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2-
The history of Palestine pre-Islam
1-
Palestine
in the Islamic history
History of the conflict between truth and
falsehood in the land of Palestine
Introduction
Since the second Abbasid period, which commenced after
the mid of the third Hijri century, the Islamic Caliphate State was
progressively in weakening till it was broken down into three Caliphates
instead of one. The Abbasid Caliphate was established in the East; the
Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt, parts of North Africa and Syria, and the
Umayyad Caliphate in Andalus. The Crusades took place under these
circumstances.
The political map of the region
before the Crusades
Forty years before the Crusades, the Turkish Saljuks had
succeeded in dominating Baghdad and took over the rule under the nominal
Abbasid Caliphate. The Saljuks had managed to dominate over larger parts
of Persia, northern Iraq, Armenia and Asia Minor around 1040 CE. The
Saljuk ruler, Toghrol Bic, dominated over Bain 1055 CE.
The Saljuks spread their rule over the Byzantines in Asia
Minor. On 19 August 1071 CE, the Malathkard battle, under the command of
the Saljuk ruler Alb Arsalan, took place, and a catastrophe befell the
Byzantines till the end of the eleventh century CE.
In 1071 CE, the Saljuks seized most of Palestine except
for Arsout, and dismissed the Fatimid dominion from it. The Saljuks
expanded their dominion to include most of Syria.
In 1092 CE (485 H [Hijra]), the Saljuk Sultan Malikshah
passed away, thereby breaking down the Saljuks' dominion and launching
many long and severe battles among them over the dominion and power. In
1096 CE, their rule was divided into five kingdoms: Sultanate of Persia
(under the ruler Birkiyarouq), Kingdom of Khurasan and beyond the River
(under the ruler Singer), Kingdom of Aleppo (under the ruler Radwan),
Kingdom of Damascus (under the ruler Daqaq) and the Roman Saljuks
Sultanate (under the ruler Qalj Arsalan). Most of the regions in
Palestine were subjected to the Damascus regime, and during the weakness
of the two rulers of Syria (Radwan and Daqaq), a lot of private rulers
emerged, none of which dominated more than one city.
The Crusaders commenced their military campaign of 1098
CE (491 H) while Muslim regions in Syria, Iraq and others were torn
apart because of their differences and bloody conflicts. The two
brothers, Radwan and Daqaq, sons of Titish, launched a war against each
other in 490 H. Many battles broke out between Mohammed Ibn Malikshah
Birkiyarouq because of their conflict over the power in which they
exchanged victories and sermons in the Caliphate court during the period
492-497 H.
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First Crusader military
campaign and its results
During Pope Urban the Second's time (1088-1988 CE), the
Europeans focused on the Holy Land. The Pope called on the Claremont
Council on 26 November 1095 CE to restore the Holy Land by taking it
back from the Muslims.
Many councils were held in Limoux, Angariz, Man, Tours,
Bouwatieeh, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Neim, in which he called for
launching the Crusades during the period 1095-1096 CE. He promised that
any volunteer who would participate in the Crusades would be forgiven
his sins. He also promised that any crusader's property would be kept
under the auspices of the Church during their absence. He required that
each warrior should wear a cloth cross on his tunic.
The Crusades were launched as public campaigns or
callers' campaigns. They were poor in arms and in order. One of these
campaigns was the campaign of Peter the Hermit, who was an eloquent
person known for riding on a lame donkey barefoot and with tattered
clothes. He gathered about 15,000 volunteers in France. En route to
their destination, they committed the massacre of 4,000 individuals
because of a dispute over rations. The bands of Walter the Penniless
assembled with them in Constantinople, and they all entered the Asian
seashore. A battle with the Saljuks took place and the Saljuks defeated
them and killed 22,000 Crusaders. Only 3,000 Crusaders survived. As to
the Volkmar and Ameikh campaigns, they began by massacring the Jews
along their route. Thereafter, the two campaigns perished in Hungary!
The first Crusade campaign took place in which
professional European barons and knights participated. The campaign
started to overcome the Muslim regions beginning in the summer of the
year 1097 CE. In March 1098 CE, the Crusades formed Al-Raha State under
the leadership of the Pole Baldwin. The Crusaders besieged Antioch for
nine months. The ruler of Antioch, Baggissian, had shown courage, good
opinion and took precautions more than anyone else. Thus, the Crusades
perished. However, if their crowds had survived, they would have
dominated over the Muslim countries. One of the Armenians who was
guarding the walls of the city contacted the Crusaders. They gave him
money and property for opening the door of the tower he was guarding.
Because of this, the Crusaders occupied the city and formed their second
State on 3 June 1098 CE (491 H) under Bohemond of Normandy.
While the Saljuks were defending themselves against the
Crusaders along the north of Syria, the Fatimids took the opportunity to
invade and occupy Tyre in 1097 CE. They dominated over Jerusalem in
February 1098 CE, while the Crusaders were besieging Antioch. In
Tripoli, the Judge Ibn Ammar, one of the followers of the Fatimids,
declared his independence. The Fatimids sent to the Crusaders, during
their besieging of Antioch, a mission so as to join in alliance. They
proposed to fight against the Saljuks provided that they should capture
Palestine while the northern region (Syria) would be under the dominion
of the Crusaders. The Crusaders sent a delegation to Egypt to manifest
their "good intention".
While the Saljuks were engaged with the Crusades, the
Fatimids were engaged in expanding their dominion in Palestine over the
Saljuk's State till their borders reached Al-Kalb River north of the
Jordan River in the east!
