Islam
during the Crusades
The young Berkyaruq was proclaimed Seljuk Sultan in 1094;
but his reign was marred by a civil war until he was succeeded by his
half-brother Muhammad Tapar in 1104. Their uncle Arslan-Arghun claimed Khurasan
except for Nishapur. Berkyaruq sent his uncle Bori-Bars, who was captured and
killed; but Arslan-Arghun ruled so violently that he was murdered by one of his
own retainers in 1097. Berkyaruq appointed his half-brother Sanjar Governor of eastern
Khurasan and Tukharistan, and he ruled the east for sixty years. Muhammad ibn
Sulaiman ibn Chaghri-Beg was supported by the Ghaznavids; but Sanjar's army
suppressed this revolt in seven months and blinded him. The next year Sanjar
did the same to Daulat-Shah in Tukharistan. Sanjar allowed his loyal vassals
Qutb-al-Din (r. 1097-1127) and 'Ala' al-Din Atsiz (r. 1127-56) to rule over
Khwarezm. Ghaznavid ruler Mas'ud (r. 1099-1115) married Sanjar's sister and
left the Seljuks alone as he faced India. After some conflict with Sanjar
during the three-year reign of Arslan-Shah in Ghazna, Bahram-Shah (r. 1118-52)
became a loyal vassal of Sanjar.
The fighting between Berkyaruq and Muhammad Tapar made
them unwilling to help defend Muslims against the crusading Franks. The
brothers met in battle five times, beginning in 1100. After a win and a loss
Muhammad was supported by Sanjar's army from Balkh. Berkyaruq lost popularity
when his cavalry plundered the Sawad in Baghdad. He retreated south to
Khuzistan and purged the Isma'ilis from his army, also massacring many in
Baghdad and western Iran. The third battle was indecisive and resulted in a
failed compromise. Muhammad repudiated it and was defeated, fleeing to Isfahan.
After a nine-month siege, Muhammad escaped. Berkyaruq chased him into
Azerbaijan and won the fifth battle in 1103; but Berkyaruq was ill and made
peace. Chavli was atabeg for
Muhammad's infant son Chaghri; but Chavli ruled Fars tyrannically, attacking
tribal chiefs of the Kurds and Kirman, which was generally peaceful and
prosperous during the long reign of Arslan-Shah from 1101 to 1142.
Possibly informed by Byzantine Emperor Alexius about the
coming of the Franks, Egyptian vizier al-Afdal led the Fatimid army into
Palestine to take control of Jerusalem by 1098 before the Franks arrived. Turks
in the Seljuk province of Rum harassed the crusaders as they passed through
Anatolia; but the Franks defeated Kilij Arslan at Dorylaeum in July 1097.
Armenian Christians surrendered Edessa to Baldwin the following March. The
crusaders besieged Antioch for eight months until it was betrayed by an
Armenian Christian. Governor Yaghisiyan was killed fleeing, and the relieving
army of Kerbogha from Mosul was defeated. Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir
complained that after Maarat an-Numan surrendered, the crusaders killed a
hundred thousand men. When the Franks conquered Jerusalem in July 1099, Jews
were burned in the synagogue; Muslim historians estimated the massacre at
70,000. Many Muslims fled from Palestine. Malik-Ghazi of Danishmend captured
the Norman crusader Bohemond and held him for ransom. In 1102 Mosul atabeg Kerbogha provoked a civil
war in al-Jazira (Mesopotamia). In Anatolia Kilij Arslan had lost his capital
at Nicaea to crusaders and retreated from Ankara; but the Seljuks held on to
their fortress at Gangra and destroyed most of a crusader army at Mersivan.
When Berkyaruq died in 1104, he left his 5-year-old son
as heir; but Muhammad Tapar (r. 1105-18) marched into Baghdad, blinded the boy,
and became Sultan over the Seljuk empire with Sanjar still governing the east
from Balkh. The long civil war had ravaged the country and caused famine.
Sadaqa led Arabs and Kurds and had supported Berkyaruq, and in 1108 Muhammad's
forces defeated and killed him. That year Muhammad sent troops and money to his
cousin Duqaq in Damascus to help relieve Tripoli from the crusaders; this did
little, but Egypt's al-Afdal sent a governor for Tripoli. During Muhammad's
reign corrupt viziers gained great wealth. Muhammad ibn Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Nizam
al-Mulk was Vizier for eleven years to 1118. When Sanjar seized him while
returning from Ghazna, he was found to have one million dinars.
