Kingdom of Heaven

[Guest]

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Mmmm... yes I agree. Orlando wouldn't be bad either apart from the fact we'd be chased by fangirls for the rest of our lives

Funny that our men put up with us - arn't they angels?

[Choice of Lúthien]

I'm also rather excited since Orli is also coming to Wellington next year 
Apparently Johnny is likely to be joining him in Welly also 
I'm definitely keeping up-to-date on this!

[savage727]

Hi Jo:

Have you seen Kingdom of Heaven yet? 

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Sadly not Ed I've been rushed off my feet with work but I think I will be able to see it this Saturday! I'll post what I think of it after I see it

[savage727]

I look forward to hearing what you think of the movie.  I was amazed when I went to my small local movie house as they had Kingdom of Heaven movie posters and movie pins for the taking.  They never had them before for other movies and even when I was living in another State and city that had an 18 mega theater complex I never saw free posters and movie pins!   

[ferdinand_the_yak]

I'm really looking forward to it - I find the Crusades fascinating!

I doubt we'll have anything cool like posters/pins at our cinemas though

[ferdinand_the_yak]

I saw this yesterday afternoon and I thought it was a brilliant and quite accurate portrayal of the Crusades! I particularly liked Ridley Scott's portrayal of the Saracens/Muslims as a noble and courageous people and in particular the actor who plated Sal-ah-Din was brilliant! One thing that got me was that the movie made the siege of Jerusalem feel like it did not go on for as long as it did in reality (Ed, maybe you could clarify exactly how long Balian and his men held Jerusalem before surrendering?)

True, Orlando was overshadowed by the supporting cast - I found myself not that caught up in his character as I would have liked. Jeremy Irons and tLiam Neeson were outstanding. Nevertheless I think he improved quite a bit and did a decent job. A bit more practice with dramatic roles needed I think for Orli to live up to his full potential.

It was no Gladiator, but a darn good effort!

[savage727]

Hi Jo:

Balian and his men held out for almost two weeks before surrendering Jerusalem.  Here is a bit more info about what actually happened.  Saladin agreed to the terms of surrender because Balian of Iberlin who was in command of the Christian forces threatened to set Jerusalem on fire, destroy all the holy places including the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, and what was not told in the movie - the massacre of the 5,000 Moslems who remained in the city.  He painted a picture of Doomsday and Saladin was convinced that Balian meant every word he said.

The attack on Jerusalem begins on September 20, 1187.  One of the defenders of the city later writes that the Moslems came down upon it from the Mount of Olives screaming war cries and blowing trumpets.  "Arrows fell like raindrops, so that one could not show a finger above the ramparts without being hit.  There were so many wounded that all the hospitals and physicians in the city were hard pressed just to extract missiles from their body." 

Within two weeks the Christians surrender and Saladin with his great army enters the city.  In sharp contrast to the way the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem 88 years before, not a building is looted and not a person is harmed.  In accordance with the terms of surrender, five dinars must be paid for each man, five for each woman, and one for each child.  The poorest 7,000 are released for the payment of 30,000 dinars (the sum is provided by Henry II of England as penance for the assassination of Thomas Becket).  Al-Adil, Saladin's brother asks for a gift of 1,000 of the unransomed slaves.  His request is granted and he frees them as an offering to Allah.  Balian, the leader of the Christian garrison in Jerusalem asks a like boon and receives it.  He frees another thousand.  Bishop Heraclitus, the Christian Primate, asks, receives, and does the same.  Now Saladin says, "My brother has made his alms, and the Bishop and Balian have made theirs, now I will make mine."  He frees all the old who cannot pay the ransom.

Despite these displays of generosity, 15,000 of the captured Christians remain unransomed.  They are marched off to Damascus where they are sold to the highest bidder.  So many Christians are sold that the price for slaves plumments to a bargain basement low.  Abu Shama, the Moslem chronicler, records that one prisoner is sold for a well-worn shoe!  Saladin now sets about to cleanse the city.  The Dome of the Rock which had been converted into a church is purified of Christian polytheism by being sprinkled with rose water and the golden cross that had surmounted the cupola is cast down to the cheers of the Moslems.  Saladin's advisors urge him to destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulcher but he simply closes it for three days, only to open it to pilgrims again - for a fee.