Treacheries and betrayals of the States of the cities,
which were so eager to gain the Crusaders' friendship during their
expansion, were manifested. This happened when the ruler of the Sheezar
region contacted the Crusaders and agreed not to encounter them and to
provide them with what they needed, such as food and rations. He even
sent two guides with them to help them find the right routes. The city
of Homos also gave them gifts. The city of Mosyaf concluded a treaty
with them. Tripoli paid to them taxes and provided them with guides.
Beirut paid them money and proposed to be subjugated to them in case
they managed to seize Jerusalem.
Raymond of Toulouse (Prince of Province and Toulouse in
France) continued to lead the rest of the Crusaders' march to Jerusalem.
Their number was only 1,000 knights and 5,000 infantry. In the
springtime of the year 1099 CE, they entered Palestine. They passed by
Acre, whose ruler provided the Crusaders with supplies, then by Qeisarya
and Arsouf. After that, they captured Al-Ramleh, Lod and Bethlehem. On 7
June 1099 CE, the besiege of Jerusalem started. Iftikhar Al-Dawalah, who
was appointed by the Fatimids, ruled it. The city was captured on 15
July 1099 (23 Sha'aban 492 H). The Crusaders continued killing the
Muslims for one week. They killed more than 70,000 inside Al-Aqsa
Mosque, including many groups of Muslim chiefs, scholars and
worshippers. Both the Fatimid and the Abbasid States did not do anything
to help but rather kept silent regarding these events. Jerusalem was
ruled by the leader of the Crusades, Godfry of Bouillon, who was called
humbly the "Jerusalem defender". Nablus and Hebron surrendered to the
Crusaders.
It is narrated that only 300 knights and 2,000 infantry
of the Crusaders remained for this reason--they could not expand their
dominion over more territories because most of them returned home after
Jerusalem was conquered. Therefore, the kingdoms of the Crusaders became
like islands surrounded by enemies. Nevertheless, these kingdoms
continued to survive for 200 years whereafter the last one perished
because of lack of supplies and expeditions. The Muslims were weak
because they split into groups, making their numbers very small. They
did not take advantage of the opportunity to overcome the Crusaders
during their periods of spreading out over large areas in limited
numbers. The Muslims lagged till ot was too late. The Crusaders became
strong during the Muslim period of weakness and it was no longer an easy
task to drive the Crusaders out.
The Crusaders continued to capture more cities in
Palestine. Jaffa was captured during the besieging of Jerusalem by
Genoan ships (in the Mediterranean Sea) on 15 June 1099 CE. They also
captured the eastern area of Lake Tiberias (Al-Sawad area) in May of
1100 CE. The Crusaders also captured Haifa by force during the month of
Shawwal 94 H (August 1100 CE) with the help of a great fleet from
Venice. They dominated over Arsouq peacefully and drove its inhabitants
out. They captured Qeisarya by force on 17 May 1109 CE. They killed its
inhabitants and robbed their property on 17 May 1101 CE. Thus, the
Crusaderimposed their dominion over Palestine except Ashkelon owing to
the Egyptians (the Fatimid) supplying it with ammunition, men and funds
every year. Although the Crusaders used to besiege Ashkelon every year,
they failed to capture it until the year 1153 CE (548 H). In that year,
Ashkelon's inhabitants managed to drive the Crusaders back. But, when
they got desperate and were about to retreat, they received tidings that
Ashkelon's people were in dispute. So, the Crusaders waited with
patience. The reason for the dispute between the parties of Ashkelon was
because of a power struggle; each party alleged that they alone achieved
the victory. However, the dispute increased in size till one person from
one of the two parties was killed. This led to a much worse situation
and, consequently, war broke out between them and many of them were
killed. The Crusaders were hoping for this window of opportunity and
shortly thereafter, they advanced to Ashkelon and easily occupied it.
Although the Crusaders were small in number, they managed
to maintain great control by building fortified castles that were built
like islands in many areas in Sham. And as the struggle continued
between the Muslims themselves, some of them resorted to getting help
from the Crusaders to overpower their foes. The Muslims at large were
weaker, and the Crusaders became more powerful and dominant, to such a
degree that they played the role of a guardian policing the region.
The struggle between Baktash and Tagatken over Damascus
continued, and Baktash sought help from the king of the Crusaders in 498
H and from all those "who wanted corruption." However, the king's only
help was to push Baktash for further corruption, which ultimately led to
his downfall and the triumph of Tagatken. At the battle between the
Fatimids and the Crusaders in 498 H, in an area between Ashkelon and
Jaffa, the Fatimids were supported by a force of more than 300 knights
from Damascus, and the Crusaders were helped by a group of Muslims led
by Baktash Bin Tatash. When the Sultan's army, under the leadership of
Barsaq Bin Barsaq, came from Iraq in 509 H to Damascus for the sake of
fighting the Crusaders, the rulers of Halab and Damascus feared for
their own interests and power. They collaborated, under the leadership
of Tagatken, with the Antakya Crusader troops to oppose the Sultan's
army. Tagatken fought the Crusaders of Bayt Al-Maqdis and won back the
city of Rafnya after the Crusaders captured it.
Generally, however, the Muslim struggle (Jihad) against
the Crusaders continued, though it actually lacked a strategic plan or
organization. Some of the other reasons for the continuation of the
struggle include the fact that there were many Muslim leaders, who
appeared and disappeared frequently, which led to a lack of stable
leadership. Also, the conflict with the Crusaders was distributed on
many fronts simultaneously in Belad El-Sham. Furthermore, Muslims did
not have a powerful centre that could be used as a launching base for
their assaults on the Crusaders. More often than not, the battles were
mainly in the form of a single Muslim city or castle trying to defend
itself, or expand, against the Crusaders.