In 1110 Muhammad sent an army led by Mosul atabeg Sharaf ad-Din Maudud that
besieged Edessa. Maudud and the Artukid Ayaz helped Tughtigin defend Damascus
in 1113. Maudud was murdered in a mosque; Tughtigin immediately killed the
assassin but was suspected anyway. That year Shi'a Ridvan of Aleppo died; he
had closed his gates to Sunni Muslims from the east but was succeeded by his
son Alp Arslan, who issued warrants for Shi'i assassins. Meanwhile Malik Shah
plundered Pergamum. In 1115 Sultan Muhammad sent an army led by Hamadan’s
Governor Bursuq; but they were defeated by the Franks led by Roger of Antioch. After
Jerusalem’s King Baldwin attacked the
Egyptians at al-Farama 1117, the Fatimids stopped intervening in the Levant. In
1119 Artukid ruler Il-Ghazi of Mardin defeated Roger of Antioch in the battle
of Balat (Field of Blood). In the north the Christians of Georgia nearly
destroyed the army of Il-Ghazi. He was succeeded by Belek, who massacred the
army of Baldwin II
and captured him. After Belek died, Il-Ghazi's son Timurtash ransomed Baldwin,
who broke his promise to suppress the Bedouin leader Dubais by helping him.
Muhammad Tapar was succeeded as Seljuk Sultan by his son
Mahmud (r. 1118-31); but his uncle Sanjar was the senior Seljuk and defeated
Mahmud in 1119 in order to take over northern Iran. Mahmud then married
Sanjar's daughter. Mahmud's brother Tughril also rebelled to extend his
territory in northwest Iran. Another brother Mas'ud and his atabeg Juyush Beg ruled Mosul, al-Jazira,
and Azerbaijan; they revolted in 1120 but were defeated by Mahmud's army. Two
years later Juyush Beg helped suppress a revolt in Azerbaijan led by Tughril.
These divisions among the Seljuks enabled the Abbasid caliphs al-Mustarshid
(1118-35) and al-Muqtafi (1136-60) to gain more influence. Isma'ili leader
Hasan ibn al-Sabba died in 1124 and was succeeded by Buzurg-Ummid (d. 1138).
Zengi became the ruler of Mosul in 1127 and took over
Aleppo the next year, allying himself with Tughtigin's successor Taj al-Muluk
Bori against the Franks. Bori suppressed the Assassins and executed Vizier
al-Mazdaghani for plotting with the Franks to surrender Damascus for Tyre.
Zengi controlled Syria as far south as Homs and defeated the Franks at
al-Atharib, making a treaty that would last several years while he fought
caliphate rivals and the Kurds.
After Mahmud's death in 1131, his sons Da'ud and brothers
Mas'ud and Seljuk-Shah each claimed the throne; so the Caliph asked Sanjar to
intervene. He made the brother Tughril Sultan; but after a brief and turbulent
reign, Tughril died in 1134. Mas'ud quickly moved from Baghdad to Hamadan and
was proclaimed Sultan, although he ruled only Jibal and central Iraq. The
combined forces of Seljuk-Shah and Caliph al-Mustarshid defeated Mas'ud and
Zengi; but then Sanjar and the Arab Dubais supported Zengi, who forced
al-Mustarshid to accept Mas'ud as Sultan of Iraq. Da'ud ibn Mahmud was
governing in Azerbaijan and was conciliated by marrying Mas'ud's daughter. In
1135 Caliph al-Mustarshid's army was defeated, and he was captured and murdered
by Isma'ilis in the sultan's camp while Mas'ud was pursuing Da'ud in
Azerbaijan. In 1137 Damascus atabeg Mahmud
invaded and plundered Lebanon while Zengi besieged Homs and the Tripoli army at
Montferrand. In a treaty Zengi agreed to let the army go but kept the
Montferrand castle. The next year a coalition of Christians attacked Aleppo and
besieged Shaizar, but riots in Baghdad persuaded Mas'ud to send troops to help
Zengi, who gained Homs as a dowry by marrying the Atabeg's mother. In 1139
Zengi captured Baalbek, crucified the garrison, and sold the women as slaves.
In the east Khwarezm ruler 'Ala' al-Din Atsiz began a
revolt against Sanjar in 1138. After his army was defeated, Atsiz took refuge
in Gargan, came back to capture Bukhara, but submitted to Sanjar in 1141. That
year the Kara-Kitai, who a generation before had been pushed out of northern
China by the Jurchen, invaded Khwarezm, causing Sanjar to retreat to Balkh and
Atsiz to enter Khurasan, taking the treasury at Marv and occupying Nishapur.
Sanjar had spent three million dinars that
year but regained Khurasan and invaded Khwarezm in 1143, forcing Atsiz to
return the treasury.
