The Second Crusade Documents Table of Contents

The Second Crusade Documents
Table of Contents
Prologue: The Fall of Edessa
i
Chronicles
Fulcher of Chartres: A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem 1095-1127
William of Tyre: A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea
Odo of Deuil: De Profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem
Otto of Freising: The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa
Arab Historians: Excerpts from Ibn al-Athir and Ibn al-Qalanisi
1
7
47
58
66
Memoirs, Letters
Letters of Conrad and Louis
Usamah Ibn Munqidh: Book of Contemplation (Memoirs)
74
77
Investiture Controversy
Gelasius I: Letter to Emperor Anastasius, 494
Emperor Henry IV: Letter to Pope Gregory VII, 1076
Pope Gregory VII: Deposition and Banning of Henry IV, 1076
Pope Gregory VII: Dictatus Papae, 1090
Concordat of Worms, 1122
88
89
91
92
93
Additional Crusade Documents
Pope Eugenius III: Summons to a Crusade, 1145
Bernard of Clairvaux: In Praise of the New Knighthood, c. 1136
94
96
Arguments and Passages Relating to Just War
Tertullian: On Idolatry c. 200
Origen: Against Celsus c. 250
St. Augustine: Selections c. 420
Gratian: Decretum c.1140
100
101
102
110
Religious Texts
New Testament
Islam and the Qur’an
Additional Qu’ran passages
117
135
174
Maps
180
Medieval Sourcebook: Fulcher of Chartres: History of the Expedition to Jerusalem
Fulcher (c. 1059-?) was a chronicler of and participant in the First Crusade. He served as
chaplain to Baldwin I, the first king of Jerusalem, and later became canon of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
His account of the calling of the First Crusade (written after the success of the crusade, and
probably colored by its success) shows how the crusade was seen as both war of liberation
and penitential pilgrimage.
Suppporters of the crusade can use this text in Debate 1 to argue that God granted them
victory in the First Crusade because their war was just, and therefore they should embark on
a new crusade.
The German faction may use Book III to argue in Debate 1 that conditions are different for
this crusade and it will be unsuccessful unless it is undertaken with the proper devotional
spirit.
A Table of Contents for Fulcher of Chartres
Book I
Book II
Book III
Pope Urban II calls the First Crusade
The Crusaders capture Jerusalem
Europeans living in the Holy Land adapt to its customs
1
Book I. Urban II's Speech at Clermont
In the year 1095 after the Incarnation of Our Lord, evils of all kinds multiplied throughout
Europe because of vacillating faith. Pope Urban II then ruled in the city of Rome. He was a
man admirable in life and habits who strove prudently and vigorously to raise the status of
the Holy Church ever higher and higher.
Moreover, he saw the faith of Christendom excessively trampled upon by all, by the clergy as
well as by the laity, and peace totally disregarded, for the princes of the lands were
incessantly at war quarreling with someone or other. He saw that people stole worldly goods
from one another, that many captives were taken unjustly and were most barbarously cast
into foul prisons and ransomed for excessive prices, or tormented there by hunger, thirst, and
cold, and secretly put to death, that holy places were violated, monasteries and villas
consumed by fire, nothing mortal spared, and things human and divine held in derision.
When he heard that the interior part of Romania [Asia Minor, the heartland of the Byzantine
Empire] had been occupied by the Turks, and the Christians subdued by a ferociously
destructive invasion, Urban, greatly moved by compassionate piety and by the prompting of
God’s love, crossed the mountains [from Italy] and descended into France and caused a
council to be assembled at Clermont….
On the appointed day Urban gathered them around himself and in an eloquent address
carefully made known the purpose of the meeting. In the suffering voice of a suffering
church he told of its great tribulation. He delivered an elaborate sermon concerning the many
raging tempests of the world in which the faith had been degraded.
Then as a suppliant he exhorted all to resume the powers of their faith and arouse in
themselves a fierce determination to overcome the machinations of the devil, and to try fully
to restore the Holy Church, cruelly weakened by the wicked, to its honorable status as of old:
“Most beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, by the permission of God, chief
bishop and prelate over the whole world, have come into these parts as an ambassador with a
divine admonition to you, the servants of God. I hoped to find you as faithful and as zealous
in the service of God as I had supposed you to be. But if there is in you any deformity or
crookedness contrary to God's law, with divine help I will do my best to remove it. For God
has put you as stewards over his family to minister to it. Happy indeed will you be if he finds
you faithful in your stewardship.
“You are called shepherds; see that you do not act as hirelings. But be true shepherds, with
your crooks always in your hands. Do not go to sleep, but guard on all sides the flock
committed to you. For if through your carelessness or negligence a wolf carries away one of
your sheep, you will surely lose the reward laid up for you with God. And after you have
been bitterly scourged with remorse for your faults, you will be fiercely overwhelmed in hell,
the abode of death.
2
“For according to the gospel you are the salt of the earth [Matt. 5:13]. But if you fall short in
your duty, how, it may be asked, can it be salted? O how great the need of salting! It is
indeed necessary for you to correct with the salt of wisdom this foolish people which is so
devoted to the pleasures of this world, lest the Lord, when He may wish to speak to them,
find them putrefied by their sins unsalted and stinking. For if He shall find worms, that is,
sins, in them, because you have been negligent in your duty, He will command them as
worthless to be thrown into the abyss of unclean things. And because you cannot restore to
Him His great loss, He will surely condemn you and drive you from His loving presence.
“But the man who applies this salt should be prudent, provident, modest, learned, peaceable,
watchful, pious, just, equitable, and pure. For how can the ignorant teach others? How can
the licentious make others modest? And how can the impure make others pure? If anyone
hates peace, how can he make others peaceable? Or if anyone has soiled his hands with
baseness, how can he cleanse the impurities of another? We read also that if the blind lead
the blind, both will fall into the ditch [Matt. 15:14]. But first correct yourselves, in order that,
free from blame, you may be able to correct those who are subject to you. If you wish to be
the friends of God, gladly do the things which you know will please Him.
“You must especially let all matters that pertain to the church be controlled by the law of the
church. And be careful that simony does not take root among you, lest both those who buy
and those who sell [church offices] be beaten with the scourges of the Lord through narrow
streets and driven into the place of destruction and confusion.
“Keep the church and the clergy entirely free from the secular power. See that the tithes that
belong to God are faithfully paid from all the produce of the land; let them not be sold or
withheld.
“If anyone seizes a bishop let him be treated as an outlaw. If anyone seizes or robs monks, or
clergymen, or nuns, or their servants, or pilgrims, or merchants, let him be anathema
[cursed]. Let robbers and incendiaries and all their accomplices be expelled from the church
and anathematized. If a man who does not give a part of his goods as alms is punished with
the damnation of hell, how should he be punished who robs another of his goods? For thus it
happened to the rich man in the gospel [Luke 16:19]; he was not punished because he had
stolen the goods of another, but because he had not used well the things which were his.
“You have seen for a long time the great disorder in the world caused by these crimes. It is so
bad in some of your provinces, I am told, and you are so weak in the administration of justice
that one can hardly go along the road by day or night without being attacked by robbers; and
whether at home or abroad one is in danger of being despoiled either by force or fraud.
“Therefore it is necessary to reenact the truce, as it is commonly called, which was
proclaimed a long time ago by our holy fathers. I exhort and demand that you try hard to
have the truce kept in your diocese. And if anyone shall be led by his greed or arrogance to
break this truce, by the authority of God and with the sanction of this council he shall be
anathematized.”
3
After these and various other matters had been attended to, all who were present, clergy and
people, gave thanks to God and agreed to the pope's proposition. They all faithfully promised
to keep the decrees. Then the pope said that in another part of the world Christianity was
suffering from a state of affairs that was worse than the one just mentioned. He continued:
“Although, O sons of God, you have promised more firmly than ever to keep the peace
among yourselves and to preserve the rights of the church, there remains still an important
work for you to do. Freshly quickened by the divine correction, you must apply the strength
of your righteousness to another matter which concerns you as well as God. For your
brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give
them the aid which has often been promised them.
“For, as the most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have
conquered the territory of Romania as far west as the shore of the Mediterranean and the
Hellespont. They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have
overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the
churches and devastated the empire. If you permit them to continue thus with impunity, the
faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them.
“On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this
everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and
rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of
our friends. I say this to those who are present; it is meant also for those who are absent.
Moreover, Christ commands it.
“All who die on the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall
have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I
am invested. O what a disgrace if such a despised and base race, which worships demons,
should conquer a people which has the faith of omnipotent God and is made glorious with the
name of Christ! With what reproaches will the Lord overwhelm us if you do not aid those
who, with us, profess the Christian religion!
“Let those who have been accustomed to wage unjust private warfare against the faithful now
go against the infidels and end with victory this war which should have been begun long ago.
Let those who for a long time have been robbers now become knights. Let those who have
been fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the
barbarians. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay now obtain the
eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out in both body and soul now
work for a double honor. Behold! on this side will be the sorrowful and poor, on that, the
rich; on this side, the enemies of the Lord, on that, his friends.
“Let those who go not put off the journey, but rent their lands and collect money for their
expenses; and as soon as winter is over and spring comes, let hem eagerly set out on the way
with God as their guide.”
4
Book II. The Capture of Jerusalem
The First Crusade culminated in the Christian capture of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099.
Fulcher participated in the storming of the city and in the bloody massacre that followed.
On the seventh of June the Franks besieged Jerusalems….
When the Franks saw how difficult it would be to take the city, the leaders ordered scaling
ladders to be made, hoping that by a brave assault it might be possible to surmount the walls
by means of ladders and thus take the city, God helping. So the ladders were made, and on
the day following the seventh, in the early morning, the leaders ordered the attack, and, with
the trumpets sounding, a splendid assault was made on the city from all sides. The attack
lasted till the sixth hour, but it was discovered that the city could not be entered by the use of
ladders, which were few in number, and sadly we ceased the attack.
Then a council was held, and it was ordered that siege machines should be constructed by the
artisans, so that by moving them close to the wall we might accomplish our purpose, with the
aid of God. This was done....
….When the tower had been put together and had been covered with hides, it was moved
nearer to the wall. Then knights, few in number, but brave, at the sound of the trumpet, took
their places in the tower and began to shoot stones and arrows. The Saracens defended
themselves vigorously, and, with slings, very skillfully hurled back burning firebrands, which
had been dipped in oil and fresh fat. Many on both sides, fighting in this manner, often found
themselves in the presence of death.
…. On the following day the work again began at the sound of the trumpet, and to such
purpose that the rams, by continual pounding, made a hole through one part of the wall. The
Saracens suspended two beams before the opening, supporting them by ropes, so that by
piling stones behind them they would make an obstacle to the rams. However, what they did
for their own protection became, through the providence of God, the cause of their own
destruction. For, when the tower was moved nearer to the wall, the ropes that supported the
beams were cut; from these same beams the Franks constructed a bridge, which they cleverly
extended from the tower to the wall. About this time one of the towers in the stone wall
began to burn, for the men who worked our machines had been hurling firebrands upon it
until the wooden beams within it caught fire. The flames and smoke soon became so bad that
none of the defenders of this part of the wall were able to remain near this place. At the noon
hour on Friday, with trumpets sounding, amid great commotion and shouting “God help us,”
the Franks entered the city. When the pagans saw one standard planted on the wall, they were
completely demoralized, and all their former boldness vanished, and they turned to flee
through the narrow streets of the city. Those who were already in rapid flight began to flee
more rapidly.
Count Raymond and his men, who were attacking the wall on the other side, did not yet
know of all this, until they saw the Saracens leap from the wall in front of them. Forthwith,
they joyfully rushed into the city to pursue and kill the nefarious enemies, as their comrades
5
were already doing. Some Saracens, Arabs, and Ethiopians took refuge in the tower of David,
others fled to the temples of the Lord and of Solomon. A great fight took place in the court
and porch of the temples, where they were unable to escape from our gladiators. Many fled to
the roof of the temple of Solomon, and were shot with arrows, so that they fell to the ground
dead. In this temple almost ten thousand were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you
would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more
shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared.
Book III. The Latins in the Levant
Fulcher reflects on how Europeans are affected by living in the Holy Land.
Consider, I pray, and reflect how in our time God has transferred the West into the East, for
we who were Occidentals now have been made Orientals. He who was a Roman or a Frank is
now a Galilaean, or an inhabitant of Palestine. One who was a citizen of Rheims or of
Chartres now has been made a citizen of Tyre or of Antioch. We have already forgotten the
places of our birth; already they have become unknown to many of us, or, at least, are
unmentioned. Some already possess here homes and servants they have received through
inheritance. Some have taken wives not merely of their own people, but Syrians, or
Armenians, or even Saracens [Muslims] who have received the grace of baptism.
Some have with them father-in-law, or daughter-in-law, or son-in-law, or stepson, or stepfather. There are here, too, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One cultivates vines,
another the fields. The one and the other use mutually the speech and the idioms of the
different languages. Different languages, now made common, become known to both races,
and faith unites those whose forefathers were strangers. As it is written, "The lion and the ox
shall eat straw together." Those who were strangers are now natives; and he who was a
sojourner now has become a resident, Our parents and relatives from day to day come to join
us, abandoning, even though reluctantly, all that they possess.
For those who were poor there, here God makes rich. Those who had few coins, here possess
countless besants [highly prized gold coins]; and those who had not had a villa, here, by the
gift of God, already possess a city. Therefore why should one who has found the East so
favorable return to the West? God does not wish those to suffer want who, carrying their
crosses, have vowed to follow Him, nay even unto the end. You see, therefore, that this is a
great miracle, and one which must greatly astonish the whole world. Who has ever heard
anything like it?
Therefore, God wishes to enrich us all and to draw us to Himself as His most dear friends.
And because He wishes it, we also freely desire the same; and what is pleasing to Him we do
with a loving and submissive heart, that with Him we may reign happily throughout eternity.
6
William of Tyre. A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. Babcock and Krey, trr.
William (c. 1130-1186) is the great historian of the Crusader states of the twelfth century. He
was born in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, educated in the west, and then returned to serve
as both the Chancellor of the Latin Kingdom and the Archbishop of Tyre from 1174 until his
death. He provides the historical circumstances in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during
Melisende’s reign leading up to the fall of Edessa and the arrival of the French and German
kings with what remained of their armies.
Supporters of the Crusade in Debate 1 can use the depiction of the danger posed by Nur adDin in Debate 1.
Baldwin, Melisende, and Fulcher can use descriptions of them to support their leadership
claims in Debate 2.
The Eastern faction (and Jerusalem faction) can use the description of the conquering of
Edessa and the slaughter of its people to argue that Edessa should be the target of the
Crusade in Debate 3.
The Eastern and Jerusalem factions can also use the description of the alliance with
Damascus and the trustworthiness of Anar/Unar to argue against attacking Damascus in
Debate 3.
The description of Louis’s and Conrad’s journey supplements the description in Odo of
Deuil. Any of the factions might find useful support for arguments about the wisdom or
necessity of moving forward with the crusade, and who should lead it.
N.B. Some alternate spellings: Melisend/Melisende, Zangi/Zengi, Nur ad-Din/Nureddin,
Unar/Anar.
A Table of Contents for William of Tyre
XIV.11
XVI.1-3
XVI.4-5
XVI.6
XVI.7
XVI.8-13
XVI.14-16
XVI.17
XVI.18-29
XVI.23
XVII.1
Brief description of Patriarch Fulcher
Descriptions of Baldwin III and Melisende
Siege and fall of Edessa
A victorious campaign by Baldwin
Death of Zangi, who is succeeded by Nur ad-Din
Campaign against Bostrum, fighting with Nur ad-Din and relations with
Damascus and Unar
Second fall of Edessa, to Nur ad-Din
Fulcher become Patriarch of Jerusalem
Crusade preached in West; the journeys of Conrad and Louis
Brief description of Frederick Barbarossa
Council at Acre
7
BOOK XIV CHAPTER 6
Fulcher becomes Archbishop of Tyre.
About the same time [1134-1135], William, our predecessor, laid aside the burden of the
flesh and departed to the Lord. He was the first Latin archbishop of Tyre after the liberation
of the city … and was succeeded by Fulcher of good memory, an Aquitanian from the county
of Angouleme. Fulcher was religious and God-fearing, possessed of little learning, but a
faithful man and a lover of discipline. [While still in France, he was on the opposing side of
his bishop during the schism of 1131, when there were two claimants to the papacy, and
Fulcher suffered “annoyances” from his superior.] Fulcher, a man of revered life, could not
endure this treatment. He took leave of his brethren and went to Jerusalem for the sake of
prayer. He professed the regular life with constant attendance in the cloister of the church of
the Sepulchre of the Lord and was finally called to the curch at Tyre.
For twelve years, he ruled that church vigorously and well….
8
BOOK XVI
1. A brief preface is given. On the death of Fulk, his son Baldwin
III succeeds to the throne. The personal appearance of
the latter is described.
THE events which have been recorded in the present history up to this
time have been assembled from the accounts of others who still preserve
a faithful recollection of earlier times. It is, therefore, with much
difficulty that we have obtained reliable material and the correct chronology
and succession of events. As far as possible, however, we have
given a faithful account of these events as received from the narratives
themselves. The things which now follow we ourselves have, in part,
witnessed with our own eyes and, in part, learned from the trustworthy
relation of those who were present when the events occurred. Relying
upon these two sources, therefore, by the will of God we shall set
down for the benefit of posterity with more ease and accuracy the rest
of this history. For the memory is ever wont to recall more vividly
recent occurrences, and that which the eye presents to the mind is less
easily forgotten than that which is conveyed by the ear alone….
Fulk, the third Latin king of Jerusalem, was succeeded by Baldwin
III, his son by Queen Melisend. As has been mentioned, Baldwin had
one brother named Amaury, a little boy seven years old. When Baldwin
later died without children, this brother succeeded him in the
kingdom, as will be related in the following chapters. Baldwin was
thirteen years old when he came to the throne [in 1143], and he reigned twenty
years. He was a youth of excellent natural ability and even at that
time gave plain evidence of that character which later he fully attained.
On reaching manhood, he was easily preeminent among all
others by beauty of feature and form as well as by his general bearing.
In vivacity of mind and brilliancy of speech he was superior to all the
nobles of the realm. He was taller than the average man, but his limbs
were so well proportioned to his height that no feature seemed out of
harmony with the whole. His features were comely and refined, his
complexion florid, a proof of innate strength. In this respect he resembled
his mother and was not inferior to his maternal grandfather.
His eyes were of medium size, rather prominent and sparkling. He had
straight yellowish hair and wore a rather full beard on cheeks and
chin. He was of somewhat full habit, although he could not be called
fleshy like his brother or spare like his mother. In short, it may be said
that his whole appearance was so superior by reason of a certain remarkable
dignity which shone forth from him that even strangers could not fail to recognize his innate
kingly majesty.
2. Concerning his life and habits.
9
BALDWIN'S habit of mind was equally well constituted and was in complete
accord with his great physical beauty. He had an unusually keen
intellect and was gifted by nature with the rare advantage of eloquent
speech. Nor did he appear inferior to any other prince in his dignified
and agreeable manners. He was extremely affable and tender-hearted,
and, although he was liberal to almost everyone, far beyond his means,
yet he was not at all desirous of the money of others. He did not
trouble the patrimony of the churches, nor did he, like a prodigal, lie
in wait for the riches of his subjects. He had one characteristic that is
usually very rare in youth. Even at that time of life he feared God and
felt great reverence for ecclesiastical institutions and the prelates of
the church. He was gifted with a vivacious disposition and had, besides,
the advantage of an accurate memory. He was fairly well educated,
much more so than was his brother Amaury, who succeeded him.
Whatever leisure he could snatch from his public duties he delighted
to devote to reading. He particularly enjoyed listening to the reading
of history and inquired with great diligence into the deeds and habits
of the noblest kings and princes of former times. With men of letters
and wise laymen he loved above all to converse. His gracious affability
led him to greet even the most lowly by name, much to their surprise.
He voluntarily offered an opportunity of conversing with him to anyone
who wished it or whom he casually met. If an audience was requested,
he did not refuse it.
In this way, he gained the favor of both fathers and people so that
he was more popular with men of both classes than any of his predecessors
had been. He endured hardships with patience and, after the example
of the best princes, displayed great wisdom and foresight in the
uncertain issues of war. In the midst of difficult situations which he endured
for the sake of extending the realm, he showed royal steadfastness and at no time lost the presence of mind befitting a brave man. He
was fully acquainted with the customary law by which the kingdom of
the East was governed, so that in difficult questions, even the older
nobles were wont to consult his knowledge and marvel at the erudition
of his trained mind.
His conversation was witty and jovial. Since he had unusual facility
in adapting himself easily to everyone, he mingled acceptably with
every age and condition. He was, moreover, a man of unusual courtesy,
and this was the more remarkable because he permitted himself great
freedom of speech. If he observed any reprehensible or striking faults
in his friends, he corrected them in public regardless of whether his
words pleased or offended. Yet these rebukes, since they were made
more in jollity—or, rather, in lightness of heart—than with any intent
to hurt, did not greatly lessen his popularity with the victims of
10
his blunt remarks. His frankness was readily pardoned, in fact, because
he bore with equanimity the cutting words which were directed against
him in retaliation. In such things and in the pernicious games of chance
and dice he indulged more than befitted royal majesty. In pursuit of
the desires of the flesh, also, he is said to have dishonored the marriage
ties of others. This was in his youth, however, for when he became a
man, like the apostle he “put away childish things." [I Corinthians 13:11] Thus by the
practice of the virtues he atoned for the faults of earlier years. For after
he took a wife he is said to have been entirely faithful to her. The
reprehensible faults, displeasing to God, which he had contracted in
his youth, under the impulse of that critical period, he later with wise
counsel abandoned and became changed for the better.
He was extremely temperate in taking bodily refreshment; in fact
he was abstemious beyond the requirements of that age. He abominated
excess either in food or in drink and used to say that it was touchwood
for the worst crimes.
3. Concerning his elevation to the throne and of how long he
reigned under the guardianship of his mother.
KING FULK died on the tenth day of November. On the day of the
Lord's Nativity following, in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord
1142, Baldwin was solemnly anointed, consecrated, and crowned, together
with his mother, in the church of the Sepulchre of the Lord.
The ceremony was conducted by William, patriarch of Jerusalem, before
the customary assemblage of the princes and all the prelates of
the church. The head of the holy Roman church at that time was Eugenius
III; Aimery was patriarch of Antioch, and William, patriarch
of Jerusalem. Archbishop Fulcher presided over the church at Tyre.
Melisend, the king's mother, was a woman of great wisdom who had
had much experience in all kinds of secular matters. She had risen so
far above the normal status of women that she dared to undertake important
measures. It was her ambition to emulate the magnificence of
the greatest and noblest princes and to show herself in no wise inferior
to them. Since her son was as yet under age, she ruled the kingdom and
administered the government with such skilful care that she may be
said truly to have equalled her ancestors in that respect. As long as her
son was w!lling to be governed by her counsel, the people enjoyed a
highly desirable state of tranquillity, and the affairs of the realm moved
on prosperously. But the more frivolous elements in the kingdom soon
found that the queen's wise influence hindered their attempts to draw
the king into their own pursuits. They therefore persuaded their royal
master, who, like others of his age, was "pliable as wax in being
bent toward vice, but rough toward those who rebuked him," to
withdraw from the guardianship of his mother and to rule the kingdom
11
of his fathers himself. Itwas unseemly, they said, that a king who
ought to rule all others should constantly be tied to the apron strings
of his mother like the son of a private person. Although this intrigue
originated in the thoughtless levity or malice of certain individuals, it
came near being the ruin of the whole kingdom, as will be explained
in more detail later when this subject is discussed.
4. Zangi lays siege to Edessa. The location of this city is described.
THAT same year [1143], during the interval between the death of King Fulk
and the elevation of Baldwin to the throne, the accursed Zangi with a
mighty host laid siege to Edessa. This city, also more commonly
known as Rohas, was the great and famous capital of the land of the
Medes. Zangi was a powerful Turk, lord and ruler of the city once
called Nineveh, but now known as Mosul, the metropolis of the region
formerly known as the land of Assur. His reliance lay not only in the
numbers and strength of his people but also in the fact that a serious
feud had arisen between Raymond, prince of Antioch, and Joscelin,
count of Edessa. This latter city was situated a day's journey beyond
the Euphrates. Its lord and master, the count just mentioned, had,
contrary to the custom of his predecessors, given up his home there and
established his permanent residence near the Euphrates at a castle
called Turbessel. The fertility of the country in that vicinity and the
leisure afforded by that place had led him to make this change. At
Turbessel, he was far from the disturbance caused by his enemies, he
had time for luxurious pleasures of every kind, and he felt no responsibility,
as he should have done, for the noble city.
The inhabitants of Edessa were native Chaldeans and peaceful Armenians.
They were utterly ignorant of the use of arms and familiar
only with the business of trading. Latins also came hither occasionally,
but citizens of that race were few in number. The protection of the city
was entirely in the hands of mercenaries. These did not receive wages
according to the time or kind of service rendered but often had to wait
a year or more before they could collect what was due them.
Both Baldwin and Joscelin the Elder, as soon as they came into possession
of this countship, had established their permanent residence at
Edessa. They saw to it carefully that adequate supplies of arms and
food and all else necessary for some length of time should be brought
thither from the surrounding places. By this means perfect security
for Edessa was obtained, and it also became justly formidable to the
other cities in the vicinity. But as has been said, there was now enmity
between the prince of Antioch and the count, and this was no longer
concealed but had already reached the stage of open hatred. Consequently,
neither felt any concern for the troubles or unlucky disasters
12
of the other; rather, each rejoiced in the distress of the other and exulted
over any untoward mischance.
The great prince Zangi seized the opportunity offered by these dissensions.
He levied a countless number of cavalry forces from all over
the East, summoned also the people of the neighboring cities, and laid
siege to Edessa. He blocked all the entrances to the city so closely that
the besieged could not issue forth, nor could anyone enter from outside.
The people shut up within the city were soon driven to extremities by
the shortage of food and provisions of all kinds. Edessa was surrounded
by a massive wall and protected by lofty towers in the upper part of
the city. There was another stronghold lower down, to which, even if
the city should be taken, the citizens could flee for refuge. All such defenses may avail against the foe if there are fighters who will put up a
valiant fight for liberty, but they are useless when there are none
among the besieged willing to undertake the part of defenders. For
walls, towers, and ramparts avail but little if there are none to man
them.
Hence, when Zangi found that the city was without defenders his
hope of taking it was greatly increased. He placed his troops in a circle
round about, stationed the chiefs of the legions in advantageous
positions, and invested the city. Stones and missiles hurled from the
engines battered the walls without ceasing and showers of arrows
allowed the citizens no respite.
Meanwhile, swiftly flying rumor spread the news abroad that
Edessa, faithful worshipper of God, was undergoing the horrors of
siege at the hand of enemies of the Christian faith and name. The
hearts of all true believers, far and near, were appalled, and the zealous
began to arm themselves to take vengeance upon the wicked foe.
The tidings of this critical situation roused the count [Joscelin] to action, and he
began assiduously to assemble his forces. Mindful too late of the noble
city, he began, as it were, "to prepare funeral rites for the dead: for
those whom, when sick and suppliant, he had neglected to aid." He
went about among the Christians and besought aid from his friends.
He dispatched messengers to his lord, the prince of Antioch [Raymond], and
begged him with most humble and earnest prayers that he would sympathize
with him in his trouble and deliver Edessa from the threatened
fate of slavery. News of the dire calamity also reached the king of
Jerusalem [Baldwin]. Rumors of the siege of Edessa and the straits which her
citizens were enduring were confirmed. After a conference with her
nobles, the queen [Melisend], who held the reins of government, ordered her kinsman,
Manasses, the royal constable, Philip of Nablus, and Elinandus
of Tiberias to march thither with a strong force at once to assist the
count and the afflicted citizens. The prince of Antioch, however, rejoiced
13
in the count's misfortune. Without regard for his own responsibility
for the general welfare and the fact that “personal hatred should
not be permitted to injure the common interest,” he offered excuses to
delay giving the aid which had been asked.
5. Edessa is captured and her people slain.
IN the meantime Zangi continued to attack the city without intermission
and ran through the whole gamut of injuries. No method was left
untried which might tend to increase the woes of the citizens and help
him to take the city. Through subterranean passages he sent in miners
who dug tunnels under the wall. These were supported overhead by
beams which were then set on fire. When the props burned away, a
great part of the wall fell and left a breach which afforded the enemy
an entrance more than a hundred cubits wide. The desired approach
thus obtained, the legions rushed together from all directions, entered
the city, and put to the sword all whom they encountered. Neither
age, condition, nor sex was spared. To them might this saying well be
applied: "They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless."[Psalms 94:6]
Thus the city was captured and delivered over to the sword of the
enemy. As soon as this happened, the more sensible and alert among
the citizens fled with their wives and children to the citadel, which, as
has been said, was in the city. Here they hoped that their lives at least
might be safe, if only for a short time. But the inrush of such a crowd
of people caused a panic, and many perished miserably in the struggling
mob. Among others who died in this way are said to have been
the Very Reverend Hugo, archbishop of Edessa, and some of his
clergy. Those who were present at the time felt that the prelate was in
some measure to blame for this catastrophe. Although he was said to
have amassed great riches, which he might have used to pay troops
for defending the city, he preferred, like a miser, to store up his wealth
rather than to consider his perishing people. As a result, he reaped the
fruits of his avarice and shared the fate of the populace. Unless the
Lord in His mercy should come to his aid, an unsavory reputation will
ever attend his memory. For terrible are the words of Scripture concerning
men of his sort: "Thy money perish with thee." [Acts 8:20]
Thus, while the prince of Antioch, influenced by foolish hatred, put
off rendering the aid due to his brethren and the count was waiting
for help from strangers, the ancient city fell[Decembr 1144]. Edessa, devoted to the
Christian name from the times of the apostles, the city which was rescued
from the superstitions of the infidels by the words and preaching
of the Apostle Thaddeus, suffered the undeserved yoke of servitude.
Tradition says that the holy Apostle Thomas was buried in this city,
14
as was also the Apostle Thaddeus and blessed King Abgar. This is that
Abgar, the illustrious ruler of the city whose letter to the Lord Jesus
Christ is mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea in his work called the
Ecclesiastical History….
But so much on this matter; now let us resume the history.
6. A fortress beyond the Jordan, called the Valley of Moses, is
taken by the king.
DURING the first year of this King Baldwin's reign, the Turks, with
the consent and at the invitation of certain people dwelling in that
vicinity, seized one of our strongholds called the Valley of Moses, in
Syria Sobal beyond the Jordan. This place is located near the waters
of Strife, where Moses, when the people of Israel were murmuring
and dying from thirst, struck water from the rock and the whole people
and their beasts drank thereof.
When it became known that the enemy had seized this fortress and
had killed the Christians dwelling there, the king, although still very
young, levied forces from all over the land and set forth thither. With
his troops he crossed the famous valley now occupied by the Dead sea,
which is also called the lake of Asphalt, and went up into the hill country
of Arabia Secunda or Arabia Petra, in the land of Moab. From
there he traversed Syria Sobal, or Arabia Tertia, now commonly called
the land of Montreal, and came to his destination. The inhabitants of
the country had already had news of our approach and with their wives
and children had fled into the fortress, the defenses of which seemed
to render it impregnable. For several days our forces exerted themselves
in vain before the place. Volleys of stone missiles, repeated
showers of arrows, and other methods of assault were tried with no
result. Finally the Christians became convinced that, because of its
fortifications, the place could not be taken. They therefore turned to
other plans.
The entire region was covered with luxuriant olive groves which
shaded the surface of the land like a dense forest. From these trees the
dwellers in that land derived all their living, as their fathers had done
before them. If these failed, then all means of livelihood would be
taken away. It was determined, therefore, to root out the trees and
burn them. It was thought that the terrified inhabitants, rendered
desperate by the destruction of their olive groves, would either give up
or drive out the Turks who had taken refuge in the citadel and surrender
the fortress to us. This plan was entirely successful. As soon
as they saw their beloved trees cut down, the people changed their
tactics and adopted others. On condition that the Turks whom they had
15
called in should be allowed to depart unharmed and that they themselves
with their families should not be punished by death for their
wicked conduct, they restored the stronghold to the king.
The castle was thereupon received, a garrison appointed, and supplies
of food and arms sent in. Thus the king successfully finished the
first campaign after his accession to the throne and, with his whole
army safe and sound, returned victorious to his own land.
7. Zangi is killed while besieging Calogenbar. His son Nureddin
succeeds him.
ZANGI was greatly elated by his brilliant success in subjugating the city of
Edessa. He immediately applied himself to besieging Calogenbar,
a fortified place on the river Euphrates. While he was carrying on the
siege of this place, however, the lord of the town entered into a conspiracy
with some of the chamberlains and eunuchs of Zangi's own
household. One night, as the prince, gorged with wine and unusually
drunk, was lying in his tent, he was slain by some of his own servants. [September 1146]
When the news of his death arrived, one of our people remarked
apropos of his assassination, "What a happy coincidence! A guilty
murderer, with the bloody name Sanguinus, has become ensanguined
with his own blood."
The murderers were received within the walls by the lord of the besieged
city, according to agreement, and thus escaped the vengeance of
the dead man's kin. Zangi's entire army fled when deprived of the
support and protection of their lord. His sons succeeded him, the one
at Mosul in the Orient, and the other, Nureddin by name, at Aleppo.
The latter was a wise and prudent man and, according to the superstitious
traditions of his people, one who feared God. He was fortunate
also in that he greatly increased the heritage which was left him by his
father.
8. A certain noble of Damascus, governor of the city of Bostrum,
enters into an alliance with the king. The army of the
realm is sent to that city. Anar, governor of Damascus, tries
to prevent these plans.
NOT long after this, in the second year of King Baldwin's reign [more likely 1147],
a certain noble Turkish satrap came with a noble retinue to Jerusalem.
For some reason he had incurred the anger of Mejeredin [Mujir
aI-Din], king of Damascus. He had, moreover, fallen under the displeasure
of the governor, Mehen-Eddin [Mu'in aI-Din], or Anar, a
man whose authority throughout the land of the Damascenes was far
greater than that of the king himself. This satrap assured the king and
his mother that, if an honorable compensation worthy of his consideration
16
were granted him, he would surrender to them the city of Bastrum,
over which he ruled, and also the stronghold of Selcath. Bostrum
is the metropolis of Arabia Prima, which today is called in the common
speech Bussereth. [Bostrum is south of Damascus, in southern Syria.] This
same nobleman, Tantais by name, was said to be an Armenian by birth.
He was tall of stature, of agreeable countenance, and his entire bearing
gave evidence of a manly spirit.
Accordingly, a general conference of the nobles was called. The
reasons for the visit of this great man were explained and every aspect
of his proposition carefully considered. It was finally unanimously resolved
that he be granted an honorable and satisfactory compensation,
that an army be levied, and an expedition sent to Bostrum. All
agreed that, if through the agency of this man, Bostrum could be
brought under our jurisdiction and added to the Christian name with
perpetual right, such an increase of the kingdom would be most acceptable
to God. An agreement satisfactory to both parties was thereupon
concluded, and the heralds were ordered to call together all the
people of the realm immediately. After imploring aid from on high,
the king and his nobles took with them the Life-giving Cross of Salvation
and proceeded to Tiberias. Camp was established near the bridge
where the waters of the Jordan separate from the sea.
There was an alliance and a temporary peace between Anar and
King Baldwin which had existed also in the time of the king's father.
Accordingly it was necessary that the governor be formally notified,
in order that he might have a legitimate time, following the custom of
the land, to assemble an army and make preparations for resistance.
Otherwise the king would appear to have entered his territory suddenly
and without official notice, which is contrary to the law of treaties.
Messengers had accordingly been sent to Anar, but he, as a shrewd
man, had wisely deferred sending an answer. A month had already
passed. During this time, he had been actively engaged in calling to his
aid both by entreaties and by money all the neighboring chiefs of his
own race from far and near. When large numbers had assembled from
all parts, Anar sent the following message to the king and his nobles:
"Contrary to the terms of the treaty into which you entered, you are
preparing to march into the land of my lord and you are endeavoring
to protect with undeserved patronage his rebellious servant, who is
acting against the allegiance which he has sworn. We humbly beseech
the lord king to desist from this unjust purpose and to preserve intact
the substance of the agreements previously concluded between us. We
are ready in all sincerity to refund to the king all the expense to which
he has been put for this expedition."
To this the king responded by the advice of all as follows: "We do
17
not intend to violate in any way the provisions of the treaty which we
have made with you. But as this nobleman came to discuss matters with
us in a friendly way, we cannot honorably fail a man who has placed all
his hope in our kingdom. It will be satisfactory to us, however, if we
are permitted to conduct him back in safety to the city which he abandoned
for our benefit. After he has withdrawn into his own castle, let
his lord deal with him according to the laws of the land and recompense
him as he deserves. As for us, both in coming and going we will
wholly refrain from inflicting any injury upon our friend, the king
of Damascus, as, by the will of God, we are bound to do."
This same Anar was a man of much wisdom and a lover of our people.
He had three daughters, one of whom he had married to the king
of the Damascenes, just mentioned [Mejeredin]; another to Nureddin, the
son of Zangi; and the third to a distinguished knight, Margar. He had,
therefore, the good of the realm at heart, not only because he was the
father-in-law of the king, but also because of his own great discretion.
The king, however, was indolent by nature and devoted to drinking
and revelry. He cared only for pleasure and gave himself up entirely
to dissolute practices.
Anar, as has been mentioned, made great efforts to gain the favor of
the Christians by all possible complaisance; he made use of every art
by which friends are won. But whether this proceeded from the heart
and from sincerity of purpose or was forced upon him by necessity contrary
to his own wishes may well be questioned by the wise. Doubtless
either might be the case, for he regarded his son-in-law, Nureddin,
with the same distrust that he had formerly felt toward the latter's father,
Zangi. He ever feared that Nureddin might drive the king, who
was also his son-in-law, but a most worthless and grossly ignorant man,
from the kingdom. He himself would then lose the reins of government.
This was the principal reason why he regarded our favor as most
essential to his interests and in every possible way endeavored to secure
it. This wise man seems to have had almost prophetic foresight, for the
situation that he feared actually came to pass. After his death, Nureddin,
with the consent of the people of Damascus, drove out the reigning
king by force and seized the throne.
It was for this reason, therefore, that he exerted himself faithfully
to make good the expense to which the king had been put in raising the
expedition and to send him back to his own land unharmed. Doubtless
he would have adopted an even less hostile attitude toward the king
and his forces in this matter if he could have restrained, as he would
have liked, the allies whom he had summoned from without. For we
have found many reliable proofs which give definite testimony to his
18
loyalty, sincerity, and steadfastness in various matters.
9. The army experiences countless perils while on the march [to capture Bostrum].
AMONG the envoys who brought this report was a certain Bernard
Vacher, who stood in very close relation to the king. When these facts
were announced, the people at once began to cry out that Bernard was
a traitor, that anyone who would seek to dissuade them in this matter
and put obstacles in their way was not loyal to the Christians. With
loud shouts, the irresponsible mob began to demand that the march be
resumed, that the effort to obtain possession of that noble city be not
readily abandoned. Thanks were due to the nobleman who had
offered a service to Christianity that would be remembered throughout
the ages; his proposal should be carried out in every detail faithfully
and devotedly; for this purpose they ought to strive even to the death.
Amid tumultuous uproar the will of the crowd prevailed, and the
advice of saner minds was rejected. The baggage was accordingly
arranged, the camp broken up, and the march directed toward the
city. After passing Cavea Roab, they entered the plain called Medan,
where the Arabs and other Eastern people are wont to hold yearly
fairs. At this point our army began to encounter the enemy in such vast
numbers that even those who had formerly been most insistent that
the campaign be continued would gladly have turned back, had that
been possible. Yet the troops, although astounded at the magnitude
of the enemy's array, prepared to go into battle at once. On the advice
of those experienced in the art of warfare, however, the king ordered
that camp be made first. This was done, and the troops took thought
for their bodily refreshment as far as was possible in the critical situation.
The night passed in sleepless vigilance. The enemy's hosts, now
increased beyond number, closed in on all sides about our legions,
confident that on the morrow the Christians, bound like the lowest
slaves, would become their prey. Our people, however, wisely kept
constant watch and attended most carefully to their duties, as behooved
brave men. When morning came, a conference was held, and it was
determined to advance, for to retreat seemed not only disgraceful but
practically impossible. In fact, the enemy now encircled them on every
side and effectually hindered either course.
Nevertheless, our men pressed on courageously. A path was finally
opened by the sword through the enemy's midst, and our forces, as
with one accord, advanced toward their destination. Burdened as they
were, however, with breastplates, helmets, and shields, they moved at
a slow pace. Their progress was hindered also by the great numbers
of the foe around them. The cavalry squadrons, being without baggage,
could have proceeded more rapidly, but it was necessary that they
19
adapt their movements to the pace of the infantry companies, that the
ranks might not be broken and the enemy be given a chance to break in
upon the formations. So the cohorts suffered with each other, and the
entire Christian company was as one. The knights showed such care for
the people on foot that they often dismounted from their horses and
shared like hardships. They even offered to carry the weary, that the
difficulties of the march might be made lighter.
Meanwhile, the enemy continued to harass the army with ceaseless
showers of arrows and strove to break our lines by increasing their
efforts. But the more the Christians were menaced, the more closely
they massed themselves together. Fearlessly and ardently they continued
on their way.
As a culminating point of troubles, they were assailed by terrible
thirst, which was intensified by the difficulty of the march and by the
heat of summer. Their route was through an arid and waterless country, for that entire region is without springs. In winter the natives
collect the rain water in reservoirs, both natural and artificial. At this
time, however, these had become useless, for the province had recently
suffered from a pest of locusts of extraordinary extent, so that all the
pools of this kind had been spoiled and the water corrupted by the
dead insects therein.
The region through which our road lay is called Trachonitis. Luke
mentions it in his Gospel as follows: "Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of
the region of Trachonitis." The name seems to us to be derived
rather from the tracones. For the hidden, subterranean caves in which
that region abounds are called tracones. Nearly all the people of that
locality live in grottos and caves and have their homes in these tracones,
10. On arriving at their destination, they find the city occupied
by the enemy. Accordingly, they return home without accomplishing
their end.
THE Christians traversed a part of that country under conditions of
extreme danger. About the last hour of the day, they came to a place
which was called Adratum in earlier days, but which is now generally
known as the city of Bernard d'Estampes. It is one of the suffragan
cities of the metropolis of Bostrum. The inhabitants of this place had
joined the enemy's forces, and therefore our people had to suffer even
worse hardships than before. For when they tried to obtain water from
the cisterns which lay open, they lost even the buckets which had
been let down. The foe, hidden in the subterranean caverns, cut the
ropes by which these had been lowered, and sent them back dangling.
The frustration of this hope, for the sake of which they had so long
20
labored in vain, intensified the agony of their thirst.
For four successive days our people never indulged in rest; indeed,
they were so continually persecuted that they scarcely had leisure, even
during the night, to satisfy their bodily needs. Day by day the enemy's
numbers increased, while our forces as steadily decreased. Some were
killed, others fatally wounded. Still others, panic-stricken and despairing
of their lives, swelled the throng around the baggage, skulked
among the horses and pack animals, and feigned weakness, that they
might not be compelled to come out and bear the brunt of the enemy's
attack. Dense showers of arrows and other missiles fell like rain or
hail upon our forces so incessantly that the host of men and beasts
seemed covered with weapons. Well might a spectator marvel at the
continued perseverance of the foe in attacking and the invincible endurance
of the Christians in resisting. Nonetheless, our people continued
to let fly showers of arrows and darts, but as the enemy were
able to move about freely, our missiles rarely injured them.
The Christians continued their march under many perils, and at
last, in the fourth day they drew near their destination and saw the
city at a distance. With great difficulty they drove off the enemy by
force and took possession of the waters which flowed forth in moderation
from the rocks. Camp was made near by, and the forces devoted
themselves for a short period to bodily refreshment and relaxation.
That night the Christians enjoyed some degree of rest and were eagerly
looking forward to the morrow. But in the silence of midnight, a bearer
of ill tidings stealthily left the city and made his way through the enemy's
lines to our camp. He announced that he had private messages
for the king and begged to be led to him at once. He was admitted. The
nobles were summoned and also the noble lord, the former governor of
the city, who had led us into the present predicament. The messenger
then disclosed the fact that the wife of this same lord had betrayed the
city and surrendered it to the Turks. They had introduced their forces
and taken possession of all the strongholds, including the citadel itself.
Everyone else had been driven out.
Our people were overwhelmed by the news of this disaster. They
held a conference and finally decided that their best course was to return speedily to their own land at whatever risk. Some of the chief
men of the kingdom, however, privately counselled the king to mount
the horse of John Gomani, which was reputed to excel all other army
steeds in swiftness and endurance, and, with the Cross of Salvation in
his hand, to look out for his own safety alone. This advice was given
in despair of the possibility of return and in anticipation that the entire
army would shortly be destroyed. The king, however, although still
very young, rejected this counsel with royal magnificence and clearly
21
showed what his character would be in later years. He declared that
he would scorn to save his own life if a people consecrated to God were
to perish so wretchedly.