The wars continued between the Muslims and the Crusaders.
Sometimes the Muslims triumphed, and in other times the Crusaders
achieved the victory. It was not difficult for Muslims to get into the
middle of Palestine and fight the Crusaders at Ramleh or Jaffa, for
instance, but the Crusaders continued to have great control over the
areas they occupied.
As a result, many new Muslim leaders appeared, but they
were not strong enough to unite the Muslim forces for the fight against
the Crusaders. Nonetheless, these leaders kept the spirit of resisting
the Crusaders alive, and they inflicted them with many casualties and
damages. They deprived the Crusaders from the security they were after,
and managed to kill and capture many of their prominent leaders. For
example, when Mu'een Al-Dawlah Saqman was fighting a war with Shams Al-Dawlah
Jakramesh, and Harran was surrounded by the Crusader forces in 497 H,
they started to contact each other and pledged a solemn oath for
sacrificing themselves for the sake of God and His retribution. They
gathered near Al-Khabour area in an army composed of more than 10,000
men from various nationalities, among who were Turks, Arabs and Kurds.
They met with the Crusaders at Al-Bleekh River and defeated them. The
Muslims captured the Crusader leader Burdawel and traded him for 35
dinars. They were also able to reclaim 160 Muslim prisoners of war that
had previously been captured by the Crusaders. In this battle, however,
more than 12,000 Crusader soldiers were killed.
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Imad El-Deen Zanki carries
Al-Jihad banner
The long era of Al-Jihad against the Crusaders entered a
new phase with the appearance of Imad El-Deen Zanki Bin Aqsnaqr, who
founded the Zanki State at Mousel and Halab. Zanki was appointed as a
ruler of Mousel in 521 H after he had shown great skill and efficiency
in ruling the States of Basra and Waset in Iraq. During the holy month
of Muharram in the year 522 H, he managed to gain control over Halab.
Zanki started to fight the Crusaders, and he defeated them in many
battles.
Zanki's efforts for uniting the Moslems against the
Crusaders were relentless. He recaptured the cities of Hama, Hams,
Ba'albek, Sarji, Dara, Ma'rra, Kafr Taleb, Al-Akrad, Shahrazour, Al-Hadeetha
and many other cities, as well as Al-Soor castle in the Abu Bakr area,
Al-Hameediya castle, Ba'reen's castle and Al-Ashhab's castle from the
Hakarian Kurds.
In the year 534 H, Zanki tried to capture Damascus twice,
but his effort was in vain. Damascus was really the key to getting
Palestine back. Unfortunately, Mu'een El-Deen Anz, the ruler at the
time, contacted the Crusaders and made an alliance with them against
Zanki and promised them the city of Banias and they agreed. But Zanki
went after them before they came to Damascus and they decided to back
off. Nonetheless, Mu'een El-Deen kept his promise of giving up Banias,
not to the Crusaders, but to the Muslims!
The most famous triumph ever made by Zanki, however, is
his conquering the city of Al-Raha, and his destroying the kingdom of
the Crusaders that was established there. He besieged the city for four
weeks, and opened it perforce on the sixth of Jamadi Al Akhera in the
year 539 H. He also captured all the cities that were under the province
of the previous kingdom in the Peninsula. He also liberated the city of
Surooj, and all the cities that were captured by the Crusaders adjacent
to the east side of the Euphrates, except the city of Beerah.
After a life of Jihad that lasted for 20 years, Imad El-Deen
Zanki was martyred in the middle of September in the year 1146 CE (5
Rabee' El-Awal 541 H). This was accomplished by an act of treason by
some of his followers while he was besieging Ja'beer's castle at the age
of 60 or so. According to Ibn El-Katheer, Zanki was an able politician
and was highly respected and esteemed by his military and civil
subordinates. Before he came to power, the country was a wasteland full
of corruption and alliances with the Crusaders by the previous rulers.
When he came into power, all of that was changed, and he set the country
right and brought its prosperity back to it. "Zanki was the best of
kings in form and manners. He was courageous and powerful and managed to
take control over all the other kings at the time. He was very kind with
women, and very generous with all his subordinates." After his untimely
death, Zanki was later known as the Martyr.
Zanki worked in the most difficult circumstances of
conflict between the rulers and princes of the Salajiqa dynasty on the
one hand, and between them and the Abbasid dynasty on the other. In
addition to that, he suffered from the atmosphere imposed by the
inheritance ruling traditions and the greed of princes and rulers to
obtain any city or a castle that they could reach. Moreover, the
Crusaders were very powerful and strong during his time. Despite that,
he managed to substantiate a firm base of Jihad against the Crusaders to
the north of Irand Syria. He also defeated the Crusaders and humiliated
them more than once. Zanki made it possible to fight for regaining the
lost land, and he was a model leader under the banner of Islam who
brought back the hope of liberating the occupied holy grounds of the
Muslims all over the world.
After he passed away, his State was divided between his
two sons according to the inheritance tradition; Nour El-Deen Mahmoud
took the State of Halab and its subordinates, and Sayf El-Deen Ghazi
took the State of Mousel and its subordinates.
Nour El-Deen Mahmoud was born 20 years after the fall of
Jerusalem at the hands of the Crusaders on 17 Shawwal in 511 H (February
1118 CE). He was tall, good-looking with dark complexion and a light
beard. He married the daughter of Mu'een El-Deen Anz in the year 541 H
and had a girl and two sons.
Under his rule, a new great phase for Jihad started in
Belad El-Sham. During his reign, which lasted for 28 years, Nour El-Deen
Mahmoud had one goal--uniting Muslims and liberating their occupied
lands.
