Table of Contents

About the word Lord............... i

Publisher's Note .................. i

Translator's Foreword.......................... ii

Introduction ....................... 1

PART ONE CRUSADES PRIOR TO THE RISE OF THE AYUBID STATE.........14

CHAPTER I Historical Roots of the Crusades........................ 15

The Byzantines..................... 15

The Spanish.......................... 16

The Crusaders outflanking manoeuvres...................... 19

Colonialism....................... 20

CHAPTER II The Most Important Causes of the Crusader Invasion... 23

Religious motives.......................... 24

Political motives.......................... 27

Social motives .................... 29

Economic motives.......................... 31

Tipping the balance of power in the Mediterranean.................. 32

Andalusia....................... 33

Sicily ........................... 34

North Africa.......................... 34

The Byzantine Emperor seeks help from Pope Urban II ............... 36

Pope Urban II and his comprehensive plan for the Crusade

campaign...................... 37

Urban II holds a church council in southern France ................ 39

Pope Urban II's speech.......................... 39

Conclusions to be drawn from Pope Urban II's speech ............... 41

The Pope's consultation following his speech ......................... 45

The Crusader propaganda campaign..................... 46

Peter the Hermit ............... 48

The Muslims are unaware of what is being planned for them.......... 49

CHAPTER III The Beginning of the First Crusade....................... 50

Crusader strategy after occupation ............................... 52

Resistance movement during the Seljuk period.................. 56

The juristic scholar 'Ali ibn Tahir as-Sulami (431-500AH/1039-1106

CE) .......................... 57

Islamic scholars and judges participate in physical Jihad ................ 60

Poets and their role in the resistance movement ............,........ 63

Seljuk leaders of Jihad prior to 'Imad ad-Deen Zangi ................. 65

Kerbogha, regent of Mosul, engages in Jihad........................ 66

Jekermish and Suqman join forces in Jihad .................... 68

The Battle of Balikh (the Battle of Harran) .................. 69

Jekermish and Suqman fall out........................... 71

Jekermish'

s defeat...................................... 71

The outcomes of the Battle of Balikh........................ 73

Jekermish persists in Jihad............................... 74

Jihad of Jekermish and Suqman ibn Artuq................... 76

The battle of Merzifon .................................. 77

The first battle of Heraclea .............................. 78

The second battle of Heraclea ............................ 79

Outcome of the battles of Kilij Arslan....................... 80

Consequences of the death of Kilij Arslan ................... 81

Mawdood ibn at-Tuntash (501-507 CE/1108-1113 CE)........... 84

Mawdood's first campaign against Edessa .................. 84

Mawdood's second campaign against Edessa ................ 86

Mawdood's third campaign against Edessa.................... 89

Mawdood's campaign — the Battle of Sannabra .............. 89

The murder of Mawdood................................. 90

Consequences of the campaigns led by Mawdood .............. 91

Najm ad-Deen Ilghazi, ruler of Mardin ..................... 94

The Crusaders break the truce............................ 95

Mobilization against the Crusaders .......................... 95

The Battle of Ager Sanguinis (the 'Field of Blood7

)............ 96

Consequences of the victory............................... 97

The siege of Antioch and the truce with the King of Jerusalem .... 98

The truce is broken .................................... 98

Rebellion of Sulayman ibn Ilghazi against his father ............ 99

Suppression of the rebellion............................... 99

The death of Ilghazi and its effect on the Muslims............. 100

Balak ibn Bahram ibn Artuq .............................. 101

Crusaders besiege Aleppo.............................. 102

Balak ibn Bahram is killed .............................. 104

Emir of Mosul, Aq Sunqur, wages Jihad to save Aleppo........ 104

Aleppo confronts the Crusaders......................... 104

Betrayal by the Emir of Hillah ........................... 106

Crusaders provoke and taunt the people of Aleppo........... 107

Popular resistance in Aleppo ............................ 107

The people of Aleppo ask for help from the Emir of Diyarbakir.. 108

Aq Sunqur al-Bursuqi'