Latin Christianity has suffered the greatest calamity since it became the official religion of the Roman Empire.  The Crusader Kingdom is gone except for the cities of Tripoli, Antioch, and Tyre.  Hearing the news of the Moslem conquest of Jerusalem, Pope Urban III falls in a swoon and collapses in the Lateran Palace.  The Holy Father never recovers.  Within a week, he is dead.  It is apparent to everyone that he died of grief.

Now let me tell you a little more about King Baldwin IV who you saw in the movie.  He became King of Jerusalem when he was 13 years old.  He is the bravest, the most intelligent, and the most compassionate of all the Christian Kings.  He is kindly and gracious to others; he performs his duties with diligence and distinction, and he is extremely skilled in the art of war.  No knight is better suited for the position.  He is loved by nobles and commoners alike.  He is the perfect king except for one flaw:  Baldwin IV is a leper.  In the movie it was said that Balian's father Godfrey discovered that Baldwin had this illness but in reality it was William of Tyre who became aware of the illness when Baldwin IV was nine.  At that time, he was playing with other boys who were pinching each other with their fingernails to see who could bear the pain the longest.  The other boys screamed and yelled, but Baldwin was impervious to the pinches.  It was then discovered that he had no nerves in his right arm and right hand.  William checked the medical books and found in Hippocrates words that indicated lack of feeling as a symptom of leprosy.

The best doctors were consulted, ointments were rubbed into his skin, medications including poisons were administered to him but nothing worked.  The illness continued on its terrible course attacking the boy's limbs and his face.  By the time Baldwin IV dies at the age of 24, he will be hairless, blind, without a nose and ears, without hands and feet, and with skeletal limbs that have become limp and gangrenous.  He is truly the embodiment of the cursed Crusader Kingdom. 

In another note I will tell you about Reynald of Chatillon and Guy of Lusignan both who figured prominently in Kingdom of Heaven. 

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Fascinating read Ed, thanks for the information! I thought King Baldwin was played very well by Edward Norton. Jeremy Irons (Tiberius) and Liam Neeson (Godfrey) had brilliant performances as well.

I look forward to your account of Guy (who I just found out was played by Martin Csokas - Celeborn in LOTR!!) and Reynald

[Choice of Lúthien]

Wow Ed. Thanks for all that information. Very, very interesting.
And FTY-glad you liked the movie. I agree with you on Edward Norton--an oscar worthy peformance if it had been longer. Same for Liam Neeson--absolutely brillant. I cried when he died which says a lot I think. And yeah, Jeremy Irons and the actor who played Saladin (a well-known Syrian actor I think) were also outstading. Still early in the year but so far KOH has the prize for "best supporting cast".

[Roz]

The illness continued on its terrible course attacking the boy's limbs and his face. By the time Baldwin IV dies at the age of 24, he will be hairless, blind, without a nose and ears, without hands and feet, and with skeletal limbs that have become limp and gangrenous. He is truly the embodiment of the cursed Crusader Kingdom.

Very interesting Ed. I have been mildly interested in the history of this disease since i started passing this church on my bike quite a lot:



Originally the chapel of the Leper Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, I thought it was wonderful that they had their own church and it was only by looking at this remaining church that I found out there was a leper hospital here at all.

Lots of info on the place here

http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/ca/casmm/

But it always fills me with sadness as I pass it.

[savage727]

Hello Jo:

Martin Csokas was great as Guy and so was the actor who played Reynald, his name escapes me now but he also played a great part with Mel Gibson in Braveheart.  Unfortunately the portrayal of Guy was totally incorrect.  Reynald however was even worse than was depicted  in the film.