He left no stone unturned for the sake of uniting Muslims
and elevating them in all the aspects of life within an integrated
Islamic pattern to regain the Islamic glory and expel the unjust
occupation of the Crusaders.
To accomplish this purpose, Nour El-Deen Mahmoud
initiated an Islamic renaissance that stressed the need for the Islamic
solution. Ibn El-Katheer describes him, saying, "Of all the kings I read
about in pre-Islamic periods, and in the Islamic period as well, I never
saw a king more just and kind to his subordinates among the Rashideen
caliphs and Umar Bin Abdul Aziz than Nour El-Deen Mahmoud. He was very
clever and witty, and was well aware of his time." He never valued men
for their social status and wealth. He only esteemed those who were
honest and hard working.
He was also known for his piety and love of God. He was
very keen to perform all the prayers and celebrate the ceremonies of
Islam. He performed the Isha' prayer (the evening prayer), and then
after midnight would awake to start praying till it was time for the
dawn prayer. He also fasted a lot.
He was known for his sound erudite knowledge. He was well
versed with the Hanafiah tenet and was given license to relate the
Prophet's talks and speeches. He wrote a book on the concept of Jihad.
He was a sedate person and was bestowed with a great deal of charisma.
"He was fearful though lenient and merciful. And in his court there was
only science and religion and consulting on Jihad. In all his life he
never uttered a bad word in anger or pleasure. He was a grave, silent
man."
He was disinterested and modest "to such a degree that
his expenses were not different from the poorest and neediest of his
subordinates." When his wife complained from the hardships of the
difficult life he put her in, he gave her three shops he owned in Hams
city and told her, "That is all that I have. And do not expect me to lay
a finger on the money of the Muslims I am entrusted with because I fear
the wrath of God."
The grave Sheik Al-Naysabouri told him once: "I beg you,
do not jeopardize yourself and Islam. If you were killed in a battle,
the Muslims will all be killed."
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The continuation of Jihad
against the Crusaders
The Crusaders whose cities and castles were conquered
gathered in the city of Sour. Salah El-Deen Al-Ayoubi was very lenient
with them and allowed them to go to that city freely. So they started to
send calls for help and received back up and support till they were
strong again. Furthermore, Salah El-Deen Al-Ayoubi set free the king Jae
in the year 584 H on the condition that he should go to France. Rather,
Jae headed to Sour and took the leadership of the Crusaders with the
help of the fleet of Biza the Italian. On that occasion, Ibn El-Katheer
says, "It was all done because of the mistake by Salah El-Deen to let
all those he captured go free. Thereafter, he was full of remorse for
what he had done."
The Crusaders attacked the city of Akka from Sour in the
year 585 H (1189 CE), and they waited there till they got the support
they needed from the third campaign of the Crusaders, which was called
upon by Pope Urban the Second to regain Jerusalem. Three European kings
led the campaign--the Emperor of Germany Fredrik Barbarosa, whose most
men died on the trip, Richard "the Lionhearted" king of England, who
came by sea, and Philip Augustas, the king of France. King Richard was a
remarkable man. He "had the evil of the Crusaders and their hatred for
Muslims. He was courageous, smart and patient. He was a great source of
trouble for Muslims." These three forces besieged the city of Akka (on
Rabee' El-Thani-Jamadi El-Aoula 587 H [June 1191 CE]), and it fell into
their hands on 17 Jamadi El-Aoula 587 (12 July 1191 CE). With this
occupation, the Crusaders managed to create a base for themselves in
Palestine again. The Muslims hit back, and there were many battles
between both sides. However, the Crusaders continued their march and
expanded their territories on the south coast by occupying the cities of
Haifa and Jaffa.
It is important to note that the struggle was a bitter
and bloody one between the two sides. Ibn El-Katheer noted that Salah
El-Deen defended Akka very bravely, and he and his forces fought for it
for 37 months and killed more than 50,000 soldiers from the Crusaders.
The third campaign of the Crusaders ended when Salah El-Deen made the
Ramleh treaty with Richard the Lionhearted on 21 Sha'aban 588 H (1
September 1192 CE). The treaty was held for three years and three
months, during which time the Crusaders took control of the coast from
Jaffa to Akka and were allowed to visit Jerusalem and to carry out their
commercial activities with either of the two sides. It is of extreme
importance to elaborate here on some of the clauses of the treaty,
which, unfortunately, some of those defeatists who live among us now
take against Salah El-Deen as a man who wasted the rights of Islam and
Muslims and turned to making up with the Jews:
1. Salah El-Deen was not in favour of the treaty. When he
gathered the consulting princes to discuss the issue, his opinion was to
refuse the treaty. According to Al-Imad Al-Asfahani, Salah El-Deen said,
"Thanks to God we are great in force, and our victory is approaching. We
are used to Jihad, so it is difficult for us to live without it, and we
have nothing to do more than fighting the Crusaders. I see that I should
leave everything regarding the treaty behind. We should opt for Jihad
instead, and God is with us, and upon His Grace and Care we depend."
However, his counselors agreed to the treaty on the pretext that the
country was about to be totally destroyed; the soldiers were very tired
and fatigued, and food supplies were scarce. If there were no treaty,
the Crusaders would insist on fighting, which would be very bad for the
Muslims. If there was a treaty, the country would take a rest and
restore its prosperity, and the soldiers would rest as well and be able
to prepare for retaliation. They all agreed that the Crusaders were not
of the kind that abide by their word of promise, so they advised Salah
El-Deen to make the treaty so that the forces of the Crusaders would
dismantle and divert. They kept pushing and pressuring him till he
finally agreed to the treaty.