Although these admonitions proceeded from loyal affection, the
king declined to heed them, and other plans were adopted. To advance farther meant utter destruction; therefore measures for the
retreat were taken. Now for the first time the Christians felt the hardship
of their situation in double measure, for their great hope now
was gone, and they realized that their efforts had been all in vain.
Their troubles up to this time had been serious enough—in fact, almost
unendurable—and they had suffered miseries equal to any they might
encounter afterward. Yet as they struggled on, they were supported
by the confident hope of taking the city, and these pleasurable anticipations
enabled them to hold out. Now, however, this hope had failed
them, and they realized that their project must be abandoned. Accordingly,
the herald proclaimed the return, and all prepared for the
homeward march.
11. The army encounters untold perils on the return march. The
Turks are amazed at the perseverance of our troops.
AT dawn on the following day, Nureddin arrived from the city mentioned
above and, with an infinite number of Turks, joined the cohorts
of the enemy. His father-in-law had appealed to him for aid. The
Christians, however, started out on the return march, as had been arranged.
As soon as the Turks perceived this movement, they hastened
against them and, with a great clamor, tried to prevent the retreat. But
the very difficulties that beset our people on every side strengthened
their courage. With their swords they broke through the opposing
ranks and, although with extreme danger and at the cost of many lives,
forced their way through.
General orders had been given that the bodies of all the dead in the
Christian ranks be placed upon camels and other pack animals, that
the knowledge of the massacre of our forces might not tend to
strengthen the enemy. The weak and wounded were also to be placed
on beasts of burden so as to give the impression that not a single Christian
had been killed or wounded. Even these disabled ones were directed
to draw their swords, that they might present at least a semblance
of strength. It was a source of amazement, therefore, to the
wiser heads among the enemy that, after such volleys of arrows, such
repeated conflicts, such torture of thirst, dust, and unbearable heat, not
a single dead or disabled Christian could be found. This people must
indeed be made of iron, they thought, for otherwise they could not
sustain persistently such continuing pressure, Accordingly, as all
22
their efforts were in vain, the enemy turned to other tactics. The entire
country thereabout was covered with a dense growth of brambles, dry
thistles and other weeds, old stubble and crops now ripe. To this they
set fire, and a strong wind soon carried it furiously toward us. Our
misfortunes were now doubled by the encroaching flames and the dense
clouds of smoke which attended them. With cries of woe the people
turned as one body to the venerable Robert, archbishop of Nazareth,
and tearfully begged him: "Pray for us, father; through the Lifegiving
Cross which you bear in your hands, the Cross upon which we
believe that the Author of our salvation hung, rescue us from these
evils, for we can no longer endure them." The wind had borne the
smoke toward them so that the faces and the general aspect of the
people were black, like that of smiths when working at the forge. The
heat from the fires in addition to the usual heat of summer, together
with extreme thirst, had raised their suffering to a point beyond endurance.
The beloved man of God was deeply moved by their cries and supplications. In humility of spirit, he raised the Cross of Salvation toward
the flames, which were rushing against him in all their violence, and
invoked aid from on high. Immediately divine favor attended them;
in a moment the wind veered about and sent the reeking volume of
cloud and flame against the enemy. Thus the evil which the Turks had
prepared for our undoing was turned to their own destruction. They
stood amazed at the wondrous miracle; unique indeed must be that
faith of the Christians which through prayer could bring about so swift
an answer from their Lord God. For a time entirely engrossed by their
own danger, they perforce gave our troops some peace and allowed
them a short respite.
12. An envoy is dispatched to the enemy on behalf of peace. A
noble knight in the enemy's ranks falls. The Turkish army
is dispersed, and our forces proceed without further hindrance.
THUS our army was hard pressed by these intolerable evils. Meanwhile,
the great nobles and those of wider experience began to realize
that the endurance of the people could not last much longer. Accordingly,
they went to the king and persuaded him to send an envoy to
Anar concerning peace. Any terms would be accepted, provided only
that the Christian army be allowed to return home. For this mission
was selected a man of rather doubtful repute, who, once before on a
similar errand, had acted disloyally toward the people of Christ. Yet
because of his familiarity with the language of the Turks, this mission
also was entrusted to him. In response to the injunction that he should
faithfully perform the duty laid upon him, he is reported to have said,
"The suspicions against me are unjust and far beyond anything that I
23
have deserved; yet I will go. But if I am guilty of the charges brought
against me, may I not be permitted to return; or rather, may I perish
by the sword of the enemy.”
The wretched man had pronounced his own sentence of death and
soon experienced the judgment of God, for before he reached the
Turks and accomplished his mission he perished at the hand of the
enemy.
Four distinguished Arab chiefs, followed by a host of their people,
took part in this campaign. They were brothers, sons of the mighty
and distinguished Arab satrap Morel. These troops kept making persistent
and very spirited attacks upon the flanks of our army. Yet our
soldiers under the commands given them did not dare to break out of
line against them. For if, contrary to the discipline of war, they should
break the ranks, they would be exposed to a harsh sentence as deserters
from their places. In the retinue of that Turk who was with us, however,
there was a certain knight who could not endure this situation and
longed to relieve us of the annoyance. Regardless of the rules imposed
and reckless of his life, he spurred his horse forward with great courage.
He threw the spear which he was carrying against one of the four
brothers, then ran him through with his sword in the midst of his
ranks, and hurled the lifeless body to the ground. Then he returned
without injury to our lines.
An immense throng at once gathered round the body of the dead
chief. When it became evident that he had already breathed forth his
luckless spirit, the assembled crowd broke into loud lamentations and
gave expression to their intense grief in floods of tears.
But our people rejoiced greatly. Eagerly they demanded to know
the name of the man who had exposed himself to such peril and thereby
wrought a feat worthy of eternal fame. It was discovered that he was
an alien who might readily be pardoned for transgressing the rules,
especially as he did not know the language and had not understood
the public edict. Accordingly, although he had undoubtedly acted contrary
to the rules of military discipline, yet, since he had been unaware
of the command, he was mercifully pardoned, and his deed was regarded
as praiseworthy, rather because of the result than because it
was right.
In this way the enemy's battle line on that side was broken. Our
army was now able to spread out, and accordingly, in the more open
country they soon secured compensation for the straits which they had
suffered. After an uninterrupted march of several days, they again
came to Cavea Roab. Since the passage was very narrow and it might
24
be dangerous to cross here, the leaders purposely ordered that it be
avoided. But Anar, the procurator of Damascus, observed that the
king was leading his army toward the valley just mentioned. Accordingly,
he sent messengers to say that if the king pleased he would cause
a meal to be prepared for him in all good faith beyond Cavea, for he
knew that now for several days the army had been suffering from lack
of provisions. Whether this was a sincere offer, made out of good will
toward the Christians, or whether it was simply a ruse to force the
Christian army into the narrow defiles of still more dangerous valleys
we have not been able to ascertain. Nevertheless, the traditional belief
is that the gifts of an enemy should rightly be distrusted. Consequently,
by unanimous decision, it was determined to proceed by the
upper road which was more level and less dangerous.
There was no one to guide them, however, through the country
which they must traverse. But suddenly there appeared ahead of the
ranks an unknown knight mounted upon a white horse. He wore a
breastplate and short gauntlets reaching to the elbow and carried a red
standard. Like an angel of the Lord, this man led them by the shortest routes to waters hitherto unknown and showed them the best and
most convenient places to make camp. It had taken the expedition
practically five days to reach Cavea, but under the guidance of this
leader they arrived at Gadara in three.
13. Our legions reach Gadara. The place is described. The troops
return home.
GADARA is situated in the region called Decapolis, of which it is written
in the Gospel of Mark, "and again, departing from the coasts of
Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of
the coasts of Decapolis." As its name indicates, this land contains
ten cities, namely, Hippus, Pella, Gadara, the place just mentioned,
and seven others. This last-named city is situated on the borderland
between the enemy's country and our own. When our first legions
reached it, the Turks once more began to harass our rear ranks, as if
again seized by their former evil fury. They soon perceived, however,
that their efforts were of no avail, for the Christians had already entered
their own land. Accordingly, exhausted under the burden of
smoke, extreme hot weather, and fatigue, they broke ranks and began
to return in throngs to their own country. That night passed in unusual
tranquillity. Our men allowed their wearied bodies the rest and refreshment
so much needed, and on the following day they proceeded
to Tiberias.
Those who still preserve an accurate memory of this occurrence all
agree that the leader of this march was known to no one. When the
25
army made camp, he always disappeared immediately. He was never
seen anywhere in the camp, but in the morning he again went on ahead
of the troops. No one now living can remember any equally perilous
expedition during the period of the Latins in the Orient which did not
result in a decisive victory for the enemy.
When the king returned to the realm and the Cross of the Lord was
restored to Jerusalem, there was great rejoicing among the people who
had remained at home, because their friends had now returned. Well
might they cry, "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was
lost, and is found." [Luke 15:24]
Shortly after this, that same noble Turk was summoned with pacific
words under pretense of reconciliation by the subtle Anar. He met with
most shameful treatment, however. The wretched man was blinded
and spent the rest of his life in the utmost poverty and misery.
14. The citizens of Edessa appeal to the count [Joscelin]. He hurries thither
and, without the knowledge of the enemy, receives the city.
WHILE these events were transpiring in our vicinity, a deplorable
thing which should be recorded happened in the county of Edessa. In
order that the details of this occurrence may be fully understood it is
necessary to go back somewhat earlier in the story.
After the death of Zangi, that greatest persecutor of the Christian
faith, his son Nureddin was detained at Mosul for a time on the matter
of his succession to his father's principate. Only a few of his retainers
were left to keep guard at Edessa. All the rest of the population was
strong in the Christian faith. Realizing this fact, the inhabitants of
Edessa secretly sent messengers to Count Joscelin and announced that,
with the exception of a few Turks who were guarding the citadel, their
city was practically abandoned to the citizens. Now the people of
Edessa were, and had been from the time of the apostles, rooted and
grounded in the Christian faith so that, as has been mentioned elsewhere,
there were very few, practically none, of other faiths dwelling
among them. Most earnestly, they begged the count that he would
assemble military forces and hasten to the city, which the citizens
would at once surrender to him without danger or obstacle.
Joscelin hastily assembled all the troops of that country, both infantry
and cavalry. Then, accompanied by Baldwin of Manash, a
noble and powerful man, he quickly crossed the river and appeared
suddenly at night before Edessa with all his followers. While the
Turks who had been left as guards were sleeping, in the silence of the
night, the citizens admitted some of the count's people by ropes and
26
ladders. These opened the gates to the rest who were waiting outside.
All rushed in at the same time pell-mell; they spread through the
city in every direction and put to the sword every foe whom they encountered.
Some of the latter, however, succeeded in escaping death
and reached the citadel.
In this manner, the count and his army of Christians held the city
for several days. They did not succeed in taking the citadel, however,
for that was carefully fortified and well equipped with provisions,
weapons, and soldiers. The lack of success in this respect was largely
due to the fact that the count's forces had brought with them neither
engines nor anything with which to build them. Nor could any material
suitable for the purpose be found in the city.
15. Nureddin attacks Edessa. He places the city under siege. He
causes the Christians extreme distress.
MESSENGERS were now sent forth to inform Christian people everywhere
of this success and to invite those in the vicinity to hasten thither
to assist in holding and preserving for the Christian religion forever
the city which had been received through the grace of God. Christians
everywhere rejoiced over this news, and, in proportion to the deep sorrow
which they had felt over the captivity of Edessa, they received
consolation in like measure. Mourning soon took the place of extreme
joy, however, and the sound of the zither was changed into strains of
grief. Sorrow, even more intense than before, revived. For as soon as
Nureddin learned that the inhabitants had surrendered Edessa to the
count, he levied troops from all parts of the Orient and ordered the
herald to direct the people of the neighboring cities to assemble at one
place. Suddenly he appeared before Edessa, placed his legions in a
circle about it, and began siege operations. Thus it was with our people
as it is written, "The sword without, and terror within." [Deuteronomy 32:25]
For outside, the enemy's lines being made ready for battle prevented all
exit and threatened death to the Christians, while within, the Turks in the
citadel also inspired them with fear and harassed them with constant attacks.
Beset by so many difficulties, the Christians knew not what to do.
They took frequent counsel together and as frequently changed their
plans. But to whatever course of action they turned, they found no
path which led to safety, no escape without danger of death. At last,
in view of all the exigencies of place and time, it was unanimously
resolved that they must leave the city, even at the risk of death. Unquestionably,
it would be better to encounter the enemy and force a path to safety with
the sword than to endure a siege. In the latter case, either all without
distinction would perish by the sword, or, through lack of food, be
enslaved by the Turks and forced to endure the bitter yoke of servitude,
27
a fate worse than any form of death. This decision was approved by all;
the plan was extremely perilous, yet, in view of other possible fates that
might befall them, it seemed to be the only course.
The citizens, by whose zealous efforts the count and his soldiers had
been introduced into the city, heard with dismay that all hope of resistance
had fled and that every path to safety was closed. If they
should remain in Edessa, after the departure of the count, they, as the
authors of the attempt, would certainly be punished by death in its
most dreadful form. They preferred, therefore, to depart with their
wives and children and to share uncertain fortune with their brethren
of the Christian army, rather than to fall by certain death, or, a still
more fearful fate, to suffer servitude under an infidel enemy.
16. The count leaves the city with his army and endeavors to return to his own country. He is pursued by Nureddin. The
army is massacred, but the count escapes by flight.
As soon as the gates were opened, all rushed eagerly forth as if thereby
lay the only path to safety. Although they well knew that a way must
be cut through the enemy's lines with the sword, yet whatever might
happen after they had once left the city seemed of little consequence.
Meanwhile, the Turks in the citadel had unbarred the entrances and
let some of their number into the city. These pressed hard on the
Christians from behind and forced them to hasten their departure. At
the same time the Turks outside the gates heard that some of their
people were already in the city and were fighting with the Christians.
Anxious to join them, they forcibly seized the gates which had been
opened to allow our people to depart. Thus a great multitude of all
ranks and classes was massed at that point, as one party tried to issue
forth and the other endeavored to force an entrance. A fierce struggle,
serious in its consequences to both sides, ensued in the narrow space.
The foe outside fought furiously to push in, but the strength and determination of the Christians finally prevailed against them. A passage
was opened by the sword, at the cost of many lives on both sides,
and our people spread out over the plain.
There might have been seen a most piteous spectacle, deplorable
even to describe! A helpless throng of unwarlike citizens, old men and
sick people, matrons and tender maidens, aged women and little ones,
even babes at the breast, all crowded together in the narrow gateway.
Some were trodden under the feet of the horses; others, crushed by
the on-pressing multitude, were stifled to death; while still others fell
under the merciless sword of the Turks. The greater part of the citizens,
both men and women, who had elected to follow the departing
army perished miserably at that time, A few escaped because of their
28
own strength and vigor or by the assistance of the horses and were able
to accompany the army as it retreated.
Nureddin, on perceiving that the Christians were preparing to return
home, summoned his cohorts for pursuit. He drew up his troops
ready for battle and arranged his lines in good order; then, ever pressing
close on their rear, he kept up a series of continual attacks. The
Christians directed their march toward the Euphrates, which was
about fourteen miles from Edessa. Constant fighting and ever-present
danger attended the count and his army upon the entire march thither.
At almost every step there were engagements, now of many, again of
individuals, which resulted in great loss on both sides. There died that
noble man whom we mentioned before, Baldwin of Marash, a warrior
distinguished for his military achievements. Many other excellent
men perished also at this time who were well worthy of being remembered. May their souls enjoy everlasting rest! Their names are forgotten but are surely written in heaven, for they died with a glorious
end for the sake of the faith and liberty of the people of Christ!
The count's strength was entirely unequal to that of the enemy. He
had lost the greater part of his forces and could no longer withstand
the continual onslaughts of the Turks. In order to save his life, therefore,
he crossed the Euphrates and retired to Samosata. The others fled
in different directions as seemed best to each; the baggage and equipment
was abandoned, and all thought only of life and safety.
The news of the disaster spread far and wide through all the neighboring
lands, and those who had rejoiced over the capture of Edessa
were now all the more cruelly depressed by the second loss of the city,
the massacre of the nobles, and the discomfiture of the Christian
people [November/December 1146].
17. William, patriarch of Jerusalem, dies. Fulcher, archbishop of
Tyre, succeeds to that chair, and Ralph, the king's chancellor,
is imposed upon the church of Tyre by royal power.
ABOUT this time, William, patriarch of Jerusalem, of precious memory,
a simple and God-fearing man, went the way of all flesh. He died
on September 27, in the fifteenth year of his rule [1145]. On January 25 of the
following year, Fulcher, archbishop of Tyre, was chosen in his place,
the third in the number of our predecessors.
About the time of the feast of Epiphany, a thunderbolt sent from
on high struck the church of the Sepulchre of the Lord on Mt. Sion
and exposed it to great danger, The omen terrified the entire city and
was, as we believe, a portent of disaster. A comet also was visible for
29
many days, and certain other unusual signs, prophetic of future events,
appeared….
18. The people of the West are aroused. Conrad, emperor of the
Romans, and Louis, king of France, with many other
princes, set forth on the way to aid the Christians of the East.
WHEN the city of Edessa was captured, as has been related, the story of
the ominous disaster was carried by rumor throughout the entire West.
It was said that the impious race of Turks had not only overwhelmed
the city of Edessa but was also laying waste the cities, villas, and fortified
places of our people and overrunning the entire East unchecked.
Thus the people of Christ were suffering extraordinary trials because
of constant combats and repeated invasions.
Messengers went about to peoples and nations everywhere spreading
these reports; provinces which had become lazy and enervated by
long periods of peace were visited and their aid besought to avenge
these great wrongs. Pope Eugenius III, a devout man of God, also
felt the solicitude of a father for his sons of the East, it was said, and
was in full and affectionate sympathy with them. He dispatched
throughout the various regions of the West religious men, eloquent
in exhortation, powerful both in word and deed, to inform princes
and people, tribes and tongues everywhere of the intolerable sufferings
of their brethren in the East and to rouse them to go forth to avenge
these terrible wrongs. Among these envoys was Bernard, abbot of
Clairvaux, of immortal memory, beloved of God, a man whose honorable
life was an example to all and in every respect worthy of remembrance.
He was chosen as the leader for carrying out this mission so
pleasing to God, and with all diligence he executed the task laid upon
him. Although weak of body because of approaching old age, almost
constant fasting, and a too meager diet, he went about through the
kingdom and through the country everywhere with his colaborers beloved
of God, zealously and indefatigably preaching the kingdom of
God. With all due care he described the affliction of the people of the
East and the woes by which they were continually oppressed. He set
forth clearly that the cities of the faithful, once devoted to the Christian
profession, were now suffering the direst servitude under the persecutors
of the name of Christ. Bound with chains and shackles, consumed
by hunger, confined in horrible prisons, in filth and squalor,
clothed with bitterness, those brethren for whom also Christ was willing
to die were sitting in beggary and irons. To the task of liberating
their oppressed brethren he invited them and stirred their hearts with
longing to avenge such wrongs; he promised that aid from on high
and eternal rewards with the elect awaited all who would undertake
this pious work.
30
As with devoted perseverance he spread this message among nations,
principalities, and kingdoms, he won instant favor with great
and small. Voluntarily they gave a ready assent to his preaching and
vowed to take the road to Jerusalem. Fitting upon their shoulders the
sign of the quickening cross, they prepared for the journey. Not alone
with the throngs of common people were his persuasive words effective,
but even with the supreme rulers of the world and those who
occupied the highest pinnacle of kingdoms. The most powerful and
illustrious kings of the land, namely, Conrad, emperor of the Romans,
and Louis, king of the Franks, with many princes of both kingdoms,
embraced the word with equal desire for the same end. Upon their
shoulders and garments they impressed the saving token of the revivifying
cross in all devotion as a sign that they too would undertake the
pilgrimage.
19. The emperor sets out first with his army and arrives at Constantinople.
The sultan of Iconium sets ambuscades for him.
THE two monarchs made all due arrangements for the government
of their kingdoms and joined to their number those who in fervent
longing had taken upon themselves the vows of salvation. When all
necessary preparation for the march had been completed as befitted
royal dignity, they set out upon the pilgrimage pleasing to God, in the
month of May. They departed under unlucky auspices, however, and
with sinister omens. For they started on the way as if contrary to the
will of an angry God, and, in punishment for the sins of man, they
accomplished nothing pleasing to Him on that entire pilgrimage. Nay,
they even rendered worse the situation of those to whom they intended
to bring succor.
The leaders had decided to advance separately, each one conducting
his own army, so that disagreements and contentions might not arise
among the people. In this way, also, the necessaries of life for the
legions might more easily be procured, and fodder for the horses and
pack animals would be more abundant.
They traversed Bavaria, crossed the mighty river Danube at Ratisbon,
and descended into Austria with the river on their left. They then
entered the land of Hungary, where they received honorable treatment
from the king of that country. Passing through that kingdom and the
two Pannonias, they went through the provinces of the Bulgarians,
namely, Moesia and Dacia Mediterranea, with Dacia Ripensis on the
left. They reached Thrace, passed through the famous cities of Philippopolis
and Adrianople, and finally arrived at the royal city. They
had a friendly interview with Manuel, emperor of Constantinople,
31
and enjoyed a few days of rest, most necessary for the refreshment
and relaxation or the armies after so many hardships. Then they
crossed the Hellespont, whose waters wash the banks of Constantinople
and form the boundary between Europe and Asia, and entered Bithynia,
the first province of Asia which one reaches. All the legions encamped
in the village of Chalcedon, whence the city they had just left could be
seen not far away….
The sultan of Iconium had known for a long time that these great
princes were on the march and, in great fear of their coming, he had
already called for aid from the most remote parts of the Orient. Full
of anxiety as to ways and means by which he might ward off the imminent
dangers arising from the presence of so many enemies, he
fortified cities, restored ruined strongholds, and implored aid from the
neighboring peoples. With constant anxiety he awaited the arrival of
the enemy who were said to be at his gates and, from day to day, looked
forward with apprehension to the destruction of his people and the
desolation of his country. Rumor said that the approaching host had
never been equalled in number, that their cavalry forces alone would
cover the whole surface of the land; the largest rivers would not suffice
to furnish them drink, nor could the most fertile countries supply
them with food. Although these reports were greatly exaggerated, yet
the actual facts might well strike terror to the hearts of great chiefs
who were not followers of the Christian faith. For, according to the
uniform statement of men who took part in this expedition, there were
in the army of the emperor alone about seventy thousand mailed
knights, besides the people on foot, women and children, and light armed
cavalry. In the army of the king of France also it was estimated
that there were seventy thousand valiant men wearing the breastplate,
In addition to those on foot. If God in His good pleasure had deigned
to attend them and had granted them His mercy and saving grace,
doubtless they might have subdued to the Christian faith not only
the sultan but indeed all the provinces of the Orient. But the Lord
In His just, although secret, judgment rejected their service and did
not regard it as an acceptable offering, perchance because it was offered
with unworthy hands.
20. After crossing the Hellespont, the army of Emperor Conrad
is led astray by the malice of the Greeks and drawn into very
dangerous places.
As soon as all the legions had been moved across the Hellespont, Emperor
Conrad with some of the principal nobles of his suite took leave
of the emperor and also sailed across the sea. The legions, each under
command of its own leader, were then ordered to advance. Leaving
Galatia, Paphlagonia, and the two provinces of Pontus on the left and
32
Phrygia, Lydia, and Asia Minor on the right, Conrad marched straight
through the center of Bithynia to Nicomedia, the metropolis of that
land. On the right he passed Nicaea, the city where, in the time of
Emperor Constantine, the synod of three hundred and eighteen holy
fathers convened to combat the wicked doctrine of the unhappy Arius.
From here the entire army, in battle array, followed the shortest route
to Lycaonia, the capital of which is Iconium.
At this place, the sultan had assembled large forces of armed men
and also an immense body of Turks from the neighboring lands. He
was awaiting a favorable time and place to attack the Christians as they
tried to pass and thus to prevent their advance. By bribes and entreaties
he had roused against our people all the kings, leaders, and chiefs of
every degree, even in the most remote provinces of the East. By a
constant succession of messengers, he had prayed them to consider that
if such a mighty host of armed men were permitted to pass through
the country without opposition, they would reduce the entire East to
their sway by force of arms. A great number of nations responded
quickly to his call and from the two Armenias, Cappadocia, Isauria,
Cilicia, Media, and Parthia a vast multitude assembled. With the assistance
of all these nations, he hoped that he might be able to resist
with somewhat equal forces the mighty host which was said to be approaching.
On departing from Constantinople, Conrad had requested the emperor
to furnish him with guides who knew the country and were
well informed about the neighboring provinces. These men, however,
proved to be far from trustworthy. It was understood that they had
been furnished to lead the armies in all good faith so that the troops
following them might not be exposed imprudently to dangers and
difficulties or to lack of food while on the march. As soon as they had
conducted the army into the land of the enemy, however, these guides
informed the leaders that in order to take advantage of a shorter route,
which led through unoccupied country, necessary food for a certain
number of days must be carried with them. Within a few days thereafter,
they faithfully promised that the armies would arrive at the far-famed
city of Iconium and would find themselves in a most fertile
country full of all kinds of provisions. Obedient to this injunction,
the Christians loaded pack animals, carts, and all kinds of vehicles with
provisions, for they trusted their guides and followed them in simple
good faith.
The guides, however, led by the malice inherent in the Greek race
and also by their customary hatred of the Christians, acted treacherously.
Either because commanded by their master or because bribed
by the Turks, they purposely led the legions by unfrequented routes
and drew them into places which offered the enemy favorable opportunities
33
to attack and overcome a credulous people.
21. The guides furnished by the Greek emperor to lead Emperor
Conrad's army wickedly depart and leave the troops exposed
to great danger.
WHEN the allotted number of days had passed and the expedition had
not reached the destination so eagerly desired, the emperor ordered
the Greek guides to be brought before him. In the presence of his
nobles he began to put searching questions to them: Why was it that
the army had already been upon the march longer than had been
stipulated in the beginning and yet had not reached its destination?
The guides as usual resorted to falsehoods and asserted steadfastly
that, with the help of God, all the legions would arrive at Iconium
within three days. The emperor, a man without guile, readily believed
their words and answered that he would endure these three days also,
since he had faith in their promises. On the following night, camp was
made in the usual manner, but while all were resting after their labors,
these treacherous guides secretly fled in the dead of night and left
the people who had been confided to their faithful care without leaders.
At length the light of day returned and the time for resuming the
march approached, but those who usually led the lines could not be
found. The treachery of the deserters was finally reported to the
emperor and the chiefs of the army, and their perfidy became known
to all.
Moreover, these men of Belial [a Biblical demon], in order to add to their wickedness
and heap crime upon crime, hastened to the army of the king of France,
which was reported to be in the vicinity. There they falsely declared
that Emperor Conrad, who had gone on ahead under their guidance,
had been entirely successful and had gained an important victory over
the enemy. He had seized Iconium by force of arms and had destroyed
it from the very foundations.
It seems evident to us that they made this assertion either to induce
the king to follow the same route and thus fall into the same perils,
or, possibly, by leading him to believe that Conrad had been entirely
successful, to prevent him from hurrying to the assistance of his imperilled
brethren. It may be, however, that they invented this story
to avert punishment from themselves. For if they had reported that
the army had perished, they would have been seized as traitors, since
it was by their wickedness that the people had rushed to their destructlon.
Whatever their intentions may have been, it is certain that it was
their perfidy which led the betrayed army to descend into that abyss of
death.
34
As soon as the emperor realized that the army was without guides,
he called a council of all the chiefs to consider what course of action
must be taken. An utter lack of harmony was immediately disclosed;
some declared that they must turn back, while others advised that
they continue on their way. Well might it have been said of them in
this crisis, "He poureth contempt upon princes and causeth them to
wander in the wilderness where there is no way." [Psalms 107:40]
While they were in this state of uncertainty, anxious over their
ignorance of the country and concerned about the lack of provisions
(for fodder for the horses and pack animals as well as all kinds of
food supplies for the troops had entirely given out), there came a report
that the enemy's army, a vast multitude of Turks, was near at hand.
This proved to be true. The Christians were in a sterile wilderness,
far from all cultivated land; they had been purposely led there, as
we have said before, by their traitorous guides. They should have
marched through Lycaonia, which they had left on the right. By this
route they would have passed through a cultivated land full of all
kinds of supplies and would have arrived at their destination in far
less time. Instead, the Greeks led them to the left and forced the
entire army to turn aside into the wilderness of Cappadocia, far from
Iconium.
It was common talk, and probably quite true, that these perilous
wanderings were devised with the knowledge and at the command
of the Greek emperor, who has always envied the successful advance
of the Christians. For it is well known that the Greeks have always
looked with distrust on all increase of power by the Western nations
(as they still do), especially by that of the Teutonic nation, as rivals
of the empire. They take it ill that the king of the Teutons calls himself
the emperor of the Romans. For thereby he seems to detract too
much from the prestige of their own emperor, whom they themselves
call monarch, that is, the one who rules supreme over all and therefore
is the one and only emperor of the Romans.
22. The Turks make a sudden attack upon the Teutonic host;
the legions are destroyed, but the emperor escapes.
DURING this time, the emperor's army was suffering from hunger,
from ignorance of the country, from long-continued privations, as well
as from the difficulties of the roads, the lack of horses, and the burden
of the baggage. Meanwhile, the Turkish satraps and officers of various
ranks, well aware of the situation, assembled their forces and made a
sudden attack upon the Christian camp. This unexpected action threw
the legions into utter confusion, for they had not foreseen anything of
the kind. The strength of the Turks lay in their swift horses, which
35
had suffered from no lack of food, and in their light equipment of
bows and arrows. With loud cries, they surrounded the camp and with
their usual agility fell furiously upon our soldiers, who were retarded
by their heavy armor. The Christians were superior to the foe in
strength and practice in arms, yet, weighed down as they were with
breastplates, greaves, and shields, they could not combat the Turks,
nor could they pursue them very far from the camp. Their horses
also, emaciated by hunger and the long marches, were utterly unable
to gallop hither and yon. The Turks, on the contrary, charged en masse;
while still at a distance they let fly countless showers of arrows which
fell like hail upon the horses and their riders and brought death and
wounds from afar. When the Christians tried to pursue, however, the
Turks turned and fled upon their swift horses and thus escaped the
sword of their foes. Our army, hemmed in on all sides, was in mortal
danger from the constant showers of darts and arrows. They had no
chance to retaliate or to engage the foe at close quarters, nor could
they lay hold of the enemy. As often as they tried to make a counterattack,
the Turks broke ranks, eluded all their attempts, and galloped
off in different directions. Then, when the Christians returned to their
camp, the Turks reconstructed their lines, again surrounded our forces,
and attacked even more furiously, as if they were besieging a town.
Thus, by the hidden, though just, purposes of God, the valor of
these great Christian princes, whose arms and strength, courage and
numbers had seemed incomparable, suddenly collapsed under the
pressure of a rather mild warfare. Scarcely a vestige of their former
army remained, and merely a remnant of their vast forces. Of seventy
thousand mailed knights and many companies of foot soldiers, countless
in number, barely a tenth part escaped, according to the statement of
those who were on this expedition. Some perished by hunger, others
were cut down by the sword, and still others fell into the hands of the
enemy as prisoners. The emperor escaped, however, with a few of his
nobles. After several days, he succeeded with great difficulty in reaching
the vicinity of Nicaea with the remnant of his followers.
But the victorious Turks, laden with spoils and enriched by countless
treasures, with horses and arms even to superabundance, retired
to their own fortresses. There, since they knew the country well, they
eagerly awaited the coming of the king of France, for, according to
report, he had reached practically these same parts. Since they had
vanquished the superior forces of Emperor Conrad, they hoped even
more easily to rout the army of the king of France. The result was,
in fact, as they had anticipated.
The sultan of Iconium did not participate in this great adventure.
Because God permitted it, a noble and powerful Turkish satrap called
36
Paramus, who commanded the sultan's troops, accomplished this almost
unhoped-for feat. The event took place in the month of November, in
the year of the Incarnation 1146. [more probably October 1147]
23. The king of the Franks crosses the Hellespont and arrives
with his host at Nicaea in Bithynia. The two sovereigns confer
with one another. Emperor Conrad returns to Constantinople.
MEANWHILE the king of the Franks, following almost the same route
with his army, had arrived at Constantinople. There he remained for
a short time. He held several private interviews with the emperor, who
showed him great honor and, on his departure, presented him with
bountiful gifts. The nobles of his suite also were treated with marked
favor. From Constantinople the king passed into Bithynia with all his
legions. At a point between the royal city and the Black Sea (which
are distant from each other thirty miles), he crossed the Hellespont.
Here it is at its narrowest, barely a mile in width. He then marched
round the Nicomedian gulf which is so named from the adjacent city
of Nicomedia, capital of Bithynia, and which also forms part of the
Bosphorus or Hellespont. In the village of Nicaea, not very far from
the city itself, the king established his camp until he should determine
by what route to advance. He made careful inquiries about the emperor
of the Romans [Conrad], who had preceded him, and was told that the
emperor had lost his army, but that he himself, a wanderer and a
fugitive, had made his escape with a few of his nobles. At first this
was merely a doubtful rumor, without trustworthy foundation. As
time went on, however, it received definite confirmation. For a little
later Frederick, duke of Swabia, [Frederick Barbarossa] came to the army
of the king of the Franks from the emperor's camp. He brought full and
detailed information about the disaster, which up to that time had been
known merely through vague, and unreliable rumors.
The duke, a young man of admirable qualities, later succeeded his
uncle, Emperor Conrad, as ruler of the Roman Empire, which he now
governs with vigor and success. He had come to invite the king to a
conference with the emperor, that they might consult together, albeit
too late, over the route to be followed. On hearing of the tragic disaster
which had befallen the emperor and the perils and destruction of
their brethren, the entire army was moved with righteous indignation
and pity. The king, deeply stirred by the duke's report, held counsel
with his people. Then, under the duke's escort, he set out with some
of his nobles to confer with the emperor, whose camp was not far away.
The two monarchs exchanged the customary salutations with the
kiss of peace. They then engaged in a friendly conference, during
which they decided to persevere in the accomplishment of their people
37
and to join their forces for the advance march. Many from both
hosts, however, and especially from that of the Teutons, disregarded
their vows and returned to Constantinople. Their travelling money
was exhausted, and the extreme hardships of the march and the necessary
outlay terrified them.
After consulting with the chief commanders of both armies, the
two monarchs abandoned the route which the emperor had previously
taken on the left and directed the line of march toward Asia Minor.
On their right were the two Phrygias and behind them Bithynia. They
marched, now by the inland route, now by the road along the shore,
with Philadelphia on the left, and came first to Smyrna. From there
they proceeded to Ephesus, the capital of Asia Minor, famous for the
life and preaching of John the Evangelist, and also the place of his
burial. At Ephesus, the emperor commanded the legions which had
survived to march back overland. He himself took ship and returned
to Constantinople. The reasons for this action are unknown; perchance
he was chagrined over the depleted numbers of the great host which
he had led forth; perchance he found the arrogance of the Franks unendurable.
He was received by the emperor with even more marked
distinction than before and remained at Constantinople with his nobles
until the beginning of the following spring. The two sovereigns were
closely united by marriage; for their wives were sisters, daughters of
the elder Berengar, count of Sulzbach, a great and noble prince, very
powerful in the kingdom of the Teutons. Hence the emperor showed
Conrad very great favor and, at the special request of the empress,
lavished gifts upon him and his nobles most liberally.
24. The king of the Franks proceeds by a different route to
Ephesus. Here Guy of Ponthieu dies. In spite of the efforts
of the foe, the Franks cross the river Meander.
MEANWHILE the king of the Franks, much engaged with his nobles
over preparations for the march, was tarrying at Ephesus to allow his
army to recuperate. During this time, Count Guy of Ponthieu, a noble
distinguished for his military skill and prowess, fell ill and died. He
was buried with all due honor in the vestibule of the church at Ephesus.
From here the king set out with the whole army and marched with all
the speed possible toward the east. After a few days' march he reached
the fords of the river Meander, beloved of swans. This is the river of
which our Naso writes in the Heroides:
So when destiny calls, cast down in the wet grass,
The white swan sings at the shoals of the Meander!
Amid the green meadows on the banks of this river the king made his
38
camp. Here for the first time, the longing of the Franks to see their
foe was gratified, for as the Christians tried to approach the river,
great numbers of Turks appeared on the opposite bank and prevented
them from using the water. At last they found the fords, however, and,
despite the enemy's efforts, forced a passage across the river and rushed
upon the Turks. They killed many of them and took numerous prisoners.
The rest turned and fled. The victorious Franks at once seized
the Turkish camp, which was filled with spoils of the richest kind and
supplies of every description, and by vigorous action made themselves
masters of the farther bank. Filled with joy over the victory and the
rich spoils which they had seized, the Christians passed a quiet night
and, at dawn, prepared to resume the march.
Thence they advanced to Laodicea, a city of that same locality. Here
they supplied themselves with provisions for several days, as was their
custom, and again set forth as with one mind.
25. The Frankish army suffers a most disastrous defeat. The
vanguard which had gone on ahead escapes.
A PRECIPITOUS mountain, very difficult of ascent, blocked the path of
the advancing army. According to the plan of march, it must be surmounted
that day. It was customary upon this campaign to designate
each day a certain number of distinguished men to act as leaders—some
to conduct the advance guard and others to bring up the rear as protection
for the non-militant throng and especially for the crowd of people
on foot. On these men also devolved the duty of planning with
the nobles the route to be followed, the length of the march, and
the location of the camp for the next day. On this particular day, the
choice fell, in the order of his turn, upon a certain nobleman from
Aquitaine named Geoffrey de Rancogne. Accordingly, he went on
ahead with the standard of the king and ascended the mountain with
the vanguard, His orders were that the vanguard should make camp
on the heights. When he reached the summit, however, the greater
part of the day still remained, and Geoffrey decided, notwithstanding
his orders, to advance a little farther, for he felt that the march had
been too short that day. The guides assured him that there was a
better spot for the camp near by. Accordingly, he went on farther. The
people who were following the vanguard supposed that the camp was
to be placed on the summit of the mountain, and, in the belief that
the day's march was nearly completed, they began rather carelessly to
lag behind, Thus the army was divided; some had already crossed the
ridge, while others were still loitering upon it, The Turks, ever on the
alert for an opportunity to attack, immediately recognized the situation;
they were, in fact, ever following alongside the army with this
very end in view, and from a distance they kept close watch on the
39
movements of the Christians. The way was narrow and the ranks were
separated, because the larger and stronger force had gone on ahead;
the Turks knew that the situation of the rear ranks could not easily
become known, nor could help be sent to them in their extremity. They
took advantage of the favorable opportunity and seized the summit
of the mountain, so as to cause still greater confusion between our
van and the rear guard. Then in battle array, they fell upon our forces,
and before the latter could seize arms the Turks had broken up their
lines by force. No longer was the fight carried on with bows and
arrows, it was fought at close quarters with the sword and brought
death and destruction to the Christians. All who tried to flee were most
cruelly pursued. Our people were hindered by the narrow defiles, and
their horses were exhausted by the long marches and the difficulty of
the roads. In addition, they were hindered by the enormous amount of
baggage. Yet they resisted as with one accord and with unflinching
courage fought valiantly on behalf of life and liberty and in defense
of their companions of the way. They carried on the combat with
swords and lances and by both words and example cheered each other
to continued effort.
The Turks, inspired by the hope of victory, likewise endeavored
to animate each other; they called to mind how, only a few days before,
they had routed a much greater army with less danger and had
easily triumphed over forces more numerous and far stronger.
The battle was long fought and of doubtful outcome. Finally, however,
in punishment for our sins, the infidels conquered. Many Christians
were killed and large numbers made prisoners; our army was
reduced to a very few. Many noble and illustrious men perished that
day, men notable for their military deeds and well worthy of pious
remembrance, Among the number were the count of Varennes, a man
preeminent even among great lords, Gauchiers de Montjoy, Evrard
de Breteuil, Itiers de Meingnac, and many others. Their names we
do not remember, but we believe that they are written in heaven and
their memory will be held in benediction forever.
That day the glorious reputation of the Franks was lost through a
misfortune most fatal and disastrous for the Christians; their valor,
up to this time formidable to the nations, was crushed to earth. Henceforward
it was as a mockery in the eyes of those unclean races to whom
formerly it had been a terror.
Why was it, O blessed Lord Jesus, that this people, so devoted to
Thee, who longed to adore the traces of Thy footprints and to kiss
the venerated places which Thou hadst consecrated by Thy bodily
presence, suffered defeat at the hand of those who hated Thee? Truly,
Thy judgments are as a bottomless pit and there is no one who can
40
understand them. For Thou, alone, O Lord, art able to do all things
and there is no one who can resist Thy will.
26. The king escapes by chance and joins the advance guard.
The remnant of the army reaches Attalia and from there
crosses over into Syria.
MEANWHILE, the king, rather by chance than by his own efforts,
escaped amid the great peril and confusion. In the silence of midnight,
without a guide, he climbed the slope of the mountain so often mentioned
and, with a few attendants, reached the camp which had been
placed somewhat farther on. As has been said, the vanguard, followIng
the royal standard, had traversed the narrow passes of the mountain
without difficulty and had established camp without opposition
in a suitable location. They were utterly unaware of all that had happened
to the army in their rear. Yet when they found that the arrival
of the troops was interrupted and great delay ensued, an ominous foreboding
of some disaster prevailed, an inkling that all was not as could
be desired. But when those who had escaped with the king arrived at
the camp, the sad disaster became known with certainty. Then sorrow
toll upon the army, and grievous anxiety seized the hearts of all. With
tremulous voice and tearful sighs, each sought for those most dear to
him, and when they were found missing, grief was redoubled. The
camp resounded with lamentations, and the troops were torn with
anguish. Throughout the entire camp there was not a place which was
not filled with mourning for friends and household companions. One
sought his father, another his master. Here a woman was searching
everywhere for her son, there another for her husband. Those whose
search was fruitless passed a sleepless night, burdened with anxious
fear lest the worst had happened to the absent ones. During the night,
however, there arrived at the camp some of each class. These, rather
by chance than by their own wisdom, had escaped death by hiding
among the bushes and rocks or in underground caverns under the protection
of the kindly darkness. This disaster occurred in January in
the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 1146. [should be 1148]
From this time, there began to be a shortage of bread and all other
provisions in the camp. Moreover, for many days thereafter, they
had no market of any kind. But there was an even worse trouble. They
had no guides to lead them and they were wandering now here, now
there, without knowledge of the locality. Finally, however, they entered
Pamphylia, over steep mountain passes and through deep valleys,
and with great difficulty, although without conflict with the enemy,
succeeded in reaching Attalia, the capital of that district. Attalia lies
upon the seacoast and is subject to the emperor of Constantinople. It
possesses very rich fields, which are, nevertheless, of no advantage to
41
the townspeople, for they are surrounded by enemies on all sides who
hinder their cultivation. Therefore, the fertile soil lies fallow, since
there is no one to work it. Yet the place has many other advantages
which it offers freely to visitors. It is most delightfully situated, it
abounds in clear and healthful waters, and it is planted with fruitbearing
trees. The grain supply is brought from overseas in ample
quantities, so that those resorting there are well supplied with the necessaries
of life.
It borders very closely, however, on the land of the enemy, and
since it was found impossible to endure their continual attacks, it became
tributary to them. Through this connection, Attalia maintains
trade in necessaries with the enemy. Our soldiers, unacquainted with
the Greek language, corrupted the name of this city to Satalia. Accordingly
that entire portion of the sea, from the promontory of Lissidona to the island of Cyprus, is called the Attalic sea and is known in
common parlance as the Satalian gulf.
At Attalia the king of the Franks and his people suffered from a
serious shortage of food brought on by the great number of people
who had come thither; in fact, the survivors of the army, and above all
the poor, nearly perished of famine. Here the king left the people
on foot and with his nobles went on board ship. Isauria and Cilicia were
passed on the left, and the island of Cyprus on the right. After a
short sea voyage with favorable winds, they sailed into the mouth of
the Orontes river, which flows by Antioch, and landed at the place
which is now called the Port of St. Simeon, near the ancient city of
Seleucia, ten miles from Antioch. [March 1148]
27. Raymond, prince of Antioch, receives the king of the Franks
with great honor at the Port of St. Simeon and conducts him
to Antioch. Later, however, they are wickedly alienated.
FOR many days Raymond, prince of Antioch, had eagerly awaited
the arrival of the king of the Franks. When he learned that the king
had landed in his domains, he summoned all the nobles of the land
and the chief leaders of the people and went out to meet him with
a chosen escort. He greeted the king with much reverence and conducted
him with great pomp into the city of Antioch, where he was
met by the clergy and the people. Long before this time—in fact, as
soon as he heard that Louis was coming—Raymond had conceived the
idea that by his aid he might be able to enlarge the principality of
Antioch. With this in mind, therefore, even before the king started
on the pilgrimage, the prince had sent to him in France a large store
of noble gifts and treasures of great price in the hope of winning his
favor. He also counted greatly on the interest of the queen [Eleanor of Aquitaine]
42
with the lord king, for she had been his inseparable companion on his
pilgrimage. She was Raymond's niece, the eldest daughter of Count
William of Poitou, his brother.
