Palestine, or, the Holy Land: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time

by Michael Russell

It was in the year 1216 that the sixth Crusade, consisting chiefly of Hungarians and the soldiers of Lower Germany, landed at Acre. The sons of Saphadin were now at the head of affairs in Syria, their father having retired from the fatigues of royalty; and, although unprepared to oppose so large a host with any prospect of success, they mustered what forces they could collect and advanced to Naplosa, the modern Nablous. But the insubordination of the invaders made victory more easy than was anticipated. Destitute of provisions, they wandered over the country, committing the greatest enormities, and suffering from time to time very severe losses from the just indignation of the inhabitants. At length the sovereign of Hungary, disgusted with the campaign, refused to remain any longer in Palestine,—a defection which compelled the King of Jerusalem, the Duke of Austria, and the Master of the Hospitallers to take up a defensive position on the Plain of Cesarea. The knights of the other military orders, the Templar and Teutonic, seized upon Mount Carmel, which they fortified for the occasion. But their fears were relieved in the spring of the following year by the arrival of a large body of new and most zealous Crusaders from the upper parts of Germany. Nearly three hundred vessels sailed from the Rhine, which, after having sustained more than the usual casualties of a voyage in the North Sea, landed on the shores of Syria those martial bands who had assembled in the neighbourhood of the Elbe and the Weser.

For reasons which are not very clearly assigned, but having some reference, it may be conjectured, to the exhausted state of the country, the chiefs of the Crusade came to the resolution of withdrawing their troops from Palestine, and of carrying the war into Egypt. Damietta, not unjustly regarded as the key of that kingdom on the line of the coast, was made the first object of attack; and so vigorous were the approaches of the assailants, that the castle or fortress, which was supposed to command the town, fell into their hands. Meantime a reinforcement from Europe appeared at the mouth of the Nile. Italy sent forth her choicest soldiers, headed by Pelagius and De Courçon, as legates of the pope. The Counts of Nevers and La Marche, the Archbishop of Bourdeaux, the Bishops of Meaux, Autun, and Paris, led the youth of France; while the English troops were conducted by the Earls of Chester, Arundel, and Salisbury, men celebrated for their heroism and experience in the field.

The tide of success flowed for some time so strongly in favour of the Christians, that the Saracen leaders were desirous to conclude a peace very advantageous to their invaders. When the loss of Damietta appeared inevitable, the Sultan of Syria, Khamel, the son of Saphadin, apprehensive that the Crusaders would immediately advance against Jerusalem, issued orders to destroy the fortifications, to prevent its being held by them as a place of defence. But in the negotiation which was opened between the contending powers, the Mussulmans consented to rebuild the walls of the sacred city, to return the portion of the true cross, and to liberate all the prisoners in Syria and Egypt. Of the whole kingdom of Palestine, they proposed to retain only the castles of Karac and Montereale, as necessary for the safe passage of pilgrims and merchants in their intercourse with Mecca. As an equivalent for these important concessions, they required nothing more than the instant evacuation of Egypt, and a complete relinquishment of the conquests which had been recently made in it by the arms of the Crusaders.

The Christian chiefs, after a stormy discussion, determined to reject the terms offered by the allied sultans, and to prosecute the siege of Damietta. This devoted town, having been invested more than a year and a half, was at length carried by assault; but so resolute and persevering had been the defence, that of seventy thousand inhabitants, who were shut up by the Crusaders, only three thousand remained to witness their triumph.

The Saracens, fatigued with the horrors of war, once more proposed a treaty on terms similar to those which were offered before the fall of Damietta. But the victors, whose wisdom in council was never equal to their valour in the field of battle, again refused to conclude a peace. The prevailing party recommended an immediate attack upon Grand Cairo; anticipating the reduction of the whole of Egypt, and the final subjection of all the Mahommedan states on the shores of the Mediterranean. This vision of greatness, however, soon vanished before the real difficulties of a campaign on the banks of the Nile. In a few months the leaders of the expedition found themselves reduced to the necessity of soliciting permission to return into Palestine; consenting to purchase safety by giving up all the acquisitions they had made since the first day that they opened their trenches before Damietta. The barons of Syria and the military orders retired to Acre, where they held themselves in readiness to sustain an attack from the indignant Moslems; the mass of the volunteers and pilgrims soon afterward procuring the means of returning into Europe.