2. This treaty was a short, temporary truce. It was not
intended to last as a permanent solution. The Islamic shariah (the
Muslim code of religious law) authorizes the making of temporary truces
with the enemy for the general good of the Muslims. The history of Islam
is full of such treaties. However, the battles continued immediately
after the treaty.
3. This treaty did not contain any admittance on the part
of the Muslims for the Crusaders to have any legal right in Palestine.
The treaty simply stated that there should be no fighting over the lands
they had occupied for a certain period of time.
What a great difference there is between this treaty, of
which Muslims had made many over their history, and the peace agreement
made now with the Zionist entity in our contemporary time.
Salah El-Deen died shortly afterward, mayGod rest his
soul, on 27 Safar 589 H (4 March 1193 CE), i.e., only six months after
the treaty.
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The Ayoubis and their struggle
with the Crusaders
After his death, Salah El-Deen's successors were fiercely
fighting each other--a thing that weakened the Muslims and strengthened
the kingdom of the Crusaders in Akka, which was expanding at the expense
of the Muslims. The love of power and pleasure, even at the expense of
principles and values, was the basic characteristic of some of the
Sultans of the Ayoubi State. They made alliances more than once with the
Crusaders to help them against their rivals. Sometimes they even offered
Jerusalem city to the Crusaders in exchange for help against the Sultan
of Sham or Egypt and vice versa!
The Crusaders were very happy with the role they played,
but their greed was centred on everyone and everything. But their spring
did not last very long.
The fourth campaign sent by the Crusaders to the west in
601 H (1204 CE) ended in Constantinople and did not reach as far as Sham
or Egypt. As to the fifth campaign, it was launched from Akka under the
leadership of its own king, Johanna Bareen, to the city of Demiat in
Egypt between 615-618 H (1218-1221 CE). When the Ayoubian Sultan Al-Kamel
Mohammed Bin Mohammed Bin Ayoub realized the gravity of the situation,
he offered peace to the Crusaders in exchange for the surrender of
Jerusalem and most of Salah El-Deen's liberated cities. They refused and
asked for the southeast of Jordan, too, i.e. the cities of Karak and
Shoubak. As a result, the great king Issa Bin Ahmed Bin Ayoub, the ruler
of Damascus, ruined and sabotaged the walls of Jerusalem in 616 H (1219
CE) so that they could be of no use to the Crusaders should they invade
the Holy City. But the Ayoubis finally gathered their forces and managed
to defeat the Crusaders, who returned, humiliated, to Akka after they
had missed a great opportunity.
The discord between Al-Kamel Mohammed and the great Issa
led to the former going to seek help from Fredrik the Second, the
emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who became regent on the throne of the
kingdom of the Crusaders in Akka. Al-Kamel promised the emperor the city
of Jerusalem if he helped him against his brother the great Issa.
Fredrik the Second led the sixth campaign of the Crusaders and reached
Akka in the year 625 H (1228 CE). Even though the great Issa died and
his brothers Al-Kamel and Al-Ashraf took his State and gave his son Al-Nassir
Dawoud the cities of Karak, Balqa, Agwar, Salt and Shoubak, and Al-Kamel
was not in need for Fredrik the Second any more, he gave him Jerusalem
just to fulfill the promise he made to him! Fredrik, at the time, did
not have the power to force Muslims to surrender Jerusalem. He even
begged, at certain stages of his negotiation with Al-Kamel, for it.
Fredrik was quoted as saying to Al-Kamel, "I am your subordinate and
faithful slave. If your Highness granted me the honour to take the
country, it would be a great gift that would make me proud of myself
amongst all the kings of the sea." Al-Kamel responded, and made the
Jaffa treaty with Fredrik in 626 H (18 February 1229 CE). The treaty was
meant to last for 10 years. It stated that the Crusaders would take the
Holy City of Jerusalem, Bayt Laham, Tabneen, Honeen, Sayda and a strip
of Jerusalem land that went through Al-Lad and ended at Jaffa, in
addition to the cities of Nassira and the west of Al-Jaleel. The treaty
also stated that the holy shrine of Al-Sakhra dome and its mosque should
be left to the Muslims.
Thereafter, Jerusalem was returned to the control of the
Crusaders. "The Muslim people were very saddened by the loss of
Jerusalem; they were crying and performing obsequies everywhere. The
scholars and preachers repeatedly said that this incident was a shame on
the Muslim kings, and the people of Damascus started to hate Al-Kamel
and resent him for what he did." And Ibn Katheer is quoted as saying,
"It was a great shock for Muslims, and the whole nation was weakened and
self disappointed (131)."
The struggle between the successors of Salah El-Deen
continued. Al Nassir Dawoud, the monarch of Jordan, seized the
opportunity of the termination of the Jaffa treaty and the fortification
of Jerusalem by the Crusaders. In violation of the stipulations of the
treaty, he took back Jerusalem and expelled the Crusaders from it on 6
Jamadi El Aoula 637 H (7 December 1239 CE). However, Al-Salah Isma'il,
the monarch of Damascus, gave it back to the Crusaders in the year 638 H
(1240 CE)! He did it in exchange for their help to him against the ruler
of Egypt, Al Salah Najm El-Deen Ayoub. Not only that, but he also gave
them the cities of Ashkelon, Sayda, Tabarriyya and the rest of the
coastal cities, as well as Alshaqeef castle, Al-Mojeb river, Safad
castle and Amel mountain. This behaviour increased the resentment and
malcontent of the Muslims, "who were very angry at Al-Saleh Isma'il."
Once again, Jerusalem was in the hands of the Crusaders.