As we have said, therefore, Raymond showed the king every attention
on his arrival. He likewise displayed a similar care for the nobles
and chief men in the royal retinue and gave them many proofs of his
great liberality. In short, he outdid all in showing honor to each one
according to his rank and handled everything with the greatest magnificence.
He felt a lively hope that with the assistance of the king
and his troops he would be able to subjugate the neighboring cities,
namely, Aleppo, Shayzar, and several others. Nor would this hope
have been futile, could he have induced the king and his chief men to
undertake the work. For the arrival of King Louis had brought such
fear to our enemies that now they not only distrusted their own strength
but even despaired of life itself.
Raymond had already more than once approached the king privately
in regard to the plans which he had in mind. Now he came before
the members of the king's suite and his own nobles and explained with
due formality how his request could be accomplished without difficulty
and at the same time be of advantage and renown to themselves. The
king, however, ardently desired to go to Jerusalem to fulfil his vows,
and his determination was irrevocable. When Raymond found that
he could not induce the king to join him, his attitude changed. Frustrated
in his ambitious designs, he began to hate the king's ways; he
openly plotted against him and took means to do him injury. He resolved
also to deprive him of his wife, either by force or by secret
intrigue. The queen readily assented to this design, for she was a
foolish woman. Her conduct before and after this time showed her
to be, as we have said, far from circumspect. Contrary to her royal
dignity, she disregarded her marriage vows and was unfaithful to
her husband.
As soon as the king discovered these plots, he took means to provide for his life and safety by anticipating the designs of the prince.
By the advice of his chief nobles, he hastened his departure and secretly
left Antioch with his people. Thus the splendid aspect of his affairs
was completely changed, and the end was quite unlike the beginning.
His coming had been attended with pomp and glory; but fortune
is fickle, and his departure was ignominious.
Some people attribute this outcome to the king's own base conduct.
They maintain that he received his just deserts because he did not
accede to the request of a great prince from whom he and his followers
had received kind treatment. This is of especial interest, because these
43
persons constantly affirm that if the king would have devoted himself
to that work, one or more of the above-named cities might easily have
been taken.
28, The winter being over, Emperor Conrad arrives in Syria by
sea. Count Alphonse also lands at the city of Acre. He dies
at Caesarea.
EMPEROR CONRAD passed the winter in the royal city. He was treated
with the utmost courtesy by the emperor of Constantinople, as befitted
so great a prince, and on his departure received many and splendid
gifts. Attended by his escort of nobles, he set sail for the East in a fleet
which was provided by his imperial highness and landed at the port
of Acre. From there he went on to Jerusalem. King Baldwin and
Fulcher, patriarch of precious memory, accompanied by the clergy and
the entire people, met him outside the city and, to the sound of hymns
and chants, conducted him into Jerusalem…. [April 1148]
29. The king of the Franks leaves Antioch and proceeds to
Jerusalem. The patriarch of Jerusalem is sent to meet him.
MEANWHILE, news was received at Jerusalem that the king of the
Franks had left Antioch and was approaching the land of Tripoli.
The nobles at once unanimously resolved to send Fulcher, patriarch
of Jerusalem of precious memory, to invite the king with fitting words
and salutary counsel to visit the kingdom. For it was feared that the
prince of Antioch might become reconciled to him and call him back
or that he might be detained by the count of Tripoli, his kinsman. In
either case, the desires of the people of Jerusalem would be hindered.,
The possessions of the Latins in the East were divided into four
principalities. The first to the south was the kingdom of Jerusalem,
which began at the brook between Jubail and Beirut, martime cities of
the province of Phoenicia, and ended at the desert which is beyond
Daron. The second toward the north was the county of Tripoli, which
began at the rivulet just mentioned and extended to another stream
between Maraclea and Valenia, likewise maritime cities. The third was
the principality of Antioch. This began at the last-named rivulet and
extended toward the west to Tarsus in Cilicia. The county of Edessa,
the fourth division, began at the forest called Marrim and extended
out toward the east beyond the Euphrates.
From the first, the great and powerful lords of these countries had
cherished the hope that through the valiant assistance of these severeigns
who were coming they might be able to enlarge their own territories
and extend their boundaries immensely. All had powerful enemies
whose hated cities, so near their own territories, they longed to
44
add to their own domains. All were anxious over their own affairs and
eager to extend their lands. Accordingly, each one, intent on anticipating
the others, sent messengers with gifts and invitations to the two
monarchs. Of these, the hopes of the king and people of Jerusalem
seemed most likely to be realized. Love and reverent devotion for the
holy places naturally drew all thither; moreover, the emperor was
now with them. There was reason to believe that the king of the Franks
would also hasten thither, both to accomplish his pilgrimage and to
offer his prayers, and also that he might engage in some work for the
advancement of Christianity, as decided by common counsel.
The chief men of the realm greatly feared that the king might be
detained in the vicinity of Aleppo by the prince [Raymond], to whom he was
closely bound by the ties of marriage and affection, a contingency which
seemed quite probable. They feared also that the queen might intervene.
They therefore sent the patriarch to meet him.
When they learned, however, that the king and the prince had
parted with far from friendly feelings, they felt increased hope that
he would leave there without delay and come to Jerusalem. Yet to
guard against the tricks of fortune and to anticipate anything that
might happen, they sent the venerable patriarch to use his influence
with the king. Nor was this hope in vain; the king was persuaded by
Fulcher's words and proceeded at once to Jerusalem. All the clergy
and people went out to meet him on his arrival. With all due honor
and ceremony he was welcomed to the city and, to the accompaniment
of hymns and chants, was led with his nobles to the venerable places.
When at last his prayers had been accomplished according to custom,
a general court was proclaimed at the city of Acre to consider the
results of this great pilgrimage, the completion of such great labors,
and also the enlargement of the realm. On the appointed day they
assembled at Acre, as had been arranged. Then, together with the
nobles of the realm who possessed an accurate knowledge of affairs
and places, they entered into a careful consideration as to what plan
was most expedient.
45
BOOK XVII
1. A general council is held at the city of Acre on the coast. The names of the princes who
attended are given.
It seems well worth while and quite in harmony with the present history that the names of the
nobles who were present at the council just mentioned, men who had come from lands of
great importance, should be recorded here for the benefit of posterity. Foremost among these
was the famous Conrad, king of the Teutons and emperor of the Romans. He was
accompanied by the following ecclesiastical nobles of his court: Otto, bishop of Freising, his
brother, a man of letters; Stephen, bishop of Metz; and Henry, bishop of Toul, brother of
Count Thierry of Flanders. Theotwin, bishop of Porto, the papal legate, a Teuton by birth,
also accompanied the emperor’s train by command of Pope Eugenius.
Among the secular princes present were Henry, duke of Austria, the emperor’s brother; Duke
Guelf, a distinguished and powerful noble; and Frederick [Barbarossa], the illustrious duke of
the Swabians and Vindelicians, son of the emperor’s eldest brother. The last-named prince
was a young man of remarkable character who later succeeded his uncle Conrad and now
rules the Roman Empire with vigor and courage. There were present also Hermann,
margrave of Verona; Berthold of Andechs, later duke of Bavaria; [the elder] William,
margrave of Montferrat, the emperor’s brother-in-law; and Guy, count of Blandras, whose
wife was the sister of the margrave just named…. Other noted men of high rank, whose
names and titles we do not recall, also attended.
Louis, most pious king of the Franks, of famous memory in the Lord, was also present. With
him were Godfrey, bishop of Langres; Arnulf, bishop of Lisieux; Guy of Florence, cardinalpriest of the church of Rome, with title St. Chrysogonus, the legate of the apostolic see;
Robert, count of Perche, the king’s brother; and Henry, count of Troyes, son of the elder
Count Theobald and also son-in-law of the king of Jerusalem; and Ives de Nesle from
Soissons, a wise and loyal man. All are worthy of remembrance, but since it would take too
long to record them here, their names are intentionally omitted.
From our own lands there were present Baldwin, king of Jerusalem; a youth of great promise,
and his mother, a wise and circumspect woman, strong of heart and not inferior in wisdom to
any prince whatsoever. They were accompanied by the Patriarch Fulcher; Baldwin, bishop of
Acre; Bernard, bishop of Sidon; William, bishop of Beirut; Adam, bishop of Banyas; Gerald,
bishop of Bethlehem; Robert, master of the Knights of the Temple; and Raymond, master of
the Hospital.
Among the lay nobles were: Manasses, the royal constable; Philip of Nablus; Elinandus of
Tiberias; Gerard of Sidon; Walter of Caesarea; Payens, lord of the country which lies beyond
the Jordan; the elder Balian; Humphrey of Toron; Guy of Beirut, and many others. To name
each individually would take far too long. All these great men had assembled, as we said, at
the city of Acre for the purpose of considering, first of all, the best time and place when, by
the will of God, they might endeavor to enlarge the kingdom and add to the glory of the
Christian name.
46
Medieval Sourcebook: Odo of Deuil: The Crusade of Louis VII
I have added and revised passages from the translation of V.G. Barry to the documents
translated by Brundage [LC].
Odo of Deuil (1110-1162) was a monk and confidant of the famous Abbot Suger of St.
Denis, near Paris. He accompanied Louis VII during the entire crusade and late in 1149
returned to France with him. He describes the journey of the French army only as far as
Antioch.
The French faction can use this text to understand what happened on the journey east and the
dangers and hardships the French army faced. They may use the description of the French
losses to justify a second chance at victory in Debate 1.
The German faction may use the description of the French losses as an argument against
continuing the crusade in Debate 1.
Both French and German factions can use Odo’s narrative to understand the animosity
between the two groups.
Louis can use Odo’s descriptions of him to support his leadership claim in Debate 2.
A Table of Contents for Odo of Deuil
Book II
Book III
Book VII
Louis and his army march through central Europe
The French army arrives in Byzantine territory
Conflicts arise among French, Germans, and Greeks
The French army is attacked by the Turks
The remnant of the French army eventually reaches the Holy Land
47
Book II. The French Army in Central Europe
[Adapted from Brundage] A German army under Conrad II set out through Hungary, but met
a disastrous end at the hands of the Seljuqs in Anatolia. While the Germans were marching
heedlessly toward defeat, the French army, led by King Louis VII, was following in their
tracks, about a month behind. The story of their journey is related by the French King's
chaplain, Odo of Deuil:
In what we have written the description of outstanding actions is given as a good example;
the names of the cities are given to show the route of the journey; the description of the
character of the localities is given as a guide to show what types of provisions are needed.
Since there will always be pilgrims to the Holy Sepulcher, it is hoped that they will be more
cautious in view of our experiences.
The rich cities of Metz, Worms, Würzburg, Ratisbon, and Passau, then, lie a three-day
journey from one another. From the last named city it is a five-day journey to WienerNeustadt and from there it takes one day to reach the Hungarian border. The country in
between these towns is forested and provisions must be brought from the towns, since the
countryside cannot provide enough for an army. There are plenty of rivers there and also
springs and meadows. When I passed through that area the mountains seemed rugged to me.
Now, however, compared to Romania [i.e. Anatolia/Asia Minor], I would call it a plain. This
side of Hungary is bordered by muddy water. On the other side it is separated from Bulgaria
by a clear stream. The Drave River is in the middle of Hungary. One bank of the river is
steep and the other has a gentle slope, so that it is shaped like a ball. The result of this is that
when even a little rain falls and is added to the water of the nearby swamps, even rather
distant places are flooded. We heard that many of the Germans who preceded us were
suddenly flooded out there. When we came to the place where their camp had been, we could
scarcely ford it. We had only a few small boats and it was therefore necessary to make the
horses swim. They found it easy to get in but hard to get out; however, with some work and
God's protection they came across without losses.
All the rest of this country is covered with lakes, swamps, and springs—if springs can be
made by travellers, even in the summer, by scraping the earth a little bit—except for the
Danube, which follows a straight enough course and carries the wealth of many areas by ship
to the noble city of Gran. This country is such a great food-producing area that Julius
Caesar's commissariat is said to have been located there. The marketing and exchange
facilities there were sufficient for our needs. We crossed Hungary in fifteen days.
From there, at the entrance to Bulgaria, the fortress called the Bulgarian Belgrade presented
itself; it is so called to distinguish it from the Hungarian town of the same name. One day
from Belgrade, with a river between them, lies the poor little town of Branicevo. Beyond
these towns the country is, so to speak, forested meadow or crop-producing woods. It is
bountiful in good things which grow by themselves and it would be good for other things if it
had any farmers. It is not flat, nor is it rugged with mountains; rather it is watered by streams
and very clear springs which flow between the hills, vines, and usable fields. It lacks any
rivers, and between there and Constantinople we had no use for our boats. Five days from
this place lies Nish, which, though small, is the first city of this section of Greece. The cities
48
of Nish, Sofia, Philippopolis, and Adrianople are four days apart from each other and from
the last of these it is five days to Constantinople. The countryside in between is flat. It is full
of villages and forts and abounds in all kinds of good things. On the right and left there are
mountains close enough to be seen. These are so long that they enclose a wide, rich, and
pleasant plain….
The fact that the German emperor [Conrad] went first gave our king an advantage in that he
found new bridges constructed over the many rivers in Germany without having to build
them himself. Now, to tell the truth, the emperor set out in a most imperial fashion in respect
to both fleet and land forces; this was advisable, for at that time the Hungarians were his
enemies. Thus, the spirited emperor, who was both sailor and foot soldier (seeing that he had
a very large army in the fleet with him and the horses and the rank and file beside him on the
shore), entered Hungary as became a prince.
There was, moreover, a certain man named Boris who claimed a hereditary right to Hungary
and had sent letters to that effect to our king, setting forth his complaint in full and humbly
suing for justice. On meeting the emperor, he set forth his case to him, promising him many
things and received from him hope of receiving his right.
But the King of Hungary, knowing that he could conquer more easily by gold than by force,
poured out much money among the Germans and thus escaped an attack from them. Now
Boris, who had been deluded by vain hope, hiding away as best he could, awaited the
passage of our king, and stealthily joined the Franks. Protected and concealed by them, he
went through Hungary with the army.
Meanwhile, the King of Hungary, fearing and revering our king, sought his favor by sending
messengers and gifts, but he avoided crossing the Danube to meet him. He hoped for a
conference with the man whom recommendation had commended to him, but since he was
afraid to cross to our side of the river, he humbly entreated our king to come to his side. And
so the king, whose custom it was to to be won over easily by charity and humility, took along
certain of his bishops and lords and gratified his wish. Then, after kisses and embraces, they
established a peace, strengthened their friendship, and provided that from that time forth our
pilgrims might pass through Hungary in safety. When he had accomplished this, our king left
the king of Hungary a happy man. Kingly gifts of horses, vases, and garments accompanied
hime, and the King of Hungary further intended to reverence our king and his nobles insofar
as he could, when, alas, he found out that Boris was with the Franks.
The Hungarians hunt out Boris in the Frankish army. Boris escapes, but is found—almost
naked, filthy, and beaten—by Frankish guards and brought to King Louis.
Everyone thought he was a robber. But after he had thrown himself at the king’s feet, even
though he did not know our language and the king did not then have an interpreter, he,
nevertheless, by mixing with his own language certain words we knew and by repeating his
own name often, made known his identity. Soon, therefore, he was clad properly, and his
case was reserved for the next day.
49
Now the Hungarian king, who feared Boris, immediately found out what had happened. He
therefore demanded Boris from the king as from a friend and as if his surrender were
obligatory according to their pact of friendship; and in return he made many promises which
were scarcely credible. Likewise, he stirred the minds of the nobles by his presence and
presents, but neither the urgency of his supplications nor his gifts could obtain this request
from the king before the council had given judgment.
Our king said that the King of Hungary was his friend, but he must not do anything which ill
became a pilgrim. Then, when the bishops and other magnates had been assembled and the
matter examined, they decided the king should preserve peace with the Hungarian king and
should protect the life of the nobleman, even though he was a captive, because it would be a
crime either to sell a man to death or, without cause, to break a treaty with a friend.
Therefore, the King of Hungary, not trusting himself to us, but departing with some distress,
sought safety in a more remote part of his kingdom. Our king, however, keeping Boris with
him, with due honor took him out of Hungary.
Book III. The French and German Armies in Byzantine Territory.
Thus far we had been at play, for we had neither suffered any damages from men's malice
nor had we feared any dangers from the plots of cunning men. From the time when we
entered Bulgaria and the land of the Greeks, however, both the strength and morale of the
army were put to the test. In the impoverished town of Branicevo, as we were about to enter
an uninhabited area, we loaded up with supplies, most of which came via the Danube from
Hungary. There was such a number of boats there, brought by the Germans, that the
populace's supplies of firewood and timber for building were assured for a long time. Our
men took the smaller boats across the river and bought supplies from a certain Hungarian
fortress which was not far away. Here we first encountered the stamina, a copper coin. We
unhappily gave—or rather, lost—five denarii for one of them and a mark for twelve solidi.
Thus the Greeks were tainted with perjury at the very entrance to their country. You may
remember that, as has been said, their representatives had sworn, on the Emperor's behalf,
that they would furnish us with a proper market and exchange. We crossed the rest of this
desolate country and entered a most beautiful and wealthy land which stretches without
interruption to Constantinople. Here we first began to receive injuries and to take notice of
them. The other areas had sold us supplies properly and had found us peaceful. The Greeks,
however, shut up their cities and fortresses and sent their merchandise down to us on ropes
suspended from the walls. The supplies purveyed in this manner, however, were insufficient
for our multitude. The pilgrims, therefore, secured the necessary supplies by plundering and
looting, since they could not bear to suffer want in the midst of plenty.
It seemed to some that the Germans who had preceded us were at fault in this respect, since
they had looted everything and we discovered that they had burned several settlements
outside the walls of towns. The story must be told, although reluctantly. Outside of the walls
of Philippopolis was a noble town inhabited by Latin peoples who sold a great many supplies
to travellers for profit. When the Germans settled down in the taverns there, a juggler was
50
present, as bad luck would have it. Although he did not know their language, he sat down,
made a sign, and got a drink. After guzzling for a long time, he took a charmed snake out of
his pocket and placed it in his schooner, which he had deposited on the ground. He went on
to play other juggler’s tricks among people of whose language and customs he was ignorant.
The Germans rose up in horror, as if they had seen a monster, seized the entertainer, and tore
him to pieces. They blamed everyone for the misdeeds of one man and declared that the
Greeks had tried to murder them with poison. The town was aroused by the tumult in the
suburb and the Duke came out beyond the walls with a group of his men to settle the
disturbance. The Germans, whose eyes were bleary with wine and anger, saw, not unarmed
men, but a posse. The angry Germans, therefore, rushed upon the men who had come to
preserve peace in the belief that they were going to take revenge for the murder. The
Germans snatched up their bows—for these are their weapons—and went out once more to
turn to flight those from whom they had fled. They killed and wounded the Greeks and when
all the Greeks had been expelled from the suburb, the Germans stopped. Many of the
Germans were killed there, especially those who had gone into the inns, for, in order to get
their money, the Greeks threw them into caves. When the Germans had plucked up their
spirits and had taken up their weapons again, they returned and, in order to redress their
shame and the slaughter of their men, they burned nearly everything outside of the walls.
The Germans were also unbearable to us. On one occasion some of our men wished to get
away from the crowding of the multitude around the King. They therefore went on ahead and
stayed near the Germans. Both they and the Germans went to market, but the Germans would
not allow the Franks to buy anything until they got enough for themselves. From this arose a
brawl, or rather a squabble, for when one man denounces another whom he does not
understand in a loud voice, that is a squabble. The Franks struck them and the Germans
struck back. The Franks then returned from the market with their supplies. The Germans,
who were numerous, were scornful of the pride of a few Franks and took up arms against
them. The Germans attacked them fiercely and the Franks, who were armed in a similar
fashion, resisted spiritedly. God put an end to this wickedness, for night soon fell....
Thus, as the Germans went forward they disturbed everything and for this reason the Greeks
fled from our peaceful prince who followed after the Germans. Nonetheless, the congregation
of the churches and all the clergy came out from the cities with their icons and other Greek
paraphernalia and they always received our king with due honor and with fear. The Duke of
Sofia, a kinsman of the [Byzantine] emperor, saw to procuring part of the market for the
pilgrims. He served the king honorably, too, with respect to provisions, but Louis, keeping
little of nothing of this for himself, divided the entire amount, some with the poor, and some
with the rich. And so peace was maintained more strictly with Louis, because he was less
needy and commanded more respect than the others….
Now I want to describe how the Germans were led to Constantinople. They proceeded
boldly, but not wisely enough, for, although they found plenty elsewhere in that land, they
showed no moderation. Foot soldiers of theirs were killed when they lagged behind drunk,
and, since the bodies were not buried, all things were polluted, so that to the Franks who
came later less harm arose from the armed Greeks than from the dead Germans….
51
The Germans arrive at Constantinople.
Before the city stood a spacious and impressive ring of walls enclosing various kinds of
game and including canals and ponds. Also, inside were certain hollows and caves which, in
lieu of forests, furnished lairs for the animals. In that lovely place certain palaces which the
emperors had built as their springtime resort are conspicuous for their splendor. Into this
“Place of Delights” the German emperor burst and, destroying practically everything, under
the very eyes of the Greeks seized their delights for his own uses….
Meanwhile, the King of the Franks, whose habit was always to season majesty with humility,
entreated the German emperor that he wait for him on this side of the Hellespont, and that
those whose common will had undertaken a task should also use a common plan of action.
The German emperor, however, was hastening ardently toward the place for which he had set
out, and when he had received a guide for the journey (or, rather, for wandering and death)
from the Greek emperor, he went across….
Odo postpones further discussion of the German disaster in Asia Minor. He tells of some of
the Crusade leaders who, unwilling to continue with the Germans, stayed behind to wait for
the Franks. The Greeks, however, withheld provisions and tried to force them to cross over
into Asia Minor. Meanwhile, barbarian mercenaries, presumably under Greek authority,
attacked the Crusaders. The Byzantine emperor maintained he knew nothing of the incident,
and allowed the troops to lodge near his palace and opened the markets to them.
This outcome would have satisfied the messengers if they had not judged one crime in the
light of another; for they learned that the emperor had an agreement with the Turks and that
the very man who had written to our king that he was going to accompany him in fighting the
infidels and had won a recent and renowned victory over them had actually confirmed a
twelve-year armistice with them.
Also, his treachery was increased and made clear by that fact that only a great number could
get through his realm in safety; for others, who had sent a few men ahead to Constantinople
to provide arms and food for the journey had suffered a considerable loss of possessions and
were mourning their wounded and dead. And this did not happen just once; for from the time
we entered his territory we endured the robberies which his people perpetrated on us because
our strength did not equal theirs.
Perhaps this condition would have been bearable, and it could have been said that we
deserved the evils which we suffered on account of the evils which we had committed, if
blasphemy had not been added. For instance, if our priests celebrated mass on Greek altars,
the Greeks afterwards purified them with propitiatory offerings, as if they had been
defiled…. And, O dreadful thing! we heard of an ill usage of theirs which should be expiated
by death; namely, that every time they celebrate the marriage of one of our men, if he has
been baptized in the Roman way, they rebaptize him before they make the pact.
52
We know other heresies of theirs, both concerning their treatment of the Eucharist and
concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost, but none of these matters would mar our page
if not pertinent to our subject. Actually, it was for these reasons that the Greeks had incurred
the hatred of our men, for their error had become known even among the lay people. Because
of this they were judged not to be Christians, and the Franks considered killing them a matter
of no importance and hence could with the more difficulty be restrained from pillaging and
plundering.
Book VII
Louis learned of the German disaster after leaving Constantinople, and he followed a route
closer to the sea. After leaving Laodicea, however, the vanguard of his army marched too
fast over the mountains, exposing the center of the army to Turkish attack. Most of Louis’s
royal guard was killed, but the king escaped and nightfall halted the Turkish attack. The next
day, the army continued, but with a more organized order of march under the protection of
the Templars, who were more experienced in warfare against the Turks.
Nearby the baggage train was still crossing the pass, because the closer packed it was, the
slower it fled over the crags. When he came upon it, the king, who was on foot, secured a
horse and accompanied the men through the evening, which had already fallen. At the time
breathless cohorts of knights from the camp met him and groaned when they saw him alone,
bloody, and tired, for, without asking, they knew what had happened and mourned
inconsolably for the the missing royal escort….
The Franks were very numerous and glowed with courage; but it was night, and the enemy
held the other side of the deep valley; and thus neither the hour nor the place was suitable for
further pursuit on the part of the Franks. With the king, accordingly, they arrived at the camp
late at night, and the people there who had been fearful before now mourned because their
grief was actual, but they were somewhat comforted by the king’s safety. There was no sleep
that night, during which each man either waited for some one of his friends who never came
or joyously, and with no regard for material loss, welcomed one who had been despoiled….
Without dispelling the shadows of grief from the sorrowing people, the next day dawned
brightly, and the enemy army became visible, spread over the mountains in a rich and happy
throng. Now, while bewailing their lost comrades and possessions, our men, who were
paupers since the day before and cautious now that it was too late, banished their carelessness
and advanced in an order designed to save what they still had. But because our king could not
endure the fact that his nobles were impoverished and because his pious heart made him have
regard for those below them, he dispelled the wants of both classes as generously as if he had
forgotten that he had shared their loss at all. Already hunger was assailing the horses, which
for many days had eaten little grass and no grain; already there was no food for the men, who
still had to march for twelve days; and like a beast which becomes more savage after tasting
blood, the enemy harassed us the more boldly after learning of our weakness and the more
greedily after profiting thereby.
53
Against them the Templars and the Master of the Temple, Lord Evrard of Barres, who should
be revered for his piety and who furnished the army an honorble example, saved their own
possessions wisely and alertly and protected those of other people as courageously as
possible. Now the king liked the example which they set and was glad to imitate it, and he
wanted the army to be influenced in that direction, for he knew that, even if extreme hunger
should weaken them, unity of spirit would also strengthen them in their weakness. By
common consent, therefore, it was decided that during this dangerous period all should
establish fraternity with the Templars, rich and poor taking oath that they would not flee the
field and that they would obey in every respect the officers assigned them by the Templars.
Thus they were given a commander named Gilbert, and he was given associates, to each of
whom he should assign fifty knights.
Because the Turks were quick to flee, our men were commanded to endure, until they
received an order, the attacks of the enemies; and to withdraw forthwith when recalled, even
though they should be making a stand as originally commanded. When they had learned this,
they were also taught the order of the march, so that a person in front would not rush to the
rear and the guards on the flanks would not fall into disorder. Moreover, those whom nature
or fortune had made foot soldiers (for, because they had lost or sold their equipment, many
nobles were marching among the crowd in a manner unusual for them) were drawn up at the
very rear in order to oppose with their bows the enemies’ arrows…
We advanced according to this arrangement, and after descending the mountains, rejoiced at
reaching level ground, and, since we were surrounded by protectors, we endured the
enemies’ bold attacks without any loss. On this route, however, were two rivers a mile apart,
and the deep mud on their banks made crossing difficult. After crossing the first we awaited
the rear guard and pulled the feeble baggage horses from the mud with our hands. Almost
mingling with the enemy, the knights and foot soldiers in the rear guard crossed, too, but they
suffered no loss, for they were protected by the pact of mutual aid.
We went toward the second river with the intent of passing between two crags from whose
summit it was possible to shoot at the crowd as it approached. From both sides the Turks
hastened to the crags, but our knights seized one of them first. The Turks climbed the other,
however, and threw on the ground hair plucked from their heads, and by this sign, we were
told, they indicated that they could not be dislodged from that spot by any kind of fear. But
that sign was either false in this instance or did not mean anything, because the throng of our
foot soldiers routed them immediately.
But while they were struggling for the top of the crag, the knights thought that the Turks’
retreat could be cut off between the two rivers. Therefore, when permission had been granted
by the commander, all attacked the Turks at once, and they killed those whom they could
overtake, thus avenging the death of their comrades and their own losses. Upon reaching the
mud flats many Turks found death and a grave in a place suited to their filthy natures. While
our wrathful attack and lengthy pursuit destroyed those fugitives, everybody’s hunger was
slight and his day was brighter.
54
But the Turks and the Greeks were planning our destruction in many different ways. For,
although they were formerly enemies, they entered into an agreement for this very purpose.
And so, by gathering the flocks and the cattle from everywhere and by allowing them to
graze ahead of us, they destroyed the produce which they could not burn. For this reason
horses were left on the road exhausted or dead, and also left behind were their packs, tents,
clothing, arms, and many other things which, with the exception of those that the poor carried
away, our men burned in order to prevent their falling into the enemies’ hands.
Therefore the army ate and kept on hand plenty of horse flesh, and the horses which were not
fit for the pack train alleviated our hunger; with this food and bread baked in the ashes of the
campfires even the wealthy were satisfied. By such provision our hunger was relieved, and as
a result of the aforesaid fraternity we routed the enemy four times and were victorious each
time, and by careful endeavor, until we reached Attalia, we kept ourselves safe, without
suffering any loss to our forces except on the day when we made Geoffrey of Rancon our
leader to death and destruction [referring to attack at beginning of passage]….
Although Attalia was part of the Byzantine Empire, its proximity to Muslim territory required
it to develop working arrangements and trade with its neighbors. These arrangements sowed
suspicion in the minds of the French. The arrival of a messenger from the Byzantine emperor
requiring the French nobles to reconfirm their agreement with him (to return to the emperor
any of his former lands that the Crusaders take from their enemies) in exchange for market
privileges only confirmed the French belief that the Greeks were in league with the Turks
against them. As they determined how best to proceed, they were told by the Greeks that they
might sail to Antioch in a journey of just three days, as opposed to marching through
desolate enemy territory for forty days.
Horses were sought for, but since they were few and weak, the barons forced the king to risk
shipwreck, so that God might permit his patience, like Paul’s, to be tried “in perils in the
sea…” Then the commandant of the city and the emperor’s messenger were consulted about
this undertaking, and they answered the plea favorably and promised that ships for the entire
army would arrive soon.
Meanwhile the winter loosed the bad weather that it had delayed; it rained, snowed,
thundered, and lightened, and the wind with which we were hoping that the Lord would soon
favor us did not come until the fifth week; and the same was true, too, about the ships which
we were awaiting on the promise of the Greeks. Now, since the Greeks knew that the time at
their disposal was short, they performed all the evil deeds which they could, robbing us of
goods in the market and, insofar as they could by their plots, depriving us of life. The well
and the sick found whatever their condition demanded, but the high price grieved them…
Those who still had a horse or mule exchanged them for bread or sold them in the meat
market as if they were cattle. For when among the Greeks our plight was to sell without
profit and to buy at an extremely dear price.
From the Greeks, then, the Turks learned that our knights had no horses, and, taking
advantage of this security, prepared to attack the army in full force. This was made known to
the king, and for a move against the Turks, he concealed with him the Templars and the
55
wealthy knights, who still had kept their chargers even though they were starving. Appearing
suddenly before the advancing Turks, he killed some, thus forcing the rest to recross the river
without using a bridge and to believe from that time forth that the army had plenty of
excellent horses. Meanwhile the Greeks furnished ships at an outrageous price, as was true of
their other wares….
Those who are ignorant of such things will say that this city should have been captured and
that revenge should have been exacted for the citizens’ fraud. Let such people reflect that we
had no food and were besieged on the right and on the left by enemies within and without
and that it was impossible to destroy the lofty towers or to undermine the double walls
quickly without siege machinery. The commandant and the emperor’s messenger could have
been seized when they were coming to see the king, but the citizens would not have given up
the city in order to save these two from being hanged. And the king found it abhorrent and
contrary to this custom to have the city seized by treachery and to hazard the danger of all
without seizing it. May God spare the German emperor, even though it was by avoiding his
ill fortune and following his inexpert advice that we came into these evil straits; but how will
a just judge, either God or man, spare the Greek emperor, who by cunning cruelty killed so
many Christians in both the German and the Frankish armies?
When it became clear that there were insufficient ships to take the entire French army to
Antioch, Louis embarked with a portion of his army. He paid the commandant and the
emperor’s messenger to ensure that the Greeks would provide an escort as far as Tarsus for
the remaining portion of his army. After Louis’ departure, however, the Greeks maintained
that the winter weather and the presence of the Turks made the march impossible.
Then the Turks drew near the city, went in and out, and openly communicatd with the
Greeks. They saw their enemies confined close-packed between two kinds of enemies and
walls, just like sheep in a fold, and they realized that since they dared to go neither in nor out
they could be mowed down with arrows there. The wall was low and curving, and such a
large crowd of people could not gain protection by clinging to it; and thus the ones farther
away were likely to be wounded. Therefore the Turks shot arrows in from advantageous
points and wounded or killed some of the people.
Then, taking their bows in hand, the seasoned youths began to leap down from the wall, so
that they might either protect their own lives and those of their comrades or sell their lives
dearly; and by seeking peace thus forcibly they compelled the enemy to withdraw farther.
They would have had peace; but the Greeks, by confining well and ailing people in one
narrow and unclean place, killed them without inflicting a single wound. And while some
starved because they had no money and disease wasted others, many died from the effect of
the corpses left near at hand, with the Greeks not inflicting death but awaiting it for the
Franks.
For this reason two troops of three or four thousand strong men marched out, judging that
living within the city was tantamount to dying without. After taking up their arms, they went
forth with the intention of crossing the two rivers. The first they crossed easily, but at the
second they halted before a double obstacle. For they could cross the stream only if they
56
swam across, and they could penetrate the enemey drawn up there only if they fought
through, but both they could not accomplish at the same time; and turning back for this
reason, they were routed and killed.
By the blood of these soldiers the Turks’ thirst was quenched and the Greeks’ treachery was
transformed into violence, for the Turks returned to see the survivors and then gave generous
alms to the sick and the poor, but the Greeks forced the stronger Franks into their service and
beat them by way of payments. Some Turks bought our coins from their allies and distributed
them among the poor with a liberal hand, but the Greeks robbed those who had anything left.
Therefore, avoiding the fellow believers who were so cruel to them, the Franks went safely
among the unbelievers, who had compassion on them; and, we have heard, more than three
thousand young men went with the Turks when they departed….
Now God, cursing the town of Attalia, smote its people so severly with sudden death that
many houses there remained empty, and the living, stunned and fearful, planned to leave it
altogether. The emperor, although opposed to God in judgment, also completely despoiled
the city of silver and gold, because it had prepared a fleet and a market for the king. Thus,
God and he held opposite opinions, but both punished the city.
Now after the king had spent five weeks in this city he spent three more weeks suffering
shipwreck on the way to Antioch, for some of his vessels were battered and damaged, but
yet, by the will of God, not sunk. Serious were the losses and hazards which he endured,
Father Suger, but you ought to be comforted by the fact that he is safe. For it will even be to
his advantage to have toiled thus, since he is recognized as one who is prudent in time of
danger and serenely happy after suffering losses, and he had borne all kinds of fortune wisely
and steadfastly. His only grief was for the misfortune of his subjects, of whom he always
took as much care as possible, on the theory that a king is born not for his own benefit, but
for the advantage of others and that a king should be not only pious but also without any fear
of poverty.
In order to live up to his ideal of honor he disregarded the caution usual for a king and, clad
in mail, endured the nights’ cold and the days’ heat while protecting alternately the van and
the rear guard. Amid so many hardships his safe preservation was owed to no other remedy
than his religion, for he always took communion before he went to attack the enemy forces
and on his return requested vesters and compline, in such wise always making God the alpha
and the omega of this deeds. Thus, as a generous prince, a brave knght, a lively youth, a
mature older man, he adapted himself to various situations, circumstances, and capacities;
and by his integrity he procured the favor of men, by his piety the favor of God.
57
Otto of Freising. The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa. Book I.
I have slightly adapted Mierow’s translation [LC].
Otto (c. 1114-1158) was Bishop of Friesing, near present day Munich, Germany, in what was
then the Holy Roman Empire. He accompanied Conrad on crusade in 1147, and reached
Jerusalem in spite of the great losses in the army. He returned to Germany in 1148 or 1149.
This passage gives you Pope Eugenius’ summons to the crusade (available elsewhere in these
documents) and an important letter of Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard was the most influential
preacher of the Second Crusade—and you will also find his important letter on the Templars
later in these documents.
The passage also describes the danger posed to European Jews each time a crusade against
the infidel was proclaimed. Men like Raoul (also known as Radulf or Ralph) often inspired
violence against them. Note, though, that Bernard makes clear that the church does not
approve of violence against Jews.
Supporters of the crusade can use the arguments of Pope Eugenius and Bernard of Clairvaux
in Debate 1.
Both supporters and opponents of the crusade can use the attacks on the Jews to bolster their
arguments. Do crusades necessarily lead to attacks against the wrong enemy? or is the church
able to control and direct the violence?
Conrad may find support here for his claim to leadership in Debate 2.
The Western factions can use the arguments here to support attacking Damascus in Debate 3.
A Table of Contents for Otto of Freising
35-36
37
38-40
41-44
45-48
Pope Eugenius calls the Second Crusade
Bernard of Clairvaux introduced
Raoul preaches against the Jews and Bernard opposes him
Bernard preaches the Second Crusade
Conrad takes the cross and sets out for the Holy Land
58
35. While Eugenius was pope in Rome, Conrad reigning there [the Holy Roman Empire, or
Germany] and Louis in France, Manuel being emperor in the royal city
[Byzantium/Constantinople], and Fulk ruling at Jerusalem, Louis was impelled by a secret
desire to go to Jerusalem because his brother Philip had bound himself by the same vow but
had been prevented by death. He was unwilling further to postpone this resolve; he therefore
summoned certain of his princes and revealed what he was turning over in his mind.
There was at that time in France a certain abbot of the monastery of Clairvaux named
Bernard, venerable in life and character, conspicuous in his religious order, endowed with
wisdom and a knowledge of letters, renowned for signs and wonders. The princes decided to
have him summoned and to ask of him, as of a divine oracle, what ought to be done with
reference to this matter. Bernard was called and his advice requested regarding Louis’s wish.
As he judged it unbecoming to give answer concerning so weighty a matter on the sole basis
of his own opinion, he replied that it was best to refer the question to the hearing and the
consideration of the Roman pontiff.
Therefore, an embassy was sent to Eugenius, and the whole matter was set before him. And
he, pondering upon the example set by his predecessor—namely, the fact that Urban, upon an
occasion of this sort, had won back into the unity of peace the Church across the water and
two patriarchal sees (of Antioch and Jerusalem) that had cut themselves off from obedience
to the Roman see—gave his assent to Louis’s wishes for extending the observance of the
Christian faith. He granted to Bernard, who was looked upon by all the peoples of France and
Germany as a prophet and apostle, the authority to preach and to move the hearts of all
thereto. Whence there is extant the Pope’s letter directed to the king and his princes, as
follows [this is the same text you have elsewhere of Pope Eugenius’ call to crusade]:
36. “Bishop Eugenius, servant of the servants of God, to his most beloved son in Christ,
Louis, the illustrious king of the French, and to his beloved sons, the princes, and to all the
faithful ones of God who are established throughout Gaul, —greeting and apostolic
benediction.
“How much our predecessors the Roman pontiffs did labour for the deliverance of the
oriental church, we have learned from the accounts of the ancients and have found it written
in their acts. For our predecessor of blessed memory, pope Urban, did sound, as it were, a
celestial trump and did take care to arouse for its deliverance the sons of the holy Roman
church from the different parts of the earth. At his voice, indeed, those beyond the mountain
and especially the bravest and strongest warriors of the French kingdom, and also those of
Italy, inflamed by the ardour of love did come together, and, congregating a very great army,
not without much shedding of their own blood, the divine aid being with them, did free from
the filth of the pagans that city where our Saviour willed to suffer for us, and where He left
His glorious sepulchre to us as a memorial of His passion, -and many others which, avoiding
prolixity, we refrain from mentioning.
“Which, by the grace of God, and the zeal of your fathers, who at intervals of time have
striven to the extent of their power to defend them and to spread the name of Christ in those
parts, have been retained by the Christians up to this day; and other cities of the infidels have
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by them been manfully stormed. But now, our sins and those of the people themselves
requiring it, a thing which we can not relate without great grief and wailing, the city of
Edessa which in our tongue is called Rohais,-which also, as is said, once when the whole
land in the east was held by the pagans, alone by herself served God under the power of the
Christians-has been taken and many, of the castles of the Christians occupied by them (the
pagans). The archbishop, moreover, of this same city, together with his clergy and many
other Christians, have there been slain, and the relics of the saints have been given over to the
trampling under foot of the infidels, and dispersed. Whereby how great a danger threatens the
church of God and the whole of Christianity, we both know ourselves and do not believe it to
be hid from your prudence. For it is known that it will be the greatest proof of nobility and
probity, if those things which the bravery of your fathers acquired be bravely defended by
you the sons. But if it should happen otherwise, which God forbid, the valour of the fathers
will be found to have diminished in the case the of the sons.
“We exhort therefore all of you in God, we ask and command, and, for the remission of sins
enjoin: that those who are of God, and, above all, the greater men and the nobles do manfully
gird themselves; and that you strive so to oppose the multitude of the infidels, who rejoice at
the time in a victory gained over us, and so to defend the oriental church -freed from their
tyranny by so great an outpouring of the blood of your fathers, as we have said, - and to
snatch many thousands of your captive brothers from their hands,- that the dignity of the
Christian name may be increased in your time, and that your valour which is praised
throughout the whole world, may remain intact and unshaken. May that good Matthias be an
example to you, who, to preserve the laws of his fathers, did not in the least doubt to expose
himself with his sons and relations to death, and to leave whatever he possessed in the world;
and who at length, by the help of the divine aid, after many labours however, did, as well as
his progeny, manfully triumph over his enemies.
“We, moreover, providing with paternal solicitude for your tranquillity and for the destitution
of that same church, do grant and confirm by the authority conceded to us of God, to those
who by the promptings of devotion do decide to undertake and to carry through so holy and
so necessary a work and labour, that remission of sins which our aforesaid predecessor pope
Urban did institute; and do decree that their wives and sons, their goods also and possessions
shall remain under the protection of our selves and of the archbishops, bishops and other
prelates of the church of God. By the apostolic authority, moreover, we forbid that, in the
case of any thing, which they possessed in peace, when they took the cross, any suit be
brought hereafter until most certain news has been obtained concerning their return or their
death. Moreover since those who war for the Lord should by no means prepare themselves
with precious garments, nor with provision for their personal appearance, nor with dogs or
hawks , other things which portend licentiousness: we exhort your prudence in the Lord that
those who have decided to undertake so holy a work shall not strive after these things, but
shall show zeal and diligence with all their strength in the matter of arms, horses and other
things with which they may fight the infidels. But those who are oppressed by debt and begin
so holy a journey with a pure heart, shall not pay interest for the time past, and if they or n t
others for them are bound by an oath or pledge i ' he matter of interest, we absolve them by
apostolic authority. It is allowed to them also when their relations, being warned, or the lords
to whose fee they belong, are either unwilling or unable to advance them the money, to freely
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pledge without any reclamation, their lands or other possessions to churches, or ecclesiastical
persons, or to any other of the faithful. According to the institution of our aforesaid
predecessor, by the authority of almighty God and by that of St. Peter the chief of the
apostles, conceded to us by God, we grant such remission and absolution of sins, that he who
shall devoutly begin so sacred a journey and shall accomplish it, or shall die during it, shall
obtain absolution for all his sins which with a humble and contrite heart he shall confess, and
shall receive the fruit of eternal retribution from the Remunerator of all.
“Given at Vetralle on the Calends of December (1145).”
37. Accordingly, to return to the order of the narrative, the venerable abbot, Bernard, made
no misuse of the authority of the apostolic see that had been granted to him. He valiantly
girded himself with the sword of the Word of God; and when he had aroused the hearts of
many for the expedition overseas, finally [in 1146] a general assembly was summoned at
Vézelay, a town of France, where the bones of the blessed Mary Magdalene are preserved.
The great and illustrious of all the provinces of France were summoned to attend. There
Louis, the king of the Franks, with great eagerness of spirit received the cross from Bernard
and volunteered for military service across the seas, with counts Thierry of Flanders and
Henry, the son of Thibaud of Blois, and other barons and noblemen of his kingdom.
38. Meanwhile, the monk Raoul, a man who did indeed wear the habit of religion and
shrewdly imitated the strictness of religion, but was only moderately imbued with a
knowledge of letters, entered those parts of France which touch the Rhine and inflamed many
thousands of the inhabitants of Cologne, Mainz, Worms, Speyer, Strasbourg, and other
neighboring cities, towns, and villages to accept the cross.
However, he heedlessly included in his preaching that the Jews whose homes were scattered
throughout the cities and towns should be slain as foes of the Christian religion. The seed of
this doctrine took such firm root and so grew in numerous cities of France and Germany that
a large number of Jews were killed in this stormy uprising, while many took refuge under the
wings of the prince of the Romans [Conrad]. So it came about that not a few of them, fleeing
from such cruelty, to save their lives betook themselves to a town of the prince called
Nuremberg and to others of his municipalities.
