Avesnes, whose body was found in a circle of fifteen dead Saracens. One Christian was taken prisoner, and beheaded. Saladin was so overwhelmed at the reverse that he would not listen to the well-meant consolations of his secretary. He sat under the shade of a cloth — for his tent had gone on — attending to the wounded, and giving his own horses to the men who had lost their mounts. Then the army passed on, and encamped on the green fields beside the river of Jaffa, some few miles from the enemy's camp under the walls of Arsuf.

The victory of the 7th of September was Richard’s greatest achievement in Palestine, though it was brought on against his orders by a breach of discipline. But the Crusaders did not follow it up. Far from being crushed by the disaster, Saladin, recovering from his momentary depression, marched his whole force the very next day back to Arsuf, drew them up in order of battle before the enemy, and challenged a renewal of the fight. He waited all day, but the Franks would not stir. On Monday he repeated his challenge, and harassed the enemy with his archers, but they preserved their former stubborn reserve, and succeeded in getting in to Jaffa without a general engagement. Once there, they had walls to their back, and Saladin drew his army off to Ramla, a dozen miles to the south-east, to hold the road to Jerusalem, and await events. The coast-march had been accomplished, slowly and pain- fully, but with consummate generalship and final success.