When Al-Salah Isma'il mobilized his forces to join the
Crusaders against Al-Salah Ayoub in Gaza, most of his soldiers refused
to join the Crusaders against their fellow Muslims. Instead, they took
the side of the Egyptian soldiers and defeated the Crusaders bitterly.
But Al-Salah Ayoub made another treaty with the Crusaders in 638 H (1240
CE), and they regained their control over Jerusalem and the other
territories under their rule.
Again, the Ayoubis started to fight amongst themselves
for power, and Jerusalem was the prize, manipulated to achieve their
greed for power and control. Al-Salah Isma'il once again offered the
Crusaders an alliance in Akka in exchange for permanent control over
Jerusalem and the holy places, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al
Aqsa Mosque. Al-Nassir Dawoud joined him with this proposal. Meanwhile,
Al Salah Najm El-Deen Ayoub, the monarch of Egypt, offered the Crusaders
the same thing.
The Crusaders chose Al-Salah Isma'il for the alliance. He
invaded Egypt with the assistance of Al-Nassir Dawoud, and Al-Mansour
Ibrahim, the king of Hams. On the other hand, Najm El-Deen sought help
from the Khawarezmia, who came to him with an army comprised of more
than 10,000 soldiers, and occupied Tabbarriya and Nablus. These forces
entered Jerusalem on 17 July 642 H (1244 CE) and restored the city
entirely to the Muslims. With that, Jerusalem was finally under control
by the Muslims. They kept its Islamic identity until 10 December 1917
CE, when the English occupied it.
Then the Khawarezmia helped Al-Salah Ayoub against Al-Salah
Isma'il and his allies, and the second Gaza battle took place (near the
city of Gaza in a place called Herbia) in 642 H (1244 CE). Al-Salah
Isma'il and the Crusaders were severely defeated, and the casualties of
the Crusaders were estimated to be more than 30,000 soldiers and more
than 800 prisoners were taken to Egypt. This battle was the strongest
blow to the Crusaders after the battle of Hitteen and is considered one
of the most crucial battles in the history of Palestine because the
Crusaders never were able to regain their strength even though they
tried to keep what they already had.
Then Al-Salah Ayoub took control over the cities
Jerusalem, Hebron, Bayt Jabreen, Al-Agwar and Damascus in the year 642 H
(1245 CE). He punished the Crusaders and occupied Tabbarriya castle and
Ashkelon. Because of this, the kingdom of the Crusaders was limited to
the gates of Jaffa in the year 644 H (1247 CE). Egypt was later attacked
by the seventh campaign by the Crusaders, headed by Louise the Ninth,
the king of France, in the year 646 H (1249 CE). The campaign failed,
and the king was taken prisoner and later was set free to go to Akka.
One year later the Ayoubi dynasty was terminated in Egypt, and the
Mamaleek dynasty took over in the year 647 H (1250 CE). Thereafter, a
new phase of Jihad against the Mongolians and the Crusaders began.
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Al-Mamaleek and their
confrontation with the Tartars
In the seventh expatriation century, the thirteenth
century, the Mongolian (Tartarian) threat to the Islamic State started
to emerge. The Mongolian tribes were all united under the leadershiof
Jenkis Khan and started a huge campaign of expansion. They controlled
Manchuria, China and Korea, and they destroyed the army of the
Khawarezmia Muslim State in 1221 CE. The Khawarezmia army was the
strongest hurdle against the Mongolian expansion to the Islamic world,
which had previously triumphed over the Mongolians more than once.
Jenkis Khan died in the year 624 H (1227 CE), but the
Mongolians continued their march and entered Middle Asia and Russia and
controlled Moscow and the Ukraine. They attacked Poland and defeated the
German and Scandinavian armies and went deeply into Europe. They also
headed to the Islamic world and took Turkestan, Afghanistan, India and
Persia.
The Mongolians were very ruthless and merciless with the
countries they occupied. The whole world was afraid of their savagery
and barbarism. They were winning the battles not only by their force and
efficiency, but also by the psychological fear they inflicted in the
minds of their opponents. The Mongolians invested the thunderbolt
tactics in their wars, which were dependent upon swift movement. They
also depended on the psychological war tactics by letting their
opponents know about their horrible austerities before they even met
them.
The Muslim State at the time was suffering from
disjunction and weakness, so it was easy for the Mongolians to sweep
entire Islamic armies and take over their kingdoms. The Muslim leaders
were so weak then that one of them sent a pair of slippers on which his
face was drawn so that the feet of Holako could honour him if he wore
the slippers!
Thereafter, the Mongolians took Iraq. They besieged
Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid dynasty, which was suffering from
great weakness, the cause of which was the conspiracy of the minister
Ibn Al-Alqami with the Mongolians to topple the Caliph. In addition, he
demobilized the majority of the official army, which was once composed
of more than 100,000 soldiers; it was reduced to only 10,000. Baghdad
fell at the hands of the Mongolians in the year of 656 H (1258 CE). For
40 days, the Mongolians massacred the people of Baghdad. Ibn Katheer
states that there were more than 800,000 dead and some say as many as
2,000,000. It is said that the Caliph Al-Mu'tassem Bi'llah was put in a
bag and killed by kicking.