39. But Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, giving instructions to beware of such teaching,
dispatched messengers and letters to the peoples of France and Germany to point out clearly
by the authority of the sacred page that the Jews were not to be killed for the enormity of
their crimes, but were to be scattered. In this connection he called attention also to the
testimony of the writer of Psalms who says in the 57th Psalm: “God shall let me see my desire
upon mine enemies. Slay them not.” And also, “Scatter them by thy power.”
40. Now, when countless throngs in western France had been aroused for this expedition
across the sea, Bernard decided to turn his attention to the eastern kingdom of the Franks, to
stir it with the plowshare of preaching, both that he might by the word of sacred exhortation
move the heart of the prince of the Romans [Conrad] to accept the cross, and that he might
silence Raoul, who in connection with the Jews was moving the people in the cities to
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repeated outbreaks against their lords. Hearing of this, Conrad called a general assembly to
be held at the city of Speyer at the time of the Lord’s Nativity [Christmas 1146]. Bernard,
coming thither, persuaded the king with Frederick, his brother’s son, and other princes and
illustrious men to accept the cross, performing many miracles both publicly and in private.
Coming to Mainz also, he found Raoul living there in greatest favor with the people. He
summoned him and warned him not to arrogate to himself on his own authority the word of
preaching, roving about over the land in defiance of the rule of the monks. Finally he
prevailed upon him to the point where he promised to obey and to return to his monastery.
The people were very angry and even wanted to start an insurrection, but they were
restrained by regard for Bernard’s saintliness….
42. After this, Conrad entered Bavaria and there held a general assembly in the month of
February. He took with him, in place of the abbot of Clairvaux, Adam, abbot of Ebrach, a
devout and very learned man. He celebrated solemn Mass as was customary and then, having
invoked the grace of the Holy Spirit, ascended the pupit and after reading the letters of the
apostolic see and of the abbot of Clairvaux, by a brief exhortation persuaded practically all
who were present to undertake the aforesaid military service. For there was no need of
persuasive words of human wisdom or the ingratiating use of artful circumlocution, in
accordance with the precepts of the rhetoricians, since all who were present had been aroused
by previous report and hurried forward of their own accord to receive the cross. In that same
hour three bishops accepted the cross, namely, Henry of Regensberg, Otto of Freising, and
Reginbert of Passau; also, the Duke of the Bavarians, Henry, brother of the king, and from
the order of counts, nobles, and illustrious men, a throng without number.
Moreover, so great a throng of highwaymen and robbers (strange to say) came hurrying
forward that no man in his senses could fail to comprehend that this so sudden and so
unusual a transformation came from the hand of the Most High, and comprehending did not
marvel with amazement of heart….
43. The following is a copy of the letter which the abbot of Clairvaux sent to the eastern
realm of the Franks:
“To the Lords and very dear Fathers, the Archbishops and Bishops, with the whole clergy
and the faithful people of Eastern France and Bavaria: Bernard, called Abbot of Clairvaux,
desires that they may abound in the spirit of strength.
“I write to you with respect to a matter which concerns the service of Christ, in Whom is our
salvation. This I say in order that the Lord's authority may excuse the unworthiness of the
person who speaks; let the consideration of its usefulness to yourselves also excuse the faults
of my address. I, indeed, am of small account; but I have no small love for you all, in the
bowels of Jesus Christ. This, now, is my reason for writing to you, that I may thus approach
you as a whole. I would rather do so by word of mouth, if the opportunity, as well as the will,
were afforded me.
“Behold, brethren, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. The earth also is
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moved and has trembled, because the God of heaven has begun to destroy the land which is
His: His, I say, in which the word of the Father was taught, and where He dwelt for more
than thirty years, a man among men; His, for He enlightened it with miracles, He consecrated
it with His own blood; in it appeared the first fruits of His resurrection. And now, for our
sins, the enemies of the Cross have raised blaspheming heads, ravaging with the edge of the
sword the land of promise. For they are almost on the point, if there be not One to withstand
them, of bursting into the very city of the living God, of the holy places of the spotless Lamb
with purple blood. Alas! they rage against the very shrine of the Christian faith with
blasphemous mouths, and would enter and trample down the very couch on which, for us,
our Life lay down to sleep in death.
“What are you going to do then, O brave men? What are you doing, O servants of the Cross?
Will you give what is holy to the dogs, and cast your pearls before swine? How many sinners
there, confessing their sins with tears, have obtained pardon, after the defilement of the
heathen had been purged by the swords of your fathers! The wicked man sees and is grieved;
he gnashes with his teeth, and consumes away. He prepares the instruments of sin, and will
leave no sign or trace of so great piety, if ever (which God forbid!) he gain possession of this
holiest of holy places. Verily that would be an irremediable grief to all time, an irrecoverable
loss, a vast disgrace to this most graceless generation, and an everlasting shame.
“What are we then to think, brethren? Is the Lord's arm shortened so that it cannot save,
because He calls His weak creatures to guard and restore His heritage? Can He not send more
than twelve legions of angels, or merely speak the word, and the land shall be set free? It is
altogether in His power to effect what He wishes; but I tell you, the Lord, your God, is trying
you. He looks upon the sons of men to see if there be any to understand, and seek, and bewail
his error. For the Lord hath pity upon His people, and provides a sure remedy for those that
are afflicted.
“Think what care He uses for your salvation, and wonder. Behold the abyss of His love, and
trust Him, O ye sinners. He wills not your death, but that you may turn and live; for now He
seeks occasion, not against you, but for your benefit….”
In these words and with reference to the same theme, Bernard busied himself in the manner
and fashion of the orators. And that the Jews should not be killed he proved by reason and by
authority…. Concerning the Jews he spoke thus: “They are living signs to us, representing
the Lord's passion. For this reason they are dispersed into all regions, that now they may pay
the just penalty of so great a crime, and that they may be witnesses of our redemption.”
44. And so, as countless peoples and nations, not only from the Roman empire, but also from
the neighboring realms—that is, France, England, Pannonia—were moved to take the cross,
suddenly almost the entire West became so still that not only the waging of war but even the
carrying of arms in public was considered wrong.
45. Now Conrad, the king of the Romans, called together the princes at Frankfort. And there
his son, Henry, who was still a boy, was chosen king by vote of the princes. Conrad
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commanded he should be anointed and crowned king in the palace at Aachen on Mid-Lent
Sunday, and chose him as his associate in the kingdom….
46. And so, when the rigor of winter cold had been dispelled, as flowers and plants came
forth from the earth’s bosom under the gracious showers of spring and green meadows
smiled upon the world, making glad the face of the earth, King Conrad led forth his troops
from Nuremberg, in battle array. At Regensburg he took ship to descend the Danube, and on
Ascension Sunday he pitched camp in the East Mark near a town called Ardacker. There for
two or three days he awaited his men who were already coming up. Proceeding thence almost
to the limits of his realm, he halted not far from the river Fischa. After observing Whitsunday
there, he crossed the Leitha with practically all his troops, some descending the Danube and
others coming by land, and made camp in Pannonia. But he drew after him so great a throng
that the rivers seemed scarcely to suffice for navigation, or the extent of the plains for
marching. Louis, the king of the Franks, with his men followed not far behind him, bringing
with him, of our people, the Lorrainers, whose princes or leaders were the bishops Stephen of
Metz and Henry of Toul, and the counts Reinald of Mouzon and Hugh of Vaudemont, and
from Italy Amadeus of Turin, his brother William, marchese of Montferrat, their uncles, and
many others.
47. But since the outcome of that expedition, because of our sins, is known to all, we, who
have purposed this time to write not a tragedy but a joyous history, leave this to be related by
others elsewhere… Nevertheless, lest we shroud in silence the good fortune of our present
Emperor Frederick, which from his youth to this very day has never turned on him a
completely clouded face, I wish to record one incident out of all, and to represent all that
happened to us on that march.
48. When after Pannonia Bulgaria had been crosssed, at the cost of much toil and difficulty
of the way, and when upper Thrace was passed, after Mt. Hebrus had been surmounted, when
now we had been marching for several days with much gladness of heart in the most fruitful
regions of lower Thrace on our way to the royal city [Constantinople], on the seventh day
before the Ides of September [September 7], that is, on the day before the festival of the birth
of the blessed Mary, we came to a certain valley near a town called Cherevach, attractive
because of its green fields and marked by the course of a little stream through the midst of it.
Captivated by the charm of the spot, we all decided to pitch our tents there and to rest in that
place that day, in order to celebrate with great jollity the glad birthday of the Mother of God,
ever virgin. Only Duke Frederick with his retinue and his uncle Welf—for the troops of the
Lorrainers had not yet united with us—marked out a camp near us on the side of a certain
mountain opposite. Not far was the Hellespont….
I confess that during the entire time of our expedition we never had a pleasanter camp; never
(so far as one may judge from sense impressions) had our encampment covered a wider
circuit.
But look! about the time of the morning watch a certain little cloud appeared and sent down a
gentle rain. Suddenly such a tempestuous storm of rain and wind ensued that it caused the
tents to sway, tore them loose, and dashed them violently to the ground, arousing us from our
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beds, to which we had retired after matins. A tumult arose, filling all the air round about. For
the little stream—whether from the backwash of the neighboring sea or the downpour of rain
or a cloudburst betokening the vengeance of the Majesty on high is uncertain—had swollen
so greatly and in consequence of its swollen waters had so overflowed beyond its custom that
it covered the entire camp.
What were we to do? Considering this a divine punishment rather than a natural inundation,
we were the more dismayed. Nevertheless, we hurried to our powerful steeds, each one
seeking to cross the river as best he could. You might have seen some swimming, some
clinging to horses, some ignominiously hauled along by ropes to escape the danger, some
dashing in disorder into the river and sinking because they were heedlessly entangled with
others. A great many, believing they could wade across, were swept away by the rush of the
river, injured by the rocks, and, swallowed up by the force of the eddies, lost their lives in the
river. Some, who had not learned how to swim, laid hold of those who were swimming and
clung to them in order that they might escape and exhausted them, so hampered, until they
ceased the motions of their arms and, flat on their backs, both alike were submerged and
drowned.
Now some of us betook ourselves to the tents of Duke Frederick, which alone remained
entirely unharmed by this destructive flood. There, hearing the solemn service of the Mass,
we sang “Let us rejoice,” not with joy, but with much bitterness of heart, hearing the grief
and the groans of our men. Finally, some managed to cross the torrent with great fear and
effort; others, in their despair fastening together wagons and other equipment they could
secure, placed this material as a bulwark against the onrushing water and awaited the
cessation of the flood.
But how great a loss our army sustained there both in men and goods and in the utensils
necessary for so long a journey I need not relate. On the following day, when the waters had
subsided and the face of the land appeared, all of us being scattered here and there, you might
have obtained as sad a picture of our encampment as on the preceding day you could have
seen it glad. So that, not inappropriately, it appeared clearer than light how great is the power
of the high Deity, and how human happiness is unstable and passes quickly.
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Francesco Gabrieli. Arab Historians of the Crusades.
The following excerpts by Ibn al-Athir and Ibn al-Qalanisi are taken (and lightly edited)
from pages 41-55 of Gabrieli’s collection of Arab chronicles. These passages may be used
to understand the Muslim perspective on the Crusades.
With the appearance on the scene of Zangi, the Atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo (1129-46), the
real Muslim counter-offensive against the Crusades began. Ibn al-Athir was the faithful
servant and historian of Zangi. According to his religious view of history, it was Providence
that put into Zangi's hands the kingdom of Damascus. Zangi's real aim, even when fighting
the Crusaders, was Damascus, nominally ruled by the incompetent descendents of Tughtikin
(the first serious opponent of the Crusaders), and controlled in fact by Unur. Faced with the
threat of Zangi, none of these hesitated to make an alliance with the Franks. In the following
extracts Ibn al-Athir presents an exalted image of his hero, and Ibn al-Qalanisi the opposite
view, that of civil patriotism and loyalty to the local dynasty of Tughtikin.
ZANGI, MAN OF DESTINY FOR ISLAM
(IBN AL-ATHIR, X, 458)
If God in his mercy had not granted that Zangi should conquer Syria, the Franks would have
overrun it completely. They had laid siege to this town and that, but Tughtikin had barely
heard the news before he was mustering his men and marching on the Frankish territories. He
besieged them and raided them, and in this way forced the Franks to abandon their campaign
and return home. Now in this year (1128), by God's decree, Tughtikin died, and Syria would
have been left completely at their mercy, with no one to defend its inhabitants; but that God
in His mercy to the Muslims was pleased to raise to power Zangi, whose deeds in the battle
with the Franks we shall, God willing, record here.
ZANGI TAKES THE FORTRESS OF BA’RIN.
THE DEFEAT OF THE FRANKS
(IBN AL-ATHIR, XI, 33-34)
In shawwal of this year (1137), Zangi left Hims and laid siege to Ba'rin, a strongly defended
fortress near Hamar, held by the Franks. He surrounded it and began to attack it and try to
storm it. The Franks marshalled their cavalry and infantry and set out, kings, counts and
barons together, against the Atabeg Zangi to make him lift the siege. But Zangi was
unmoved. He stood firm to await them, and when they arrived he faced them in a battle
which after some bitter fighting resolved itself into a rout of the Franks, who fled, closely
pursued by the Muslims. The Frankish King shut himself up inside the near-by fort of Ba'rin,
and was besieged there by the Muslims. The Ata-beg cut off all means of communication
with the fort, so that not even news of their homelands got inside, so closely were movements
controlled by Zangi and so great was the fear of him.
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Then priests and monks traversed the Byzantine empire, the countries of the Franks and the
neighbouring Christian states raising armies to fight the Muslims and declaring that if Zangi
took Ba'rin and the Franks inside it, he would overrun all their lands in no time, for there
would be no one to defend them. They said that the Muslims had but one ambition: to march
on Jerusalem. So the Christians flocked to Syria by land and sea. Among them was the
Byzantine Emperor. Meanwhile Zangi continued to wage war on the Franks, who held out
but were running short of food and other essentials, for the siege had been sprung on them
unexpectedly, leaving them no time to make preparations. They had not believed that anyone
could put them on the defensive—they had been expecting to take over the whole of Syria
themselves. When they ran out of food they ate their horses, and then they were forced to ask
for terms. They requested Zangi to guarantee their lives until they reached their own
domains. At first he refused to accept their terms, but hearing that the Emperor and the rest of
the Franks were approaching Syria he granted the men in the fort their lives and fixed the
ransom at 50,000 dinar. They accepted his terms and yielded up the fort to him. When they
emerged they learnt that a great concourse was on its way to save them, and reproached
themselves for having surrendered, unaware of what was happening outside the fort.
While the siege of Ba'rin was going on Zangi had taken Ma’arra and Kafartab from the
Franks. Like the population of the whole region between there and Aleppo and Hamar, as
well as of Ba'rin, the inhabitants of these two towns had been reduced to a state of squalid
misery by the constant pillaging and slaughter, for this region had been a theatre of war since
the beginning. When Zangi assumed command the people breathed again, the countryside
blossomed and soon began to bring in a large revenue. It was an unqualified victory, as
anyone who saw knows.
One of Zangi's finest acts was his treatment of the people of Ma’arra. When the Franks took
the town they seized their possessions, and at the reconquest their descendants and survivors
presented themselves before Zangi to ask for restitution of their belongings. He asked to see
the documents giving proof of ownership, but they replied that the Franks had taken
everything including the title-deeds. He had the land registers in Aleppo examined, and
anyone for whom there was an entry for the land tax on a particular holding was given that
land. Thus he restored their land to the people of Ma'arra, the finest act of justice and
generosity that I ever heard of.
DAMASCUS AND THE FRANKS IN ALLIANCE
AGAINST ZANGI
(IBN AL-QALANISI, 270-3)
In this year (1139-40) news came that the Atabeg Zangi had finished repairing the damage to
Baalbek and its fort and had begun preparations for a siege of Damascus. Soon came the
news that he had left Baalbek in rabi' I (November 1139) and had encamped in the Biqa.
From there he sent a message to Jamal ad-Din inviting him to exchange the city for another
of his own choice or suggestion. Jamal ad-Din refused, and so on Wednesday 13 rabi' II (6
December) Zangi left the Biqa and camped at Darayya, immediately outside Damascus. On
his arrival at Darayya the advance parties of the two sides came to blows. Jamal ad-Din's
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men were defeated, and some took refuge inside the city. On Friday Zangi advanced in force
on the side of the city where the Musalla was, and won a victory against a great host
composed of the citizen militia and peasants. There was wholesale slaughter. Survivors were
killed or imprisoned. Those who could, whether or not they were wounded, escaped to the
city. That day, but for God's grace, the city would have fallen. Zangi took his prisoners back
to camp, and for the next few days undertook no operations. He sent out messengers and
exerted himself to obtain peace by courtesy and diplomacy, offering the amir of Damascus,
Baalbek and Hims and other towns that he suggested.
Jamal ad-Din Muhammad ibn Taj al-Muliik would have preferred to accept these terms and
to come to a peaceful agreement without bloodshed, in a way that would bring peace and
prosperity to the people. But his advisers rejected this view. For several days Zangi sent out
his troops in raidng parties, without deploying his full force or completing the blockade, in
order to avoid violence and to act like a man restrained by peaceful intentions and a
reluctance to indulge in bloodshed and pillage. In jumada 1 Jamal ad-Din showed the first
signs of an illness that was finally to gain complete mastery of him, its grip tightening and
loosening, its tide ebbing and flowing until he was absolutely at its mercy. Medicine and
magic art had no effect on him, and in the end his destiny fulfilled itself, and on the night of
Friday 8 sha'ban (29 March 1140), at the very hour of his brother and forerunner Shihab adDin Mahmud's assassination, he passed to his Creator. The people were overcome by this
coincidence of day and hour, and gave praise and glory to God. He was given a place in his
grandmother’s sepulchre at al-Paradis. After his burial the commanders and notables decided
to fill the gap left by his death by putting in his place his son, the amir Adab ad-Daula Abu
Sa’id Abaq Ibn Jamal ad-Din Muhammad. They swore solemn oaths of loyalty and
obedience, faithful service and counsel. Thus the matter was settled. The city had an effective
government, all discord ceased, and confusion was replaced by calm, so that after a time of
unrest men's spirits were once more tranquil.
When the Atabeg 'Imad ad-Din learnt of Jamal ad-Din's death, he brought his troops up close
to the city, in the hope that on their leader's death disunity among the military commanders
would give him the opportunity to realize some of his ambitions. But things did not go as he
had anticipated: he found the civil and military authorities of Damascus firm in their decision
to fight it out and to continue their resistance and opposition to him. He returned to camp
discouraged and furious. At this point the Franks agreed to give Damascus support and help
in driving Zangi back and prevent his getting what he wanted. The agreement was sealed
with a solemn oath, and each side gave guarantees that it would honour its obligations. The
Franks asked for a certain sum of money for them to use on any operations that they
undertook, and also for hostages, for their own peace of mind. This was agreed, and money
and hostages—relatives of the army commanders—were handed over. Then the Franks began
their preparations for assisting Damascus, and messages passed between them in which it
was agreed that the Franks should concenrrate their resources on the other forts and towns in
the area, to drive off Zangi and prevent his achieving his ambition of taking Damascus,
before he became so powerful and well-equipped that he could break through the Frankish
lines and attack their own territories.
When Zangi heard what was afoot, and that the Frankish troops were assembling ready to
68
move at the same time as the army from Damascus, he left his camp, and on Sunday 5
ramadan moved off toward Hauran to confront the Franks if that was what they wanted, or to
follow them if they moved off. After using these tactics for a while he turned aside at the
Ghuta of Damascus and camped at 'Adhra' on Wednesday 24 shawwal (l2 June). He burnt
some villages in the Marj and the Ghuta as far as Harasta at-Tin, and on the following
Saturday left for the north on the receipt of defmite information that the Franks were
encamped in force at al-Madan, One of the conditions of the Franco-Damascene agreement
was that the Muslims should hand over Baniyas, which was held by Ibrahim ibn Turghiit.
This man, you will understand, had taken his men on a raiding mission in the region of Tyre
and there crossed the path of Raymond of Antioch, who was on his way to reinforce the
Franks at Damascus. In the battle Ibrahim was defeated and killed, together with a few of his
men. The rest returned to Baniyas and mustered reinforcements from the tribes of the Wadi tTaim and elsewhere in sufficient numbers to defend the fortress. Then the amir Mu'in ad-Din
attacked and besieged the fort with the army from Damascus, using catapults and various
other methods. He had a large Frankish contingent with him, and the siege continued
throughout shawwal (May-June 1140). Then came the news that in shawwal the Atabeg
'Imad ad-Din, from his camp at Baalbek, had summoned the Turcomans to attack Baniyas
and drive off the besiegers. This was the situation at the end of dhu l-hijja of that year.
Baniyas was beleaguered until all its stores were gone and there was no food for the
defenders, then it surrendered to Mu’in ad-Din. The governor was recompensed with other
fiefs and benefices, and Mu'in ad-Din handed the city over to the Franks as he had agreed,
and returned in triumph to Damascus at the end of shawwal.
On the morning of Saturday 7 dhu l-hijja (22June) the Atabeg Imad ad-Din appeared with his
army outside Damascus. At the Musalla he had attacked the city wall unnoticed, for the
citizens were all deep in the final hours of sleep. As dawn broke they realized what was
happening and a great cry of anguish went up as they rushed to their posts on the walls. The
gates opened and the citizen cavalry and infantry came out. Zangi had sent his own men out
on raiding missions in Hauran, the Ghuta, the Marj and other places, and confronted the army
from Damascus with his guards, to prevent their pursuing their raiding parties. The two sides
came to blows and a large number of troops were involved in the fighting on both sides, but
Zangi withdrew his men, for his main concern was to act as cover for the raiders. These
rounded up vast numbers of horses and cattle, sheep, lambs, oxen, and household goods, for
their action had taken the city completely by surprise. That night Zangi camped at Marj
Rahit, so that his men could reassemble with their booty, and then left by the northern route,
taking a vast quantity of booty with him.
After his setback at Damascus Zangi recovered his position by conquering Edessa (1144)
and breaking up the county, the first of the four Christian states born of the First Crusade to
disappear. We give versions of the story by Ibn al-Qalanisi and Ibn al-Athir. The latter, as
usual, covers the wider field, giving in anecdotal form both the local events and their effect
on the whole struggle between Christianity and Islam. Barely two years after this triumph his
hero was assassinated while fighting other Muslims. He bequeathed his political and military
ambitions to his son Nur ad-Din, Sultan of Aleppo. Ibn al-Athir's eulogy of Zangi, with due
69
allowance made for its emotional bias, reveals traits of character of which we have
independent confirmation.
ZANGI TAKES EDESSA
(lBN AL-QALANISI, 279-80)
In this year (1144) news came from the north that Zangi had taken Edessa by storm, in spite
of its strength and state of readiness to face even a powerful besieging army. Zangi had
always coveted Edessa and watched for a chance to achieve his ambition. Edessa was never
out of his thoughts or far from his mind. At last he heard that Joscelin I Prince of Edessa,
with a large part of his army, the flower of his gallant company of knights, had been killed in
battle far away from the city. It seemed as if it was God's will. When Zangi heard the news
he hastened to besiege and blockade Edessa with a large force. He sent to summon the aid of
the Turcomans, in fulfillment of their obligations in the Holy War. Large numbers answered
his appeal and they completely surrounded the city, intercepting all supplies and
reinforcements. It was said that even the birds dared not fly near, so absolute was the
desolation made by the besiegers' weapons and so unwinking their vigilance. Catapults
drawn up against the walls battered at them ceaselessly, and nothing interrupted the
remorseless struggle. Special detachments of sappers from Khurasan and Aleppo began work
at several suitable places, digging into the bowels of the earth until their tunnels, propped up
with beams and special equipment, reached under the towers of the city wall. The next step
was to light the fires, and they applied to Zangi for permission. This was given after he had
been into the tunnels to inspect them and had admired their imposing work. The wooden
supports were fired, flames spread and devoured the beams, the walls above the tunnels
crumbled, and the Muslims took the city by storm. Many men of both sides were killed when
the walls collapsed, and many more Franks and Armenians were killed, wounded or put to
flight. The city was taken at dawn on Saturday 26 jumada II (23 December 1144). Then the
looting and the killing began, the capturing and pillaging. The hands of the victors were filled
with money and treasure, horses and booty enough to gladden the heart and make the soul
rejoice. Then Zangi ordered that the carnage should come to an end, and began to rebuild the
walls where they had been damaged. He appointed suitable men to govern and defend the
city and to look after its interests. He reassured the inhabitants with promises of good
govermnent and universal justice. Then he left Edessa for Sariij, to which the Franks had
fled, and took it. Indeed every region and town through which he passed was immediately
handed over to him.
(lBN AL-ATHIR, XI, 64-6)
On 6 jumada II of that year the Atabeg Zangl seized from the Franks the city of Edessa and
other forts in the Jazira. The Franks had penetrated far into this area, as far as Amid and
Nusaibin, Ras al-'Ain and ar-Raqqa. Their influence extended from near Mardin to the
Euphrates, and covered Edessa, Sariij, al-Bira, Sinn ibn 'Utair, Jamlin, al-Mu'azzar, Quradi
and other cities as well. All these and other regions west of the Euphrates belonged to
Joscelin, the most famous of the Franks and the leader of their army by virtue of his valour
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and command of strategy. Zangi knew that if he made a direct attack on Edessa the Franks
would concentrate there to defend it, and it was too well fortified to be an easy conquest. He
moved to Diyar Bah, to give the Franks the impression that his interests lay elsewhere and
that he was in no position to attack their kingdom. When the Franks felt sure that he could
not extract himself from the war he was fighting with the Artuqids and other princes at Diyar
Bakr, and so felt safe from him, Joscelin left Edessa and crossed the Euphrates to move
westwards. As soon as Zangi's spies informed him of this, he issued orders to his army to set
out the next day for Edessa, His amirs were summoned to his presence, and he ordered food
to be served. 'No one', he said, 'shall eat with me at this table unless he is prepared to hurl his
lance with me tomorrow at the gates of Edessa.' The only ones who dared to come forward
were a solitary amir and a youth of humble birth whose bravery and prowess were known to
all, for he had no equal in battle. The amir said to him; 'What are you doing here?' but the
Atabeg intervened: 'Leave him, for his, I can see, is not a face that will be lagging behind me
in battle.'
The army set out and reached the walls of Edessa. Zangi was the first to charge the Franks,
but the young man was at his side. A Frankish knight lunged at Zangi from the side, but the
amir faced him and transfixed him with his lance," and Zangi was saved.
They besieged the city and attacked it for three weeks. Zangi made several assaults on it, and
used sappers to mine the walls. He was straining every nerve in the struggle, for fear that the
Franks should marshal their forces and march on him to relieve the fortress. Then the sappers
undermined the wall and it collapsed, and Zangi took the city and besieged the citadel. The
citizens and their goods were seized, the young taken captive, the men killed. But when
Zangi inspected the city he liked it and realized that it would not be sound policy to reduce
such a place to ruins. He therefore gave the order that his men should return every man,
woman and child to his home together with the goods and chattels looted from them. This
was done in all but a very few cases, in which the captor had already left the camp. The city
was restored to its former state, and Zangi installed a garrison to defend it. Then he received
the surrender of Sariij and other cities west of the Euphrates. The only exception was al-Bira,
a strongly defended fort on the bank of the Euphrates. So he marched on it and besieged it,
but it was well stocked and well guarded, and so after some time, as by God's will we shall
describe, he lifted the siege.
It is said that a great authority on genealogies and biographies tells the following story: the
King of Sicily sent a naval expedition that ravaged Tripoli in North Africa. Now there was in
Sicily a learned, God-fearing Muslim whom the King held in great respect, relying on his
advice rather than that of his own priests and monks; so much so that the people used to say
that the King was really a Muslim. One day, as the King was standing at a window
overlooking the sea, he saw a small boat come into the harbour. The crew told him that his
army had invaded Muslim territory, laid it waste and returned victorious. The Muslim sage
was dozing at the King's side. The King said to him: 'Did you hear what they said?' 'No.'
'They told me that we have defeated the Muslims in Tripoli. What use is Muhammad now to
his land and his people?' 'He was not there,' replied the old man, 'he was at Edessa, which the
Muslims have just taken.' The Franks who were present laughed, but the King said: 'Do not
laugh, for by God this man is incapable of speaking anything but the truth.' And a few days
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later news came from the Franks in Syria that Edessa had been taken. 'Certain honest and
godly men have told me that a holy man saw the dead Zangi in a dream and asked him: 'How
has God treated you?' and Zangi replied, 'God has pardoned me, because I conquered Edessa.'
DEATH, AND A EULOGY OF HIM
(IBN AL-ATHIR, XI, 72-4)
In this year, on 5 rabi II (14 September 1146), the Atabeg Zangi, martyr for the Faith, ruler of
Mosul and Syria, was killed while he was besieging Ja'bar as we have narrated. He was killed
at night, murdered by a group of his courtiers. They fled to the fortress, whose inhabitants
joyfully shouted the news to the (besieging) camp. When Zangi’s servants came to his
bedside they found that there was still a spark of life in him. My father, one of Zangi's close
friends, recalled: ‘I went straight to him; he was still alive, and when he saw me, clearly
wanting to make an end of it he made a sign to me with his fingers imploring me to take pity
on him. At the very suggestion I fell to the ground and said: "My Lord, who had done this?"
but he was beyond speech, and yielded up his soul, may the Lord have mercy on him.
Zangi was a handsome man, with a swarthy complexion, fine eyes, and hair that was
beginning to go grey. He was more than 60 years old, for he had been a baby when his father
was killed, as has been narrated. After his death he was buried at Raqqa, His subjects and his
army went in awe of him; under his government the strong dared not harm the weak. Before
he came to power the absence of strong rulers to impose justice, and the presence of the
Franks close at hand, had made the country a wilderness, but he made it flower again. The
population increased, and so did its prosperity. My father told me that he had seen Mosul in
such a state of desolation that from the cymbal-makers' quarter one could see as far as the old
Great Mosque, the maidiin and the Sultan's palace, for not a building in between remained
standing. It was not safe to go as far as the old Great Mosque without an escort, so far was it
from human habitation, whereas now it is the centre of a mass of buildings, and every one of
the areas mentioned just now is built up. My father also told me about the occasion when
Zangi arrived in the Jazira one winter. One of his chief amirs, 'Izz ad-Din ad-Dubaisi, who
held the city of Daquqa as a fief from him, billeted himself on aJew. The Jew appealed to the
Atabeg, who sympathized with him. He had only to give ad-Dubaisi a look to make him pack
his bags and move.
Then the Sultan himself entered the city and had his baggage and tents unpacked. My father
said: 'I remember seeing his men putting up his tents in the mud, spreading straw on the
ground to keep them out of the mire. Then he appeared and took up residence there. Such
was the strictness of his principles.’ Mosul had been one of the most impoverished regions
before Zangi's time, but during and after his reign it blossomed with crops, sweet-smelling
flowers and other plants as fruitfully as anywhere else in the world.
Zangi also used to take care to protect the honour of his subjects’ women, especially his
soldiers' wives. He used to say that if the soldiers' wives were not kept under strict control
during their husbands' long absences on campaigns they would certainly go astray. He was
the bravest man in the world. Of the time before he came to power it is enough to say that he
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went with the amir Maudiid of Mosul to Tiberias, in Frankish territory, and flung a lance at
the city gates that left a scar in the wood. In the same way he attacked the Humaidi fortress of
‘Aqar, which was at the top of a lofty mountain, and flung a lance that reached as far as the
walls. There are other similar stories. During his reign in Mosul he was entirely surrounded
by hostile states, all doing their best to seize his kingdom. But he, far from merely defending
himself from his enemies, never let a year pass without taking over a piece of enemy
territory. His neighbour on the Takrit side was the Caliph al-Mustarshid bi-Illah, who
besieged Mosul. On the Shahraziir side was the Sultan Mas'ud, then Ibn Suqman of Khilat,
then Dawiid ibn Suqman of Hisn Kaifa, then the Prince of Amid and Mardin, then the
Franks, from Damascus to Mardin, and finally the Princes of Damascus itself All these states
were trying to encroach on his lands, but he attacked now this one, now that, making a
conquest here, a treaty there, until at his death he had taken over several tracts of land at the
expense of all his neighbours. You will find the details in the book in which we describe his
reign and those of his sons.
73
Letter from Conrad to Pope Eugenius. March 1147.
Although the Pope had encouraged Louis to embark on the crusade, the participation of
Conrad came as a surprise to him.
Conrad by the grace of God King of the Romans and always Augustus to his father in Christ
Eugenius, supreme pontiff of the Holy Roman Church, [expressing to him] filial love and due
reverence in the Lord.
We have gratefully received the letter from your holiness sent with your legate Bishop
Theodwin of Santa Rufina, a man who has been received by us with love and honour, and we
have carried out the suggestions contained within it with filial and cordial charity. Hence we
have with God’s assistance taken careful and effective steps for the government of our
kingdom, which has been granted to us by God, a matter about which you advised and
exhorted us with paternal affection. This was discussed with great attention and thoroughness
at a gathering of the princes at Frankfurt, where we held a general court. A lasting peace has
been confirmed throughout every part of our kingdom, and our son Henry has been chosen
with the unanimous agreement of the princes and the eager acclamation of the whole
kingdom as king and as the successor to our sceptre. We have ordered that in accordance
with Divine mercy he should be crowned in the palace at Aachen in the middle of Lent.
Indeed, the matter which was of concern to your good self, that we have assumed such a
great task, namely the holy and life-giving cross and the intention of making so great and
lengthy an expedition, without your knowledge, proceeds from a strong feeling of true love.
But the Holy Spirit, which ‘bloweth where it listeth’ [John 3:8], and is accustomed to
‘coming suddenly’ [Mark 13:36], allowed us to make no delay to take counsel with you or
anybody else; and immediately He touched our heart with His wondrous finger, He
commanded our absolute obedience without there being any opportunity for delay
interposing. Since we understand both from your letter and from the legate that you will
come to Gaul, we request, venerable father, and advise you with the utmost respect and
thought, that you seek to cross the Rhine so that we can meet together so that we may be able
both to discuss and to plan how, with the help of God’s compassion, the peace of the
churches and the ordering of the Christian religion may be augmented with appropriate
measures and the well-being of the kingdom which has been granted to us by God, and the
enhancement of our honour, may be confirmed through necessary decisions. And since there
is very little time available for preparing our journey, we would very much like to meet with
you at Strassburg on the sixth day of Easter Week.
We commend to your sincerity our envoys, men who are especially prudent and discreet,
lovers of the Holy Roman Church and of the kingdom, and who are most dear to us, namely
Bishop Bucco of Worms, Bishop Anselm of Havelburg and Abbot Wibald of Korvey, so that
you may hear those things that they say as though they were from our own mouth, and you
will not refuse to discuss and arrange the affairs of the Holy Roman Church and the kingdom
with them in a friendly fashion.
74
Letter from Conrad to Abbot Wibald. January/February 1148.
Conrad by the grace of God King of the Romans to the venerable Abbot Wibald of Korvey
and Stavelot [wishing him] his grace and all good things.
Since we have had proof of your loyalty towards us and our kingdom shown on many
occasions, we do not doubt that you will greatly rejoice now that you hear of the favourable
state of our affairs. We therefore bring news to you, our loyal subject. After we had arrived at
Nicea with a numerous and untouched army, we wanted to complete our expedition in good
time. So we set off towards Iconium on the direct route, accompanied by guides to show us
the way, and carrying with us as many supplies as we could.
But however, after ten days on the road, and with a similar march still left, the supplies began
to run short for everyone, particularly for the cavalry, while the Turks unceasingly harried
and inflicted death upon the crowd of people on foot, who were unable to keep up. Pitying
the fate of the suffering people, who were dying both from famine and from the arrows fired
by the enemy, and on the request of all the princes and barons, we led the army away from
that wasteland towards the sea, so as to regroup; preferring to keep it unharmed for greater
things in future rather than to win a bloody victory over the archers. When we arrived at the
sea coast and pitched camp, much to our surprise the king of France arrived at our tents in the
midst of a great storm, not wanting to wait for better weather in his joy. He was distressed
that our army had been worn down by hunger and toil, but showing no little joy in our
company. Indeed he and all his princes faithfully and devotedly offered us their service. They
provided us with money and whatever else they had which we wanted. They then joined
forces with us and our princes, although indeed some of our people were left behind, being
unable to follow either because of illness or through lack of money, and because of this they
became separated from the army. We then went without difficulty as far as Ephesus, where
the Saint's [John] tomb is, from which Manna is believed to gush forth, and there we
celebrated the Lord's Nativity. We stopped there for some days, since both we and many of
our men had fallen ill. We wanted to go on when we had recovered our health, but were so ill
that we were quite unable to proceed. Hence, after waiting for us as long as they could, the
king and his army set off regretfully, but we remained racked by illness for a considerable
time.
When our brother the Emperor of the Greeks heard of this he was much upset, and he and our
most beloved daughter the empress came to us in haste, and generously provided us and our
princes with everything that we needed for our journey from his own resources. He brought
us back almost by force to his palace in Constantinople, so that we might be speedily restored
to health by his doctors. There he showed us greater honour, so we have heard, than had ever
been demonstrated to any of our predecessors. We now plan to set off for Jerusalem on
Quadragesima Sunday [March 7], we shall muster a new army there over Easter, and then
travel on to Edessa.
We ask that you yourself pray, and have your brothers also pray, that God should indeed
deign to make our journey a success; and commend us to [the prayers of] all the faithful. We
ourselves commend our son to your faithful care.
75
Letter from Louis VII to his regent, Abbot Suger. March/April 1148.
Louis, by the grace of God King of the French and Duke of the Aquitanians, to Suger,
venerable Abbot of St. Denis, greeting and [his] grace. It is our duty to send news of our
affairs in the East as quickly we can to you, who are dear to us. For we know that you have a
heartfelt desire to hear about them, and nothing can make us happier than for you to receive
good news about us.
After we had departed the frontiers of our kingdom, the Lord favoured our journey, and He
brought us in good health and unharmed as far as Constantinople, and by Divine mercy with
our whole army safe and in excellent spirits. There we were joyfully and honourably received
by the emperor. After remaining there for a little while to gather the supplies that seemed to
be needed, we sailed across the Bosphorus and commenced our march through Romania.
However, we suffered great damage in these regions, both through the treachery of the
emperor and through our own fault, and we were indeed threatened by many and grave
perils. For we were spared neither the vicious ambush of robbers nor the serious difficulties
of the route, and faced daily battles with the Turks who with the emperor's permission
entered his lands to harry the soldiery of Christ, and who strove with all their might to harm
us. Since in many places it was impossible to find food, the people were soon suffering from
hunger.
And on one particular day Divine judgement exacted punishment for our sins, and a number
of our barons were killed. For among those who died on the climb into the mountains of
Laodicea the Lesser and in the region round about were our blood-relation the Count of
Warenne, Rainald of Tonnerre, Manasses de Bulles, Walter de Montjay, Everard of Breteuil,
and many more, the list of whom will be announced at a more favourable moment than the
present, since our grief does not allow us to speak further about them now. We ourselves
frequently risked death, but on each occasion were saved by Divine grace. We escaped the
attacks of the Turks and, protected by the Lord, arrived at Attalia with our army safe. There
we had frequent and prolonged discussions as to the best way to continue our journey, and
the general opinion of the bishops and princes was that, since our horses had for a long time
been worn down by hunger and the hardships of the journey, and the way forward was beset
with great difficulty, we should hurry on to Antioch by ship.
We followed their advice, and on the Friday after the middle of Lent [March 10, 1148] we
and the majority of our princes arrived safely by sea at the aforesaid city, and it is from there
that we have had this letter despatched to you. As for the rest, all our work is in the hand of
God, who, as we trust in him, will not abandon us who have our hopes in him, but will guide
His enterprise to a glorious conclusion. For you should most certainly know that we shall
either return in glory or we shall never return at all. It remains therefore for you to think
frequently of us, and always commend us most sincerely to the prayers of religious men
everywhere. And since our money has been in no small way diminished by many and various
expenses, all of which have been entirely necessary to us, you should devote your energy to
raising cash, and hasten to send what has been collected to us by trustworthy envoys. We
shall only be able to further Christ's business without much expense and great labour.
Farewell.
76
Medieval Sourcebook: Usamah Ibn Munqidh (1095-1188): Autobiography.
Usamah (1095-1188) was a Muslim warrior and courtier who fought against the Crusaders
with Saladin (the Third Crusade.) Yet as a resident of the area around Palestine, he also had
a chance to befriend a number of them. His autobiography dates from around 1175. I have
supplemented the excerpts from the Medieval Sourcebook with additional passages from the
Penguin edition of Usamah’s works.
§§ Meeting with Nur al-Din
By that route of ours we arrived at Bosra, where we found that Nur al-Din (may God have
mercy upon him) was encamped against Damascus. It happened that the amir Asad al-Din
Shirkuh" (may God have mercy upon him) had already arrived in Basra, so I went with him
to the army. We arrived on Sunday night." I awoke the next morning to discuss my mission
with Nur al-Din. He said, addressing yours truly," 'The people of Damascus are my enemies.
The Franks are my enemies. I don't trust either of them enough to get between them.'
My brother, 'Izz al-Dawla 'Ali (may God have mercy upon him), was in the group that left
with me from Damascus, he and his companions, for Ascalon. He (may God have mercy
upon him) was one of the great cavaliers of the Muslims, who fought for religion, not for
worldly matters. One day we went out from Ascalon to make a foray on Bayt Jibril and raid
it. So we went and attacked them. I noticed, as we set off to Ieave the town, that there were
some large heaps of grain there. So I stopped with my comrades and started a fire and set the
threshing floors alight. We then went from one place to another in this fashion, while the
army itself had gone on ahead of me. Meanwhile, the Franks (God curse them) assembled
from their fortresses. These are close to one another and house large numbers of cavalry so
that the Franks can attack Ascalon day or night. But now the Franks made a sortie against our
comrades.
One of our horsemen came to me at full gallop and cried, “The Franks have come!”
So I set off for our comrades; the vanguard of the Franks had already arrived. The Franks
(God curse them) are the most cautious of all men in war. They climbed up a hill and stayed
there, and we climbed a hill directly across from them. Between these two hills was an open
space where our comrades who had been separated from us and those who led the extra
horses crossed right beneath them. The Franks didn't even send one man down against them
for fear of some ambush or trick. If the Franks had just come down, they would have
captured our comrades down to the last man. And we, all the while, stood right across from
them, inferior in numbers, with our main troops gone ahead of us, routed. But the Franks
remained stationed on that hill until our comrades' crossing was finished—then they set out
against us. As we fought, we withdrew before them, and they did not renew their pursuit. But
whoever stopped his horse, they killed, and whoever fell from his mount, they captured. Then
they turned back from us. Thus God (Glory be to Him) decreed that we would be safe thanks
to their exaggerated sense of caution. If we had been as numerous as they were and had been
as victorious over them as they had been over us, we would have wiped them out.
77
I spent four months in Ascalon fighting the Franks. During this period, we made an assault
on Yubna, in which we killed about a hundred souls and captured some prisoners. After that
period, a letter came to me from Ibn al-Sallar (may God have mercy upon him), summoning
me back. So I set out for Egypt while my brother, 'Izz al-Dawla 'Ali (may God have mercy
upon him), remained behind in Ascalon. The army there set out and made an attack on Gaza,
during which he achieved martyrdom (may God have mercy upon him). He was a genuine
scholar, a real cavalier and a truly devout Muslim.
§ Usama's Family Delivered. The Franks Seize his Property
I then entered the service of Nur al-Din (may God have mercy upon him). He corresponded
with Ibn Ruzzik about transporting my household and sons who had been left behind in
Egypt, and who, I might add, had been treated very well. But Ibn Ruzzik sent the messenger
back and begged off, claiming that he feared for their safety because of the Franks. He wrote
to me, saying, “Come back to Egypt: you know what our relationship is like. If you are
expecting any ill-will from the palace staff, then you can go to Mecca where I will send you a
document granting you the city of Aswan, and I will send you all the reinforcements you
need to combat the Abyssinians (for Aswan is one of the frontier-fortresses of the Muslims).
Then I will let your household and sons come to join you.”
So I consulted with Nur al-Din, seeking his advice on the matter. He said, 'You are not
seriously considering, having just left behind Egypt and all her troubles, going back there!
Life is too short for that! I'll send a messenger to the king of the Franks to obtain safepassage for your household, and I'll also send someone along to conduct them here.' And so
he (may God have mercy upon him) sent a messenger and obtained the safe-passage from the
king, with his cross right on it, good for both land- and sea-travel.
So I sent along the safe-passage with a servant of mine, as well as a letter from Nur aI-Din
and my own letter for Ibn Ruzzik. Ibn Ruzzik then sent my family on to Damietta in one of
his own personal launches, along with all the provisions and cash they would need, and his
own letter of protection. From Damietta, they sailed in a Frankish ship. As they approached
Acre, where the king was (may God not have mercy upon him), the king sent out a group of
men in a small boat to sink the ship with axes, as my own companions looked on. The king
rode out on his horse, stopped at the shore and took as pillage everything that was in the ship.
