CHAP.VII. bestowed upon a brave and faithful officer the city of Aleppo, and other valuable gifts.* On the death of Malek, and the consequent dissolution of the great Tartarian monarchy, Ac-sancar rebelled against the family of his benefactor, and was distinguished as one of his most powerful opponents. His death was premature. His son, Zenghi, was educated in the field, and the annals of the Latins in Palestine abound with confessions of his martial prowess.† Mosul was an appendage to the throne of the Seljuks, and it was the universal cry of the Muselmans that Zenghi was the only man who was capable of discharging the functions of emir, and of repelling the aggressors of the west. He was accordingly invested with titles and command, and by a skilful combination of valour and po litical skill he justified the distinction. The feuds between the count of Edessa and the younger Bohemond, prince of Antioch, were favourable to his grand design of clearing Palestine of Christians. Joscelyn permitted his troops to pass the Euphrates. In the last year of the life of Joscelyn de Courtenay, the power of Zenghi was at a sufficient height to enable him * De Guignes, vol. ii. p. 148. to + Under the name of Sanguin, a corruption of his real title. to attempt the destruction of the Edessene prin- CHAP.VIL cipality. He watched the occasion of the departure of the prince into the territories of Iconium, and pressed forwards to Edessa. As we have already seen, the son of Joscelyn did not inherit his father's military virtues: he abandoned himself to pleasure in the town of Turbessel, and tarnished his princely dignity by the dissipation of amusement and the allurements of passion. Though the time was critical, political rancour held the Antiochians in a cold and disgraceful neutrality. The kingdom of Palestine, indeed, furnished some squadrons, but they were too few, or too tardy, to be of avail. Zenghi surrounded Edessa, his moveable wooden towers overhung the walls, and his soldiers incessantly worked both the battering-ram and the mine. For seventeen days the hope of succour from the Latins, the expectation of legions of angels headed by the tutelar saint, and the disgrace of falling into the hands of the infidels sustained the courage of the besieged. But on the eighteenth day the city's walls presented many dreadful breaches, and the Saracens entered. Their heralds pro- Fall of claimed through the ranks that pillage and conquest went hand in hand. Among the Christian population there appeared the edifying spectacle of the bishops blessing and encourag Edessa. CHAP.VII. ing the people, and of the inferior clergy fighting with the troops. But all was lost. The Muselmans prevailed in every quarter, and the slaughter of men, women and children, which they made, was as direful as the resistance of the Christian soldiers had been firm. At the altars, in the houses, as well as in the streets, the Saracens plunged their swords into the hearts of the young and the old, the clergy and the laity. Sometimes the cruelty of the conquerors took a new character, and appeared in acts of insult. The priests were condemned to slavery, and an Armenian bishop, stripped of his robes, was dragged through the public streets, and beaten with rods. The churches were plundered, and it seemed difficult to determine whether from love of pillage, or of profanation.* 1145. Vain attempt to In a war with a Muselman prince, Zenghi was assassinated. His sons, Saphadin and recover it. Noureddin, divided the empire; the former became emir of Mosul, the latter lord of the more powerful state of Aleppo. The death of the old warrior inspired his foes with the hope of recovering the valuable province of Edessa. While * De Guignes, livre 13. Archb. of Tyre, 891-3. By the command of the caliph of Bagdad, thanksgivings to Heaven were offered in all the mosques of Islamism for this great victory; and Zenghi was prayed for on Friday. While Noureddin was fixing his power in CHAP.VII. Aleppo, the Christians in Edessa and Joscelyn in Turbessel held communications. The count collected some troops, passed the Euphrates, and presented himself in the middle of the night at the foot of the city's walls; when his friends admitted the band, and the Muselman garrison took refuge in the citadel. While the fate of Edessa was in suspence, Noureddin heard the news, and flew to turn the scale. The Latin soldiers, surrounded by the foe, had only the forlorn hope of fighting their way. The citizens accompanied them, and after their departure from the city, the garrison quitted the fortress, and the soldiers of Noureddin their camp. The miserable fugitives were attacked in front and rear, and but few of them escaped the Moslem sabre. Edessa was recovered by the Turks, and Noureddin immediately rased the fortifications and demolished the churches. * De Guignes, livre 13. Archb. of Tyre, 893-899. Ben Latir, I. 555. CHAP. VIII. CHAP. VIII. CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF JERUSALEM, AND STINE. Principles of the constitution of Jerusalem......The government monarchical....., Coronation forms...... Officers of state......Church establishment......Territorial division, and military strength of the kingdom ......Tenure of land......Relation of a lord and his man......State of women... ...Debtor and creditor ......Courts of justice......Trial by battle......Vil lains and slaves......Religious and military orders ......The knights of St. John......The Templars ...The knights of St. Lazarus. On the civil history of the kingdom of Jerusalem the mind reposes itself with pleasure, after the contemplation of those scenes of misery and horror which the first holy war exhibited. Of themselves too, the constitution and laws of the great European state in Palestine form a rich and important subject, inasmuch as they reflect life and manners,* and are a part of those feudal institutions * Mens et animus et consilium et sententia civitatis posita est in legibus. Cicero pro Cluentio. |