Let me introduce you to one of the great villians of the Middle Ages: a Christian Knight named Reynald of Chatillon.  This guy almost single-handedly causes one of the greatest wars since the dawn of creation.  He is charming, bold, daring, and a perfect case study of a manic aggressive.  In fact he appears to possess every mental disorder known to man from paranoia to schizophrenia.  Reynald endangers everyone and everything he encounters without the slightest care for the chaos and misery he creates.  Reynald first appears in history when he arrives in Jerusalem with King Louis VII in 1148.  He comes from a very wealthy and prominent family.  His father is the Count of Gien, but being the second son, Reynald does not inherit title or property.  So he sets out for fame and fortune in the East and he obtains both.  Being rakishly handsome he catches the eye of the pretty and pleasure loving Constance.  Princess Constance is twenty-something and a widow.  Her late husband was Prince Raymond of Antioch.  Raymond of Antioch married Constance when she was nine years old.  Now in 1153 she is fully developed, headstrong, sexy, and available.  King Baldwin III gives her a list of suitable husbands but she chooses the foxy and fascinating Reynald.  Knowing that the king will scream bloody murder at the prospect of such a union, she secretly weds the knight in the dead of night without obtaining her father's permission.  William of Tyre wrote concerning this marriage: "Many there were who marveled that a woman so eminent, so distinguished and powerful, who had been the wife of a very illustrious man, should stoop to marry an ordinary knight."

Reynald is now the Prince of Antioch, the second most important city in the Holy Land.  He is one of the most powerful men in the Middle East.  When he comes to believe that the Patriarch Aimery of Antioch who is head of the Orthodox Church might have criticized his actions in private, Reynald has the old bishop stripped and scourged until Aimery is a bloody mess.  Then he orders his soldiers to tie the Patriarch to the roof of the palace and to smear his body with honey so that he will be covered with flies as he slowly roasts in the desert sun.  By some miracle Patriarch Aimery survives this punishment and Reynald next orders him to come up with the necessary money for a raid on Cyprus.  This is a bizarre request as Cyprus is prosperous, peaceful, and supportive of the Crusader Kingdom.  Moreover the island is not Moslem but Christian - Orthodox Christian and Reynald is demanding that Aimery sponsor a raid on his own subjects!  Recalling his days and nights on the roof as human flypaper Aimery dips into the Church's coffers and gives Reynald the money.  The people of Cyprus are not expecting an attack especially not from the Latin Christians whom they saved from starvation during the First Crusade.  Reynald however possesses the sense and sensibility of a pirate and he seeks simply to plunder everything in sight.  When he arrives in Cyprus, Reynald creates havoc and disaster to his heart's content.  William of Tyre wrote: "Reynald completely overran the island of Cyprus without meeting any opposition, destroyed cities and wrecked fortresses.  He broke into monasteries of men and women and shamelessly raped nuns and young virgins.  Although the precious vestments and the amount of gold and silver that he carried off were great, yet the loss of these counted as nothing in comparison with the violence done to chastity."

Cyprus belonged to Manuel Comnena, the Byzantine Emperor.  In recognition of Manuel's sovereignty, Reynald sends the Emperor the noses that he has cut from the faces of the Byzantine priests.  As you might expect this did not go over too well.  King Baldwin III is desperate to placate the Eastern Emperor for Reynald's outrageous escapade in Cyprus so to reestablish good relations he agrees to marry the Princess Theodora, the daughter of Isaac Comnena, Manuel's older brother.  At the time of her marraige Theodora is 13 and very beautiful.  Baldwin is 27.  Emperor Manuel is pleased to have Baldwin in the family but he remains ready to feed Reynald to the jackals.  Three years later he leads his army to Antioch to teach the psychopathic prince a lesson.  Reynald behaves in a completely unexpected manner as he appears before Manuel on his hands and knees in a woolen tunic with short sleeves and a noose around his neck.  William of Tyre writes: "Reynald threw himself on the ground at the Emperor's feet, where he lay prostrate until all were disgusted and the glory of the Latins was turned to shame, for he was a man of violent impulses, both in sinning and repenting."  The Emperor thinks that Reynald has learned his lesson and forgives him.  A celebration is held in Antioch and the Emperor rides stiffly through the streets with Reynald walking by his side and holding the bridle in token of complete submission.  Of course it is all an act.  Reynald is submissivie to neither God nor man.  A few weeks later he is out stealing herds of sheep and goats from Moslem and Christian farmers.  The Turks catch him and carry him off to a dungeon in Aleppo.  Nur ed-Din, the ruler of Aleppo thinks that King Baldwin III or Emperor Manuel might pay a ransome for the Christian Prince.  They will not pay anything so Reynald ends up staying in jail for 16 years!!