A servant of mine swam across to him, holding the safe-passage document, and said to him,
'My lord king, is this not your document of safe-passage?” “Indeed it is,” he said. “But this is
the procedure among the Muslims: if one of their ships is wrecked off one of their towns,
then the inhabitants of that town get to pillage it.” My servant then asked, “So you are going
to take us prisoner?” “No,” the king replied, and he had my family (may God curse him)
brought to a building, where he had the women searched and took everything they had with
them. In the ship there had been jewellery that had been entrusted to the women, along with
cloth and gems, swords and other weapons, and gold and silver amounting to something like
thirty thousand dinars. The Franks took it all and then sent my household five hundred
dinars, saying, 'You can get to your country on this,' even though the party totalled some fifty
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men and women.
As for me, I was at that very moment with Nur al-Din in the land of the king Mas'ud, in the
region of Ra'ban and Kaysun. The news that my children and my brother's children and our
women were safe made it easier to take the news about all the wealth that was lost. Except
for my books: they totalled four thousand bound volumes of the most precious tomes. Their
loss was for me a heartache that lasted all my life.
§ Introduction
In the midst of these events, there were periods when I saw countless battles against infidels
and against Muslims. Of the wonders that I witnessed and experienced in these various wars,
I will mention here only those that come to mind. For forgetfulness is not to be disparaged in
someone who has seen time pass without cease; it is indeed a legacy of all sons of Adam
passed on from their father (God's blessing be upon him, and peace).
§ An Aged Retainer Strikes a Devastating Blow
One of the most amazing spear-thrusts occurred with a Kurdish soldier called Hamadat, a
long-time comrade who had travelled with my father (may God have mercy upon him) to
Isfahan to the court of the sultan Malikshah. But now he had grown old,
raised children, and his eyesight was weak.
My uncle Sultan (may God have mercy upon him) said to him, 'Hamadat, you have become
old and feeble, and we owe you many favours as you have served us well. If you retire to
your mosque (for he had a mosque by the door to his house) and let us register your children
in the stipend-list, then you will get two dinars every month and a load of flour, so long as
you stick to your mosque.'
'I'll do it, sir,' he said. But the deal only lasted a short time. For he later came to my
uncle and said, 'Sir, by God, I can't get used to just sitting around the house. I would rather be
killed on my horse than die in my bed.'
'It's up to you,' my uncle replied, and gave orders that his name be registered like it used to
be.
Only a few days passed before the Cerdagnais, the lord of Tripoli attacked us. The soldiers
rushed to confront them, and Hamadat was among the most courageous group. He positioned
himself on some raised ground, facing south, but a Frankish horseman attacked him from the
west. One of our comrades shouted at him, 'Hamadat!' so he turned and saw the horseman
headed for him. He pointed the head of his horse northward, hefted his spear in his hand and
thrust it straight into the chest of the Frank, the spear piercing him right through. The Frank
retreated clasping his horse's neck, breathing his
last.
When the fighting ended, Hamadat said to my uncle, 'Tell me, sir: if Hamadat had kept to his
mosque, who would have struck that blow?'
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This reminds me of the verse of aI-Find al-Zimmani:
Behold the blow of an old man, ground down and worn,
While my peers shun weapons, this makes me feel reborn!
This aI-Find was already an old man when he went to battle and struck with his spear two
approaching horsemen and killed them both together.
§ The Model of a Loyal Servant
On that same day, a servant that used to belong to my uncle 'Izz al-Dawla Nasr (may God
have mercy upon him), called Sham'un, was struck by a wicked spear-thrust that he took
protecting my other uncle Sultan (may God have mercy upon him). It happened that my
uncle Sultan later sent him as a messenger to the king Ridwan.v son of Tutush, in Aleppo.
When Sharn'un had come before him, the king said to his own servants, 'All servants and
subjects" should be as loyal as this man was to his master.'
And he then said to Sham'un, 'Tell them your story about what you did with your master back
in the days of my father.”
Instead, Sham'un told him," 'My lord, the other day I went into battle alongside my master,
and a horseman attacked him with his spear. So I jumped between him and my master to
redeem my master with my own life, and the horseman speared me instead. He cut two of my
ribs, and these two ribs - by your grace - I keep with me in a little box.'
At this, King Ridwan said to him, 'By God, I will not respond until you send someone to
bring this box and the ribs.' So Sham'un rose and sent for someone to bring forth the box, and
there were indeed two rib-bones inside it.
Ridwan was astonished by this and said to his companions, 'This is how you should be
acting in my service.'
§§ On Reason and Warfare
A digression. We were chatting about warfare one day in the hearing of my tutor, the learned
sheikh known as Ibn al-Munira (may God have mercy upon him).
So I said to him, 'Say, master! If you would mount a charger, put on a kazaghand and helmet,
belt on a sword, carry a spear and shield and position yourself at the Judge's Mosque (a
narrow place where the Franks - God curse them - used to pass by), not a single one of them
would be able to get by you!'
'Oh no,' he replied. 'By God, they'd all get by.'
I said, 'But they'd be terrified of you, and they wouldn't know who you were!'
'Glory be to God!' he replied. 'Don't I know myself?' Then he said to yours truly, 'A man of
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reason does not fight.'
So I said, 'But master! Are you judging so-and-so and so-and-so (and I listed some of our
comrades who were courageous horsemen) to be witless?'
“That is not what I meant,' he replied. 'I merely meant that all reason is absent at the time of
battle. If it were present, then men would not confront swords with their faces, nor spears and
arrows with their chests. This is not the sort of thing that reason calls for.'
He was (may God have mercy upon him), however, more experienced with scholarship than
he was with combat. For it is precisely reason that fills one with resolve in the face of
swords, spears and arrows out of disdain towards being cast as a coward and smeared with
bad reputation. The proof of that is that a man of courage, before going in to battle, will be
stricken with shakes, he shivers and changes in colour due to all the dangers he thinks upon
and talks to himself about, dangers stemming from what he plans to do and the risks he is
about to encounter. A man's soul will always shudder at such dangers and loathe them. But
once that man of courage enters the fray of battle and wades among its throngs, all that
shaking ,suddering and changing of colour disappears.
§ Motives for Fighting: Two Muslim Martyrs during the Second Crusade
Among men there are those that go to battle just as the Companions of the Propher! (may
God be pleased with them) used to go to battle: to obtain entrance to Paradise, and not to
pursue some selfish desire or to gain a reputation. Here is an example:
The Frankish king of the Germans (may God curse him), when he arrived in Syria,
assembled all the Franks that were in Syria to his side and marched on Damascus. So the
army of Damascus and its populace came out to do battle with the Franks. Among them were
the jurist al-Findalawi and the sheikh and ascetic 'Abd ai-Rahman al-Halhuli (may God have
mercy upon them both). The two of them were among the most virtuous of all Muslims.
As they approached the enemy, the jurist said to 'Abd al-Rahman, 'Aren't these the Romans?'
'Yes, indeed,' he replied.
'Then how long are we going to stand here?' the jurist asked.
'Go, in the name of God - may He be exalted!' replied 'Abd al-Rahman.
And so the two men advanced and did battle until they were killed in the same place. May
God have mercy upon them both.
§ Women's Courage for the Sake of Honour: Usama's Mother
On that same day, my mother (may God have mercy upon her) distributed my swords and
kazaghand-armour. She came to a sister of mine, an older woman, and said, 'Put on your
shoes and covering.
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And so she got dressed and my mother took her to a balcony in my house that looked out
over the river valley to the east, and made her sit [us] there while she took a seat at the
entrance to the balcony.
God - glory be to Him- granted us victory over the enemy. But when I came to my house in
search of some of my weapons, I found nothing except the scabbards of the swords and the
sacks for the kazaghands. So I asked, 'Mother, where are my
weapons?'
'My son,' she replied, 'I gave the weapons to whoever would use them to fight for us. I didn't
know if you were safe or not.'
I replied, 'And my sister? What is she doing here?'
'My son,' my mother replied, 'I made her sit here on the balcony while I took my seat just
outside. That way, if I should see that the Batinis had reached us, I could push her off,
throwing her down to the valley. For I would rather see her dead than see her a prisoner of
peasants and wool-carders.'
I thanked her for that, and so did my sister, who prayed that God would reward my mother on
her behalf. Their courage for the sake of honour is more intense than such courage among
men.
§ Women's Disdain for Danger
On the same day, an old woman named Funun, who had been a servant-girl of my
grandfather Sadid al-Mulk 'Ali (may God have mercy upon him), covered herself with her
veil, took up a sword and went out into battle. And she kept at it until we were able to climb
up and overpower the enemy. So no one can deny that noble women possess disdain for
danger, courage for the sake of honour and sound judgment.
§ Only God can Bring Victory in Battle
Victory in war is from God alone (may He be blessed and exalted), not from organization or
skilled conduct, and not from strength of numbers of troops or allies. Whenever my uncle
(may God have mercy upon him) used to send me to fight Turks or Franks, I would ask him,
'My lord, tell me how I should conduct myself when I finally meet the
enemy.' 'War conducts itself, my boy,' he would say. And he was right.
§ Risk-Taking: A Warrior's Duty
As for taking risks in acts of valour, it does not happen because one has renounced life.
Indeed, it comes about when a man becomes known for his audacity and is given the label of
courage. When he then takes part in battle, his ambition demands that he perform noteworthy
deeds that his peers cannot accomplish. His spirit so quails at death and riding into danger
that it almost overwhelms him, stopping him from what
he wants to do, until he forces his spirit and makes it undertake that which it hates to do. As a
result, shudders spread throughout his body and his colour changes. But when he enters into
battle, his terror disappears and his cravenness subsides.
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I was present at the siege of the citadel of al-Sawr with the King of Amirs, the atabeg Zangi
(may God have mercy upon him), someone I have already touched on. The citadel belonged
to the amir Qara Arslan (may God have mercy upon him), and was fully manned with
crossbowmen. This was after Zangi's defeat at Amid.275 As soon as his tents were set up,
Zangi dispatched one of his comrades, who shouted up underneath the citadel, 'Enemy
crossbowmen! The atabeg says to you, "By the grace of the sultan, if but one of my comrades
is killed by your arrows, I will absolutely cut off your hands."
Zangi then set up the mangonels against the citadel, which took down one side of it. But not
enough of it was brought down for the men to use the breach to get up into rhe citadel.
However, one of the atabeg's bodyguards, a man from Aleppo called Ibn al-Ariq, climbed up
through the breach and set to striking the enemy with his sword. But they injured him with a
number of wounds and threw him down from the tower into the moat. By then, our men had
overwhelmed them at that breach and we took possession of the citadel. The representatives
of the atabeg climbed up to the citadel and took possession
of its keys, sending them to Timurtash, and granting Zangi the citadel.
Now, it happened that a crossbow-bolt struck a man from the Khurasanian troops in his knee,
cutting through the cap that is on top of the joint, and he died. The moment the atabeg took
possession of the citadel, therefore, he summoned ithe crossbowmen, who were nine in
number. They came with their bows slung from their shoulders. Zangi ordered that their
thumbs be sliced from their wrists so their hands became limp
and useless.
As for Ibn al-'Ariq, he treated his wounds and recovered after being at death's door. He was a
brave man who pushed himself to face all manner of dangers.
I saw something like that on yet another occasion. The atabeg had encamped before the
citadel of al-Bari'a.!" which is surrounded by solid rock upon which tents cannot be pitched.
The atabeg therefore encamped in the plain and delegated his amirs to conduct the siege in
turns. One day, the atabeg rode over to the siege; it was the turn of the amir Abu Bakr alDubaysi, but he did not have sufficient materiel for battle. The atabeg stopped there and said
to Abu Bakr, 'Advance and fight them!' So Abu Bakr marched at the head of his comrades
even though they were practically unarmed, and the infantrymen -from the citadel came out
to attack them. At this, one of Abu Bakr's comrades, called Mazyad, who was not then
known for his prowess in battle or his courage, came forward and fought furiously, striking at
them with his sword and dispersing their crowds. He was wounded many times. I saw him as
they carried him back to camp and he was about to breathe his last breath. But then later he
got well. Abu Bakr al-Dubaysi presented him and Zangi promoted him and invested him with
a robe of honour and made him a member of his own bodyguard.
Mysterious are the works of the Creator, the author of all things! When one comes to recount
cases regarding the Franks, he cannot but glorify Allah (exalted is he!) and sanctify him, for
he sees them as animals possessing the virtues of courage and fighting, but nothing else; just
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as animals have only the virtues of strength and carrying loads. I shall now give some
instances of their doings and their curious mentality.
In the army of King Fulk, son of Fulk, was a Frankish reverend knight who had just arrived
from their land in order to make the holy pilgrimage and then return home. He was of my
intimate fellowship and kept such constant company with me that he began to call me "my
brother." Between us were mutual bonds of amity and friendship. When he resolved to return
by sea to his homeland, he said to me:
“My brother, I am leaving for my country and I want you to send with me thy son (my son,
who was then fourteen years old, was at that time in my company) to our country, where he
can see the knights and learn wisdom and chivalry. When he returns, be will be like a wise
man.”
Thus there fell upon my ears words which would never come out of the head of a sensible
man; for even if my son were to be taken captive, his captivity could not bring him a worse
misfortune than carrying him into the lands of the Franks. However, I said to the man:
“By thy life, this has exactly been my idea. But the only thing that prevented me from
carrying it out was the fact that his grandmother, my mother, is so fond of him and did not
this time let him come out with me until she exacted an oath from me to the effect that I
would return him to her.”
Thereupon he asked, "Is thy mother still alive?" "Yes." I replied. 'Well," said he, "disobey her
not."
A case illustrating their curious medicine is the following:
The lord of al-Munaytirah wrote to my uncle asking him to dispatch a physician to treat
certain sick persons among his people. My uncle sent him a Christian physician named
Thabit. Thabit was absent but ten days when be returned. So we said to him, "How quickly
has thou healed thy patients!" He said:
They brought before me a knight in whose leg an abscess had grown; and a woman afflicted
with imbecility. To the knight I applied a small poultice until the abscess opened and became
well; and the woman I put on diet and made her humor wet. Then a Frankish physician came
to them and said, "This man knows nothing about treating them." He then said to the knight,
"Which wouldst thou prefer, living with one leg or dying with two?" The latter replied,
"Living with one leg." The physician said, "Bring me a strong knight and a sharp ax." A
knight came with the ax. And I was standing by. Then the physician laid the leg of the patient
on a block of wood and bade the knight strike his leg with the ax and chop it off at one blow.
Accordingly he struck it—while I was looking on—one blow, but the leg was not severed.
He dealt another blow, upon which the marrow of the leg flowed out and the patient died on
the spot. He then examined the woman and said, "This is a woman in whose head there is a
devil which has possessed her. Shave off her hair." Accordingly they shaved it off and the
woman began once more to eat their ordinary diet—garlic and mustard. Her imbecility took a
turn for the worse. The physician then said, "The devil has penetrated through her head." He
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therefore took a razor, made a deep cruciform incision on it, peeled off the skin at the middle
of the incision until the bone of the skull was exposed and rubbed it with salt. The woman
also expired instantly. Thereupon I asked them whether my services were needed any longer,
and when they replied in the negative I returned home, having learned of their medicine what
I knew not before.
I have, however, witnessed a case of their medicine which was quite different from that.
The king of the Franks had for treasurer a knight named Bernard, who (may Allah's curse be
upon him!) was one of the most accursed and wicked among the Franks. A horse kicked him
in the leg, which was subsequently infected and which opened in fourteen different places.
Every time one of these cuts would close in one place, another would open in ancther place.
All this happened while I was praying for his perdition. Then came to him a Frankish
physician and removed from the leg all the ointments which were on it and began to wash it
with very strong vinegar. By this treatment all the cuts were healed and the man became well
again. He was up again like a devil. Another case illustrating their curious medicine is the
following: In Shayzar we had an artisan named abu-al-Fath, who had a boy whose neck was
afflicted with scrofula. Every time a part of it would close, another part would open. This
man happened to go to Antioch on business of his, accompanied by his son. A Frank noticed
the boy and asked his father about him. Abu-al-Fath replied, "This is my son." The Frank
said to him, 'Wilt thou swear by thy religion that if I prescribe to you a medicine which will
cure thy boy, thou wilt charge nobody fees for prescribing it thyself? In that case, I shall
prescribe to you a medicine which will cure the boy." The man took the oath and the Frank
said: “Take uncrushed leaves of glasswort, burn them, then soak the ashes in olive oil and
sharp vinegar. Treat the scrofula with them until the spot on which it is growing is eaten up.
Then take burnt lead, soak it in ghee butter and treat him with it. That will cure him.”
The father treated the boy accordingly, and the boy was cured. The sores closed and the boy
returned to his normal condition of health.
I have myself treated with this medicine many who were afflicted with such disease, and the
treatment was successful in removing the cause of the complaint….
The Franks are void of all zeal and jealousy. One of them may be walking along with his
wife. He meets another man who takes the wife by the hand and steps aside to converse with
her while the husband is standing on one side waiting for his wife to conclude the
conversation. If she lingers too long for him, he leaves her alone with the conversant and
goes away. Here is an illustration which I myself witnessed:
When I used to visit Nablus, I always took lodging with a man named Mu'izz, whose home
was a lodging house for the Muslims. The house had windows which opened to the road, and
there stood opposite to it on the other side of the road a house belonging to a Frank who sold
wine for the merchants. He would take some wine in a bottle and go around announcing it by
shouting, "So and so, the merchant, has just opened a cask full of this wine. He who wants to
buy some of it will find it in such and such a place." The Frank's pay for the announcement
made would be the wine in that bottle. One day this Frank went home and found a man with
his wife in the same bed. He asked him, "What could have made you enter into my wife's
room?" The man replied, "I was tired, so I went in to rest." "But how," asked he, "didst thou
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get into my bed?" The other replied, "I found a bed that was spread, so I slept in it." "But,"
said be, "my wife was sleeping together with you!" The other replied, "Well, the bed is hers.
How could I therefore have prevented her from using her own bed?"
"By the truth of my religion," said the husband, "if thou shouldst do it again, thou and I
would have a quarrel." Such was for the Frank the entire expression of his disapproval and
the limit of his jealousy….
Another illustration: I entered the public bath in Sur [Tyre] and took my place in a secluded
part. One of my servants thereupon said to me, "There is with us in the bath a woman." When
I went out, I sat on one of the stone benches and behold! the woman who was in the bath had
come out all dressed and was standing with her father just opposite me. But I could not be
sure that she was a woman. So I said to one of my companions, "By Allah, see if this is a
woman," by which I meant that he should ask about her. But he went, as I was looking at
him, lifted the end of her robe and looked carefully at her. Thereupon her father turned
toward me and said, "This is my daughter. Her mother is dead and she has nobody to wash
her hair. So I took her in with me to the bath and washed her head." I replied, "Thou hast
well done! This is something for which thou shalt be rewarded [by Allah]!"…
I once went in the company of al-Amir Mu'in-al-Din (may Allah's mercy rest upon his soul!)
to Jerusalem. We stopped at Nablus. There a blind man, a Muslim, who was still young and
was well dressed, presented himself before al-Amir carrying fruits for him and asked
permission to be admitted into his service in Damascus. The amir consented. I inquired about
this man and was informed that his mother had been married to a Frank whom she had killed.
Her son used to practice ruses against the Frankish pilgrims and cooperate with his mother in
assassinating them. They finally brought charges against him and tried his case according to
the Frankish way of procedure.
They installed a huge cask and filled it with water. Across it they set a board of wood. They
then bound the arms of the man charged with the act, tied a rope around his shoulders and
dropped him into the cask, their idea being that in case he was innocent, he would sink in the
water and they would then lift him up with the rope so that he might not die in the water; and
in case he was guilty, he would not sink in the water. This man did his best to sink when they
dropped him into the water, but he could not do it. So he had to submit to their sentence
against him—may Allah's curse be upon them! They pierced his eyeballs with red-hot awls.
Later this same man arrived in Damascus. Al-Amir Mu'in-al-Din (may Allah's mercy rest
upon his soul!) assigned him a stipend large enough to meet all his needs and said to a slave
of his, "Conduct him to Burhan-al-Din al-Balkhi (may Allah's mercy rest upon his soul!) and
ask him on my behalf to order somebody to teach this man the Koran and something of
Muslim jurisprudence." Hearing that, the blind man remarked, "May triumph and victory be
thine! But this was never my thought.... What didst thou think I was going to do for thee?"
asked Mu'in-al-Din. The blind man replied, "I thought thou wouldst give me a horse, a mule
and a suit of armor and make me a knight." Mu'in-al-Din then said, "I never thought that a
blind man could become a knight."…
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Among the Franks are those who have become acclimatized and have associated long with
the Muslims. These are much better than the recent comers from the Frankish lands. But they
constitute the exception and cannot be treated as a rule.
Here is an illustration. I dispatched one of my men to Antioch on business. There was in
Antioch at that time al-Ra'is Theodoros Sophianos, to whom I was bound by mutual ties of
amity. His influence in Antioch was supreme. One day he said to my man, "I am invited by a
friend of mine who is a Frank. Thou shouldst come with me so that thou mayest see their
fashions." My man related the story in the following words:
I went along with him and we came to the home of a knight who belonged to the old category
of knights who came with the early expeditions of the Franks. He had been by that time
stricken off the register and exempted from service, and possessed in Antioch an estate on the
income of which he lived. The knight presented an excellent table, with food extraordinarily
clean and delicious. Seeing me abstaining from food, he said, "Eat, be of good cbeer! I never
eat Frankish dishes, but I have Egyptian women cooks and never eat except their cooking.
Besides, pork never enters my home." I ate, but guardedly, and after that we departed.
As I was passing in the market place, a Frankish woman all of a sudden hung to my clothes
and began to mutter words in their language, and I could not understand what she was saying.
This made me immediately the center of a big crowd of Franks. I was convinced that death
was at hand. But all of a sudden that same knight approached. On seeing me, he came and
said to that woman, "What is the matter between you and this Muslim?" She replied, "This is
he who has killed my brother Hurso." This Hurso was a knight in Afiimiyah who was killed
by someone of the army of Hamah. The Christian knight shouted at her, saying, "This is a
bourgeois (i.e., a merchant) who neither fights nor attends a fight." He also yelled at the
people who had assembled, and they all dispersed. Then he took me by the hand and went
away. Thus the effect of that meal was my deliverance from certain death.
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Medieval Sourcebook: Gelasius I on Spiritual and Temporal Power, 494
The pope's view of the natural superiority of the spiritual over the temporal power finds a
clear expression in the following remarkable letter of Gelasius I (494) to Emperor
Anastasius. Refer to the gamebook to understand the context and significance of the
investiture conflict.
There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the
sacred authority of the priests and the royal power. Of these, that of the priests is the more
weighty, since they have to render an account for even the kings of men in the divine
judgment. You are also aware, dear son, that while you are permitted honorably to rule over
humankind, yet in things divine you bow your head humbly before the leaders of the clergy
and await from their hands the means of your salvation. In the reception and proper
disposition of the heavenly mysteries you recognize that you should be subordinate rather
than superior to the religious order, and that in these matters you depend on their judgment
rather than wish to force them to follow your will.
If the ministers of religion, recognizing the supremacy granted you from heaven in matters
affecting the public order, obey your laws, lest otherwise they might obstruct the course of
secular affairs by irrelevant considerations, with what readiness should you not yield them
obedience to whom is assigned the dispensing of the sacred mysteries of religion.
Accordingly, just as there is no slight danger in the case of the priests if they refrain from
speaking when the service of the divinity requires, so there is no little risk for those who
disdain—which God forbid—when they should obey. And if it is fitting that the hearts of the
faithful should submit to all priests in general who properly administer divine affairs, how
much the more is obedience due to the bishop of that see which the Most High ordained to be
above all others, and which is consequently dutifully honored by the devotion of the whole
Church.
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Medieval Sourcebook: Henry IV: Letter to Gregory VII, Jan 24 1076
King Henry IV of Germany (1056-1106) condemns Pope Gregory as a usurper.
Henry, king not through usurpation but through the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand
[the pope’s original name], at present not pope but false monk.
Such greeting as this hast thou merited through thy disturbances, inasmuch as there is no
grade in the church which thou hast omitted to make a partaker not of honour but of
confusion, not of benediction but of malediction.
For, to mention few and especial cases out of many, not only hast thou not feared to lay
hands upon the rulers of the holy church, the anointed of the Lord—the archbishops, namely,
bishops and priests—but thou hast trodden them under foot like slaves ignorant of what their
master is doing. Thou hast won favour from the common herd by crushing them; thou hast
looked upon all of them as knowing nothing, upon thy sole self, moreover, as knowing all
things. This knowledge, however, thou hast used not for edification but for destruction; so
that with reason we believe that St. Gregory, whose name thou has usurped for thyself, was
prophesying concerning thee when he said: "The pride of him who is in power increases the
more, the greater the number of those subject to him; and he thinks that he himself can do
more than all."
And we, indeed, have endured all this, being eager to guard the honour of the apostolic see;
thou, however, has understood our humility to be fear, and hast not, accordingly, shunned to
rise up against the royal power conferred upon us by God, daring to threaten to divest us of it.
As if we had received our kingdom from thee! As if the kingdom and the empire were in
thine and not in God's hand! And this although our Lord Jesus Christ did call us to the
kingdom, did not, however, call thee to the priesthood. For thou has ascended by the
following steps.
By wiles, namely, which the profession of monk abhors, thou has achieved money; by
money, favour; by the sword, the throne of peace. And from the throne of peace thou hast
disturbed peace, inasmuch as thou hast armed subjects against those in authority over them;
inasmuch as thou, who wert not called, hast taught that our bishops called of God are to be
despised; inasmuch as thou hast usurped for laymen and the ministry over their priests,
allowing them to depose or condemn those whom they themselves had received as teachers
from the hand of God through the laying on of hands of the bishops.
On me also who, although unworthy to be among the anointed, have nevertheless been
anointed to the kingdom, thou hast lain thy hand; me who as the tradition of the holy Fathers
teaches, declaring that I am not to be deposed for any crime unless, which God forbid, I
should have strayed from the faith, am subject to the judgment of God alone. For the wisdom
of the holy fathers committed even Julian the apostate not to themselves, but to God alone, to
be judged and to be deposed. For himself the true pope, Peter, also exclaims: "Fear God,
honour the king." But thou who does not fear God, dost dishonour in me his appointed one.
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Wherefore St. Paul, when he has not spared an angel of Heaven if he shall have preached
otherwise, has not excepted thee also who dost teach otherwise upon earth. For he says: "If
any one, either I or an angel from Heaven, should preach a gospel other than that which has
been preached to you, he shall be damned."
Thou, therefore, damned by this curse and by the judgment of all our bishops and by our
own, descend and relinquish the apostolic chair which thou has usurped. Let another ascend
the throne of St. Peter, who shall not practise violence under the cloak of religion, but shall
teach the sound doctrine of St. Peter.
I Henry, king by the grace of God, do say unto thee, together with all our bishops: Descend,
descend, to be damned throughout the ages.
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Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory VII: First Deposition and Banning of Henry IV (Feb 22,
1076)
O St. Peter, chief of the apostles, incline to us, I beg, thy holy ears, and hear me thy servant
whom thou has nourished from infancy, and whom, until this day, thou hast freed from the
hand of the wicked, who have hated and do hate me for my faithfulness to thee.
Thou, and my mistress the mother of God, and thy brother St. Paul are witnesses for me
among all the saints that thy holy Roman church drew me to its helm against my will; that I
had no thought of ascending thy chair through force, and that I would rather have ended my
life as a pilgrim than, by secular means, to have seized thy throne for the sake of earthly
glory.
And therefore I believe it to be through thy grace and not through my own deeds that it has
pleased and does please thee that the Christian people, who have been especially committed
to thee, should obey me. And especially to me, as thy representative and by thy favour, has
the power been granted by God of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth.
On the strength of this belief therefore, for the honour and security of thy church, in the name
of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I withdraw, through thy power and authority,
from Henry the king, son of Henry the emperor, who has risen against thy church with
unheard of insolence, the rule over the whole kingdom of the Germans and over Italy.
And I absolve all Christians from the bonds of the oath which they have made or shall make
to him; and I forbid any one to serve him as king. For it is fitting that he who strives to lessen
the honour of thy church should himself lose the honour which belongs to him.
And since he has scorned to obey as a Christian, and has not returned to God whom he had
deserted—holding intercourse with the excommunicated; practising manifold iniquities;
spurning my commands which, as thou dost bear witness, I issued to him for his own
salvation; separating himself from thy church and striving to rend it—I bind him in thy stead
with the chain of the anathema. And, leaning on thee, I so bind him that the people may
know and have proof that thou art Peter, and above thy rock the Son of the living God hath
built His church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.
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Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory VII: Dictatus Papae 1090
The Dictatus Papae was included in the Pope's register in the year 1075. Some argue that it
was written by Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) himself; others argue that it had a later and
different origin. Regardless, there is little doubt that it expresses Gregory’s principles.
The Dictates of the Pope
1. That the Roman church was founded by God alone.
2. That the Roman pontiff alone can with right be called universal.
3. That he alone can depose or reinstate bishops.
4. That, in a council his legate, even if a lower grade, is above all bishops, and can pass
sentence of deposition against them.
5. That the pope may depose the absent.
6. That, among other things, we ought not to remain in the same house with those
excommunicated by him.
7. That for him alone is it lawful, according to the needs of the time, to make new laws,
to assemble together new congregations, to make an abbey of a canonry; and, on the
other hand, to divide a rich bishopric and unite the poor ones.
8. That he alone may use the imperial insignia.
9. That of the pope alone all princes shall kiss the feet.
10. That his name alone shall be spoken in the churches.
11. That this is the only name in the world.
12. That it may be permitted to him to depose emperors.
13. That he may be permitted to transfer bishops if need be.
14. That he has power to ordain a clerk of any church he may wish.
15. That he who is ordained by him may preside over another church, but may not hold a
subordinate position; and that such a one may not receive a higher grade from any
bishop.
16. That no synod shall be called a general one without his order.
17. That no chapter and no book shall be considered canonical without his authority.
18. That a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one; and that he himself, alone
of all, may retract it.
19. That he himself may be judged by no one.
20. That no one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the apostolic chair.
21. That to the latter should be referred the more important cases of every church.
22. That the Roman church has never erred; nor will it err to all eternity, the Scripture
bearing witness.
23. That the Roman pontiff, if he have been canonically ordained, is undoubtedly made a
saint by the merits of St. Peter; St. Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, bearing witness, and
many holy fathers agreeing with him. As is contained in the decrees of St.
Symmachus the pope.
24. That, by his command and consent, it may be lawful for subordinates to bring
accusations.
25. That he may depose and reinstate bishops without assembling a synod.
26. That he who is not at peace with the Roman church shall not be considered catholic.
27. That he may absolve subjects from their fealty to wicked men.
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Medieval Sourcebook: The Concordat of Worms 1122
Gregory VII’s policy was continued by his successors as Pope, Urban II and Paschal II.
Paschal was briefly imprisoned, and granted investiture to Henry V, but his capitulation did
not last. The first phase of the papal-imperial struggle of the Middle Ages only came to an
end with the Concordat of Worms in 1122. The King was recognized as having the right to
invest bishops with secular but not sacred authority. The struggle, however, would continue.
Privilege of Pope Calixtus II
I, bishop Calixtus, servant of the servants of God, do grant to thee beloved son, Henry—by
the grace of God august emperor of the Romans—that the elections of the bishops and abbots
of the German kingdom, who belong to the kingdom, shall take place in thy presence,
without simony and without any violence; so that if any discord shall arise between the
parties concerned, thou, by the counsel or judgment of the metropolitan and the coprovincials, may'st give consent and aid to the party which has the more right. The one
elected, moreover, without any exaction may receive the regalia from thee through the lance,
and shall do unto thee for these what he rightfully should.
But he who is consecrated in the other parts of the empire [Burgundy and Italy] shall, within
six months, and without any exaction, receive the regalia from thee through the lance, and
shall do unto thee for these what he rightfully should, excepting all things which are known
to belong to the Roman church. Concerning matters, however, in which thou dost make
complaint to me, and dost demand aid, I, according to the duty of my office, will furnish aid
to thee. I give unto thee true peace, and to all who are or have been on thy side in the time of
this discord.
Edict of the Emperor Henry V
In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity, I, Henry, by the grace of God august emperor
of the Romans, for the love of God and of the holy Roman church and of our master pope
Calixtus, and for the healing of my soul, do remit to God, and to the holy apostles of God,
Peter and Paul, and to the holy catholic church, all investiture through ring and staff; and do
grant that in all the churches that are in my kingdom or empire there may be canonical
election and free consecration. All the possessions and regalia of St. Peter which, from the
beginning of this discord unto this day, whether in the time of my father or also in mine, have
been abstracted, and which I hold: I restore to that same holy Roman church.
As to those things, moreover, which I do not hold, I will faithfully aid in their restoration. As
to the possessions also of all other churches and princes, and of all other lay and clerical
persons which have been lost in that war: according to the counsel of the princes, or
according to justice, I will restore the things that I hold; and of those things which I do not
hold I will faithfully aid in the restoration. And I grant true peace to our master pope
Calixtus, and to the holy Roman church, and to all those who are or have been on its side.
And in matters where the holy Roman church shall demand aid I will grant it; and in matters
concerning which it shall make complaint to me I will duly grant to it justice.
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Medieval Sourcebook: Eugenius III: Summons to A Crusade. December 1, 1145
In 1144, the Crusade principality of Edessa fell to the resurgent Muslims. As a result, Pope
Eugenius III called for a new crusade, known as the Second Crusade. He was
enthusiastically supported in this call by his mentor, Bernard of Clairvaux.
Bishop Eugenius, servant of the servants of God, to his most beloved son in Christ, Louis, the
illustrious king of the French, and to his beloved sons, the princes, and to all the faithful ones
of God who are established throughout Gaul,-greeting and apostolic benediction.
How much our predecessors the Roman pontiffs did labour for the deliverance of the oriental
church, we have learned from the accounts of the ancients and have found it written in their
acts. For our predecessor of blessed memory, pope Urban, did sound, as it were, a celestial
trump and did take care to arouse for its deliverance the sons of the holy Roman church from
the different parts of the earth. At his voice, indeed, those beyond the mountain and
especially the bravest and strongest warriors of the French kingdom, and also those of Italy,
inflamed by the ardour of love did come together, and, congregating a very great army, not
without much shedding of their own blood, the divine aid being with them, did free from the
filth of the pagans that city where our Saviour willed to suffer for us, and where He left His
glorious sepulchre to us as a memorial of His passion, -and many others which, avoiding
prolixity, we refrain from mentioning.
Which, by the grace of God, and the zeal of your fathers, who at intervals of time have
striven to the extent of their power to defend them and to spread the name of Christ in those
parts, have been retained by the Christians up to this day; and other cities of the infidels have
by them been manfully stormed. But now, our sins and those of the people themselves
requiring it, a thing which we can not relate without great grief and wailing, the city of
Edessa which in our tongue is called Rohais,-which also, as is said, once when the whole
land in the east was held by the pagans, alone by herself served God under the power of the
Christians-has been taken and many, of the castles of the Christians occupied by them (the
pagans). The archbishop, moreover, of this same city, together with his clergy and many
other Christians, have there been slain, and the relics of the saints have been given over to the
trampling under foot of the infidels, and dispersed. Whereby how great a danger threatens the
church of God and the whole of Christianity, we both know ourselves and do not believe it to
be hid from your prudence. For it is known that it will be the greatest proof of nobility and
probity, if those things which the bravery of your fathers acquired be bravely defended by
you the sons. But if it should happen otherwise, which God forbid, the valour of the fathers
will be found to have diminished in the case the of the sons.
We exhort therefore all of you in God, we ask and command, and, for the remission of sins
enjoin: that those who are of God, and, above all, the greater men and the nobles do manfully
gird themselves; and that you strive so to oppose the multitude of the infidels, who rejoice at
the time in a victory gained over us, and so to defend the oriental church -freed from their
tyranny by so great an outpouring of the blood of your fathers, as we have said, - and to
snatch many thousands of your captive brothers from their hands,- that the dignity of the
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Christian name may be increased in your time, and that your valour which is praised
throughout the whole world, may remain intact and unshaken. May that good Matthias be an
example to you, who, to preserve the laws of his fathers, did not in the least doubt to expose
himself with his sons and relations to death, and to leave whatever he possessed in the world;
and who at length, by the help of the divine aid, after many labours however, did, as well as
his progeny, manfully triumph over his enemies.
We, moreover, providing with paternal solicitude for your tranquillity and for the destitution
of that same church, do grant and confirm by the authority conceded to us of God, to those
who by the promptings of devotion do decide to undertake and to carry through so holy and
so necessary a work and labour, that remission of sins which our aforesaid predecessor pope
Urban did institute; and do decree that their wives and sons, their goods also and possessions
shall remain under the protection of our selves and of the archbishops, bishops and other
prelates of the church of God. By the apostolic authority, moreover, we forbid that, in the
case of any thing, which they possessed in peace, when they took the cross, any suit be
brought hereafter until most certain news has been obtained concerning their return or their
death. Moreover since those who war for the Lord should by no means prepare themselves
with precious garments, nor with provision for their personal appearance, nor with dogs or
hawks, other things which portend licentiousness: we exhort your prudence in the Lord that
those who have decided to undertake so holy a work shall not strive after these things, but
shall show zeal and diligence with all their strength in the matter of arms, horses and other
things with which they may fight the infidels. But those who are oppressed by debt and begin
so holy a journey with a pure heart, shall not pay interest for the time past, and if they or n t
others for them are bound by an oath or pledge i ' he matter of interest, we absolve them by
apostolic authority. It is allowed to them also when their relations, being warned, or the lords
to whose fee they belong, are either unwilling or unable to advance them the money, to freely
pledge without any reclamation, their lands or other possessions to churches, or ecclesiastical
persons, or to any other of the faithful. According to the institution of our aforesaid
predecessor, by the authority of almighty God and by that of St. Peter the chief of the
apostles, conceded to us by God, we grant such remission and absolution of sins, that he who
shall devoutly begin so sacred a journey and shall accomplish it, or shall die during it, shall
obtain absolution for all his sins which with a humble and contrite heart he shall confess, and
shall receive the fruit of eternal retribution from the Remunerator of all.
Given at Vetralle on the Calends of December.
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ORB Online Encyclopedia. St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In Praise of the New Knighthood
(trans. Conrad Greenia)
The following passage is taken from a treatise written in the early 12th century by the
Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, on behalf of the fledgling Knights Templar. Bernard
became one of the most outspoken proponents of launching a Second Crusade later in the
century. This work might be viewed as a combination of exhortation to the Knights, and
advertisement to the population in general. Officially it is an answer to a letter written to
Bernard by his friend Hugh de Payens, one of the founders of the Templars.
CHAPTER ONE A WORD OF EXHORTATION FOR THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE
IT SEEMS THAT A NEW KNIGHTHOOD has recently appeared on the earth, and precisely
in that part of it which the Son from on high visited in the flesh. As he then troubled the
princes of darkness in the strength of his mighty hand, so there he now wipes out their
followers, the children of disbelief, scattering them by the hands of his mighty ones. Even
now he brings about the redemption of his people raising up again a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David.
This is, I say, a new kind of knighthood and one unknown to the ages gone by. It ceaselessly
wages a twofold war both against flesh and blood and against a spiritual army of evil in the
heavens. When someone strongly resists a foe in the flesh, relying solely on the strength of
the flesh, I would hardly remark it, since this is common enough. And when war is waged by
spiritual strength against vices or demons, this, too, is nothing remarkable, praiseworthy as it
is, for the world is full of monks. But when the one sees a man powerfully girding himself
with both swords and nobly marking his belt, who would not consider it worthy of all
wonder, the more so since it has been hitherto unknown? He is truly a fearless knight and
secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith just as his body is
protected by armor of steel….
Go forth confidently then, you knights, and repel the foes of the cross of Christ with a
stalwart heart. Know that neither death nor life can separate you from the love of God which
is in Jesus Christ, and in every peril repeat, "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the
Lord's." What a glory to return in victory from such a battle! How blessed to die there as a
martyr! Rejoice, brave athlete, if you live and conquer in the Lord; but glory and exult even
more if you die and join your Lord. Life indeed is a fruitful thing and victory is glorious, but
a holy death is more important than either. If they are blessed who die in the Lord, how much
more are they who die for the Lord!
2. To be sure, precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his holy ones, whether they die
in battle or in bed, but death in battle is more precious as it is the more glorious. How secure
is life when the conscience is unsullied! How secure, I say, is life when death is anticipated
without fear; or rather when it is desired with feeling and embraced with reverence! How
holy and secure this knighthood and how entirely free of the double risk run by those men
who fight not for Christ! Whenever you go forth, O worldly warrior, you must fear lest the
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bodily death of your foe should mean your own spiritual death, or lest perhaps your body and
soul together should be slain by him.
Indeed, danger or victory for a Christian depends on the dispositions of his heart and not on
the fortunes of war. If he fights for a good reason, the issue of his fight can never be evil; and
likewise the results can never be considered good if the reason were evil and the intentions
perverse. If you happen to be killed while you are seeking only to kill another, you die a
murderer. If you succeed, and by your will to overcome and to conquer you perchance kill a
man, you live a murderer. Now it will not do to be a murderer, living or dead, victorious or
vanquished. What an unhappy victory—to have conquered a man while yielding to vice, and
to indulge in an empty glory at his fall when wrath and pride have gotten the better of you!
But what of those who kill neither in the heat of revenge nor in the swelling of pride, but
simply in order to save themselves? Even this sort of victory I would not call good, since
bodily death is really a lesser evil than spiritual death. The soul need not die when the body
does. No, it is the soul which sins that shall die.
CHAPTER TWO
ON WORLDLY KNIGHTHOOD
WHAT, THEN IS THE END OR FRUIT of this worldly knighthood, or rather knavery, as I
should call it? What if not the mortal sin of the victor and the eternal death of the
vanquished? Well then, let me borrow a word from the Apostle and exhort him who plows, to
plow in hope, and him who threshes, to do so in view of some fruit.
What then, O knights, is this monstrous error and what this unbearable urge which bids you
fight with such pomp and labor, and all to no purpose except death and sin? You cover your
horses with silk, and plume your armor with I know not what sort of rags; you paint your
shields and your saddles; you adorn your bits and spurs with gold and silver and precious
stones, and then in all this glory you rush to your ruin with fearful wrath and fearless folly.
Are these the trappings of a warrior or are they not rather the trinkets of a woman? Do you
think the swords of your foes will be turned back by your gold, spare your jewels or be
unable to pierce your silks?
As you yourselves have often certainly experienced, a warrior especially needs these three
things—he must guard his person with strength, shrewdness and care; he must be free in his
movements, and he must be quick to draw his sword. Then why do you blind yourselves with
effeminate locks and trip yourselves up with long and full tunics, burying your tender,
delicate hands in big cumbersome sleeves? Above all, there is that terrible insecurity of
conscience, in spite of all your armor, since you have dared to undertake such a dangerous
business on such slight and frivolous grounds. What else is the cause of wars and the root of
disputes among you, except unreasonable flashes of anger, the thirst for empty glory, or the
hankering after some earthly possessions? It certainly is not safe to kill or to be killed for
such causes as these.
CHAPTER THREE
ON THE NEW KNIGHTHOOD
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BUT THE KNIGHTS OF CHRIST may safely fight the battles of their Lord, fearing neither
sin if they smite the enemy, nor danger at their own death; since to inflict death or to die for
Christ is no sin, but rather, an abundant claim to glory….
The knight of Christ, I say, may strike with confidence and die yet more confidently, for he
serves Christ when he strikes, and serves himself when he falls. Neither does he bear the
sword in vain, for he is God's minister, for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of
the good. If he kills an evildoer, he is not a mankiller, but, if I may so put it, a killer of evil….
I do not mean to say that the pagans are to be slaughtered when there is any other way to
prevent them from harassing and persecuting the faithful, but only that it now seems better to
destroy them than that the rod of sinners be lifted over the lot of the just, and the righteous
perhaps put forth their hands unto iniquity.
5. What then? If it is never permissible for a Christian to strike with the sword, why did the
Savior's precursor bid the soldiers to be content with their pay, and not rather forbid them to
follow this calling? But if it is permitted to all those so destined by God, as is indeed the case
provided they have not embraced a higher calling, to whom, I ask, may it be allowed more
rightly than to those whose hands and hearts hold for us Sion, the city of our strength?
Thus when the transgressors of divine law have been expelled, the righteous nation that
keeps the truth may enter in security. Certainly it is proper that the nations who love war
should be scattered, that those who trouble us should be cut off, and that all the workers of
iniquity should be dispersed from the city of the Lord. They busy themselves to carry away
the incalculable riches placed in Jerusalem by the Christian peoples, to profane the holy
things and to possess the sanctuary of God as their heritage. Let both swords of the faithful
fall upon the necks of the foe, in order to destroy every high thing exalting itself against the
knowledge of God, which is the Christian faith….
CHAPTER FOUR
ON THE WAY OF LIFE OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE
AND NOW AS A MODEL, or at least for the shame of those knights of ours who are
fighting for the devil rather than for God, we will briefly set forth the life and virtues of these
cavaliers of Christ. Let us see how they conduct themselves at home as well as in battle, how
they appear in public, and in what way the knight of God differs from the knight of the
world.