The Mongolians invaded the rest of the cities and took
over Harran, Al Raha and Deyar Bakr, then they crossed the Euphrates and
took Halab in the year 658 H (1260 CE). The Ayoubi rulers in Sham were
very coward and defeatists; Al-Nassir Yousef Al-Ayoubi, the ruler of
Halab, announced his submission to the Mongolians who, despite that,
entered Halab and massacred the citizens to the degree that there were
streams of Muslim blood throughout the city. Al-Mansour Bin Al-Modhaffar,
the ruler of Hama, took his sons and women and escaped to Egypt, leaving
Hama and its people behind him to meet there doomed fate. Al-Nassir
Yousef went from Damascus to Gaza so that he could go to Egypt. He
deserted Damascus and its people. Thus the Ayoubi dynasty was terminated
in Belad El-Sham very quickly.
The Mongolians reached Damascus and took it without force
in the year 1260 CE, and then betrayed its people. During the spring,
they occupied Nablus and Karak and headed to Gaza without facing any
resistance whatsoever. Thus, Palestine was divided between the kingdom
of Akka ruled by the Crusaders and the Tartarian Mongolians. Palestine
was once more under the onus of the blasphemers.
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The Crusaders and the Tartars
Europe was very happy with the Mongolian invasion of the
Islamic State and tried to coordinate with them against their common
enemy. They also tried to spread Christianity amongst the Tartarians
themselves. They partially succeeded at first, for it was known that the
Mongolian leader Holako had an inclination towards the Nastorian
Christians, and his court was full of many of them. His wife was a
Christian, too. She played a major role, of which the Church was very
proud, in diverting the Mongolian march from Europe. Instead, the march
was directed at the Islamic State. Moreover, the Mongolian leader of the
Ayn Jalout battle, Katbaga, was a Christian. The Christian influence was
so great on the Mongolians that one priest described the Tartarian
invasion as "a Crusader campaign in the full sense of the word--a full
Nastorian Christianity." The West even hoped that Holako and his leader
Katbaga would eliminate the Muslims entirely. Hatoon the First, the king
of Armenia, and Bohemond the Sixth, the prince of Tripoli, along with
the Crusader princes in Sour, Akka and Cyprus, made an alliance with the
Mongolians that stressed the elimination of Muslims in Asia and the
return of Jerusalem to the Crusaders.
At that time, Egypt, under the Mamaleek dynasty, was
ruled by the Sultan Al-Modhaffar Qutz in 657 H (1259 CE). He was a
leader known for his piety and love of God and Islam. He was the student
of the greatest scholar at the time, Al-Aziz Bin Abdul Salaam. Ibn
Katheer said that Qutz was "a courageous hero who loved doing the good
and following Islam; people loved him very much and kept making
invocations for him."
After a few months of his ascension to power, he faced
the problem of the Tartarian invasion and received a threatening letter
from Holako, before he left Syria, telling him to surrender Egypt. The
letter read, "Look what we have done with the others and take a lesson
from them; surrender, because we show no mercy to begging or crying.
Where do you think you could escape from us? Who can protect you from
our swords? Neither your forts nor men nor invocation can save you from
us."
But Qutz, the Muslim leader who only feared God, knew
that victory comes from God, and if he prepared well for the battle and
made everything connected to God, victory would be achieved. He decided
to announce the holy Jihad and to confront the Crusader invasion. After
reading the letter, he gave orders to kill the messengers and divide
them into two halves, and their heads were to be hung over one of the
gates of Cairo (The Gate of Zuweela), as a sign of an unflinching
determination to fight and challenge the Tartarian invasion.
Furthermore, Qutz decided to seize the initiative and
attack the Tartarian forces to boost the morale of the Muslims and to
emphasize the spirit of Jihad that fosters the concept of martyrdom for
the sake of God. Further, he would be defending the Muslim land of Egypt
and would liberate the occupied Muslim land in Belad El-Sham, including
Palestine and the holy Al Aqsa Mosque. This would send the Tartarians a
message that he was a new kind of man they had never encountered before,
because the best way to defend is to attack.
In the holy month of Ramadhan in the year 658 H (1260
CE), the Muslim army, under the leadership of Qutz, crossed the borders
and liberated Gaza, where he stayed for one day. Then they headed north
to meet the Tartarian forces. The two armies met at the Ayn Jalout area
to the northeast of Palestine.
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Ayn Jalout Battle
Ayn Jalout witnessed one of the most crucial battles in
history on Friday, 25 Ramadhan 658 H (6 September 1260 CE). The Tartars
had the logistic and scientific potential to win the fight against the
Muslim army. Their advantages included:
· Efficiency and experience gained from the great number
of wars they witnessed.
· High morale because they were never defeated.
· They had a large number of fighters and more weaponry.
· The efficiency of their cavalry who knew many advanced fighting
techniques such as the thunderbolt method, which was a distinctive
feature of the Tartarians.
· They were able to manage well because they were close to the bases of
their supplies and support.
· The strategic locations of their army were better than those of the
Muslim army.
Despite the overwhelming superiority of the Tartarian
army, the Muslim army scored a momentous, exceptional victory. The Qutz
army was characterized by the fact that it was an "Islamic" army aimed
at consolidating Islam and protecting its Holy Land. The great scholars
and religious men of Egypt joined this army making it was a sacred army
constructed and built for the sof prioritizing the word of God and
supporting its religion, Islam, in the land. Moreover, the army was
further characterized by having a faithful leadership who cherished a
true "will to fight", the crucial factor in winning any battle.
Qutz told his army to wait until they finished the Friday
prayers: "Do not fight them till it is sunset and the shadows appear and
the winds stir, and the preachers and people start to implore God for us
in their prayers", and thereafter the fighting began.
Jullanar, the wife of Qutz, was killed during the battle.
He rushed towards her saying, "Oh my beloved one". She told him while
uttering her last breath, "Do not say that, and care more for Islam."
Her soul ascended to God after telling her husband that the Jihad for
the sake of God and Islam is more important than love and personal
relations. Qutz stood up saying "Islamah…Islamah". The whole army
repeated that word after him until they achieved their victory.