Frederick the Second of Germany, who had engaged to lead a strong force into Syria, was so long prevented by domestic cares from fulfilling his promise, that he incurred the resentment of the pope, who actually pronounced against him a sentence of excommunication.[174] The emperor, at length, was induced to marry Violante, the daughter of John de Brienne, and accept as her dowry the kingdom of Jerusalem. In the year 1228 he arrived at Acre, with the view of making good his pretensions to the sacred diadem,—an object which he finally attained, not less by the connivance of the sultan than by the exertions of his military companions. The son of Saphadin felt his throne rendered insecure by the ambition or treachery of his own kindred, and was therefore much inclined to cultivate an amicable feeling with so powerful a prince as the sovereign of Germany. In pursuance of these views a treaty was signed, providing that for ten years the Christians and Mussulmans were to live on a footing of brotherhood; that Jerusalem, Jaffa, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and their dependencies, were to be restored to the former; that the Holy Sepulchre was likewise to be given up to them; and that the people of both religions might offer up their devotions in that house of prayer, which the one called the Temple of Solomon, and the other the Mosque of Omar. Thus the address or good fortune of Frederick more effectually promoted the object of the Holy Wars than the heroic phrensy of Richard Coeur de Lion; many of the disasters consequent on the battle of Tiberias were wiped away; and the hopes of Europe for a permanent settlement in Asia appeared to be realized.

But the emperor had performed all these services while the stain of excommunication was yet unremoved from his character. The fidelity of the knights, accordingly, whose oaths had a reference to the supremacy of the church, and the attachment of the clergy, could not be relied upon. Hence, when he went to Jerusalem to be crowned, the patriarch would not discharge his office; the places of worship were closed; and no religious duties were observed in public during his stay. Frederick repaired to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, surrounded by his courtiers, and boldly taking the crown from the altar, placed it on his own head. He then issued orders for rebuilding the fortifications of his eastern capital; after which he returned to Acre, whence he almost immediately set sail for Europe.[175]

The peace established between Frederick and the Saracen rulers was not faithfully observed by the latter, some of whom did not consider themselves as bound by its stipulations. The sufferings endured by the Christians of Palestine accordingly called their brethren in Europe once more to arms. A council, held under the auspices of the pope at Spoleto, decreed that fresh levies should be sent into Asia so soon as the truce with Khamel, the sultan of Damascus, should have expired. Many of the English nobility, inflamed by the love of warlike fame, took the cross, and prepared to follow the standard of the Earl of Chester, and of Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother to King Henry the Third.

In this pious movement the lords of England were anticipated by those of France, who, in the year 1239, landed in Syria, and prepared to measure lances with the Moslems. News of these warlike proceedings having reached the nephew of Saladin, he forthwith drove the Christians out of Jerusalem, and demolished the Tower of David,—a monument which till that time had been regarded as sacred by both parties. The combats which followed, although fought with great bravery on the side of the invaders, terminated generally in favour of the Saracens; and the French accordingly, after losing a great number of their best warriors, were glad to have recourse to terms of peace. The Templars entered into treaty with the Emir of Karac, while the Hospitallers, actuated by jealousy or revenge, preferred the friendship of the Sultan of Egypt.

The following year Richard, the earl of Cornwall, arrived with his levy, hoping to find his allies in possession of all the towns which had been ceded to the Emperor of Germany, and enjoying security in the exercise of their religious rites. His surprise was therefore very great, when he discovered that the principal leaders of the French had already fled from the plains of Syria; that the knights of the two great orders had sought refuge in negotiation; and, finally, that the conquests of the former Crusaders were once more limited to a few fortresses and a strip of territory on the coast. He marched in the first instance to Jaffa, with the view of concentrating the scattered forces of Europe; but receiving notice, as soon as he arrived, that the Sultan of Egypt, who was then at war with his brother of Damascus, was desirous to cultivate friendly relations, he lent a ready ear to the terms proposed. The Mussulman consented to relinquish Jerusalem, Beritus, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Mount Tabor, and a large portion of the Holy Land, provided the English earl would withdraw his troops and preserve a strict neutrality.