In the first place, discipline is in no way lacking and obedience is never despised. As
Scripture testifies, the undisciplined son shall perish and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
to refuse obedience is like the crime of idolatry. Therefore they come and go at the bidding of
their superior. They wear what he gives them, and do not presume to wear or to eat anything
from another source. Thus they shun every excess in clothing and food and content
themselves with what is necessary. They live as brothers in joyful and sober company,
without wives or children. So that their evangelical perfection will lack nothing, they dwell
united in one family with no personal property whatever, careful to keep the unity of the
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Spirit in the bond of peace. You may say that the whole multitude has but one heart and one
soul to the point that nobody follows his own will, but rather seeks to follow the commander.
They never sit in idleness or wander about aimlessly, but on the rare occasions when they are
not on duty, they are always careful to earn their bread by repairing their worn armor and
torn clothing, or simply by setting things to order. For the rest, they are guided by the
common needs and by the orders of their master.
There is no distinction of persons among them, and deference is shown to merit rather than to
noble blood. They rival one another in mutual consideration, and they carry one another's
burdens, thus fulfilling the law of Christ. No inappropriate word, idle deed, unrestrained
laugh, not even the slightest whisper or murmur is left uncorrected once it has been detected.
They foreswear dice and chess, and abhor the chase; they take no delight in the ridiculous
cruelty of falconry, as is the custom. As for jesters, magicians, bards, troubadours and
jousters, they despise and reject them as so many vanities and unsound deceptions. Their hair
is worn short, in conformity with the Apostle's saying, that it is shameful for a man to
cultivate flowing locks. Indeed, they seldom wash and never set their hair—content to appear
tousled and dusty, bearing the marks of the sun and of their armor.
8. When the battle is at hand, they arm themselves interiorly with faith and exteriorly with
steel rather than decorate themselves with gold, since their business is to strike fear in the
enemy rather than to incite his greed. They seek out horses which are strong and swift, rather
than those which are brilliant and well-plumed, they set their minds on fighting to win rather
than on parading for show. They think not of glory and seek to be formidable rather than
flamboyant. At the same time, they are not quarrelsome, rash, or unduly hasty, but soberly,
prudently and providently drawn up into orderly ranks, as we read of the fathers. Indeed, the
true Israelite is a man of peace, even when he goes forth to battle.
Once he finds himself in the thick of battle, this knight sets aside his previous gentleness, as
if to say, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord; am I not disgusted with your enemies?"
These men at once fall violently upon the foe, regarding them as so many sheep. No matter
how outnumbered they are, they never regard these as fierce barbarians or as awe-inspiring
hordes. Nor do they presume on their own strength, but trust in the Lord of armies to grant
them the victory. They are mindful of the words of Maccabees, "It is simple enough for a
multitude to be vanquished by a handful. It makes no difference to the God of heaven
whether he grants deliverance by the hands of few or many; for victory in war is not
dependent on a big army, and bravery is the gift of heaven." On numerous occasions they had
seen one man pursue a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.
Thus in a wonderous and unique manner they appear gentler than lambs, yet fiercer than
lions. I do not know if it would be more appropriate to refer to them as monks or as soldiers,
unless perhaps it would be better to recognize them as being both. Indeed they lack neither
monastic meekness nor military might. What can we say of this, except that this has been
done by the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes….
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Tertullian. On Idolatry.
Tertullian (c.160- c.220) was an early Christian apologist. This passage from On Idolatry
may be useful to those arguing against the crusade.
Chapter 19. Concerning Military Service
In that last section, decision may seem to have been given likewise concerning military
service, which is between dignity and power. But now inquiry is made about this point,
whether a believer may turn himself unto military service, and whether the military may be
admitted unto the faith, even the rank and file, or each inferior grade, to whom there is no
necessity for taking part in sacrifices or capital punishments.
There is no agreement between the divine and the human sacrament [military oath], the
standard of Christ and the standard of the devil, the camp of light and the camp of darkness.
One soul cannot be due to two masters— God and Cæsar. And yet Moses carried a rod, and
Aaron wore a buckle, and John the Baptist is girt with leather and Joshua the son of Nun
leads a line of march; and the People warred: if it pleases you to sport with the subject.
But how will a Christian man war, nay, how will he serve even in peace, without a sword,
which the Lord has taken away? [Matthew 26: 52; 2 Corinthians 10:4; John 18:36] For
although soldiers had come unto John, and had received the formula of their rule [Luke 3:1213]; although, likewise, a centurion had believed [Matthew 8:5; Luke 7:1] still the Lord
afterward, in disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier. No dress is lawful among us, if
assigned to any unlawful action.
N.B. The rod, the buckle, and leather refer to clothing associated with Roman legionaries.
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Origen of Alexandria. Against Celsus. Book VII.
Origen (185-254) was an early Christian theologian. In this, his most famous work, he
refutes the arguments of the pagan Celsus against Christianity. This chapter gives a
metaphorical interpretation for violence in the name of God and may be useful to those
arguing against the crusade.
Chapter 22
If I must now explain how the just man “slays his enemies,” and prevails everywhere, it is to
be observed that, when he says, “Every morning will I destroy the wicked of the land, that I
may cut off all workers of iniquity from the city of Jehovah,” by “the land” he means the
flesh whose lusts are at enmity with God; and by “the city of Jehovah” he designates his own
soul, in which was the temple of God, containing the true idea and conception of God, which
makes it to be admired by all who look upon it. As soon, then, as the rays of the Sun of
righteousness shine into his soul, feeling strengthened and invigorated by their influence, he
sets himself to destroy all the lusts of the flesh, which are called “the wicked of the land,”
and drives out of that city of the Lord which is in his soul all thoughts which work iniquity,
and all suggestions which are opposed to the truth. And in this way also the just give up to
destruction all their enemies, which are their vices, so that they do not spare even the
children, that is, the early beginnings and promptings of evil.
In this sense also we understand the language of the 137th Psalm: “O daughter of Babylon,
who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be that rewards you as you have served us: happy
shall he be that takes and dashes your little ones against the stones.” For “the little ones” of
Babylon (which signifies confusion) are those troublesome sinful thoughts which arise in the
soul and he who subdues them by striking, as it were, their heads against the firm and solid
strength of reason and truth, is the man who “dashes the little ones against the stones;” and
he is therefore truly blessed. God may therefore have commanded men to destroy all their
vices utterly, even at their birth, without having enjoined anything contrary to the teaching of
Christ; and He may Himself have destroyed before the eyes of those who were “Jews
inwardly” all the offspring of evil as His enemies.
And, in like manner, those who disobey the law and word of God may well be compared to
His enemies led astray by sin; and they may well be said to suffer the same fate as they
deserve who have proved traitors to the truth of God.
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Augustine. Selections on What Makes for a Just War.
St. Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo in North Africe, is one of the most influential
theologians in Christian history. He was the founder of Christian thinking about what
constitutes a just war. He did not write a systematic treatise on the subject; his thoughts are
scattered throughout his sermons, treatises, and letters.
Although Augustine considers military force necessary in some cases, he consistently laments
the fallen state of humankind that makes war necessary.
While the Greeks thought that that men are at their most human when engaged in politics,
Augustine sees the City of Man”—devoted to temporal desires—as inherently inferior to the
“City of God.” In his most famous work, he contrasts the two: “The two cities, therefore,
were created by two loves: the earthly city by love of oneself, even to the point of contempt
for God; the heavenly city by the love of God, even to the point of contempt for oneself.”
These passages, and much of the commentary, are taken from The Ethics of War: Classic and
Contemporary Readings, edd. Gregory M. Reichberg, Henrik Syse, and Endre Begby.
From City of God, Book IV, Chapter 15
Let our opponents consider the possibility that rejoicing over the extent
of their reign is not appropriate for good men. To be sure, the iniquity of those
against whom just wars were waged helped the emplre to grow, because it surely
would have stayed small if its neighbors were peaceful and just and did not,
through wrongdoing, provoke war. Human affairs would have been happier that
way. All kingdoms would have been small, enjoying concord with their nelghbors.
There would thus have been many kingdoms of peoples in the world, just as
there are many homes of citizens in a city.
Waging war and extending the empire by subduing peoples is therefore viewed
as happiness by the wicked, but as a necessity by the good. But because it would
be worse if wrongdoers dominated those who are more just, it is not inappropriate
to call even this necessity “happiness.” Nevertheless, without doubt it is a better
happiness to have concord with a good neighbor than to subjugate a bad one
through war. It is a wicked prayer to wish for someone to hate or to fear so that
there might be someone to conquer. If, then, by waging just wars, not impious
or iniquitous ones, the Romans were able to acquire such a large empire, should
not “the iniquity of foreigners” be worshipped like some goddess? Indeed, we see
how much assistance she has given to the extension of the empire, making others
into wrongdoers so that there might be someone to wage just wars against in
order that the empire might grow.
From City of God, Book XIX, Chapter 73
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They say, however, that the wise man will wage only just wars—as if, mindful that
he is human, he would not much rather lament that he is subject to the necessity
of waging just wars. If they were not just, he would not be required to wage
them, and thus he would be free of the necessity of war. It is the iniquity on the
part of the adversary that forces a just war upon the wise man. Even if it did not
give rise to the necessity of war, such iniquity must certainly be lamented by a
human being since it belongs to human beings. Therefore, let anyone who reflects
with sorrow upon these evils so great, so horrid, and so savage, confess that he is
miserable, Anyone, however, who either permits or considers these things without
sorrow in mind is certainly much more miserable, since he thinks himself happy
because he has lost human feeling.
Augustine does not describe the horror of war primarily in terms of human
suffering—although that certainly plays a part—but more in terms of virtue and
vice. War distracts pious human beings from the path of virtue and opens up a Pandora’s
box of vices; and, furthermore, there is no real virtue or glory to be had in waging war.
From Against Faustus the Manichean, Book XXII, Chapter 744
What is it about war that is to be blamed? Is it that those who will die someday
are killed so that those who will conquer might dominate in peace? This is the
complaint of the timid, not of the religious. The desire for harming, the cruelty
of revenge, the restless and implacable mind, the savageness of revolting, the lust
for dominating, and similar things—these are what are justly blamed in wars.
Often, so that such things might also be justly punished, certain wars that must
be waged against the violence of those resisting are commanded by God or some
other legitimate ruler and are undertaken by the good.
From City of God, Book III, Chapter 14
This lust to dominate inflicts great evils on the human race and wears it down.
Overwhelmed by it Rome exulted in her victory over Alba and used the term
glory to describe the accolades she received for her crime because, as our Scriptures
say, “in the desire of his heart the sinner wins praise and the wrongdoer is
commended" (Psalm 10:3). Tear away the false and misleading disguise so that
we may see the facts as they are. Let no one say to me, “This man or that one is
great because he fought with so and so and beat him.” Gladiators, too, are
victorious. Their kind of cruelty also wins praise as its reward, but I think it is
better to suffer the consequences of any kind of lethargy than to seek glory in
that kind of fighting.
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From Letter 138, to Marcellinus
These precepts about patience that we have been discussing must always be
observed with respect to one's interior disposition, and a spirit of benevolence
must always permeate the will so as to avoid returning evil for evil…. If the
earthly city observes Christian principles, even its wars will be waged with the
benevolent purpose that better provision might be made for the defeated to live harmoniously
together in justice and godliness.
Yet, war is not sinful per se, as becomes clear in a letter Augustine writes to Boniface, a
Roman governor in North Africa.
From Letter 189, to Boniface
Do not think that it is impossible for anyone serving in the military to please
God. Among those who did so was the holy David, to whom the Lord gave such
great testimony. Among them also were many just men of that time. Among
them also was the centurion who said to the Lord, “I am not worthy that you
should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed;
for I, too, am a man under authority and have soldiers under me: I say to one,
‘go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘do
this,’ and he does it.” And the Lord said about him, “Amen, I say to you, I have
not found such faith in Israel” (Matthew 8:8-10)… Among them also were
those soldiers who came to John to be baptized. John was the holy precursor of
the Lord and friend of the bridegroom. The Lord himself said of him, “There has
arisen no one born of woman greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
When they asked him what they should do, he replied to them, “Terrorize no
one, accuse no one falsely, and be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14). He surely
did not prohibit them from serving in the military when he commanded them to
be content with their pay.
Those who serve God with the highest discipline of chastity, renouncing all
worldly actions, indeed have a greater place before God. “Yet everyone,” as the
apostle says, “has his own proper gift from God, one after this manner, another
after that” (1 Corinthians 7:7). Some, then, fight for you against invisible enemies
by praying; you toil for them against visible barbarians by fighting. Would that
there were one faith in all, for there would be both less toiling and the devil
with his angels would be more easily overcome! Yet, because it is necessary in this
world that the citizens of the kingdom of heaven are troubled by temptations
among the erring and impious in order that they might be tried and tested as
gold in the furnace (Proverbs 17:3), we should not want to live with only the
holy and the just before the time in order that we might deserve to receive that
life in its own time.
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Augustine insists that the aim of war must be peace. The challenge is to pursue the right kind
of peace. There is a lower peace, merely enforcement of someone’s arbitrary will be force.
And there is a higher peace, consisting of concord and order. It is this second peace that
must be sought in order for a war to be just.
From City of God, Book XIX, Chapter 12
Anyone who pays any attention to human affairs and our common human nature,
recognizes as I do that just as there is no one who does not wish to be joyful,
so there is no one who does not wish to have peace. Indeed, even those who
want war want nothing other than to achieve victory; by warring, therefore, they
desire to attain a glorious peace. What else is victory, unless triumphing over the opposition?
When this has happened, there will be peace. Therefore, even those
who are eager to exercise the military virtues by commanding or fighting wage
war with the intention of peace. Consequently, the desired end of war is peace,
for everyone seeks peace, even by waging war, but no one seeks war by making
peace….
After all, even the evil wage war for the sake of the peace of their own associates, and they would want to make everyone their own, if they could, so that
everyone and everything would be enslaved to one individual. How would that
happen if they did not consent to his peace, either through love or fear? In this
manner, pride imitates God in a distorted way. It hates equality with partners
under God, but wants to impose its own domination upon its partners in place of
God. Consequently, it hates the just peace of God and loves its own iniquitous
peace. Nevertheless, it is not able not to love some sort of peace. Truly, there is
no defect so contrary to nature that it wipes away even the last vestiges of nature.
Accordingly, he who knows to prefer the upright to the deformed, and the
ordered to the distorted, sees that the peace of the iniquitous, in comparison
to the peace of the just, should not be called “peace” at all, However, it is
necessary that even what is distorted be at peace in some way with a part of the
things in which it exists or from which it is established, Otherwise, it would
not exist at all.
From Letter 189, to Boniface
Therefore, when you are arming for battle, think first that even your bodily strength is a gift
of God. In this way, you will not think of using the gift of God against God. When fidelity is
promised it must be kept, even to an enemy against whom war is being waged. How much
more must it be kept with a friend for whom the war is fought! The will should be concerned
with peace and necessity with war, so that God might liberate us from necessity and preserve
us in peace. Peace is not sought in order to provoke war, but war is waged in order to attain
peace. Be a peacemaker, then, even by fighting, so that through your victory you might bring
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those whom you defeat to the advantages of peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” says the
Lord, “for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). If human peace is so sweet for
attaining the temporal well-being of mortals, how much more sweet is divine peace for
attaining the eternal well-being of the angels! Let necessity slay the warring foe, not your
will. As violence is returned to one who rebels and resists, so should mercy be to one who
has been conquered or captured, especially when there is no fear of a disturbance of the
peace.
From Letter 229, to Darius
Preventing war through persuasion and seeking or attaining peace through peaceful
means rather than through war are more glorious things than slaying men with
the sword. If those who engage in combat are good men, they ure undoubtedly
striving for peace, but they do so by shedding blood; your charge [as ambassador]
however, was to prevent bloodshed. That is your good fortune in contrast to the
others who are required to kill.
Perfect peace, however, will never be found in this world.
From City of God, Book XVII, Chapter 1315
Whoever hopes for so great a good as is promised to David in this world and on
this earth shows all the understanding of a fool. Does anyone really think that the
promise of such a good was fulfilled in the peace that existed during the reign of
Solomon? Through that excellent proclamation Scripture surely prizes the peace
of Solomon as a shadow of a future event. Still, the idea that the "promise to
David was fulfilled in the reign of Solomon is carefully precluded when, after the
passage says, “And the son of iniquity will not approach to humiliate him,” it
immediately adds, “as he has done from the beginning, from the days in which
I established judges over my people Israel” (2 Samuel 7:10-11). Now, judges
had been established over that people from the time that they received the land of
the promise, before there began to be kings in Israel. Also, the son of iniquity—
that is, the foreign enemy—certainly did humiliate them during the intervals of
time of which we read that peace alternated with war. Yet, longer periods of
peace are found than the one enjoyed by Solomon, who reigned for forty years.
Under that judge called Ehud there were eighty years of peace.
Thus, dismiss the thought that this promise given to David predicts the reign
of Solomon, much less that of any other king, for none of them reigned in peace
as long as Solomon. Never did that people possess the kingdom so securely that
it did not have to worry about being overrun by enemies, for due to the great
vicissitudes of human events no people has ever been granted such security that
they did not dread attacks hostile to this life. Therefore, that place which is
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promised to be such a peaceful and secure dwelling is eternal, and is owed to the
eternal ones in Jerusalem, the free mother. In that place will dwell those who are
truly the people of Israel, for the name Israel is understood to mean “seeing
God.” In this journey full of hardships, the pious soul must be led, through faith,
by a longing for that reward.
Augustine never wrote a separate treatise on war in which he laid out the criteria
that must be fulfilled for a war to be just. However, directly and indirectly, his
writings foreshadow the three criteria that would come to be seen as necessary for justifying
going to war (known as ius ad bellum):
1. rightful (or legitimate) authority
2. just cause and
3. right intention,
He hints, too, at the connection between the latter and what would later come to be called ius
in bello, referring to what actions can justly be used while at war.
Augustine is clear, though brief, on the importance of rightful authority. He is
famous for having emphasized the significance of original sin for human existence
and argues that political authority was instituted by God partly as a punishment
for sin, partly to keep the peace of this world. Political authority includes the
authority to use armed force. If all human beings were to have such authority, to
use at their own discretion and whim, there would be no end to war and conflict.
As William Stevenson has said, “God did not create human lusts, but once foreseen, God ‘used’ them, in the form of political authority, both to control the chaos
engendered by sin and to punish sinners.”
Augustine's statements on authority and war must also be read in light of claims
from the Manicheans (among them the theologian Faustus) that the Biblical God
himself was not a rightful authority, since in the Old Testament he seems to have
commanded acts that were cruel and excessively violent. The Manicheans—a
Gnostic movement which was considered heretical by Augustine and the mainstream
church—claimed that there was a contradiction between the bellicose attitudes
of the Old Testament and the pacific spirit of the new. To Augustine, there was
no such contradiction, since it is not war in itself that is to be feared, but malice and hatred.
From Against Faustus the Manichean, Book XXII, Chapters 74-5, 78
At this point, however, it would be tedious, and unnecessary, to enter into a
discussion about just and unjust wars, for it makes a great difference by which
causes and under which authorities men undertake the wars that must be
waged. The natural order, which is suited to the peace of mortal things, requires
that the authority and deliberation for undertaking war be under the control
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of a leader, and also that, in the executing of military commands, soldiers serve
peace and the common well-being. Moreover, it is wrong to doubt that a war
which must be waged, undertaken under the authority of God, whether in
order to constrain, crush, or subjugate the pride of mortals, is undertaken rightly,
since even a war which is waged out of human desire can do no harm to the
incorruptible God or to his saints. Insofar as the patience of the saints is tried and
their souls humbled, and they suffer fatherly correction, they are benefited rather
than harmed. No one can have any power over them except what has been given
to him from above (see John 19:11); for, “There is no power except from God”
(Romans 13:1), who either commands or permits it.
Therefore, a just man, if he should happen to serve as a soldier under a human
king who is sacrilegious, could rightly wage war at the king's command, maintaining
the order of civic peace, for what he is commanded to do is not contrary to the
sure precepts of God, or else it is not sure whether it is or not. In this latter
case, perhaps the iniquity of giving the orders will make the king guilty while the
rank of a servant in the civil order will show the soldier to be innocent. Since
all this is true about a just man serving a sacrilegious human king, how much
more innocently may the man who wages war at God's command be occupied in
the administration of wars? After all, everyone who serves God knows that he can
never command what is evil….
It is, therefore, malicious to blame Moses for waging war since he ought to be
blamed less if he were to wage war on his own accord than if he were not to do
so when God commanded it. Moreover, to dare to blame God himself because
he commanded such things, or not to believe that a just and good God was able
to command such things, is the mark of a human being, to put it mildly, unable
to consider that for divine providence, extending in time through all things high
and low, what arises is not a novelty and what dies does not vanish, but all things,
individually, in their own order of natures or merits, either give way or succeed or
abide. Furthermore, a correct human will is joined to divine law and inordinate
human desire is checked by the order of divine law, so that a good man wills
nothing other than what is commanded and a wicked man can do nothing more
than what is permitted, and he can do that only in such a way that he cannot
accomplish without punishment what he wills unjustly.
Augustine was not very elaborate in his comments on just cause. Nevertheless, he
did exert a great influence on later thinkers, who would often cite the following
passage on the connection between war, justice, and punishment.
From Questions on the Heptateuch, Book VI, Chapter 1018
As a rule just wars are defined as those which avenge injuries, if some nation or
state against whom one is waging war has neglected to punish a wrong committed
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by its citizens, or to return something that was wrongfully taken.
Augustine is not always consistent in his views on defense of religion and the spreading of
the gospel as just causes for using armed force. The following early work recommends
persuasion over persecution.
From On the True Religion, Book XVI, Chapter 31
Christ did nothing by force, but did everything by persuading and warning.
Indeed, the old slavery having been ended, the time of liberty dawned. Man
was already being suitably and profitably persuaded that he had been created
with free choice. By performing miracles, Christ instilled faith in the God that he
was; by his suffering, he instilled faith in the humanity that he was bearing.
Hence, speaking to the crowds as God, he denied his own mother when she
was announced to him (Matthew 12:46-50); yet, the Gospel says that as a boy he
was subordinate to his parents (Luke 2:51). In his teaching, God appeared; in his
stages of growing up, a human being. Also, about to change the water into wine,
he said as God, “Go away from me, woman. What do you want of me? My hour
is not yet come” (John 2:4). However, when the hour in which he would die
as a human being had come, he recognized his mother from the cross and
commended her to the disciple whom he loved more than the others (John
19:26-7).
To their ruin, the peoples, followers of pleasures, desired riches; he wanted to
be poor. They longed for honors and empires; he did not want to become a king.
They thought that the bodily generation of children was a great good; he scorned
such a union and such descendants. In their pride, they abhorred insults; he
withstood every kind of insult. They judged injuries to be intolerable; what
greater injury is there than to be condemned though just and innocent? They
cursed bodily pain; he was flogged and tortured. They were afraid to die; he was
punished with death. They thought that the cross was the most degrading kind of
death; he was crucified. All the things which we, not living rightly, were desiring
to have, he deemed of little account by abstaining from them. All the things
which we, deviating from the zeal for truth, were desiring to avoid, he destroyed
by enduring them. No sin can be committed unless that which he scorned is desired or that
which he endured is evaded.
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Gratian. Decretum.
Little is known about Gratian, the author of this influential legal textbook, published in Italy
around 1140. It is organized around particular cases that raise legal questions. The
questions included here are all part of Case 23, dealing with heresy. The questions I have
included from that case are those most relevant to arguments dealing with just war.
This text became an important source in arguing the justice of later crusades. It’s a little
close to the time of the Second Crusade to have been influential in 1148. That is, your
character is unlikely to have read it, but it pulls together ideas that were certainly current at
the time, and you should feel free to quote from it in your arguments. The format is one in
which Gratian presents arguments against his case, and then refutes them. This material
should be useful to you regardless of the position you are arguing.
I have edited out some of Gratian’s glosses (interpretive commentary). These passages are
taken from The Ethics of War: Classic and Contemporary Readings, edd. Gregory M.
Reichberg, Henrik Syse, and Endre Begby.
Question I
Gratian: It would seem that it is contrary to the teaching of the Gospel to serve as a soldier,
since the point of all soldiering is either to resist injury or to carry out vengeance; but injury
is either warded off from one’s own person or from one’s associates, both of which are
prohibited by the law of the Gospel. For it is said: “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek,
turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39); and again: “If anyone forces you to go one mile
go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:41); likewise, the Apostle said to the Romans: “Beloved,
never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God” (Matthew 12:19): What else, then,
is meant by these passages, except that we are barred from resisting injury?
1. Furthermore, when Peter defended his master with a sword, Christ said: “Put your sword
into its sheath”; “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will send me more
than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52). Finally, as is read about St. Andrew, when
there was a rush of people to rescue him from the clutches of a wicked judge and to save him
from an unjust death, he urged upon them patience, both in word and deed, lest they prevent
his martyrdom. What else are we hereby incited to do than patiently to endure similar trials?
2. Next is is said in Proverbs: “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, says the Lord” [the
passage is actually Deuteronomy 32:35.] Likewise, it is said in the Gospel: “Judge not, and
you will not be judged” (Mathew 7:11)…. What else is enjoined by all this if not that
punishment of delinquents is to be reserved to divine judgment?
Since, therefore, as was stated above, all soldiering seems to aim at resisting an attack or at
inflicting vengeance, and since each of these is prohibited by the law of the Gospel, it
appears that it is a sin to serve as a soldier….
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Gratian: Here is how we answer these arguments: The precepts of patience have to prevail
less in outward deed than in the preparation of the heart.
Hence Augustine said in his Sermon on the Child of the Centurion:
Canon 2.
The precepts of
patience have to be
observed through
firmness of the mind,
not in outward
attitude.
The just and pious man ought to be ready to put up with the
malice of those he wants to become good, in order that the
number of the good may increase, instead of adding
himself by equal malice to the number of the wicked. In
sum, these precepts are rather for the preparation of the
heart which is internal, than for the deed which is in the
open; so that patience and benevolence are to be confined
to the secret of the mind, while that has to show in the open
what would seem to profit to those we want to become
better….
Likewise, Augustine to Boniface:
Do not think that none can please God while serving in
arms…. Therefore keep this in mind first of all, when you
prepare to fight, that your valor, including your bodily
courage, is a gift of God. Thus you will care not to use a
gift of God against the Lord. For, when it has been vowed,
faith is not to be kept even toward the enemy against whom
war is being waged; how much more toward a friend whom one is fighting for? To strive for
peace is a matter of willing, but war should be of necessity, so that God may free us from
necessity and conserve us in peace. For peace is not pursued in order to wage war, but war is
waged in order to gain peace. Be therefore peaceable while you wage war, so that you may in
winning lead over to the benefit of peace those whom you defeat…. It is therefore necessity,
not will, that crushes the fighting enemy. Just as he who fights and resists is checked by
violence, mercy is due to the vanquished, to the captive, mostly when no trouble to the peace
is to be feared on his part.
Canon 3.
Many can please God
in the profession of
arms.
Likewise, Augustine against the Manichaeans:
What is to be blamed in war? Is it the death of some who
are to die in any case, so that others may be forced to
Canon 4.
peaceful subjection? To reprove this is cowardice, not
What is rightfully to
religion. What is rightly reproved in war are love of
be blamed in war.
mischief, revengeful cruelty, fierce implacable enmity, wild
resistance, lust of power, and such like. And it is generally to
punish these things, when force is required to inflict punishment, that, in obedience to God or
some lawful authority, good men undertake wars, when they find themselves in such a
position as regards the conduct of human affairs, that this very position justly compels them
either to give such orders or to obey them. Thus John does not order soldiers to lay down
their arms, and Christ urges that money be given to Caesar, because soldiers need to get their
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pay on account of war. For this natural order which seeks the peace of mankind ordains that
the authority and resolve to undertake war lie with the princes.
1. But if war is undertaken to serve human greed, this does not trouble the saints, over whom
no one can have any power but what is given from above. For there is no power but from
God, who either orders or permits. Thus a rightous man, who happens to be serving even
under a sacrilegious king, can rightfully engage in combat at his command if, keeping up the
order instead of peace, it is either certain that what he is ordered is not contrary to God's law,
or it is not certain whether it is contrary to God's law….
Gratian: From all this we gather that soldiering is not a sin, and that the precepts of patience
are to be observed in the preparation of the heart, not in the ostentation of the body.
Question II
Gratian: Now, as to what constitutes a just war, Isidore in Twenty Books of Etymologies
says:
That war is just which is waged by an edict in order to
regain what has been stolen or to repel the attack of
enemies. A judge is called such because he pronounces
justice to the people, or because he adjudicates justly. To
adjudicate justly is to judge justly. For he is no judge who has no justice within himself.
Canon 1.
What is a just war.
Likewise, Augustine in Seven Questions Concerning the Heptateuch says:
Our Lord God himself gave the order to Joshua to set up an
ambush behind him, that is, to arrange his warriors so as to
trap the enemy in an ambush. This teaches us that such
things are not done unjustly by those who fight a just war;
so that the just man doesn't need particularly to worry about
this, except that war be undertaken by one who has the
right to do so. For this right does not belong to everyone. Yet
when a just war is undertaken, it does not affect justice whether one fights openly or by
ambushes. Just wars are usually defined as those which have for their end the avenging of
injuries, when it is necessary by war to constrain a nation or a city which has either neglected
to punish an evil action committed by its citizens, or to restore what has been taken unjustly.
But also this kind of war is certainly just which is ordered by God, who knows what is owed
to everyone; in which case the leader of the army or the people itself are not to be deemed
authors but agents of the war.
Canon 2.
It is of no concern to
justice whether one
fights openly or by
ambushes.
Gratian: Since therefore the just war is one which is waged by an edict, or by which
injustices arc avenged, it is asked how the children of Israel fought just wars.
On this subject, Augustine wrote in his Questions on [the book of] Numbers that
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Canon 3.
The sons of Israel were refused passage, and therefore
they waged just wars.
One ought indeed to note how just wars were waged
by the sons of Israel against the Amorites. For they
were denied innocent passage, which ought to have
been granted according to the most equitable law
governing human society.
Question III
Gratian: But injury done to associates should not be repelled, as shown by examples and
authorities…. Thus we also read about the faithful that they suffered with joy to be robbed of
their goods, without asking for any assistance by others; rather, they rejoiced at being found
worthy of bearing disgrace in the name of Christ. And the Apostle also advises the
Corinthians, in his first epistle to them, patiently to put up with injury and fraud, rather than
to scandalize their brethren by asserting their rights… Since therefore he who is being
protected from injury by the force of arms is no less scandalized than he
whose stolen property is being claimed before a judge, it is evident that armed assistance
ought not to be requested. And what ought not to be requested, ought not to be granted in
law. But on the other hand many things are being regularly granted that are not legally
claimed. The virtuous will indeed not regularly claim that an injury be sanctioned, lest he
render all evil for an evil; and yet the judge would rightly inflict such punishment; nor
would he do it if he did not thereby render a good deed for an evil one….
Likewise, Ambrose writes in the first book of his work On the Duties of Ministers:
Canon 5.
He is full of justice who
protects his country from
barbarians.
The courage that protects one’s country from
barbarians in war, or defends the weak in peace, or
associates against brigands, is full of justice.
Likewise, Ambrose writes in the first book of his work On the Duties of Ministers:
The law of valor lies not in inflicting injury but in
repelling it; for he who fails to ward of an injury
from an associate if he can do so, is quite as
blamable as he who inflicts it. It is here, therefore,
that Moses the saint gave the first proofs of his
courage at war. For when he saw a Hebrew being
mistreated by an Egyptian, he defended him by striking
the Egyptian and hiding him in the sand. Solomon too said: Deliver him who is being led to
death (Proverbs 24:11).
Canon 7.
He who does not ward off
an injury from an
associate is similar to him
who caused it.
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Question IV
Gratian: Likewise, this Gospel sentence, “He who resorts to the sword shall perish by the
sword,” that is advanced as an objection, is explained by Augustine in Book II Chap. 70 of
his Against Manicheans:
Canon 36.
Who should be said to resort to
the sword.
He resorts to the sword who has armed
himself to spill the blood of another without
the order or assent of a legitimate power.
Gratian: It has been briefly shown that the good laudably pursue the wicked, and that the
wicked damnably pursue the good…. It has been shown that vengeance may be exerted. It
now remains to show who is to exert it and by what means, and that those who are punished
are more cherished than those who remain unpunished: both points are proven with many
authorities.
Likewise, Augustine writes in On the Lord's Sermon on the Mountain:
That vengeance which aims at correction is not
prohibited; it even belongs to mercy, and it is not in
conflict with the attitude whereby he who wants
someone to be punished is ready to suffer more
from him; but only he is apt to inflict this vengeance
who has overcome by the mildness of love that hatred
which usually impels those who avenge themselves. Indeed, it is not to be feared that the
parents would hate their little son when he is being chidden in order not to sin again…. No
one should therefore exert vengeance but he on whom regular power has been conferred
thereto, and who punishes like a father striking his little child, unable as he is to hate him
owing to his age….
Canon 51.
Vengeance that aims at
correction is not to be
prohibited.
Gratian: From all this we gather that vengeance is to be inflicted not out of passion for
vengeance itself, but out of zeal for justice; nor in order that hatred be vented, but that evil
deeds be corrected. But since retribution is sometimes inflicted by destroying goods,
sometimes by flogging, sometimes even by death, we ask whether it is slnful for the judge or
his minister to put the guilty to death.
Question V
Gratian: Now, that nobody is allowed to kill anyone is proved by that precept whereby the
Lord in the Decalogue prohibited homicide, saying: “Thou shalt not kill.” Likewise it is said
in the Gospel that “Whoever takes the sword, shall perish by the sword.”
Likewise, it is said by Pope Gregory:
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Canon 7.
Those who are accused
of shedding blood must
be defended by the
Church.
Let the Church defend those who are accused of bloodshed,
lest it partake in the spilling of blood.
Gratian: Hence it appears that the wicked are to be
corrected by flogging, not to be quelled by maiming or
temporal death. §l. But an objection arises from what the Lord
said to Moses: “Do not suffer evildoers to live” (Exodus 22:18)…. This precept forbids thus
anyone to arm himself by his own authority to inflict death on somebody; it does not forbid
putting the culprits to death by the command of the law. For he who in the exercise of public
power puts to death the wicked by the command of the law is neither considered a
transgressor of this precept nor a stranger to the heavenly fatherland.
Therefore Augustine wrote to Publicola:
As to putting men to death in order that nobody be killed by
them, I do not approve of it, except perhaps by a soldier or
by someone held thereto owing to a public function, so that
he does not do it for himself but for others, or for the city
where he finds himself, having been conferred legitimate
power in conformity with his person. As to those who are held
back by some terror from doing evil, they may themselves draw some benefit from it. Hence
it is said: We should not resist evil, lest you take delight in vengeance, which feeds the mind
in others’ misfortune; yet we should not for all that neglect the correction of evil men….
Canon 8.
It is no sin to kill a
man in the exercise
of a public function.
I.ikcwisc, Augustine, On Free Will, Book 1:
If killing a man is indeed homicide, it sometimes can
happen without sin. For neither a soldier killing an enemy,
nor a judge or his minister killing a criminal, nor someone
inadvertently or imprudently throwing a spear would sin, in
my opinion, when they killed a man. Nor are they usually
called homicides. - The same, in Questions on Leviticus: §l.
When a man is justly killed, it is the law, not you, who kills him.
Canon 41.
He does not sin who
kills a criminal by
virtue of his
functions.
Likewise, Pope Nicholas to the army of the Franks:
Canon 46.
Whoever dies in the
fight against the
infidel is deserving of
the celestial
kingdom.
We want all of you to know charity, since none of those
who will have faithfully died in this battle (we say this
without wishing it) shall in the least be denied the celestial
kingdom.
Likewise, Augustine to Boniface:
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For who of us would have someone of his enemies, I say
not die, but even lose something? But if the house of David
could not regain peace otherwise than by the death of
Absalom, his son, in the war he was waging against the
father—although the latter had been at great pains to enjoin
his men as far as possible to take him safe and alive so that
he might repent and obtain his pardon from paternal
affection—what else remained than to weep his loss and to soothe his sorrow at the thought
of peace being restored in his kingdom?
Canon 48.
The peace of the
Church alleviates the
sorrow caused by
those who are lost.
Gratian: If therefore saintly men and public powers waging war did not transgress that
command, “Thou shalt not kill,” while inflicting death on all villains deserving it; if the
soldier, acting in obedience to his authorities, is not guilty of homicide when, following their
order, he kills any villain; if killing murderers and punishing poisoners does not amount to
spilling blood but to serving the law; if the peace of the church allays the
sorrow caused by the lost ones; if those who, inflamed by the zeal of their Catholic mother,
put to death the excommunicated are not considered homicides—then it is obvious that it is
allowed not only to whip but also to kill the wicked.
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New Testament Passages
All factions should make use of the New Testament.
The German and Eastern factions can find passages supporting peace in Debate 1.
Each candidate for leadership can find passages supporting secular or religious authority to
support their claims in Debate 2.
A Table of Contents for New Testament Passages
Matthew 5
Matthew 16
Matthew 22
Luke 3
Luke 14
Luke 19
Luke 22
Matthew 26
John 18
John 15
Romans 13
1 Peter 2
The Beatitudes, Salt and Light, Fulfillment of the Law, Murder, Adultery,
Divorce, Oaths, An Eye for an Eye, Love for Enemies
Demand for a Sign, Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Peter’s Confession
of Christ, Jesus Predicts his Death
Paying Taxes to Caesar
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
Jesus at a Pharisee’s House, Parable of the Great Banquet, Cost of Being a
Disciple
Parable of the Ten Minas, Triumphal Entry, Jesus at the Temple
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus, Last Supper, Jesus Prays on Mount of Olives,
Jesus Arrested
Jesus Arrested
Jesus Arrested
Vine and Branches, World Hates the Disciples
Submission to Authorities, Love for the Day is Near
Submission to Rulers and Masters
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Matthew 5
The Beatitudes
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples
came to him,
2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty
again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven.
The Fulfilment of the Law
17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to
abolish them but to fulfil them.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least
stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do
the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practises and teaches
these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Murder
21 You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who
murders will be subject to judgment.'
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.
Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone
who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
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23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother
has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother;
then come and offer your gift.
25 Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you
are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand
you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Adultery
27 You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to
lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you
to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce
31 It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'
32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness,
causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits
adultery.
Oaths
33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath,
but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'
34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great
King.
36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the
evil one.
An Eye for an Eye
38 You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek,
turn to him the other also.
40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow
from you.
Love for Enemies
43 You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.'
44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
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45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax
collectors doing that?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even
pagans do that?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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Matthew 16
The Demand for a Sign
1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a
sign from heaven.
2 He replied, When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,'
3 and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know
how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given
it except the sign of Jonah. Jesus then left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.
6 Be careful, Jesus said to them. Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.
7 They discussed this among themselves and said, It is because we didn't bring any bread.
8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, You of little faith, why are you talking among
yourselves about having no bread?
9 Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand,
and how many basketfuls you gathered?
10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
11 How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on
your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in
bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter's Confession of Christ
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do
people say the Son of Man is?
14 They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.
15 But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am?
16 Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by
man, but by my Father in heaven.
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not overcome it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he
must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord! he said. This shall never
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happen to you!
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me;
you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will
find it.
26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or
what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he
will reward each person according to what he has done.
28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the
Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
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Matthew 22
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.
16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. Teacher, they said, we know
you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.
17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap
me?
19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax. They brought him a denarius,
20 and he asked them, Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?
21 Caesar's, they replied. Then he said to them, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to
God what is God's.
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
Luke 3
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We
have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children
for Abraham.
9 The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
10 What should we do then? the crowd asked.
11 John answered, The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the
one who has food should do the same.
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptised. Teacher, they asked, what should we do?
13 Don't collect any more than you are required to, he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, And what should we do? He replied, Don't extort money
and don't accuse people falsely— be content with your pay.
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Luke 14
Jesus at a Pharisee's House
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being
carefully watched.
2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.
3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or
not?
4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.
5 Then he asked them, If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath
day, will you not immediately pull him out?
6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, he told them
this parable:
8 When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a
person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your
seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will
say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honoured in the presence of
all your fellow guests.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted.
12 Then Jesus said to his host, When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your
friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you
back and so you will be repaid.
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, Blessed is the man
who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.
16 Jesus replied: A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come,
for everything is now ready.'
18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and
I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
19 Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out.
Please excuse me.'
20 Still another said, 'I have just got married, so I can't come.'
21 The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house
became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
22 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
23 Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them
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come in, so that my house will be full.
24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children,
his brothers and sisters— yes, even his own life— he cannot be my disciple.
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the
cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will
ridicule him,
30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down
and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him
with twenty thousand?
32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will
ask for terms of peace.
33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my
disciple.
34 Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out. He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.
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Luke 19
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near
Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
12 He said: A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king
and then to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he
said, 'until I come back.'
14 But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this
man to be our king.'
15 He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom
he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy
in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18 The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19 His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20 Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in
a piece of cloth.
21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in
and reap what you did not sow.'
22 His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You
knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did
not sow?
23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have
collected it with interest?'
24 Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one
who has ten minas.'
25 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26 He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one
who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be a king over them— bring them
here and kill them in front of me.'
The Triumphal Entry
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he
sent two of his disciples, saying to them,
30 Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which
no-one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, Why are you untying the colt?
34 They replied, The Lord needs it.
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
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36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole
crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had
seen:
38Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples!
40 I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
42 and said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against
you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not
leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God's coming to you.
Jesus at the Temple
45 Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling.
46 It is written, he said to them, 'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it
'a den of robbers'.
47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law
and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.
48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
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Luke 22
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,
2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of
Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.
3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed
with them how he might betray Jesus.
5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money.
6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no
crowd was present.
The Last Supper
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.
9 Where do you want us to prepare for it? they asked.
10 He replied, As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow
him to the house that he enters,
11 and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I
may eat the Passover with my disciples?'
12 He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15 And he said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer.
16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God.
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among you.
18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God
comes.
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my
body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant
in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.
23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do
this.
24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise
authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the
youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one
who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
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29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.
31 Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have
turned back, strengthen your brothers.
33 But he replied, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.
34 Jesus answered, I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times
that you know me.
35 Then Jesus asked them, When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack
anything? Nothing, they answered.
36 He said to them, But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't
have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
37 It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must
be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfilment.
38 The disciples said, See, Lord, here are two swords. That is enough, he replied.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
40 On reaching the place, he said to them, Pray that you will not fall into temptation.
41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42 Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.
43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood
falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep,
exhausted from sorrow.
46 Why are you sleeping? he asked them. Get up and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation.
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of
the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,
48 but Jesus asked him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?
49 When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord, should we strike
with our swords?
50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, No more of this! And he touched the man's ear and healed him.
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Matthew 26
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large
crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: The one I kiss is the man; arrest
him.
49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, Greetings, Rabbi! and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, Friend, do what you came for. Then the men stepped forward, seized
Jesus and arrested him.
51 With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the
servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die
by the sword.
53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more
than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out
with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you
did not arrest me.
56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all
the disciples deserted him and fled.
John 18
Jesus Arrested
1 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley.
On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with
his disciples.
3 So Judas came to the grove, guid- ing a detachment of soldiers and some officials from
the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, Who is it
you want?
5 Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. I am he, Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing
there with them.)
6 When Jesus said, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Again he asked them, Who is it you want? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
8 I told you that I am he, Jesus answered. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.
9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: I have not lost one of
those you gave me.
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting
off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus commanded Peter, Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has
given me?
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John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear
much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;
such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
given you.
8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father's commands and remain in his love.
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business.
Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made
known to you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit
that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong
to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey
yours also.
21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who
sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however,
they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He who hates me hates my Father as well.
24 If I had not done among them what no-one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But
now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.
25 But this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'
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26 When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of
truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
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Romans 13
Submission to the Authorities
1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except
that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has
instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you
want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend
you.
4 For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not
bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the
wrongdoer.
5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible
punishment but also because of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full
time to governing.
7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;
if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.
Love, for the Day Is Near
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who
loves his fellow-man has fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not
covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: Love
your neighbour as yourself.
10 Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up
from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of
darkness and put on the armour of light.
13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual
immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to
gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
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1 Peter 2
Submission to Rulers and Masters
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether
to the king, as the supreme authority,
14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend
those who do right.
15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish
men.
16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of
God.
17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour
the king.
18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are
good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is
conscious of God.
20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But
if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that
you should follow in his steps.
22He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no
threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live
for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls.
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Islam and the Qur’an This essay is taken from the Reacting to the Past faculty forum. It was originally written for
use with the reacting game, Defining a Nation: India on the Eve of Independence, 1945.
“Islam” is an Arabic word whose linguistic roots--s-l-m--mean both submission and peace, as
in the familiar greeting, “salaam.” Islam consequently is a religion that asks its adherents,
called Muslims, to submit completely to the will of Allah, creator and ruler of the universe;
Muslims use the word Allah in much the same way that Jews and Christians use the word
God.
According to Islam, Allah revealed His intentions to many prophets, including Noah, Moses
and Jesus. But Allah chose Muhammad, a seventh-century Arab trader, to be His final
prophet. In 610 A.D., Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah. Over the next
two decades Muhammad received 114 revelations. One revelation itself explained that Allah
spoke to Muhammad “by suggestion, as if from behind a veil, or through a messenger sent
and authorized by Allah to suggest what He pleases.”