He is released in 1176 and finds that his wife Constance is long dead and that he is no longer Prince of Antioch.  Still and all, he cuts a dashing figure and has a natural way with the ladies.  He comes to woo and wed Lady Stephanie, who is the heiress of the Transjordan with the great desert castle of Kerak, about 10 miles southeast of the Dead Sea.  You see his castle at Kerak in the movie.  In 1180 King Baldwin IV negotiates a peace treaty with Saladin that guarantees free movement of goods between Moslem and Christian territories.  A season of good will permeates the war-plagued Middle East.  Trade flourishes and Moslem merchants freely enter Christian settlements and sell their wares.  Moslem physicians attend Christian patients.  Moslems worship is permitted in Jerusalem, and the Koran is taught in Moslem schools in Antioch and Tripoli.  It starts to look like the story of the Crusades will have a happy ending after all.  Seeing the caravans travel past his castle Reynald cannot contain himself.  The caravan he raids is on its way to Mecca.  Reynald carries off all the possessions of the pilgrims and leaves them destitute by the Dead Sea.  Saladin demands restitution under the terms of the treaty but Reynald basically tells Saladin to get lost and pound sand.  Reynald cannot be controlled even by King Baldwin IV and Saladin is not eager to disrupt this period of prosperity.  Reynald now says that he is King of the Transjordan and not bound by treaty or truce. He continues to raid caravans.

To be continued!  

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Reynald was played by Brendan Gleeson who also played Melenaus in Troy and will be playing Mad Eye Moody in the next Harry Potter film

I never knew that Reynald was even worse than how he was portrayed in the film I look forward to hearing more about Guy

Keep the information coming - I look forward to your next instalment

[savage727]

Roz:

Great photo and story there!

Jo:

Yes, Brendan Gleeson, now I remember!!  Thanks.  The info about Guy ties in with Reynald and will be forthcoming in the story.

Reynald must have had a lot of thoughts going through his head as his next scheme was unbelieveable - a raid against Mecca!  His army collects timber from the forest of Moab, builds a squadron of galleys, and puts them on trial by raiding ships on the Dead Sea.  The raids are successful so Reynald and his men transport the galleys through the dessert to the Gulf of Aquba.  Can you imagine that!  Reynald built his ships in standard sections so they could be transported across the desert by camel and assembled with little difficulty on the shores of the Red Sea.  Each ship was built to the exact specifications of the other ships making them the first naval modular units in history.  There the boats are launched and Reynald's pirate crews wreak havoc on the rich merchant ships of the Red Sea.  Reynald sails and lands opposite Mecca at the port of Aidhad and marches with 300 knights towards Mecca.  He vows to destroy the tomb of Mohammed - "the accursed camel driver" - at Medina and to smash the Kaaba at Mecca into tiny fragments.  His small force is surprised by an Egyptian detachment and over 200 men are cut down.  A few escape with Reynald and the rest are carted to Mecca where they are slaughtered instead of goats at the annual pilgrimage sacrifice.

Saladin is beside himself with rage and swears that he will put Reynald to death with his own hands for the attempted outrage.  Reynald returns home to Kerak delighting in his reputation as the man the Moslems most love to hate.  From his castle by the Dead Sea, Reynald continues to capture caravans that pass through his territory even though they are now heavily armed for protection.  When he captures a caravan traveling from Damascus to Mecca that carries Saladin's sister as a passenger, Saladin is furious.  Baldwin IV attempts to intervene and orders Reynald to restore all the prisoners, Saladin's sister in particular, and booty.  Hearing this, Reynald laughs like a hyena.  In his rejection of the King's authority the insane prince is digging a grave for the Crusader States.

Saladin can take no more and attacks Reynald's castle at Kerak.  For 2 months Saladin attacks the castle with seven powerful catapults day and night without let-up.  It is to no avail as the castle is well provisioned and the walls are impregnable.  Saladin leaves only to return in the summer with a larger army and nine massive catapults known as mangonels.  Saladin vows to break down the walls and choke the life out of the troublesome infidel once and for all.  The seige goes on for a month until King Baldwin IV arrives with a relief column from Jerusalem.  The leper King is now a living corpse and has to be transported to the site of the seige on a litter.  Baldwin is greeted by everyone within the castle as though he had been sent by God.  Several months later, Baldwin IV dies at the age of 24.  He is buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and will be remembered as the greatest of the Christian Kings.  His passing is mourned by Christian and Moslem alike. 