s response to the Aleppans' call for help . 108

The assassination of al-Bursuqi............................ 110

Deviant groups were one of the greatest obstacles to the Jihad

movement.......................................... 111

The conquest of Edessa: The most important deed of Imad ad-

Deen Zangi ............................................ 112

The internal situation in Edessa........................... 114

Operations that led to conquest.......................... 114

'Imad ad-Deen Zangi7

s policies in Edessa.................. 115

Factors which helped 'Imad ad-Deen Zangi.................. 116

Anecdotes about the conquest of Edessa.................. 117

The scholar Moosa al-Armani's clever approach............ 117

In Sicily ............................................... 118

A martyr seen in a dream............................... 118

Conspiracy by the inhabitants of Edessa ................... 119

Consequences of the conquest of Edessa.................. 119

John LaMonte's opinion of 'Imad ad-Deen................... 121

Poets praise for 'Imad ad-Deen after the conquest............ 125

Military events after the conquest ......................... 125

Ways in which 'Imad ad-Deen Zangi fought the Crusaders...... 126

'Imad ad-deen's political and military role in Islamic history ... 131

The Second Crusade.................................... 133

The Seljuks destroy the German army....................... 133

The Seljuks of Rum slow the advance of the French army ....... 134

The Crusader attack on Damascus.......................... 135

How the Christian clergy viewed the Second Crusade .......... 137

The Victory of Damascus in the Second Crusade............. 139

Scholars from the Maghreb take part in defending Damascus... 141

Consequences of the Second Crusade....................... 141

CHAPTER IV Wisdom of Noor ad-Deen's Dealings with the Fatimid

State................................................. 145

Roots of the Ismaili Shiites and the Fatimid state .............. 145

'Ubayd-Allah al-Mahdi ................................... 147

'Ubaydi crimes in North Africa ......................... 148

Exaggerated claims about 'Ubayd-Allah al-Mahdi.............. 148

Oppression of everyone who disagreed with their madh-hab.... 150

Prohibition on issuing fatwas according to the madh-hab of Imam

Malik................................................ 150

Abolishing certain Sunnah practices and adding to others ...... 151

Banning gatherings ..................................... 151

Destroying the books of those who followed the Sunnah........ 152

Preventing Sunni scholars from teaching .................. 152

Abolishing sharia law .................................. 152

Forcing people to break the fast before the moon was sighted.. 153

Erasing all reminders of the Sunni caliphs.................... 153

Bringing their horses into the mosques..................... 154

The Maghrebi people's resistance of the 'Ubaydi Fatimid state . 155

Passive resistance .................................... 155

Debate and dialogue................................... 157

Armed resistance ..................................... 159

Resistance through writing ............................... 162

Resistance by the Sunni poets............................. 163

Al-Mu'izz li Deen-Illah the Fatimid enters Egypt.............. 163

Other examples of his odes to al-Mu'izz include:............ 164

Demise of the Fatimid state in North Africa ................. 166

The Seljuks work to protect Iraq against Batini, Rafidi Shiism..... 168

The Nizami schools: Sunni revival and confrontation with Rafidi

Shiite thought........................................ 170

Al-Imam al-Ghazali7

s efforts in defeating the Batini Shiites..... 173

Noor ad-Deen's military campaigns against Egypt ............. 175

Noor ad-Deen's motives for conquering Egypt................ 176

The first campaign of Noor ad-Deen - 559 AH/1164 CE ........ 178

Amalric I's second campaign against Egypt .................. 180

Noor ad-Deen's second campaign .......................... 182

Amalric's third campaign and Crusader-Fatimid negotiations .... 183

The battle of Babayn................................... 183

The siege of Alexandria.................................. 186

Negotiations concerning withdrawal from Egypt............ 186

Noor ad-Deen's third campaign against Egypt (564 AH/1169 CE)189

Al-'Adid seeks the help of Noor ad-Deen Mahmood.......... 189

Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh enters Cairo: making the most of

opportunity ........................................... 190

The slaying of Shawar ................................. 190

Asad ad-Deen becomes al-'Adid's vizier .................... 191

Death of Asad ad-Deen.................................. 191

The conspiracy of the Caliph's confidant................... 192

The battle with the Sudanese troops...................... 193

Dealing with the Armenians.............................. 195

Salah ad-Deen strengthens his army ...................... 195

Confronting the joint Crusader-Byzantine attack: the siege of

Damietta (565 AH/1170 CE).............................. 196

Reasons for the failure of the campaign against Damietta ...... 197

Factors affecting the Muslims.......................... 197

Factors affecting the Crusaders.......................... 198

Factors affecting the Byzantines......................... 198

Factors common to both the Crusaders and Byzantines...... 199

Outcomes of the attack on Damietta ..................... 199

Najm ad-Deen Ayub arrives in Egypt ...................... 200

Abolition of the 'Ubaydi Fatimid caliphate ................... 202

Phasing out sermons in the name of the Fatimid caliph ....... 203

The death of al-'Adid 567 AH/1171 CE ...................... 205

Muslims rejoicing at the end of the Fatimid state.............. 205

Lessons from the fall of the Fatimid state in Egypt ............ 206

Attempted revolt aimed at restoring the Fatimid state ........ 207

The poet 'Amarah ibn 'Ali al-Yamani....................... 212

The siege of Alexandria.................................. 214

The conspiracy of Kanz ad-Dawlah ......................... 216

How Salah ad-Deen put an end to the Fatimid madh-hab and

legacy .............................................. 216

Humiliating the Fatimid caliph al-'Adid...................... 217

Degrading the palace of the Fatimid caliphate................ 217

Cancelling the Friday khutbah in al-Azhar Mosque and abolishing

the teaching of Fatimid thought there ...................... 218

Destruction and burning of Shiite Ismaili books.............. 219

Abolishing all sectarian festivals of the Fatimids............. 219

Erasing the Fatimid symbols and currency ................... 220

Isolating members of the Fatimid dynasty ................... 220

Weakening the Fatimid capital ............................ 220

The Fatimids' false claim of descent from the (Messenger (SAAW)

..................................................... 221

Pursuit of the remnants of Shiism in Syria and Yemen.......... 221

Incorporation of the eastern Maghreb...................... 225

Incorporation of Yemen................................. 225

Conquest of Nubia ...................................... 227

The real story behind the alienation between Salah ad-Deen and

Noor ad-Deen........................................ 227

The death of Noor ad-Deen Mahmood ..................... 233

Notes................................................ 235

Appendix A............................................. 256

Appendix B.......................................... 261

Dynasties Mentioned in Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi............. 262

Muslims.......................................... 262

Crusaders .......................................... 263

Appendix C............................................. 265