After the Prophet’s death in 632, Muhammad’s sayings were compiled into a single text
called the Qur’an (sometimes spelled Koran), the sacred scripture of Islam; each revelation
became a separate chapter, called sura, of the Qur’an.
The suras are arranged (mostly) with the longest first and then in descending order of length.
This structure fractures both the chronological sequence of the revelations as well as the
narrative order of events. Sayyid Mawdudi1, a major 20th-century Islamic commentator (and
a key figure in the early history of Pakistan), conceded that a stranger to the Qur’an will be
baffled by its organization and structure: “He begins to feel that the Qur’an is a book
without any order or interconnection between its verses or continuity of its subject.” The
Qur’an does not adhere to chronological order because it is not a work of history; it does not
group its topics because it is not a work of philosophy. Instead, Mawdudi explained, readers
should accept from the outset that the Qur’an is “the only book of its kind in the whole
world: that its literary style is quite different from that of all other books: that its theme is
unique and that his preconceived notions of a book cannot help him understand the
Qur’an.”2
The best way to understand the Qur’an is to listen to it, in Arabic, repeatedly, from beginning
to end. Many Islamic scholars insist that the Qur’an cannot be translated. They speak of
translations as attempts to convey surface meanings: the literal truth of the Qur’an is
inseparable from the poetic Arabic in which it was originally expressed. One of the first
translators described the Qur’an in the original Arabic as “an immutable symphony, the very
sound of which moves men to tears and ecstasy.”3
Yet those who do not speak Arabic must rely on translations; and, as Mawdudi himself
observed, the Qur’an presupposes that readers know the story of Muhammad : “One cannot
understand fully many of the topics discussed in the Quran unless one is acquainted with the
1
Mawdudi is also spelled Maududi or Maudoodi.
Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi, The Meaning of the Quran, Vol 1. (Lahore, 1967), p. 8.
3
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: and Explanatory Translation
(New York: American Library, 1953), p. 11. An Englishman who became a convert, he insisted that
only believers could translate it with any degree of accuracy.
2
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background of their revelation”. Thus Allah “revealed the Quran piecemeal to meet the
requirements of the [Islamic] Movement in its different stages.” 5
What follows is a narrative essay on the life of Muhammad, interspersed with
chronologically pertinent excerpts from the Qur’an. This provides both an account on the
early history of Islam and the principles on which it was founded.
The excerpts of the Quran included in this essay were derived from multiple translations and
edited for coherence, simplicity, and continuity. By way of illustration, consider the opening
verses of Muhammad’s first Revelation, as rendered by various translators:
Read: In the name of thy Lord Who Createth man from a clot. (M. M.
Pickthal)
Proclaim: In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created/Created man
out of a (mere) clot of congealed blod: (Y. Ali)
Recite in the name of your Lord who created—created man from clots of
blood. (N. J. Dawood).
Read in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. (M.
H. Shakir)
Read in the name of your Lord, Who created: He created man from a clot.
(M. Fakhry)
Recite in the name of your lord who created—From an embryo created the
human (M. Sells)
The present essay has chosen a simpler rendering:
Recite in the name of your Lord, who created man from a clot of blood.
This version is not better than the others; its chief virtue is its simplicity; and in religious
texts simplicity is not necessarily a virtue. Scholars should consult other “less simple,”
translations; students who seek further understanding of a particular text may also wish to
consult other versions, several of which are available online.7
Final note: The verses of the Qur’an are usually the words of Allah, who speaks in the first
person plural (“We”). When Muhammad addresses his followers, his words are usually
prefaced with “Say”.
The Early Life of Muhammad: 570-­609 Muhammad was born around 570 in Mecca, on the western edge of the Arabian Desert. His
father died before his birth, and Muhammad’s grandfather took charge of the boy. Because
city life was regarded as unhealthful, the infant was sent to a wet nurse from a nomadic tribe,
and Muhammad spent some of his infancy in the desert. At six, Muhammad’s mother died;
and at eight, his grandfather died as well.
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5
7
Maududi, Meaning , p.14.
A number of translations of the Qur’an have won scholarly respect, including: N. J.
Dawood, The Koran Penguin Books, 2006), revised from the earlier editions, the first of
which was published in 1956, and Ahmed Ali, Al-Quran: A Contemporary Translation
(Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1994). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford
Univesity Press, 2004), edited by John L. Esposito, is an authoritative guide to most of the
words and phrases associated with Islamic civilization.
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Muhammad was then placed under the protection of an uncle, Abu Talib, leader of the
Hashim clan. The Hashim were one of the larger kinship networks in the Quraysh tribe that
dominated Mecca. Muhammad was trained in archery, swordsmanship and wrestling. He
apparently traveled on some trading ventures with Abu Talib.
At this time Mecca was a major mercantile center for the camel caravans from Ethiopia, the
Mediterranean, and Yemen. Part of Mecca’s appeal was that it was home of the Ka’aba, a
cube-shaped shrine dedicated to the highest God of the Arabs and surrounded by statues of
another 360 gods. The Quraysh tribe supervised the Ka’aba, ensuring the safety of all
pilgrims and traders.
But the community values that characterized Arab tribes in the desert were being eroded by
the circumstances of urban life. Arab traders and bankers, striving for riches, concentrated
on their own advancement and neglected their obligations to the tribe. As a young man
Muhammad, who lacked the resources to engage in trade independently, perhaps pondered
the materialism that eroded traditional Arab values.
On a trading journey around 595, Muhammad was charged with looking after the
merchandise of a wealthy widow, Khadijah. She was impressed with him and proposed
marriage. He accepted. The couple had six children.8 Her wealth provided him with the
wherewithal to join the mercantile elite of Mecca.
The First Revelation (610 A.D.) In 610, Muhammad and his family went on a retreat to the mountains outside Mecca. While
sightseeing at a cave, Muhammad was visited by an immense presence—he later identified it
as the angel Gabriel—who instructed him to “Recite.” Muhammad replied that he knew not
how. Then the angel embraced him and said, “You are the Messenger of God,” and
commenced conveying verses of a holy book called the Qur’an—“the recitation.”
Sura 96 (Recite) 1. Recite in the name of your Lord, who created
2. Man from a clot of blood
3.
Recite! Your Lord is Most Bountiful,
4. Who taught man to write with the pen
5. Taught man what he knew not.
6. Man errs
7. In thinking himself his own master:
8
The two sons died early in life, but four daughters survived to adulthood. Fatimah, the best-known
of these, married Muhammad’s cousin, Ali, whom Shi’a Muslims regard as Muhammad’s divinely
ordained successor. Sunni Muslims adhere to a different line of succession, a major reason for the
division of Muslims into Sunni and Shiite sects. For more information, read the section of this essay on
the Legacy of Muhammad.
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8. For all things return to your Lord.
Afterwards Muhammad could hardly believe what had happened in the cave, and said so to
his family. But Khadijah and others offered reassurances. Eventually Muhammad came to
understand that Allah had selected him as a prophet, like Moses and Jesus; Muhammad’s
task was to convey Allah’s new messages to mankind. But while Allah had sent previous
prophets to the Jews and Christians, Muhammad was the first Arab prophet; and Allah’s
message was to be conveyed in Arabic. Usually the revelations came from a male angel. But
sometimes, Muhammad explained, the revelations came “like the reverberations of a bell.”
Increasingly the revelations were conveyed directly to Muhammad’s heart.
Sura 75 (No Need to Move Tongue Fast to Learn Revelation) 16. You [Muhammad] need not move your tongue too fast to learn
this revelation.
17: We shall see to its collection and recital.
18. So, when We recite it, you listen carefully.
19. We shall explain what it means.
Muhammad: Giving Warning, 612 After the first few revelations, however, no others followed for several years. Then in 612,
they resumed. Some of these offered reassurance to Muhammad personally:
Sura 93 (Did He Not Give You Shelter?) 1. I swear, By the light of the rising sun,
2. And by the night when darkness descends .
3. The Lord has neither forsaken you nor does he hate you.
4. And surely the life that will follow will be better for you than
that which has gone before.
6. When you were an orphan, did He not find you and give you
shelter?
7. Did He not find you to be in error and guide you?
8. Did He not find you poor and bring you riches?
9. Therefore, do not wrong the orphan.
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10. Do not chide the beggar.
11. But proclaim the goodness of your Lord!
The obligation to care for orphans and give alms to the poor was a recurring
theme of subsequent revelations, and they became foundations—“pillars”—of
Islamic practice.
Other revelations explained that Allah had given Muhammad a special task:
To warn people to submit to Allah completely, to care for orphans and the
dispossessed, and to cease lusting after wealth.
Sura 74 (Arise and Give Warning) 1. O you who are clothed!
2. Arise and give warning,
3. Magnify your Lord,
4. Purify your garments,
S. Shun uncleanness.
6. Do no favors expecting gain
7. And for the sake of your Lord, be patient.
8. For when the trumpet is sounded,
9. Then shall come a difficult day
10. For the unbelievers .
11. Leave, then, to Me the man [unbeliever]
12. Whom I [Allah] created helpless
13. And gave abundant wealth
14. And children and made things easy for him.
15. Yet he craves that I shall give him more.
16. And he stubbornly denies Our revelations
17. And I will torment him. . .
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21-25: He who looks around, frowning and scowling, and turns
away in prideful arrogance, and who says: “This [the Qur’an] is
but counterfeit sorcery, the words of a mere mortal!
[Muhammad]”
26: I will cast him into the Fire.
This theme recurs throughout the Qur’an. Allah will punish those who, having learned the
truth, subsequently challenge or reject it.
Sura 70 (No Power Can Avert Allah’s Punishment) 1. A skeptic once demanded proof that unbelievers would receive
their [deserved] punishment.
2. No power can avert Allah’s punishment,
3. He is the Lord of the Ladders.
4. To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure
of which is fifty thousand years.
S. Therefore endure with a goodly patience.
6. Surely the skeptics think the Day of Judgment is far off,
7. But we see it near at hand.
8. On the day when the heaven shall be as molten copper
9. And the mountains shall be as tufts of wool
10. Friends will meet, but not speak to each other.
11. To evade the awaiting torment, the sinner will gladly sacrifice
his children
12. And his wife and his brother
13. And the nearest of his kinsfolk who gave him shelter,
14. And all the people of the earth, if this might deliver him.
15. But no! The fire of Hell
16. Dragging him by the head,
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17. Shall claim him who turned from the Truth,
18. Who amassed wealth and hoarded it. . .
22. Not so the true worshippers. . .
Proud people were wrong to assume that their success in business was due to personal merit.
This is one of many instances where Muhammad’s revelations criticized the wealthy. All
good comes from Allah, whose benevolence toward mankind is among His main attributes.
Indeed, Allah has placed the entire substance of the universe to serve man’s purposes:
Sura 55 (The Beneficent God) 1. The Beneficent God,
2. Taught the Qur’an.
3. He created man,
4. Taught him how to speak.
S. The sun and the moon follow their regular course.
6. And the plants and trees bow down in adoration.
7. And the heaven, He raised it high, and He made the balance of
all things
8. That you may not transgress that balance. .
9. Give just weight and full measure.
10. And the earth, He has set it for living creatures;
11. With its fruit and palms having sheathed clusters,
12. And the chaff-covered grain and scented herbs.
13. Which of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
14. He created man from dry clay like earthen vessels,
15. And He created the jinn from the flame of fire.
16. Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
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17. Lord of the East and Lord of the West.
18. Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny? . . .
57: We created you: will you not believe then in Our power? . . .
Allah also was generous in creating human beings who were fundamentally sound. The
Bible, on the other hand, reports that all mankind was tainted by the sinfulness of Adam and
Eve; but when the Qur’an discusses the story of Adam and Eve, Allah specifically does not
blame the children or their descendents for the sin of Adam and Eve:
Sura 7 (Allah never commands what is shameful) 28. When they do something that is shameful, they say: “We
found our fathers doing so,” and “Allah commanded us thus.”
Say: “No, Allah never commands what is shameful. Do you say
of Allah what you do not know?”
Muhammad revealed both the goodness of Allah, and the penalty for transgressing His will.
But otherwise the Qur’an discouraged theological speculation; believers were obliged to
regard Allah with awe, and appreciate the good that He had done for all mankind. More,
they were instructed to perform the requisite prayers and give alms to the poor. Those who
speculated on the attributes of Allah deceived themselves.
The Revelation of 615: Muhammad had, at first, shared his revelations with only his family and a small group of
acquaintances. They performed the prescribed prayers, bowing and touching their foreheads
to the ground, and otherwise submitting to Allah’s will. But these actions—especially the
abject prostration of the Muslims during prayer—offended the sensibilities of many members
of the Quraysh tribe. Some rregarded these new practices as blasphemous.
In 615 Muhammad received a new revelation. He needed to proselytize more broadly: he
was to spread the word of Allah to “his nearest relations”—a reference, clearly, to the whole
Hashim clan. He was to warn them of the error of their ways:
Sura 26 (Warn your Nearest Relations) 185. The [unbelievers] said [to Muhammad]: “You are among
the deluded;
186. You are but a mortal like ourselves, and we think you are
lying.
187. If you are not lying, then make something fall from the
heavens upon us.”
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188. He said: “My Lord knows what you do.”
189. But they called him a liar, and so they were smote by the
scourge of the Day of Darkness; their punishment was grievous
indeed.
190. Most surely there is a sign in this, but most of them do not
believe.
191. And most surely your Lord is Mighty, the Merciful.
192. And most surely this is a revelation from the Lord of the
worlds.
193. The Faithful Spirit has descended with it,
194. Into your heart that you may give warning
195. In the noble language of Arabic. . . . . .
196. Thus was it foretold in the ancient scriptures [Torah].197. Is
it not sufficient proof that the learned men of the Israelites
understood it?
198. And if We reveal it to a foreign man,
199. Even that it be recited aloud,
200. They would still not have believed.
201. They will not believe until they have been smitten by a woeful
scourge.
202. And it shall come to them all of a sudden, while they shall
not perceive;
203. Then they will say: “Shall we ever be granted respite?”
204. Yet now [by scorning and humiliating Muhammad], they
hasten their punishment.
205. Consider: if We let them enjoy themselves for years,
206. And then comes that fearsome scourge,
207. Of what benefit then will those enjoyments be?
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208. And We did not destroy any town without first warning its
inhabitants,
209. To remind, and We are never unjust.
210. And the devils will not have brought this down upon the
unbelievers.
211. The devils do not wish it,
212. Nor have they the power to accomplish it.
213. So call on no other god besides Allah, , lest you be of those
suffer His punishment.
214. And warn your nearest relations,
215. And be kind to those who follow you in belief.
216. But if they disobey you, then say: “Surely I am not
responsible for what you do.”
Muhammad’s initial attempt to “warn his nearest relations” misfired. He had invited the men
of the Hashim clan to a meal whose simplicity echoed the abstemious message of the Qur’an.
Then he appealed to the gathering to convert to Islam. Few did so, and some ridiculed him
and his revelations; these attempts to humiliate Muhammad were a recurrent theme in the
Meccan revelations—the revelations that came during the time Muhammad lived in Mecca.
But the bitterness of his critics was in part a response to the fact that Muhammad posed a
powerful threat to the Meccan trading elite. Young people were especially drawn to
Muhammad’s criticisms of the materialism and selfishness of Meccan society; and nearly all
Arabs were impressed with the beauty and power of the Arabic of Muhammad’s revelations.
At the famous dinner for the men of the Hashim, an adolescent boy spoke up against
Muhammad’s critics, a sign of the widening generational divide within Meccan society;
Islam would be the wedge that would drive the generations even farther apart.
With each new revelation, moreover, Islam moved further from Arab religious traditions.
For example, the Arabs traditionally invoked the gods for assistance during life; there was
little conception of an afterlife. But Muhammad’s revelations increasingly alluded to the
possibility that Allah would reward the faithful with eternal life.
Sura 36 (“Who Will Give Life to the Bones?”) 74. And they have taken other gods besides Allah, hoping that this
will help them.
75. But they [the other gods] cannot help them: yet those who
worship the idols stand like warriors ready to defend those idols.
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76. Therefore let not their words grieve you; surely We know what
they do in open and of what they hide.
77. Does not man see that We have created him from the small
seed? Yet he is openly contentious!
78. And he argues with us vehemently, and forgets his own
creation. He asks: “Who will give life to the bones when they are
rotten?”
79. Say: “He who first brought them into being will give them life
again. He comprehends all creation
80. He gives you from the green tree a flame, and lo! You light a
fire!
81. He Who has created the heavens and the earth—can He not
create others like them? He is indeed the All-Knowing Creator.
82. His command, when He wishes anything, is only to say, “Be,”
and it is.
83. Therefore glory be to Him who controls all things, and to
Him shall you be brought back [to life?].
The Attack on Polytheism: 616 That Muslims were obliged to submit completely to Allah implied that they owed no
obligations to the traditional deities worshiped by Arab peoples. But Muhammad had not
explicitly indicted polytheism. That changed with several crucial revelations in 616. Some
of his followers were aghast at this new direction: They could readily “submit” to Allah as
the principal deity; but they saw no reason why this obliged them to repudiate the lesser gods
of their parents and ancestors.
Muhammad’s attack on the traditional gods also infuriated the leaders of the Quraysh.
Partly this was for financial reasons. Mecca provided a shrine for all of the deities of many
tribes; this made Mecca an ideal trading and tourist destination for Arab peoples. Islam’s
repudiation of their various gods might endanger the Meccan business trade.
But many Quraysh begrudgingly acknowledged the power of Muhammad’s message. That
Muhammad’s group of followers was growing was indisputable; and his message proved
especially appealing to the young. Some Qurayshi leaders approached Muhammad with a
compromise: they would endorse Allah and Islam if Muhammad would accept some of the
traditional gods, especially the three goddesses of Mecca [Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat], as
lesser deities ruled by Allah. Muhammad was perhaps tempted 9by this compromise:
9
This incident refers to one the most controversial issues surrounding the Qur’an. According to AlTabari, a ninth century Persian historian and important commentator on the Qur’an, Muhammad
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Sura 17 (They Nearly Lured You Away from Our Revelations) 73.Indeed, they [the Meccans] nearly lured you [Muhammad]
away from Our revelations, so that you might invent some other
scripture in Our name. Then they would have taken you for a
friend.
74. Had We [again, Allah] not enabled you to stand firm, you
might have inclined towards them a very little.
75. In that case We would certainly have made you to taste a
double punishment—in life, and after death. Then you would not
have found any helper against Us.
76. And surely they endeavored to unsettle you from the land that
they might expel you from it, and in that case they will not tarry
behind you but a little.
But then Muhammad came down emphatically against idolatry.
Sura 53 (The Goddesses of Mecca are but Names) 18. Have you considered Al-Lat and Al-Uzza
pondered adding two verses to Sura 53:18-19, which seemingly endorsed the three principal goddesses
of Mecca:
18. Have you considered Al-Lat and Al-Uzza
19. and on Manat, the third [the three pagan goddesses of Mecca,
daughters of God]?
[Added?]: These are the high-flying birds [gharaniq]
Whose intercession is approved.
Al-Tabari claimed that a wilySatan had tempted Muhammad into uttering utter these latter
two verses, which some critics dubbed “the satanic verses.” Karen Armstrong, in
Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet (1991), explained that Western critics err when they
cite these passages as evidence that Muhammad was not receiving the word of God. The
Christian conception of Satan—the ultimate source of evil in the world—differs from the
Islamic conception, which regards Satan as a deficient genie who tempts and deceives
mankind but does not bring about mankind’s destruction. Muhammad’s capacity to be
“lured” by Satan underscores the importance of free will in Islamic thought (pp.112-115).
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19. And on Manat, the third [the three pagan goddesses of Mecca,
daughters of god]?
20. They are but names which you and your fathers have
invented:
21-24: Allah has vested no authority in them.
25. The unbelievers [polytheists] follow but vain guesses and the
vagaries of their own souls, despite having long since received the
true guidance of their Lord. . .”
The point was hammered home in Sura 112, one of the shortest:
Sura 112 (Allah is the One God) 1. Say: ‘Allah is One, the Eternal God,
2. He begot none,
3. Nor was he begotten.
4. None is equal to Him.”
As Muhammad’s group grew—perhaps approaching 100 followers—the leaders of the
Quraysh put increasing pressure on Abu Talib, leader of the Hashim clan, to silence and
punish Muhammad. “Oh Abu Talib,” one explained, “your nephew has cursed our gods,
insulted our religion, mocked our way of life and accused our forefathers of error; either you
must stop him or you must let us get at him . . . and we will rid you of him.” Talib, though
unpersuaded of Muhammad’s revelations, refused to silence his nephew. More important,
Talib persisted in declaring that Muhammad, as a son of the Hashim, was protected by the
entire clan. Should any of his foes kill Muhammad, the Hashim would avenge his death.
Tensions mounted. When groups of Muslims came into contact with other Quraysh, insults
would fly. Sometimes scuffles escalated into riots. Vulnerable Muslims—slaves and the
poor—lived in real danger, and Muhammad arranged for several score Muslim families to
leave Mecca and settle in Abyssinia in North Africa, where they would fall under the
protection of the local Christian ruler.
The organized exodus of large numbers of Muslims, including the children of well-to-do
Qurayshi merchants, enraged the leaders of Mecca. On several occasions conspirators
attempted to assassinate Muhammad , but each time Allah intervened, or so Muhammad
claimed. One would-be assassin, after overhearing a sura, put away his weapon and
converted to Islam on the spot.
Late in the year, Abu Lahab, one of Muhammad’s fiercest critics, issued a boycott against the
entire Hashim clan: unless the Hashim abandoned Muhammad, other Meccan clans would
refuse to do business with any Hashim or allow intermarriage with them. Fights became
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even more common. For safety, Muslims increasingly crowded into Abu Talib’s street,
which soon became a Muslim ghetto.
A new revelation indicted Abu Lahab by name:
Sura 111 (Perish Abu Lahab) 1. Perish the hands of Abu Lahab, and may he perish, too.
2. His wealth and what he earns will not avail him.
3. He shall roast in a flaming fire.
4. And his wife will be a bearer of firewood,
5. She shall have a fibrous rope around her neck.
Moderate Quraysh, fearing a civil war, sent a delegation to propose another compromise with
the Muslims. But Muhammad received an emphatic revelation rejecting any concessions:
Sura 109 (“Sura of Rejection: I do not worship what You Worship”) 1. Say: “O unbelievers!
2. I do not worship what you worship,
3. Nor do you worship what I worship.
4. Nor shall I worship that which you worship,
5. Nor will you worship what I worship:
6. You shall have your religion and I shall have mine.”
Abu Lahab’s boycott was adopted by most clans and lasted two years; some Hashim traders
were nearly ruined. But things got far worse.
Flight to Medina : 622 In 619, Khadija, Muhammad’s beloved wife, died. That same year, Abu Talib, Muhammad’s
uncle, protector, and head of the Hashim, fell ill. Muhammad tried to persuade his dying
uncle to convert to Islam, but Abu Talib gently declared that he could not deny the gods of
his father.
After Talib’s death, the new leader of the Hashim clan was Abu Lahab, Muhammad’s
staunchest enemy. Attacks on Muslims intensified, as did threats against Muhammad.
Muhammad explored a mass exodus from Mecca, but to where? At one point, while being
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chased by enemies, Muhammad ran into an orchard and addressed Allah, confessing his fears
and doubts. The following revelation ensued:
Sura 46 (“I do not know what will be done with me”) 2. We [Allah] created the heavens and the earth and all that lies
between them to show the truth; We created them to last for a set
term. Yet the unbelievers ignore our warning.
3. Say: “Have you [unbelievers] pondered well those idols whom
you worship besides Allah? Show me what part of the earth they
have created! Show what part of the heavens. Show me what
sacred scripture or other aspect of divine knowledge, if they be the
truthful ones.”
4. Who is in greater error than the man who prays to idols which
will not hear him? Idols that, on the Day of Resurrection, cannot
heed his prayers? . . .
6.When Our revelations are recited to them, indisputable and
clear, the unbelievers say: “This is obvious magic.” That is their
response to the Truth when they hear it.
7. Do they say: “He [Muhammad] has invented The Qur’an
himself? Say: “If I have indeed invented The Qur’an, then there is
nothing you can do to shield me from the wrath of Allah. He well
knows what you say about it. Sufficient is He as my witness, and
your witness. He is the Forgiving One, the Merciful.”
8. Say . “I am not the first among the prophets; nor do I know
what will be done with me or you. I follow only what is revealed to
me, and my only duty is to give clear warning.” . . .
In 620, Muhammad awakened in the middle of the night and went to the Ka’aba to recite the
Qur’an. Eventually he fell asleep. Then he was lifted by Gabriel onto a horse that carried
him through the night sky over Jerusalem. They arrived at the Temple Mount, where
Muhammad climbed a ladder that extended through seven levels. At each he was presented
to previous prophets, such as Adam, Jesus, Moses, and, on the 7th, Abraham. A final summit
led to Allah, who told Muhammad that Muslims must offer prayers of submissions
frequently. On awakening after this “Night Journey,” Muhammad told Muslims that they
must pray five times a day, bowing to Jerusalem.
Around this time, too, the Muslims impressed a group of Arabs from Medina, a fertile oasis
about 200 miles north of Mecca. These people converted to Islam and proposed that
Muhammad and the Muslims move and join them in Medina, which was inhabited by Jewish
and Arab farming tribes. In 622, Muhammad called on Muslims to make a hijra—an
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emigration—from Mecca to Medina. Compromise with the Quraysh was out of the question:
the Muslims would go their own way.
The Quraysh, on the other, refused to let the Muslims establish a rival source of power.
Bloodshed seemed inevitable.
But Allah expected his human creations to “defend themselves” against injustice.
Muhammad’s predicament was insoluble. The Qurayshi leaders had encouraged thugs to
assassinate him and humiliate his followers. Should Muslims resist and, if so, should they
respond with force?
Allah’s response was emphatic:
Sura 22 (Jihad: Allah’s Permission to Fight Injustice) 38. Surely Allah will defend those who believe; Allah does not
love ingrates and the treacherous.
39. Permission is given to those who fight because they are
wronged. Surely Allah will grant them victory-40. Those who have been expelled from their homes simply for
declaring: “Our Lord is Allah” . . . And whoever helps Allah will
be helped by Him. Allah is Strong, Mighty.
78. Fight for the cause of Allah with the devotion due to Him. . . .
“Fight for the cause of Allah”—the Arabic term is jihad, a word that has become
controversial.10 It means either “armed action to achieve God’s will” or a more personal
“striving to walk in the path of God.” The context of Sura 22 makes it clear that jihad here
means armed resistance to oppressors: “Permission is given to those who fight because they
are wronged.” Muslims would not require Allah’s permission to follow His path, a task they
were obliged to undertake. For one group of Qurayash to take up arms against others of
their tribe, however, was a profound violation of deep-seated cultural norms; Sura 22 gave
the Muslims permission to do this.
For a time, Muhammad remained in Mecca, planning emigrations to Medina. In October
622, hundreds of Muslims made the trek north to Medina. (The history of the Muslim era
commences not with the birth of Muhammad or with his first revelations, but with the 622
hijra, when Allah’s plan took concrete form on earth.) As Muslim merchants and shoppers
disappeared from the markets and the streets of Mecca, the Quraysh became even angrier at
Muhammad. Islam had become a plague, depriving Mecca of many of its most purposeful
people. Qurayshi soldiers, Muhammad knew, would soon come after him in Medina.
War was inevitable, Muhammad believed, but he knew that the Muslims would win. To that
end, he obliged Muslims to take a “Pledge” of jihad. Such fighting within a tribe was almost
without precedent. Allah provided Muhammad with qualifications on jihad: Although
Muslims must fight evil-doers, especially those who drove the Muslims out of Mecca, Allah
insisted that Muslims show “kindness” to those who had done no harm to Muslims. Only
those who did the Muslims wrong were to be chastised.
10
One who does jihad is a mujahid; the plural is mujahideen.
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Sura 60 (Resisting enemies but exhibiting mercy) 1. Believers! Do not make friends with those who are enemies of
Mine and yours. Would you show them kindness, when they have
denied the truth that has been revealed to you and driven out the
Apostle and yourselves, because you believe in Allah, your Lord?
If you persist in jihad and seeking My pleasure, would you secretly
show them love as well? I know what you conceal and what you
reveal; and whoever of you does this, he has strayed from the
straight path.
7. It may be that Allah will bring about friendship between you
and those whom you hold to be your enemies among them; and
Allah is Powerful; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
8. Allah does not forbid, regarding those who did not fight you
nor drive you from your homes, that you show them kindness and
deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of justice.
9. Allah only forbids you respecting those who made war upon
you on account of your religion, and drove you forth from your
homes and backed up (others) in your expulsion, that you make
friends with them, and whoever makes friends with them, these are
the unjust.
Just prior to the exodus from Mecca, some Meccans had issued a reward for Muhammad’s
assassination. Shortly afterwards a gang of young men forced their way into his house.
Muhammad and Abu Bakr, a close friend, fled to the mountains outside of Mecca, where
they hid in a cave. The attackers would have discovered them had not a rock dove and a
spider contrived to conceal its entrance. A merciful Allah had saved the prophet:
Sura 9 (Allah saves Muhammad in the cave) 40. If you will not aid him, Allah certainly aided him when those
who disbelieved expelled him, he and his companion, when they
were both in the cave. He said to his companion, “Grieve not,
surely Allah is with us.” So Allah sent down His tranquility upon
him and assisted him with soldiers you did not see, and lowered
the word of those who disbelieved; and the word of Allah, that is
the highest; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.
When Muhammad arrived safely in Medina, the Muslims there were overjoyed. Now it
dawned on them that they had managed to break free of their tribe—the Quraysh—and had
yet survived. Perhaps no other Arab peoples could make that claim. And because the ceased
to be bound by clan or tribe, theirs was a different type of community, one founded on faith
(an umma).
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But how should they govern themselves? Allah provided the answer:
Sura 7 (Allah Commands all Creation) 54: Your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in
six days, then established Himself on the Throne. He draws the
night to veil the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession.
He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, all governed by laws
under His Command. Verily, all creation and command are His.
Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Other suras make much the same point:
Sura 42 (The Decision is with Allah) 10. Whatever it be wherein you differ, the decision thereof is with
Allah. Such is Allah, my Lord. In Him I trust and to Him I turn.
Allah is the sole source of all authority on earth.
But when Allah’s commands were unclear, who then was to decide what was right or wrong?
Sura 42 (Muhammad to Judge) 15. . . . Say: “I [Muhammad] believe in the Book which Allah has
sent down, and I am commanded to judge justly between you.
Allah is our Lord and your Lord. For us is the responsibility for
our deeds, and for you your deeds. There is no contention between
you and us. Allah will bring us together and to Him is our final
goal.”
Before the Muslim influx into Medina, Arab and Jewish tribes had long contended for
control of the town. Many of these Arabs welcomed the infusion of Muslim immigrants,
assuming that the influx of well-disciplined Arabs would help suppress the Jews of Medina.
But Muhammad suspected that the Quraysh tribes would attack the Muslim outpost in
Mecca; to help defend that town, he sought to ally with all of the peoples of Medina,
including the Jewish tribes. To that end, he instructed the Muslims to hold a special meeting
every Friday afternoon, when Jews were preparing for the Sabbath; he also allowed Muslims
to marry Jewish women and eat Jewish food. Perhaps in consequence of his “Night Journey”
to Jerusalem along the way to the Throne of Allah, Muhammad instructed Muslims to bow to
Jerusalem during prayers, as did the Jews.
In short, Muhammad advised toleration with the “people of the Book”—Jews and Christians
who had received the revelations of the Bible and who, like the Muslims, embraced
monotheism.
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Sura 29 (Allah and the Jewish God are the Same) 46. And do not dispute with the people of the Book save in the
fairest way. Except for them who do evil. And say: “We believe in
that which has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to
you, and our Allah and your God is One, and to Him do we
submit.
As Muhammad became more familiar with the Jews of Medina, he perhaps appreciated the
similarities of these monotheistic religions. The Book of Genesis, too, included an intriguing
detail that Muhammad seized as foreshadowing the origins of the Arab peoples. The pivotal
detail came from the story of Abraham, the Jewish patriarch. According to Genesis,
Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac; Abraham had another son, Ishmael, by his slave
concubine Hagar. Sarah, favoring her own son, insisted that Abraham send Ishmael away.
God advised Abraham to do as his wife proposed:
Genesis: Chapter 21: (Biblical antecedents for the Muslims) 14. So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a
skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder,
along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and
wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under
one of the bushes.
16 Then she went, and sat down over against him a good way off,
about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not look
upon the death of the child." And as she sat over against him, the
child lifted up his voice and wept.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called
to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you,
Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he
is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I
will make him a great nation."
19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and
she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
20 And God was with the lad, and he grew up; he lived in the
wilderness, and became an expert with the bow.
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This text seemingly refuted the Quraysh claim that Muhammad undermined the traditional
gods of the Arabs. If the Arabs peoples were descended from Abraham, and if they
originally believed in one God, then the Qur’an had rediscovered the lost Arab tradition of
monotheism! Muhammad increasingly identified the Muslims as the descendents of Ishmael,
and the nation of “Islam” as the “great nation,” spawned in the “wilderness,” as predicted in
the Book of Genesis.
Sura 2, one of the most important in the Qur’an, developed these and other points. It
identified Allah as the same God worshipped by the “Children of Israel”. Allah/God, though
preferring the Jews “to all other nations,” built the Ka’aba in Mecca as a house of worship
for all mankind, consecrated by Abraham and Ishmael. Although meant for those who
believed in Allah, Allah would allow disbelievers—a reference to the polytheistic Quraysh—
to endure “for a while,” but then He would destroy them and send a prophet to reveal His
message to the faithful:
Sura 2 (Ishmael, Abraham’s Son, as Founder of Arab People) 120. O Children of Israel! Remember the grace I bestowed on you,
and remember that I preferred you to all other nations. And
remember that I preferred you to all other nations. . .
124. We made the House [the Ka’aba in Mecca] a resort and a
sanctuary for mankind, saying: “Make the place where Abraham
stood a house of worship.” We instructed Abraham and Ishmael to
cleanse Our House for those who walk round it, who meditate in
it, and who kneel and prostrate themselves.
125. And when Abraham said: “My Lord, make this a secure city
and feed with fruits those of its inhabitants who believe in Allah
and the Last Day.” Allah, in acceptance, replied: “As for those
who disbelieve, I shall provide for them for a while, and then
subject them to the scourge of the Fire: an evil Fate!”
126. And while Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of
the House, they prayed: “Our Lord, accept this from us. Surely
You are the All-Hearing, the Omniscient.”
127. “Our Lord, cause us to submit to You, and make of our
posterity a nation that submits to you. Show us our sacred rites,
and pardon us. You are, indeed, the Pardoner, the Merciful.”
128. “Our Lord, send them an apostle from among themselves
who will recite to them Your revelations, to teach them the Qur’an
and the wisdom, and to purify them.”
While Muhammad was positing the religious foundations of the Muslims, some Arabs within
Medina challenged Muhammad’s leadership. Some of the Medina Jews, too, mocked
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Muhammad’s credentials and disputed the Qur’an’s rendering of stories in the Torah.
Muhammad retorted that, according to the Torah itself, Moses, like Muhammad, had called
on his people to submit to the will of Allah, and yet they persisted in sin and faithlessness:
Sura 2 (Muhammad’s criticism of Jewish Inconstancy) 82: When We [Allah] made a covenant with the Children of
Israel, We said: “You shall worship none other than Allah; show
kindness to your parents, to your relatives, to orphans and the
poor. Exhort men to righteousness. Perform the requisite prayers.
Give the alms tax.” But you all broke your covenant except a few,
and paid no heed. . .
104. The unbelievers among the People of the Book and the
pagans [polytheists] resent the blessings [revelations of the
Qur’an] that have been sent by Allah. But Allah chooses whom he
will for His mercy. Allah’s bounty is great. . .
112. The Jews say: “The Christians err in their path.” The
Christians say, “The Jews err in their path.” Yet both read the
same Scriptures. God will on the Day of Judgment render a
decision on their disputes.
In addition to criticizing the Jews for breaking their covenant with Allah, Sura 2 instructs
Muslims that they are to cease bowing toward Jerusalem:
Sura 2 (Muslims now pray towards Mecca) 142. The ignorant will ask, “What caused [Muhammad and the
Muslims] to turn away, during their prayers, from [their former
direction—Jerusalem]? Say: “To Allah belongs the East and the
West. He guides whom He will to the right path. . .”
143. We ordained [Jerusalem as the direction of your previous
prayer] only so that We could distinguish those who follow the
Prophet from those who were to disown him. It was indeed a hard
test except for those whom Allah guided. . .
144. Often We see your face looking upward for revelation and
guidance. Now we shall turn you toward a prayer-direction that
shall please you. Turn your face then towards the Sacred Mosque
in Mecca. Wherever you of the faithful be, turn your faces
towards it. . .
145. The People of the Book [Jews and Christians] certainly know
this to be the Truth from their Lord. Allah knows what they do.
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But even if you gave them every proof, they would not bow in
prayer toward Mecca, nor will you bow toward their holy places. . .
Following this revelation, relations with many of the Jews of Medina deteriorated rapidly.
After Jewish critics issued a particularly sharp denunciation of Muhammad, they were seized
and thrown out of the mosque.
Nearly everyone in Medina was on edge for yet another reason: any day, they expected
Qurayshi warriors from Mecca to attack. When that day came, how would Muhammad
respond?
Some religious leaders, when confronted by overwhelming force, accept suffering on earth as
a small price to pay for redemption in heaven; Jesus, for example, taught that his kingdom
was “not of this world” but of that which would follow death. But when the Meccans
threatened Medina, Muhammad explained that Allah wanted the Muslims to prevail on earth.
There would be a war, and the Muslims must win it.
To that end, Muhammad had several revelations that outlined the rules governing Islamic
warriors:
Sura 2 (Jihad: Do not Attack First, and Do Not Fight those who Surrender) 191. Fight for the sake of Allah those that fight against you. But do
not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors.
192. Slay them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places
from which they drove you. Idolatry is worse than carnage. But do
not fight them within the precincts of the Holy Mosque unless they
attack you there. If they attack you, put them to the sword. Thus shall
the unbelievers be rewarded. Allah is forgiving, merciful.
193. Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God’s religion
prevails. But if they desist, fight none except the evil-doers.
194. A sacred month for a sacred month: sacred things are subject to
retaliation, too. If anyone attacks you, attack him as he attacked you.
Have fear of God, and know that God is with the righteous.”
War with the Quraysh: Victory at Badr, 624 While the Muslims awaited attack from Mecca, they confronted another even more pressing
problem. The Muslims who crowded into Medina were tradespeople; but Medina was a
farming community whose arable land had already been occupied. A few Muslim settlers
commenced trading in the market of Medina, but the Meccan merchants had monopolized
nearly all of the trade in the region. The Muslims in Medina had no means of subsistence;
how could they feed their families and house themselves? How could the Muslim umma
hold together?
In 623, therefore, Muhammad authorized two raids against Mecca-bound caravans. Raids
were not uncommon in Arabia: one needy tribe often seized the camels and goods of another,
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a practice that was tolerated as long as no one was hurt during the raids. But Arabian raiders
never attacked their own tribespeople. The Muslims, by preying on the Meccan caravans,
would be violating this principle. This was unprecedented.
The initial raids failed: the caravans sneaked past in the night and no goods were seized. In
early 624, however, a Muslim raiding party attacked and seized a Meccan caravan, killing
one trader and capturing two others. Due to an unforeseen delay, the attack had occurred
during a month that, by pagan Arab tradition, was sacred and thus debarred from warfare.
Many Muslims were appalled to learn that their raiders had violated this norm. Muhammad
initially sided with the critics, upbraiding the raiders and refusing to accept the captured
goods. When the raiders complained of their ill treatment, Muhammad announced another
revelation, this one in defense of the raid:
Sura 2 (War: Fighting in Holy Month Wrong, but less wrong than persection) 213-218. They will question you concerning the holy month, and
fighting in it. Say: “Fighting during [a holy month] is a heinous
thing, but to bar people from God’s way, disbelief in Him and the
Holy Mosque, and to expel its people from it—that is more
heinous in God’s sight; and persecution is more heinous than
slaying. And they will not cease fighting with you until they turn
you back from your religion, if they can; and whoever turns his
back from his religion will die an unbeliever; his works will go for
nothing, in this world and the hereafter. Such shall abide in the
Fire.”
While the Quraysh in Mecca were still fuming over the caravan attacks and the death of their
trader, Muhammad led some 350 Muslims on a raid to seize another large Mecca-bound
caravan north of Medina. The Quraysh learned of the attack and dispatched a 1000-man
force to intercept the Muslim raiders. The two armies converged in the desert near the
village of Badr. The Quraysh clans, each led by its own chieftain, sallied forth to no
concerted purpose; but the Muslims, led by Muhammad, fought hard and with single-minded
direction. Muslim archers weakened the attackers, and then a massed formation of Muslim
soldiers crushed the disorganized Qurayshi troops. The Meccans were routed, leaving fifty
dead and seventy more prisoners. To nearly everyone’s amazement, the Muslims had
defeated the most powerful tribe in Arabia. As his victorious Muslim troops marched back to
Medina, Muhammad received a revelation reaffirming that Allah had endorsed the Muslim
cause—and had sided with the Muslim warriors:
Sura 8 (Jihad: Allah Endorses Fight for Justice) 5. The Lord asked you to leave your home to fight for justice, but
some of the faithful were reluctant.
6. Although the truth had been revealed, they disputed with you,
as if they were being driven to certain death.
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7. Allah promised you victory over one of the enemy bands [either
the unarmed Meccan caravan or the armed Qurayshi soldiers]
and [Muhammad] desired to attack the unarmed [caravan],
Allah sought to vindicate the truth by His words and destroy
the unbelievers.
8. Thus could he manifest the truth of that which was true, and
show the falsehood of that which was false, though the
wrongdoers wished otherwise.
The same revelation outlined other rules of just war:
Sura 8 (Jihad: Treatment of Captives) 65. O Prophet! urge the believers to war; if there are twenty
patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there
are a hundred of you they shall overcome a thousand unbelievers,
for they are devoid of understanding. . .
67. It is wrong for a prophet to take captives unless he has fought
and triumphed in the land; you desire the fleeting goods of this
world [spoils of war] , while Allah desires for you the world to
come. Allah is Mighty, Wise.
68. Had there not been a previous dispensation from Allah, you
would have been sternly punished for what you took.
69. Eat then of the lawful and good things which you have
acquired in war, and neglect not your duty to Allah; surely Allah is
Forgiving, Merciful.
70. O Prophet! say to your captives: “If Allah finds goodness in
your hearts, He will give to you better than that which has been
taken away from you and will forgive you. Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful.”
71. But if they wish to betray you, they have previously betrayed
Allah, and so He gave you mastery over them. Allah is Knowing,
Wise.
72. Surely those who believed and fled their homes and fought for
Allah’s cause with their property and their souls, and those who
have sheltered and helped them-- these are the true believers. As
for those who believed afterwards, emigrated and struggled along
with you—those are part of you. Allah sees what you do.
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Sura 8 (Jihad until idolatry shall cease) 38. Tell the unbelievers that if they change their ways their past
shall be forgiven; but if they return to error, then they will suffer
as had happened to the ancient peoples [i.e., the enemies of God as
outlined in the Bible].
39. Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and Allah’s
religion will be persecuted no more.
On entering Medina, the Muslims perceived the enormity of their victory. Ridiculed, scorned
and driven from their homes, the outnumbered Muslims had crushed the mightiest tribe in the
Arab world. Such a victory, Muhammad revealed, could only have been achieved by Allah:
Sura 8 ( Allah Slew the Unbelievers) 9. When called upon your Lord for help, He answered: “I will
assist you with a thousand of the angels following one another.”
10. And Allah only gave it as a good news and that your hearts
might be at ease. Victory comes only from Allah; surely Allah is
Mighty, Wise. . .
12. When your Lord revealed to the angels: “I am with you, so
support those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of
those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off
every fingertip of them.”
13. This is because they acted adversely to Allah and His Apostle;
and everyone who opposes Allah and His Apostle will feel the sting
of Allah’s punishment.
14. This-- taste it: the Fire awaits the unbelievers.
15. O believers! when you meet those who disbelieve marching for
war, then turn not your backs to them.
16. Whoever turns his back on that day—unless he does so in
preparation of fighting or for joining another unit, incurs the
wrath of Allah, and his abode is hell; and an evil destination shall
it be.
17. So you did not slay them, but Allah slew them; and when you
threw [pebbles at the enemy, a reference Muhammad’s early
gesture during the battle], it was not you who threw, but Allah,
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that He might confer on the believers a good gift. Surely Allah is
Hearing, Knowing.