During the battle, the horse of Qutz was also killed, and
he stepped down and started to fight on the ground till they brought him
another horse. He refused taking the horse of the other princes who
volunteered their horses to him saying that he did not want to impede
them from their holy duty, rescuing himself instead. He was asked why he
did not ride on a horse and why he jeopardized himself and Islam. He
answered, "If I was killed, I would have gone to Heaven, and as to
Islam, Almighty God is well capable of protecting it." After the battle
was over and the victory was achieved for the Muslims, Qutz stepped down
from his horse and smeared his face with the dust of the battleground
and kneeled to God in thankfulness and gratitude.
The Muslims immediately started to chase the Mongolians,
and Qutz entered Damascus five days after Ayn Jalout battle. The chase
continued to Halab, and when the Mongolians felt the approach of the
Muslims, they left behind the Muslim prisoners, and suffered a great
deal. In one month's time, the Muslims were able to restore Belad
El-Sham entirely from the hands of the Tartars and the Mongolians.
This battle is considered to be one of the greatest
battles in history in which the Mongolian invasion was put to an end. It
was the beginning of the end of the Mongolians, who were forced to
retreat. This liberated Belad El-Sham from their occupation. As for the
Mongolians who stayed in the Muslim State, they embraced Islam in great
numbers and that was another victory for the religion of God.
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Al-Mamaleek and their
elimination of the Crusaders
Although the Tartarian Mongolians were expelled from
Palestine and the Muslims crushed them at Ayn Jalout, the kingdom of the
Crusaders in Akka kept its control over the coastal area that stretched
from Jaffa to Akka. The Sultans of the Mamaleek dynasty took the
responsibility of liberating the rest of Palestine till they managed to
expel the last Crusader from the Holy Land 30 years after the Ayn Jalout
battle.
Al-Dhaher Bebars succeeded the Sultan Qutz, whose reign
lasted for about one year. Bebars played a major role in fighting the
Crusaders in Belad El-Sham, for he was constantly assaulting their bases
there. Sometimes he resorted to making treaties with them if he felt
there was a need. The custom was that the treaty should last for 10
years and 10 months and 10 days and 10 hours. After finishing with the
internal problems in his State, he turned to fight the Crusaders. In the
year 662 H (1263 CE), he went to Palestine. When he arrived at Akka, the
Crusaders came to ask him for renewing the treaty saying that they would
release the Muslim prisoners and keep the promises they made. But Bebars
did not consider their demands and went on to attack their various
bases, especially Akka, so that he would know their level of strength
and exhaust their resources and strike them at the right time and place.
He once again headed to Palestine in the year 664 H (1265
CE) and took control over Qaysarryat El-Mahsana and destroyed its walls.
A part of his army attacked Akka and Haifa. He conquered Arsouf in the
same year.
The next year, he went to Palestine again and besieged
the city of Safad and conquered it. He then came back to Palestine in
the year 666 H (1267 CE), and the Crusaders asked him for a treaty. He
used to follow the policy of divide-and-rule with the Crusaders so that
their forces would not be united against him all at once. This policy
helped him conquer the city of Antakya in the year 667 H (1268 CE). This
is considered the greatest victory the Muslims ever achieved over the
Crusaders since Salah El-Deen liberated Jerusalem in the year 583 H
(1187 CE). Bebars agreed, after conquering Antakya, to make a treaty
with Akka that lasted for 10 years on the condition that he should rule
half of Akka, and he should control the heights surrounding Sayda.
The Sultan Al-Mansour Sayf El-Deen Qalawoun continued
liberating Belad El-Sham from the Crusaders after Al-Dhaher Bebars died.
At his time an alliance against the Muslims was formed among the
Crusaders, the Tartarians and Sanqur Al-Ashqar, the deputy of Damascus,
who turned on the Moslems. But their alliance failed and Qalawoun
started to tighten his grip on the Crusaders and occupied Al-Marqab Fort
in the year 684 H (1285 CE). He conquered Al-Ladeqyya in the year 686 H
(1287 CE) and Tripoli in the year 688 H (1289 CE). Qalawoun took
advantage of the unstable state of the Crusaders in Akka in particular
and in Belad El-Sham in general because of the ongoing struggle over
power. He was very strong and powerful and could eliminate the presence
of the Crusaders in the eastern Arabic region. On the Shami coast, the
Crusaders were in control of only Akka, Sour, Sayda and Etleet.
Qalawoun found that it was time for the total elimination
of the Crusaders in Palestine. He used the incidence of the Crusaders
attacking and killing some Muslim pilgrims as an excuse to announce
Jihad against the Crusaders. He summoned his forces from Egypt and Sham.
He stayed out of Cairo waiting for the arrival of the assistance forces,
but he suddenly fell ill and died in the year 689 H (1290 CE). His son
Ashraf Salah El-Deen Khaleel succeeded him. The Crusaders wanted to take
advantage of the situation and offered Ashraf another treaty, but he
refused and took his forces and besieged Akka and liberated it in the
year 1291 CE. The king of Akka, Henry the Second, escaped to Cyprus.
After conquering Akka, Ashraf took Sayda , Sour, Haifa and Etleet. He
gave orders to destroy all the fortifications in those cities. Thus, the
last base of the Crusaders was destroyed at the hands of Al-Mamaleek
dynasty, and the existence of the Crusaders in Palestine and Sham was
finally terminated after two centuries (492 - 690 H [1099-1291 ]). With
this accomplishment, Palestine was back under Islamic rule again till
the British forces occupied it.
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