Mas'ud made his Treasurer Kamal al-Din Vizier, because he
exposed corruption, made taxes more fair, and investigated charges of
injustice. This made enemies, and Qara-Sonqur of Azerbaijan used threats to get
his Vizier to replace Kamal al-Din. So many governors (emirs) gave themselves land
grants (iqta's) that
the Sultan's territory diminished. In Kirman Arslan-Shah's peaceful reign was
shattered in 1142 when his son Muhammad killed him and blinded twenty of his
brothers and nephews. Muhammad (r. 1142-56) took over Isfahan but surprisingly
was known for patronizing learning and never killing anyone without getting a
decree (fatwa) from
the religious authorities. Da'ud was assassinated by an Isma'ili in 1143 when
Zengi feared he was going to be sent to take over northern Syria. In 1144
Zengi's army, which included Turks and Kurds, stormed Edessa and massacred the
Christians and made the women slaves. Two years later Zengi removed rebelling
Armenians from Edessa and replaced them with 300 Jewish families. Zengi was
known for being a strict disciplinarian, and in September 1146 he was murdered
in his sleep by a servant he had threatened to punish. Zengi was succeeded by
his son Saif ad-Din Ghazi at Mosul and by Nur-ad-Din at Aleppo. Unur's
Damascus army took over Baalbek, Homs, and Hama.
Nur-ad-Din took possession of Edessa and successfully
defended it against the second crusade by defeating the Franks at Safar in
1149. He gained Byzantine territory in Syria; but after Unur died in 1151,Nur-ad-Din could
not take Damascus because of Baldwin III. In 1153 Mujir of Damascus agreed to
pay the Franks annual tribute; but the next year he surrendered the city
to Nur-ad-Din,
who continued the truce and the tribute. He made a treaty with the Byzantines
in 1159 and with the Franks two years later. Nur-ad-Din established a house
of justice in Damascus and was respected for dispensing justice twice a week.
He founded colleges, convents, and a hospital. The Byzantine army defeated
Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II (r. 1155-92), who did homage to Byzantine Emperor
Manuel in 1161.
Sanjar made a third expedition into Khwarezm in 1147 when
Samarkand was taken over by the first Kara-Kitai Gur-Khan, 'Ala' al-Din Husain
(r. 1149-61). Sultan Mas'ud got help from Khass Beg in fighting rebellious
Turkish governors and defeated the army of Fars; but more emirs revolted in 1148. Baghdad
was defended by the Caliph while Mas'ud withdrew to the fortress at Takrit. The
allies dispersed, and the next year Sanjar came to Ray and insisted that Mas'ud
dismiss Khass Beg. Efforts to make Malik-Shah sultan continued until Mas'ud
died in 1152 at Hamadan. The Ghuzz had been paying Sanjar an annual tribute of
24,000 sheep, but in 1152 they killed an obnoxious tax collector. The next year
after Sanjar refused to negotiate, his army of 100,000 marched out of Marv; but
they were defeated and had to evacuate the capital as the Ghuzz captured
Sanjar. Ghuzz leader Bakhtiyar plundered Marv and captured Nishapur, burning
its famous library. Sanjar was put on a throne; but after he tried to escape,
he was kept in an iron cage. Sanjar did finally escape in 1156, but he died the
next year, appointing Qarakhanid Mahmud Khan as his successor.
After Sultan Mas'ud died in 1152, Khass Beg Arslan
appointed Malik-Shah ibn Mahmud sultan, but he was replaced by his brother
Muhammad the next year. Caliph al-Muqtafi asserted his authority from Baghdad
and recognized the fugitive Sulaiman-Shah as sultan in 1155. After Muhammad's
siege of Baghdad failed in 1157, the sultans had no authority there. None of
the regional Seljuk princes were able to unify the empire. Caliph al-Mustanjid
(1160-70) ruled by his viziers.
In 1161 Egypt's Vizier Tala'i ibn Ruzzik was murdered and
was succeeded by his son Ruzzik, who was also murdered in 1163. That year the
Franks defeated Nur-ad-Din on the plain of
al-Buqay'a. This experience caused Nur-ad-Din to repent and become ascetic,
shedding elegant clothing for a Sufi garb. In 1164 he sent an army led by
Kurdish Shirkuh to restore Shawar in Cairo. Shavar regained control but broke
his promise to Nur-ad-Din, who was defeating a
coalition of forces from Tripoli and Antioch on the plain of Arta. While Nur-ad-Din raided Lebanon, in
1167 Shirkuh and his nephew Saladin (Salah-ad-Din)
invaded Egypt again. Shavar bribed crusader King Amalric to fight off Shirkuh.