This victory confirmed Muhammad’s belief that the Muslims were following in the footsteps
of the ancient Jews: When the Jews were being oppressed by the Pharaohs and driven from
their homes, had not Allah intervened to destroy the Egyptian army by drowning it in the Red
Sea? So, too, Allah had slain the Qurayshi oppressors of the Muslims. Believing that the
Jews commemorated their deliverance from the Egyptian army at Passover, Muhammad
called for an annual fast during Ramadan to commemorate the Muslim victory at Badr.12
Stalemate: 625-­627 But the war was not over. The Qurayshi leaders believed that the Muslim victory at Badr
was a fluke; if the Quraysh attacked again, the Muslims would fold. Increasingly, too, some
Jewish tribes in Medina, alarmed at the swagger of the victorious Muslims, dispatched
emissaries to Mecca: Medina, the Jews reported, was not united behind the Muslims; if the
Meccans attacked again, many Jewish tribes there would support the attackers. Some Jewish
tribes strengthened their own fortresses in Medina in expectation of a future showdown with
the Muslims. The Meccans commenced plans for another offensive against Medina.
Early in 625, Muslim raiders seized another Qurayshi caravan. In March, the Quraysh sent
3000 men and as many camels—the cavalry—to attack Medina. Muhammad led 1000
Muslims. The two armies converged about five miles from Medina, near a mountain at
Uhud. As at Badr, the Quraysh initiated the attack with a cavalry charge; but this time the
Muslim line buckled. Muhammad tried to rally his men, but he was struck in the head and
knocked unconscious. Many thought he was dead. But he regained consciousness and, by
the end of the day, the Muslims regrouped. But 65 Muslim soldiers had been killed, against
22 Qurayshi soldiers. The Muslims had suffered a major defeat.
This posed serious theological problems. If Allah had slain the enemies of the Muslims at
Badr, why did He not do so at Uhud? And if Muhammad truly was receiving Allah’s
guidance, why had the Muslim troops become confused? Why did they fail?
Several revelations answered these questions: In Sura 3 Allah reiterated that Muhammad
was merely a prophet: only Allah could win battles. And sometimes, Allah explained, He
tested believers, all the better to discern who was worthy of Paradise:
Sura 3: (Muhammad merely a Messenger; Defeat a test of the Believers) 139. This is a declaration to mankind: a guidance and a warning
for the believers. Do not be faint-hearted; do not despair. If you
have faith, you will prevail.
140. If you have suffered a defeat, so did the enemy. We [Allah]
give mankind trials, so that Allah may know the true believers and
choose martyrs from among them. Allah does not like evil-doers;
and that Allah may annihilate the infidels.
12
Although the exact origins of Passover are uncertain, most sources agree that it celebrated the
deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian bondage.
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141. Did you suppose that you would enter Paradise before Allah
had known who among you had struggled, who was steadfast? . . .
144. And Muhammad is only a Messenger; Messengers have
passed away before him. What: if he should die or is slain, will
you turn upon your heels? If any man should turn about on his
heels, he will not harm Allah in any way, and Allah will
recompense the grateful.
145. No one dies unless Allah so wills it: the term of a man’s life
is fixed; and whoever desires the reward of this world, I shall give
him of it, and whoever desires the reward of the hereafter, I shall
give him of it, too. I will reward the grateful. . . .
157. And if you are slain in the way of Allah or you die, certainly
forgiveness from Allah and mercy is better than what they amass.
158. And if indeed you die or you are slain, you will surely be
gathered with Allah.
As the Muslim army limped back to Medina, Muhammad was forced to address some
practical problems caused by the defeat. Who would care for the wives and children of the
slain soldiers? In traditional Arab tribes, the extended clan provided sustenance and
protection for all of its members. But the Muslims in Medina had severed their ties to the
Quraysh tribe and their clans and kinfolk. Muslims were protected not by their relations, but
by the Muslim community, the umma. But the umma lacked the structures to care for the new
widows and their children. Muhammad’s revelation addressed the problem:
Sura 4 ( In Support of widows and orphans: in defense of polygamy) 1. O people! Fear your Lord, Who created you from a single
being[Adam] and created its mate [Eve] and from these two
scattered many men and women abroad. . .
2. And give to the orphans their property, and do not substitute
worthless property for good property, and do not add their property
to your own property; this is surely a great crime.
3. And if you fear that you cannot act fairly towards orphans, then
marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four;
but if you fear that you cannot be equitable, then only marry one
or what your right hands possess [captives of war or slave-girls];
this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.
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4. And give women their dowries as a free gift, but if they of
themselves be pleased to give up to you a portion of it, then
consume it with enjoyment and pleasure.
Muhammad himself took more wives, chiefly to build alliances with various Bedouin tribes.
During 626 the Quraysh and Muslims prepared for the decisive battle. In March 627, a
Meccan army of some 10,000 men marched to Medina. The Muslims, reinforced by Bedouin
tribes, defended Medina with 3,000 soldiers. To prepare for the Meccan onslaught,
Muhammad ordered that a huge trench be dug around Medina, with the excavated earth
mounded into a long defensive wall. When the Meccans arrived at the outskirts of Medina,
they were stymied. They had planned to again begin battle with a cavalry charge, but they
could find no way to breach the trench and wall. They commenced a siege. When they ran
out of food and supplies, they gave up and returned to Mecca. The Muslims had survived
again, victors of what became known as the Battle of the Trench.
After brief victory celebrations, the Muslims turned on one of the Jewish tribes in Medina
that had betrayed them. During the siege, this tribe’s leaders had conspired to sneak Meccan
soldiers through the Muslim defenses and into Medina. But the Muslims got wind of the plot
and foiled it. After the Meccans had withdrawn, the Jewish tribe knew that retribution
would follow; so they retreated into their fortress within Medina. The Muslims attacked the
fortress and forced the Jews to surrender; then all 700 men of the tribe were beheaded and the
women and children sold into slavery. 13 (Those Jewish tribes that had remained loyal to the
Muslims were not harmed.) A revelation explained:
Sura 33 (Destruction of the Jewish Traitors) 26. Allah turned back the unbelievers [Meccans] in their rage,
and they went away empty-handed. He helped the faithful cope
with the challenges war: He is mighty, all-powerful.
27. Allah brought down from their fortresses those who had
supported the unbelievers from among the People of the Book [the
Jews of Medina] and cast terror into their hearts, so that some you
slew and others you took captive.
28. He made you masters of their land, their houses, and their
goods, and of yet another land on which you had never set foot
before. Truly, Allah has power over all.
The Pilgrimage to Mecca: 628-­629 13
The massacre of one of the Jewish tribes of Medina, though an unspeakable barbarity, was
not without precedent in the ancient world. To cite one example: According to the Torah, in
550 B.C. Kind David slaughtered 200 Philistines, castrated them, and sent their foreskins to
the Philistine king.
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News of the failure of the huge Meccan offensive and of the savage Muslim vengeance
against the Jewish rebels reverberated throughout Arabia. Tribes increasingly regarded the
Muslims as peculiarly well-disciplined, well-motivated, and nearly invincible in battle.
Many tribes that had been allied to the Meccans now allied with Muhammad. Muslim
merchants established Medina as a trading center to rival Mecca. For their part, the Meccans
also sensed that the tide had turned: the failed offensive had exhausted their resources—and
perhaps their will. Rather than attempt another attack, they waited for Muhammad and his
allies.
But now Muhammad changed directions. Allah had commanded Muhammad to undertake
jihad not to crush the Quraysh, but to bring an end to idolatry: “Undertake jihad until
idolatry shell cease and Allah’s religion will be persecuted no more.” Protracted war with
the Quraysh could only weaken the Arabs and undermine Muhammad’s larger cause. So
rather than make plans for a crushing attack on Mecca, he sought an accommodation with the
Quraysh. But how? How could he come to terms with those bent on destroying him and the
Muslims?
In March 628, Allah revealed the solution:
Sura 48 (A pilgrimage to Mecca): 629 27. Allah has fulfilled His Apostle’s vision, truly: “If Allah wills,
you shall enter the Sacred Mosque [of Mecca], safe and without
fear, with your hair cropped or shaven.” For He knew what you
knew not; He granted you a swift victory.
28. It is He that has sent forth His apostle with guidance and the
true religion, so that he may raise it above all religions. Allah sees
all and knows all.
The morning after this revelation, Muhammad made an extraordinary announcement: at the
behest of Allah, he would soon leave on a pilgrimage to the Ka’aba in Mecca. Other
Muslims were free to join him, but none would carry weapons.
On hearing this, the Muslims’ Bedouin allies rejected the pilgrimage as utter madness: the
Quraysh would instantly solve their problem with the Muslims by slaughtering the unarmed
pilgrims. Muhammad ignored all objections and made the necessary preparations. Allah had
counseled war, and He had brought them victory; now He counseled tranquility, and
Muhammad proceeded without fear of the consequences.
Muhammad’s purposefulness and confidence were infectious. When he finally set forth on
his pilgrimage, he was joined by 1000 Muslims. All had shaved their heads and wore the
white robes of traditional pilgrims.
The Quraysh were perplexed by the mass Muslim pilgrimage. The Quraysh had always
ensured the right of pilgrims to enter Mecca and visit the Ka’aba, a guarantee that
contributed to the ascendancy of Mecca as a trading center. But the Meccans were horrified
by the prospect of Muhammad returning in triumph, leading a procession of fanatical
followers. Some Qurayshi leaders proposed to intercept the Muslims and butcher them;
others insisted that the Muslims be accorded the rights of all pilgrims. While the Meccans
debated the matter, they sent a small army to the outskirts of Mecca to delay Muslim entry.
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When forced to halt, the Muslims sat down in the desert. Then came negotiations.
Eventually Muhammad, perhaps infused with a sense of tranquility, accepted most of the
terms proposed by the Quraysh. He agreed to end the pilgrimage and lead the Muslims back
to Medina in return for a promise that Muslims would be granted admission to Mecca in all
future years. Muhammad also promised to cease raiding Meccan caravans and to return
future Muslim converts who fled to Medina. The Meccans accepted Muhammad’s proposal
to allow the Bedouin tribes to ally with either with Mecca or Medina. If both sides kept the
treaty’s provisions, a truce between Mecca and Medina would last for ten years.
When Muhammad announced the terms of the settlement to the pilgrims on the outskirts of
Mecca, they were appalled. How could they return to Medina without having completed
their pilgrimage? Opposition mounted when Muhammad ordered that converts who had
escaped from Mecca and joined the Muslim pilgrims be returned to Mecca as promised.
Muhammad, some Muslims claimed, had betrayed the Muslim cause. Some considered
mutiny. Never had Muhammad encountered such vehement internal opposition.
Then Muhammad announced, “A sura has descended upon me, which is dearer to me than
anything under the sun.”
Sura 48 (Allah’s Tranquility Enfolds All Believers) 2. Surely We have given you a manifest victory that Allah may
forgive you your sins, old and new, and guide you on a straight
path
3. And that Allah may help you with mighty help.
4. It is He who sent down the tranquility into the hearts of the
believers, that they might add faith to their faith. . . .
11. The Bedouins who stayed behind [during the pilgrimage to
Mecca] will say to you: “We worried about the security of our
possessions and our families: so we ask forgiveness.” Say: “ . . .
Allah is fully aware of what you do.”
12. “Rather, you believed that the Apostle and the believers would
never return to their families; . . . you thought evil thoughts and
were a useless people.”
13. He who does not believe in Allah and His Apostle, We have,
indeed, prepared for the unbelievers a hot Fire. . .
18. Allah was well-pleased with the believers, when they paid you
homage under the acacia tree; so He knew what was in their
hearts and sent down the Tranquility upon them and rewarded
them with a victory near at hand”. . .
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27. It is He who sent forth His Apostle with the guidance and the
religion of truth, that He may exalt it above every other religion.
Allah is witness to this.
28-29. Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah. Those who follow him
are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. You
see them worshipping on their knees, seeking the grace of Allah
and His good will. The dust marks are on their foreheads,
evidence of their prostration before Allah. Thus are they described
in the Torah and the Gospel [Mark iv, 26-9]. They are like the
seed which puts forth its shoot and strengthens it, so that it rises
stout and firm upon its stalk, a joy to the farmers. Through them
He seeks to enrage the unbelievers. Yet to those of them who will
embrace the Faith and do good works, Allah has promised
forgiveness and great bounty.
This new “tranquility,” or “serenity,” as it is sometimes translated, marked a new approach to
the situation in Arabia. The Bedouin tribes, free to ally with whichever side they preferred,
increasingly allied with the Muslims. Muhammad’s power spread far northward, in a region
where several Jewish tribes were powerful. Muhammad sent an army to suppress one of the
Jewish tribes that had allied with Mecca; after a siege, it surrendered. But Muhammad
agreed to lenient surrender terms; the grateful chief of the Jewish tribe offered his daughter in
marriage to Muhammad, and Muhamad accepted. Other Jewish tribes now voluntarily
accepted Muslim protection.
Sura 3 (Jihad: Deal with Enemies Gently) 159. Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with [your
enemies] gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they
would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them
therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in
the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in
Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust.
By March of 629, the time for the agreed-upon Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca had come. Now
nearly 3000 Muslims joined Muhammad. As the large procession, wearing white garments,
approached Mecca, the Quraysh evacuated the city. Muhammad led the pilgrims to the
Ka’aba, the sacred black stone of antiquity, and he kissed it. An uncle who had opposed
Muhammad now offered him his daughter in marriage; Muhammad invited the Quraysh,
waiting in the nearby hills, to come to the wedding feast. After three days, as agreed,
Muhammad led the pilgrims out of Mecca and back to Medina. The Quraysh watched in
astonishment: the Muslims were disciplined, united, and joyous. Many Meccans converted
on the spot.
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The Triumph at Mecca: 630 In November 629, some Quraysh participated in a surprise attack against a Bedouin tribe that
had allied with the Muslims, a violation of the truce. Some Qurayshi leaders, expecting
Muslim retaliation, immediately entered into negotiations with Muhammad. By early 630,
Muhammad assembled a huge army and began a slow march towards Mecca. Qurayshi
soldiers surrendered in advance of Muhammad’s arrival and placed themselves under his
protection. A few refused to give up. When the Muslims entered Mecca, a brief fight
ensued; but the Muslim victory was swift. Muhammad ordered no reprisals and did not
oblige the vanquished Meccans to accept Islam. Instead, he led a procession around the
Ka’aba and shattered the 360 idols arrayed around the black stone, all the while intoning:
Sura 17 (The Truth has Come) 82: Say: “The Truth has Come, and falsehood has vanished;
surely falsehood is certain to vanish.”
As the Quraysh began to emerge from their houses, Muhammad called on them to join his
umma, the great brotherhood of all Muslims:
Sura 49 (Muslims: A Band of Brothers) 10. The believers are a band of brothers. Make peace among your
brothers and fear Allah. . . .
11. Believers, let no man mock another man, who may perhaps be
better than himself. Let no woman mock another woman, who
may perhaps be better than herself. . .
12. Believers, avoid suspicion of each other, for in some cases
suspicion is a crime. Do not spy on one another, nor defame one
another. . .
13. O mankind! We have created you male and female, and
appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another.
Surely the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the one who
fears Allah most. Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.
The umma of Muhammad’s “tranquility” had worked miracles. The Quraysh were becoming
reunited, but this time as Muslims, a community built on brotherhood and equality, devoid of
racial, tribal, and status distinctions.
The practical benefits of “tranquility” became evident immediately: a week after the Meccan
capitulation, no other tribe declared war on the Muslims; when Muhammad gathered his
army to meet them, several thousand new Meccan converts joined. Another Muslim victory
followed, and then others. In October of 630, Muhammad led an army in excess of 30,000
through vast stretches of Arabia, venturing north to the edge of the Byzantine Empire.
Whether his troops fought a battle at Tabouk is a source of debate, but the sweeping advance
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of the Muslim army introduced more Arab peoples to Islam. Tribalism and polytheism were
fading before the Muslim onslaught.
As head of a huge army, Muhammad focused increasingly on military issues; new revelations
further develop the concept of jihad:
Sura 9 (Allah absolves repenting idolaters, but orders war against others; honor treaties) 2. A Proclamation from Allah and His Apostle to mankind: Allah
and His Apostle have no obligation toward the idolaters. If you
repent, it will be better for you; but if you pay no heed, then you
shall not be immune from Allah’s judgment.
3. Proclaim to the unbelievers a woeful punishment, except those
idolaters who have honored their treaties with you and did not aid
your enemies. Honor your treaties with them for the full term.
Allah loves the righteous.
5. When the sacred months have expired, kill the idolaters
wherever you find them. Take them captive, besiege them, and a
lie in wait for them in ambush at all points.
Sura 9 (Give refuge to those who seek it) 6. If an idolater seeks refuge with you, give him refuge, so that he
may hear the word of Allah; then take him to safety. That is
because the idolaters are ignorant people. . .
11. If they repent and take to prayer and pay the requisite alms
tax, they will be your brethren in religion. Thus do we make clear
Our revelations to those who know.
12. But if, having made a pledge to you, they break it and revile
your religion, [you must] make war on the leaders of the
unbelievers—for they have no regard for pledges. . . .
14. Make war on them: Allah will punish them at your hands and
will humble them. He will grant you victory over them and heal
the hearts of the faithful. Allah shows mercy to whomever He
pleases. Allah is all-knowing and wise.
Sura 9 (A Mandate for Jihad) 167
38. Believers: why, when you are told, “March in the cause of
Allah,” do you bask in idleness? Are you content with this life
over that which is to come? The blessings of this life are so few as
compared with those of the life to come!
39. If you do not go to war [jihad]14, He will punish you severely,
and will replace you with other men. You can in no way harm
Him: for Allah has power over all things.
By early 631, nearly all of Arabia was under Muslim domination.
The Death of Muhammad: 632 Muhammad had little time to enjoy the triumph of Islam in Arabia. In 632, he made a
“Farewell hajj, or Pilgrimage” to Mecca. (Making such a pilgrimage subsequently became
one of the duties enjoined on all Muslims, if at all possible.) On his return he complained of
headaches and died. Many Muslims responded with despair. But Abu Bakr, one of the first
converts to Islam and a chief lieutenant of the Prophet, discouraged shows of grief. He
explained that Muhammad had insisted that he not become deified, as Christians had
regarded Jesus. “O men, if anyone worships Muhammad, Muhammad is dead,” Abu Bakr
added. “If anyone worships Allah, Allah is alive, immortal.” Abu Bakr then recited
Muhammad’s revelation after Uhud, when it seemed that Muhammad had been killed in
battle:
Sura 3 (Muhammad is just a messenger) 144. And Muhammad is only a Messenger; Messengers have
passed away before him. Why, if he should die or is slain, will you
turn upon your heels? If any man should turn about on his heels,
he will not harm Allah in any way, and Allah will recompense the
grateful.
145. And a soul will not die but with the permission of Allah: the
term is fixed; and whoever desires the reward of this world, I shall
give him of it, and whoever desires the reward of the hereafter I
shall give him of it, and I will reward the grateful.
The Legacy of Muhammad Succession: Abu Bakr as Caliph The Muslim umma, united during Muhammad’s lifetime, became divided after his death. A
council of prominent Muslims at Medina, claiming that Muhammad had named no successor,
14
This reference to jihad—to “striving for —vpi;f pertain either to armed action or a personal striving
in the path of God. The former is sometimes identified as “greater jihad,” while the other as “lesser
jihad.”
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elected Abu Bakr as caliph, “successor” to the Prophet. But others insisted that Muhammad
had named Ali, husband of Muhammad’s daughter, Fatimah, as successor. Abu Bakr
prevailed, but the dispute fractured the Muslim world—and does so to this day. Sunni Arabs,
the dominant sect, adhere to the tradition established by Abu Bakr; Shi’ite Muslims, the
major sect in Iran, regard Abu Bakr and his two successors as usurpers to a title that belonged
to Ali, who, like all of Muhammad’s family, benefited from divine inspiration.15
Bakr, as the first caliph, was forced to contend with two additional challenges: A host of
would-be prophets surfaced; and some tribes that had been drawn into the Muslim orbit now
sought to break away. Abu Bakr addressed both threats decisively: He proclaimed that
Muhammad was the last of the prophets; anyone who claimed to be a prophet was an
imposter and their revelations were fraudulent. And while Islam opposed coercion in matters
of religion, no Muslim tribe that had accepted Allah now had the right to repudiate Him.
Such willful denial of Allah warranted death. Abu Bakr’s authority was complete.
The Spread of Islam In 634 Abu Bakr died, but by then Islam had become an almost irresistible force: subsequent
Islamic rulers did not supervise its expansion so much as channel its force in particular
directions. Caliph ‘Umar I, who ruled from 634-644, divided the world into two regions:
one where Allah’s will (Islam) prevailed (Dar al-Islam) and one where it did not (Dar alHarb). Dar al-Islam was a realm of peace and justice; Dar al-Harb was a zone of war, into
which Islam was to be projected. Like Abu Bakr, who worried that upstarts and usurpers
would somehow seize Muhammad’s message, ‘Umar sought to suppress innovators—and
innovations. To that end, he ordered the compilation of Muhammad’s revelations into a
single authoritative source—the Qur’an; he also ordered the destruction of all other
collections of Muhammad’s revelations.
The success of Muslim armies was partly due to vacuum caused by the decline of the
Byzantine empire and the earlier collapse of the Roman empire. The Muslims conquered
Damascas (Syria) in 637, Jerusalem in 638, Egypt in 642, Persepolis (Iran) in 650. By the
late 600s, Muslims had swept through most of northern Africa; in 711 they won victories
throughout the Iberian peninsula (now Spain and Portugal). Within a century of
Muhammad’s death, Islamic influence extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the frontier of
India.
As they were gaining territory, wealth, and power, Muslim rulers were plagued by the
schemes of rebellious generals and overlords, the revolts of subject peoples, as well as
courtly intriguers and assassins —recurrent themes in the history of all ancient empires. Yet
none of this halted the Muslim advance, nor sapped the movement of its Islamic message.
Wherever Muslim armies triumphed, mosques were built16, local peoples converted to Islam,
and the Arabic language and culture advanced. In the early years of conquest, Muslim rulers
15
In 656, after the assassination of the third caliph, Ali became the fourth caliph. His tumultuous reign
was marked by civil war. He was assassinated in 661. His followers, who became known as Shi’a or
Shi’ites, insisted that only Ali’s male descendants were entitled to serve as calilph. Ali’s son Husayn
continued the struggle for control of the Muslims. In 680 he and his supporters were trapped and
killed at Karbala in Iraq by troops of Mu’awiya I, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, who reigned as
monarch-caliph.
16
. In 692 the dome of the “Dome of the Rock” mosque in Jerusalem was completed; still standing, it
is regarded as an exemplar of early Islamic architecture. In 715 the Great Mosque of Damascus was
completed, built upon the ruins of the church of St. John.
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were sustained by the spoils of war; but increasingly they imposed taxes and initiated trade to
generate revenue for the state. Jews and Christians (“People of the Book”), though allowed
to practice their faiths, but were obliged to pay special taxes for that right.
The spread of Islam greatly exceeded the administrative capacity of the original rulers in
Medina. By the tenth century, the Islamic empire had been fractured into a dozen separate
realms ruled by hereditary dynasties. In the early 1300s Osman I founded of the Ottoman
Dynasty (modern Turkey). Over the next three-hundred years, Ottoman rulers succeeded in
unifying the western portion of the Islamic empire and pushed northward far into Europe.
Other major Islamic dynasties were located in India (Mughal Empire—1526-1707) and Iran
(Safavid Empire, 1501-1722).
Five Pillars of Islam Islam demanded obedience; to that end, Muslim leaders propounded a simplified set of
behavioral rules which by the late 600s became known as the Five Pillars of Islam:
1. Witnessing to the oneness of Allah and the belief in Muhammad as Allah’s
final prophet; “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.”
(shahadad)
2. Performing the five prescribed prayers (salat) at daybreak, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and evening. The proper times are announced from the
minaret of the mosque by the muezzin (public announcer). This shows that one
is a member of the community of believers. (Umma)
The first sura is recited at these times.
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe,
The Compassionate, the Merciful,
Master of the Day of Judgment!
You alone we worship, and to You alone we turn for help
Guide us to the straight path,
The path of those whom You have favored,
Not of those who have incurred Your wrath,
Nor of those who have gone astray.
3. Giving alms (Zakah) to the poor, for spreading the faith or for freeing debtors.
4. Observing of the month long fast of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar
calendar.. The believer refrains from eating, even drinking water, and from
sexual activity during the daylight hours, sacrificing bodily desires for the
sake of Allah.
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5. Making at least one pilgrimage to Mecca, the most sacred of places, if at all
possible.
In addition to these “Pillars,” which are essentially practices, certain beliefs, held almost
universally by Muslims, became normative: They included: belief in the Day of Judgment or
the Last Day; Paradise as a reward for faithfulness; “jihad,” or struggling for righteous in
one’s personal life and in society; just war in defense of the Islamic community against
unbelievers; attitudes toward the place of women and children in society; sexuality as a
God-given attribute to be properly enjoyed; the mark of a good ruler; martyrdom; free will
and predestination.
Shari’ah: The Diffusion of Islamic Law Islamic law, too, spread throughout the Muslim world. During his years as Prophet,
Muhammad embodied Islamic law: he channeled Allah’s will to resolve disputes within the
Muslim umma (See Sura 7). But after Muhammad’s death, Allah’s will could only be
determined by consulting the Qur’an or other texts written during Muhammad’s lifetime or
based on recollections of others after his death. 17 The task of Islamic judges and legal
scholars was to apply those fixed standards to the evolving problems of society. By the ninth
century Islamic law had become regularized into a system known as Shari’ah— “the path
leading to the watering place”; Islamic courts were established throughout the Muslim world.
In Western jurisprudence, most crimes are regarded as offenses against the state: robbers and
murderers are tried by public prosecutors. But Shari’ah regarded many such crimes as civil
offenses. Thus victims of assault or even murder sought redress at Islamic courts according
to the principle of reciprocal retaliation: “an eye for an eye.” Shari’ah specified
punishments for six crimes: death for apostasy and highway robbery; dismemberment of a
hand for thievery; stoning to death for adultery; 80 lashes of the whip for promiscuity and for
imbibing alcohol.
Other laws illegalized usury and gambling, as well as speculative business ventures.
Different versions of Shari’ah were propounded in various Islamic realms. Shi’ah Muslims,
whose founders insisted that the original caliphs lacked the divinity that inhered within the
family of Muhammad (and, especially, his son-in-law, Ali), reposed authority to divinelyinspired Islamic leaders called imams. Shi’ah versions of Shari’ah gave imams considerable
latitude in rendering judgments.
Because Shari’ah was derived from the Qur’an, which was not subject to further
modification, Islamic law proved to be inflexible. This was, of course, part of its appeal: It
was not man-made law, but invariant principles whose justice was vouchsafed by their divine
origin. But sometimes the rigidityof Shari’ah proved to be a source of difficulty. In matters
of family and religion, in particular, Shari’ah seemed peculiarly adapted to the patriarchal
society of 7th century Arabia.
During the 19th-century, Western nations penetrated much of the Islamic world and imposed
European legal systems: secular courts and law codes. Except in Arabia, where Shari’ah was
retained in full, Shari’ah was increasingly confined to issues pertaining to domestic and
family matters. In 1926, a modernizing regime in Turkey eliminated Shari’ah completely.
17
The reports or collections of Muhammad’s sayings are called hadith; Sunni Muslims refer to one set
of hadith, and Shi’ah Muslims, to another. This is a source of doctrinal disputes.
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In the 1930s, Egyptian laws sharply circumscribed the situations in which Shari’ah could
even be applied to family issues, such as marriage of minors and divorce.
Islam and the State Islamic political theory originated with the fact that Allah commanded obedience (Suras 7
and 42, above). No person had any “right” to share His authority. Muhammad, as
“messenger,” transmitted Allah’s will. But Muhammad’s death ended that connection to the
divine.
The first few Successors, or caliphs, ruled as Muhammad’s successors, but they lacked his
direct relationship with Allah. These caliphs did not interpret Allah’s will: they applied it.
Their authority was derived from Allah’s will as expressed in the Qur’an—and in other
sayings (hadith) of Muhammad. Muhammad made no distinction between political and
religious authority; nor did the early caliphs.
But as the Muslim armies swarmed across North Africa and eastward into India, the caliphs
of Arabia lost control of outer reaches of the Islamic empire. Renegade generals, rebellious
provincial governors, or ambitious tribal leaders seized power from officials in Medina or
Mecca. Nearly all of the upstarts adhered to the Five Pillars of Islam, built mosques,
endorsed Islamic law, and otherwise ruled as Muslims. But they also usually ruled as
hereditary monarchs and established dynasties. By the tenth century, the term “sultan” had
emerged to describe Islamic monarchs. Increasingly, a caste of clerics supervised religious
practice and attended to the faith of the people, while the rulers endorsed Islam and supported
the Islamic clerics, but otherwise governed according to their own counsel.
But was such governance consistent with Allah’s will? Had the sultans usurped Allah’s
authority? For that matter, had the sultans, by commanding their subjects to bow down in
subjugation, transformed themselves into idols? And how could such rulers reconcile their
enormous palaces, exquisite gardens, and elaborate displays of wealth with the Qur’an’s
repeated denunciation of material goods and its endorsement of a simple life and egalitarian
values?
Some Muslim theologians, especially those of the Sunni sect, had a ready answer. Allah
commanded people to obey His will: He therefore endorsed rulers who enforced Muslim
behavior (especially the Five Pillars). When contending parties vied for control of a
government, Allah manifested His will by determining which would prevail. The victor’s
authority had been legitimated by Allah’s support. (See Sura 8 above: “Allah Slew the
Unbelievers.”)
Some theologians, Shi’ite especially, were skeptical of this arrangement; they regarded it as
profoundly conservative, for it always endorsed the current power structure. Such Muslims
conceived of the council of Islamic scholars, the ulema, as an institution that could check the
power of sultans and ensure their compliance with the Qur’an. But by the 20th century, most
Muslim clerics focused on the spiritual health of their followers and conceded to the practice
of government to hereditary elites.
During the 20th century, however, this convention was challenged by several Muslim
scholars. Perhaps the most important was Sayyid Mawdudi (1903-1973), a key Muslim
figure in India. Mawdudi reasoned that the clerics’ emphasis on personal piety had allowed
pseudo-Islamic rulers to hold power. Such rulers failed to bring the “coercive power and
authority of the state” to bear on society, and thus contributed to the laxity in morals and
practice. This laxity, Mawdudi insisted, was in violation of the will of Allah. A true revival
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of Islam required an infusion of Islamic values into the state itself. He pointed to the early
history of Islam, when Muhammad himself ruled the Muslim umma as a Prophet of Allah.
Mawdudi realized that it would be difficult to wrest power from entrenched political elites.
He eventually thought the best strategy was to reinvigorate the umma, the community of
believers, and then thrust it into the political arena. To that end, in 1941 Mawdudi founded
in Lahore the Jama’at-I Islami, a political organization that sought to create an explicitly
Islamic state. 18 Mawdudi wrote:
It is wrong to describe the Islamic state as a democracy, for it is more correct
to describe it as divine or theocratic. . . Theocracy in Islam is not in the
hands of the clergy or the religious leaders, but in the hands of the Muslim
Ummah that must run its affairs in accordance with the Book of God and the
Sunnah of His Messenger. If I am allowed to coin a new term, I would rather
call this type of government ‘theodemocratic’ or ‘a divine democracy,’ since it
gives the Muslims a limited government and is controlled by the supreme
power of God.” 19
Many Islamic clerics vehemently opposed this line of reasoning. They conceded that while
Muhammad had ruled Medina as a Muslim prophet, no one else was entitled to do so. And
the division of clerical and political tasks between mullahs and imams and sultans and
nizams was the political foundation on which the Islamic empire had been built. But the
most important objection to Mawdudi’s formulation was theological: Allah commanded
obedience. And Allah, who determined the course of the planets, could have chosen to force
human beings to do His will. But He instead allowed people to choose to do otherwise; he
conferred upon them free will. Allah did not want Islamic governments to use police powers
to corral people into mosques. Good Islamic rulers established the stable and secure context
for Islamic practice; and Islamic clerics sought to instill faith and teach the deeper meanings
of holy scriptures. Mawdudi’s theocentric governments violated this essential provision of
the faith, and Mawdudi was himself censured by some Islamic bodies.
Yet the concept of a theocratic Islamic state gained momentum, especially in parts of the
Muslim world where Shi’ia prevailed: Iran during the past three decades, and Afghanistan
under the Taliban. Indeed, perhaps the central issue confronting Muslims today is whether
the traditional rule of hereditary elites or elite-linked military dictators, was a violation of
proper Islamic practice.
18
A decade or so later, Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), a proponent of the Muslim Brotherhood in
Egypt, opposed the secular rule of Egypt’s Abdul Gamal Nasser in the 1950s on similar
grounds.
19
Nazarriyyat al-Islam wa Hadyihi, pp. 34-35 , cited in Eltigani Abdelgadir Hamid, The Qur’an and
Politics: A study of the Origins of Political Thought in the Makkan Qur’an (London, 2004), p.84.)
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Qur’an. Additional excerpts, especially related to Jihad.
These passages [except for the first three] are in chronological order, as best that can be
determined. In case of conflict between passages, the later passages are generally held to
have greater authority, in accordance with Suras 2:106, 13:39, and 16:103, quoted below.
Headings in parentheses are meant to be helpful summaries; they are not part of the Qur’an
itself. The translation is by A. Yusuf Ali, though I have removed parentheses around some
words to improve readability. The selections and headings have been taken and adapted from
the following website: http://www.answering-islam.org/Bailey/jihad.html.
Sura 2:106
None of our revelations (verses) do we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but we substitute
something better or similar. Knowest thou not that God hath power over all things?
Sura 13:39
God doth blot out or confirm what he pleaseth. With Him is the Mother of the Book.
Sura 16:101
When we substitute one revelation for another—and God knows best what He reveals in
stages—they say, “Thou are but a forger” but most of them understand not.
Sura 109:1,2,6 (Unbelievers have their own religion.)
Say, O ye that reject faith! I worship not that which ye worship… To you be your way, and
to me mine.
Sura 16:93 (God leaves alone those he allows to stray from the truth.)
If God so willed, He could make you all one people, but He leaves straying whom He
pleases, and He guides whom He pleases, but ye shall certainly be called to account for all
your actions.
Sura 16:125,126 (Invite conversion only with gracious preaching and argument.)
Invite all to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them
in ways that are best and most gracious…. And if ye do catch them out, catch them out no
worse than they catch you out. But if ye show patience, that is indeed the best course for
those who are patient.
Sura 29:46 (Emphasize unity with Jews and Christians.)
And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better than mere
disputation…. But say, “We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that
which came down to you. Our God and your God is One, and it is to Him we bow in Islam.”
Sura 10:25 (God’s call to the house of peace with reward in paradise)
But God doth call to the home of peace. He doth guide whom He pleaseth to a way that is
straight. To those who do right is a goodly reward—yea, more than in measure!
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Sura 22:39-41 (One may make war to defend oneself.)
To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight, because they are wronged,
and verily, God is most powerful for their aid. They are those who have been expelled from
their homes in defiance of right, for no cause except that they say, “Our Lord is God.” Did
not God check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled
down monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, in which the name of God is
commemorated in abundant measure. God will certainly aid those who aid His cause, for
verily God is full of strength, exalted in might, able to enforce His will.
Sura 22:58 (Rewards for those who die in jihad)
Those who leave their homes in the cause of God, and are then slain or die, on them will God
bestow verily a goodly provision. Truly God is He who bestows the best provision.
Sura 2:190-194 (Fight defensively against attack from Meccan Arabs until persecution stops
and Islam is established.)
Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth
not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they
have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; But fight them not
at the Sacred Mosque, unless they first fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such
is the reward of those who suppress faith. But if they cease, God is oft-forgiving, most
merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail
justice and faith in God; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who
practice oppression… If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye
likewise against him. But fear God, and know that God is with those who restrain
themselves.
Sura 2:216,217 (Fighting against Meccan Arabs is commanded, except during the month of
pilgrimage.)
Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which
is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But God knoweth, and ye
know not. They ask thee concerning fighting in the prohibited month. Say: “Fighting therein
is a grave offence; but graver is it in the sight of God to prevent access to the path of God, to
deny Him, to present access to the sacred mosque, and drive out its members.” Tumult and
oppression are worse than slaughter.
Sura 2:256 (Do not force those defeated to become Muslims, but if they reject Islam they will
suffer in hell.)
Let there be no compulsion in religion…. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the Evil
Ones. From light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be
companions of fire, to dwell therein forever.
Sura 8:38 (Continue fighting until they stop persecution and until Islam is established. If they
stop fighting, stop. A fifth of booty belongs to God and His leader.)
Say to the unbelievers, if now they desist from unbelief, their past would be forgiven them,
but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already a matter of warning for
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them. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice
and faith in God altogether and everywhere. But if they cease, verily God doth see all that
they do. If they refuse, be sure that God is your protector—the best to protect and the best to
help. And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire in war, a fifth share is assigned
to God—and to the Apostle, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer.
Sura 3:157,165-167,169-171 (Martyrs have sins forgiven and go to paradise; they bring glory
and peace to their loved ones. Believers suffer defeat when they disobey and do not strive.)
And if ye are slain, or die, in the way of God, forgiveness and mercy from God are far better
than all they [unbelievers] could amass ... What! When a single disaster smites you, although
ye smote your enemies with one twice as great, do you say, “Whence is this?” Say to them,
“It is from yourselves. For God hath power over all things.” What ye suffered on the day the
two armies met was with the leave of God, in order that He might test the believers…. Think
not of those who are slain in God's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in
the presence of their Lord. They rejoice in the bounty provided by God and with regard to
those left behind, who have not yet joined them in their bliss, the martyrs glory in the fact
that on them is no fear, nor have they cause to grieve.
Sura 61:4,11-13 (God loves those who fight in his cause. He will give victory, forgiveness of
sins, and admission to paradise to those who fully strive.)
Truly God loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented
structure … that ye believe in God and His Apostle, and that ye strive your utmost in the
cause of God, with your property and your persons. That will be best for you, if ye but knew!
He will forgive you your sins, and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow, and to
beautiful mansions in gardens of eternity. That is indeed the supreme achievement. And
another favour will He bestow, which ye do love—help from God and a speedy victory. So
give the glad tidings to the believers.
Sura 48:15-17 (Those who lag behind will face God’s punishment.)
Those who lagged behind will say, when ye are free to march and take booty in war, “Permit
us to follow you.” They wish to change God's decree. Say, “Not thus will ye follow us. God
has already declared this beforehand.” Then they will say, “But ye are jealous of us.” Nay,
but little do they understand such things. Say to the desert Arabs who lagged behind, “Ye
shall be summoned to fight against a people given to vehement war. Then shall ye fight, or
[unless] they shall submit. Then if ye show obedience, God will grant you a goodly reward,
but if ye turn back as ye did before, He will punish you with a grievous penalty.” No blame is
there on the blind, nor is there blame on the lame, nor on one ill if he joins not the war. But
he that obeys God and His Apostle, God will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers
flow, and he who turns back, God will punish him with a grievous penalty.
Sura 48:29a (Fight unbelievers but be loving with one another)
Muhammad is the Apostle of God, and those who are with him are strong against
unbelievers, but compassionate amongst each other.
Sura 9:1-6 (Dissolve treaties with pagans who have not maintained their terms. In the future,
make no more treaties with pagans, but kill those who do not receive Islam.)
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A declaration of immunity from God and His Apostle, to those of the pagans with whom ye
have contracted mutual alliances. Go ye, then, for four months backwards and forwards as ye
will throughout the land, but know ye that ye cannot frustrate God by your falsehood, but that
God will cover with shame those who reject Him. And an announcement from God and His
Apostle, to the people assembled on the day of the great pilgrimage—that God and His
Apostle dissolve treaty obligations with the pagans. If, then ye repent, it were best for you.
But if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate God. And proclaim a grievous penalty
to those who reject faith. But the treaties are not dissolved with those pagans with whom ye
have entered into alliance and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided any
one against you. So fulfil your engagements with them to the end of their term, for God
loveth the righteous. But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans
wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every
stratagem of war. But if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular
charity, then open the way for them. For God is oft-forgiving, most merciful. If one among
the pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the Word of God; and
then escort him to where he can be secure. That is because they are men without knowledge.
Sura 9:11,12,14,15 (Pagans who accept Islam become brother Muslims. Fight those who
break their agreements, and God will punish them through you.)
But even so, if they repent, establish regular prayer, and practice regular charity, they are
your brethren in faith…. But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt you for
your faith, fight ye the chiefs of unfaith, for their oaths are nothing to them… Fight them and
God will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you to victory over them,
heal the breasts of believers, and still the indignation of their hearts. For God will turn in
mercy to whom He will….
Sura 9:16 (God knows who strives.)
Or think ye that ye shall be abandoned, as though God did not know those among you who
strive with might and main, and take none for friends and protectors except God, His
Apostle, and the community of believers? But God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.
Sura 9:19-22 (Jihad is the greatest service in the sight of God.)
Do ye make the giving of drink to pilgrims, or the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque, equal
to the pious service of those who believe in God and the last day, and strive [jihad] with
might and main in the cause of God? They are not comparable in the sight of God, and God
guides not those who do wrong. Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might
and main in God's cause with their goods and their persons have the highest rank in the sight
of God. They are the people who will achieve salvation. Their Lord doth give them glad
tidings of a mercy from Himself, of His good pleasure, and of gardens for them, wherein are
delights that endure. They will dwell therein for ever. Verily in God's presence is a reward,
the greatest of all.
Sura 9:25,26 (Fighting in Battle of Hunain, January 630.)
Assuredly God did help you in many battlefields and on the day of Hunain. Behold! Your
great numbers elated you, but they availed you naught. That land, for all that it is wide, did
constrain you, and ye turned back in defeat. But God did pour His calm on the Apostle and
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on the believers, and sent down forces which ye saw not. He punished the unbelievers; thus
doth He reward those without faith.
Sura 9:28 (Do not allow pagans to enter the Ka‘aba.)
O ye who believe! Truly the pagans are unclean, so let them not, after this year of theirs,
approach the Sacred Mosque.
Sura 9:29-31 (Fight Jews and Christians until they are subdued because God’s curse is on
them.)
Fight those who believe not in God nor the last day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been
forbidden by God and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, even if they are of
the people of the Book, until they pay the jizya [poll tax] with willing submission, and feel
themselves subdued. The Jews call Uzair [Ezra] a son of God, and the Christians call Christ
the Son of God…. God's curse be on them; how they are deluded away from the truth! They
take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of God, and they take as
their Lord Christ the son of Mary. Yet they are commanded to worship but One God….
Sura 9:38,39,41 (Fight with all you have or God will punish you.)
O ye who believe! What is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the
cause of God, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the
hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go
forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place… Go ye forth,
whether equipped lightly or heavily, and strive [jihad] and struggle with your goods and your
persons, in the cause of God. That is best for you, if ye but knew.
Sura 9:52,73 (Muslims will receive either victory or martyrdom and paradise. Unbelievers,
whose abode is hell, can expect only punishment from God.)
Say, ‘Can you expect for us any fate other than one of two glorious things - martyrdom or
victory? But we can expect for you either that God will send His punishment from Himself,
or by our hands. So wait expectant. We too will wait with you.’… O Prophet! Strive [jihad]
hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is
hell—an evil refuge indeed.
Sura 9:81-96 (God rejects those who are able to fight but refuse. The disabled are forgiven.)
Those who were left behind [in the Tabuk expedition] rejoiced in their inaction behind the
back of the apostle of God. They hated to strive and fight with their goods and their persons,
in the cause of God. They said, ‘Go not forth in the heat.’…. If, then, God bring thee back to
any of them, and they ask thy permission to come out with thee, say, ‘Never shall ye come
out with me, nor fight an enemy with me. For ye preferred to sit inactive on the first
occasion. Then sit ye now with those who lag behind.’ Nor do thou ever pray for any of them
that dies, nor stand at his grave. For they rejected God and his apostle, and died in a state of
perverse rebellion. Nor let their wealth nor their sons dazzle thee. God's plan is to punish
them with these things in this world, and that their souls may perish in their very denial of
God. When a sura comes down, enjoining them to believe in God and to strive and fight
along with his apostle, those with wealth and influence among them ask thee for exemption,
and say, ‘Leave us behind. We would be with those who sit at home.’ They prefer to be with
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the women, who remain behind at home. Their hearts are sealed and so they understand not.
But the apostle, and those who believe with him, strive and fight with their wealth and their
persons. For them are all good things, and it is they who prosper. God hath prepared for them
gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein…. There is no blame on those who are
infirm, or ill, or who find no resources to spend on the cause, if they are sincere in duty to
God and his apostle…. Nor is there blame on those who came to thee to be provided with
mounts, and when thou saidst, ‘I can find no mounts for you’ they turned back. Their eyes
streaming with tears of grief that they had no resources wherewith to provide the expenses….
Sura 9:111 (God gives paradise to all who strive in His cause.)
God hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods. For theirs in return is the
garden of Paradise. They fight in His cause, and slay and are slain.
Sura 9:122 (Not all should go to fight; those who stay are equal with those who go.)
Nor should the believers all go forth together. If a contingent from every expedition remained
behind, they could devote themselves to studies in religion, and admonish the people when
they return to them….
Sura 9:123 (Fight the unbelievers surrounding you.)
O ye who believe! Fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in
you, and know that God is with those who fear Him.
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