The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

Division, inter-Muslim conflict, and disregard led to further Crusader gains in the 1100s. Muslims had fresh opportunities to make gains in the summer of 1100 when Raymond of Saint-Gilles left Tripoli for Constantinople, Godfrey of Boullion died in battle, and Danishmend captured Bohemond. Duqāq of Damascus, for example, set out to confront Godfrey’s brother, Baldwin, as he made his way to Jerusalem in the wake of his brother’s demise. However, Fakhr al-Mulk, the new Muslim ruler of Tripoli, was concerned that Duqāq’s success against Baldwin would leave Tripoli vulnerable to Damascus. He thus notified Baldwin of Duqāq’s planned ambush. Baldwin became king of Jerusalem.

Muslim leaders attempted to unite when new Crusaders arrived in the east in 1101. Indeed, they successfully depleted the Frankish numbers in a “triple massacre” (65). When Raymond returned to attack Tripoli, Duqāq’s troops fled, perhaps as revenge for al-Mulk’s duplicity, facilitating the creation of another Crusader state (the county of Tripoli). Regional leaders presented “a fresh demonstration of […] negligence” (67) six weeks later. An army from Cairo ambushed Baldwin’s men in Ramlah, which the Crusader king fled. Jerusalem lay undefended, but the Egyptian commander, Sharif, hesitated, allowing Frankish reinforcements to arrive.

Subsequent attacks launched by the Egyptians also failed: “In the meantime, the Franj were steadily continuing their conquest of Palestine” (67). Muslim “negligence” likewise served the Crusaders’ interests in the north, where they failed to retake the principality of Antioch while Bohemond languished in captivity. The Crusaders were therefore able to appoint a new regent to govern Antioch. Danishmend shockingly released Bohemond in 1103 for a ransom but with no conditions on his freedom. Bohemond replenished his losses through plunder and “set about enlarging his domain” (69). Muslim forces did unify to prevent the Franj from seizing Harran, which would have given them a front from which to attack Mosul and then Baghdad.

The Crusaders were left demoralized and Bohemond left the east permanently. The battle “thus removed from the scene the invasion’s principal architect […] it halted the Franj drive to the east for ever [sic]” (71). Nevertheless, the victorious Muslims were fractured by regional conflicts again. The governor of Mosul allied with the Franks of Edessa to fight a Frankish-Aleppan coalition. This confrontation at Tel Bāshir was the result of inter-Frankish conflict as Bohemond’s successor, Tancred of Antioch, was displeased when the emir of Mosul, Jawali, released from captivity his competitor for Edessa, Baldwin. Tancred declined when Baldwin asked him to return Edessa. Rīdwan of Aleppo was also worried that Jawali wanted his city. Tancred and Rīdwan were victorious, and the latter became vassal to the Franks. Damascus soon followed.

The Franj set their sights on Tripoli. Muslim troops under the direction of the qādī, Fakhr al-Mulk, attacked the Frankish garrison and forced the Franj into a truce: They would not impede the movement of caravans and travelers, and the Muslim attack on the citadel would end. However, a siege’s purpose is to restrict the circulation of goods and movement of people, so it was an odd agreement for the Franks to make. They and the opposition were, in fact, waiting for reinforcements.

By 1108 al-Mulk was forced to retreat as the Franks strengthened their blockade while the qādī waited in vain for reinforcements. He approached Baghdad’s sultan for help, who instructed his forces to go with al-Mulk but to first attack Jawali in Mosul, thus delaying any help for the besieged Tripolians: “Demoralized by his long absence, the notables of Tripoli had decided to entrust the city to the ruler of Egypt […] Al-Afdal sent his vassals food, as well as a governor” (79).

The Crusaders attacked in early summer with little Egyptian support. The city fell and the Franks divided the spoils between themselves while massacring most of its inhabitants. Then they took Beruit and Sidon, whose survivors fled for Damascus and Tyre. However, these disasters caused the concept of military jihād to coalesce among survivors.