After an inconclusive battle, Shirkuh and Amalric agreed to pull out their
forces; but Shavar reneged on his promise not to punish collaborators. Amalric
returned to Alexandria to collect more tribute while Shirkuh and Saladin went back to
Damascus. Shirkuh and Saladin returned to Egypt
with 8,000 cavalry, and Amalric departed in 1169. After Shirkuh died in
March, Saladin took
control of Egypt. He reformed taxes according to orthodox Islamic law and
founded colleges. When the Shi'i Fatimid caliph al-'Adid died in 1171,Saladin put
Egypt under the Sunni caliphate in Baghdad. Nur-ad-Din had become a sultan; but
he died in 1174, and Saladin married his widow.
In 1174 Saladin besieged Homs and
Aleppo, whose atabeg Gumushtigin
appealed to the Assassins and Franks. Saladin survived an attack by
assassins the next year and again in 1185. After his army defeated an alliance
of Aleppo and Mosul, Saladin declared a truce and
proclaimed himself Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He forgave the Assassins and made
an agreement with their leader Sinan not to attack each other. Turks defeated
the Byzantine army at Konya in 1176 and ruled all but the coasts of
Anatolia. Saladin threatened
Ascalon; but a surprise attack by Frank knights near Montisgard castle caused
his army to retreat all the way to Egypt. In 1179 Saladin's nephew Farrukh-Shah
ambushed the army of Baldwin IV for rustling sheep near Damascus. The next
year Saladin made
treaties with King Baldwin and Tripoli's Raymond III; but in 1181 Reginald
raided a Muslim caravan, and so Saladin captured 1,500 pilgrims. Reginald
continued to attack pilgrims going to Mecca on land and sea. Saladin's brother
Malik al-Adil was governing Egypt and ordered a fleet that recaptured Aila and
sent Reginald's pirates to be sacrificed at Mecca or beheaded at
Damascus. Saladin made
a treaty with Constantinople and a four-year truce with Bohemond III before
capturing Aleppo and invading Palestine and withdrawing in 1183.
Saladin sponsored madrasa schools in Jerusalem,
Alexandria, and Cairo that were called Salahiyas or Nasiriyas. Many of the best
physicians were Jews, and Saladin had three, including Maimonides. Surgeons
were expected to know the anatomy found in Galen, and almost every large city
had its own hospital with pavilions for men and women; Cairo had a third for
the insane. Several histories were written. 'Umara ibn 'Ali al-Yamani wrote a
history of Yemen but was executed by Saladin in 1174 for plotting with the
Frank King Amalric to restore the Fatimids in Egypt. The History of Damascus by Ibn
'Asakir (d. 1176) is so long in eighty volumes that the entirety still has not
been published.
Saladin complained
again late in 1186 when Reginald raided a lucrative caravan, killing soldiers
and imprisoning merchants. Bohemond and Raymond renewed their truces with
Saladin; but Guy of Lusignan took Beirut from Raymond and attacked Tiberias. In
July 1187 Saladin's large army surrounded the Frank army, depriving them of
water, defeating them, and capturing many. Saladin gave Guy water but
personally executed Reginald. Fanatical Muslims beheaded Templars and
Hospitallers. So many prisoners were sold into slavery that the price fell to
three dinars. Saladin's
army moved on to take Acre while his brother al-Adil brought the Egyptian army
to besiege and storm Jaffa. The Muslims passed by fortified Tyre but accepted
the capitulation of Sidon, Ascalon, and Gaza. Jerusalem had little defense. To
avoid a massacre of its Muslims, Saladin offered to ransom men
for ten dinars each,
women for five, and children for one. He would let 20,000 poor people go for
100,000 dinars, but only
30,000 dinars was
raised for 7,000 of them. Saladin waited to enter
Jerusalem on October 2, the anniversary of Muhammad's night journey. He
encouraged Muslims and Jews to move to Jerusalem and granted the Christian holy
sites to the Orthodox Church. By the end of 1187 the Muslims had captured more
than fifty cities and castles.
The third crusade to recapture Jerusalem was led by kings
Friedrich of Germany, Philip II of France, and Richard of England. For nearly
two years about 100,000 crusaders besieged Acre while Saladin's army surrounded
them. Acre capitulated in July 1191, promising to pay 200,000 dinars and release 1,500
Christian captives; Saladin had not approved but
honored this. Richard complained that Saladin was not fulfilling
the agreement and ordered the massacre of the Acre garrison of 2700 men and
their families. Richard marched south and demanded all of Palestine. Saladin
responded by destroying Jaffa and Ascalon while fortifying Jerusalem and
poisoning surrounding wells and cutting down orchards. After fighting over
Jaffa, Saladin and
Richard signed a three-year truce in 1192, allowing both Muslims and Christians
access to Palestine.
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