The choice of successor is obvious.  The crown must pass to the young son of Princess Sibylla, Baldwin IV's eldest sister.  Baldwin V is only 5 years old and in delicate health when he is crowned in March 1185.  Raymond of Tripoli is named Regent and will act as King until the boy comes of age.  He is a man of many talents and is a skilled diplomat who negotiates a new truce with Saladin that is supposed to last for four years.  When a famine strikes Jerusalem in 1186, Raymond even arranges for Saladin to supply the city with corn and grain.  Diaster happens when Baldwin V dies in August 1186.  Some say the boy died of natural causes; others suspect poison.  Who should serve as King?  The nobles quarrel among themselves and in a move so fast that it takes everyone by surprise, Princess Sibylla has herself crowned as Queen of Jerusalem.  She then turns to her husband, Guy of Lusignan, places a crown on his head, and proclaims him to be King.  Everyone is dumbfounded as Guy of Lusignan has proven himself to be a coward.  When Saladin confronted the Frankish army at the Pool of Goliath in 1183, Guy refused to advance and engage the Moslem army in battle.  He just waited for Saladin to go home.  The other knights looked upon him with distane, and now he was King, crowned not by popular acclamation, not by lawful succession, not by the authority of Holy Mother Church, but by his wife!  Crowning her husband as King of Jerusalem, Queen Sibylla says: "I choose as King, Guy of Lusignan, who is my husband.  I know him to be a man of prowess and honor, someone who is well able with God's aid to rule His people.  I know too that while he is alive, I can have no other husband, for scripture says: 'Those whom God has joined together let no man put asunder.'"  Many nobles refuse to bend a knee before the new monarch and threaten to elect their own King.  The country is on the edge of a civil war. 

It is at this precise moment, the most precarious of all moments, that Reynald manages to ignite utter calamity.  He attacks another caravan and throws the Moslems in a dungeon and places their goods and possessions in his storehouse.  Saladin exerts incredible restraint and sends a letter to Reynald demanding the release of the prisoners and their goods.  Reynald responds by saying: "Since they trusted Mohammed, let Mohammed save them now."  Saladin in a last ditch effort appeals to King Guy.  He goes to Reynald and appeals to him for the love of God and the sake of the kingdom to comply with Saladin's demand.  Reynald says it is not King Guy's business to give him orders.  As ruler of the Transjordan, he is beyond the law of Jerusalem and has no intention of apologizing or giving back the booty.  It is Reynald's arrogant response that breaks the camel's back.  Saladin sounds the call for Jihad with the pledge before Allah that he will kill Reynald "with his own hand."  The call is issued from minarets throughout the Arab world and a great Moslem army gathers.  On Wednesday, July 1, 1187, Saladin leads his army across the Jordan Valley to Tiberius.  The city falls within an hour.  King Guy is in a panic and calls a council at Acre.  Most nobles, including Raymond of Tripoli, encourage the King to do nothing, as the battle against Saladin must be conducted on grounds that are conductive to victory.  Nothing can be gained by marching to the Sea of Galilee to save Tiberius as it is the hottest month of the year, when the light army of Saladin will have a distinct advantage over the armored knights of the kingdom.  Finally Raymond lays down the trump card against an encounter at Tiberius by saying, "Between here and Tiberius there is no water except a small spring called the Spring of Cresson which cannot water an entire army.  You and your men will die of thirst before the multitudes of Moslems hem you in for slaughter."

Raymond of Tripoli maintained this position even though his wife, his children, and all his possessions were in Tiberius.  He said that he would rather lose everything than lose the kingdom.  He was the wisest of the nobles and believed that Saladin after taking Tiberius would be tempted to march across Palestine and could only be defeated if the Crusaders stayed where they were.  The King agrees, the Christians will have to wait until Saladin moves from Tiberius so they can meet him on their own turf and on their own terms.  The council is concluded.  Common sense has won the day - or so it seems.

To be continued.

 

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Its like a movie script... Raymond sounds like an interesting character and Reynald really is getting worse (I have no doubt he was insane now!!!.

Ed thank you so much for your time and effort in typing all of this for us

[savage727]

Hi Jo:

Storytelling sometimes is like a movie!  I have always found The Crusades extremely interesting as you have warfare, politics, love, and religion all rolled into one package. 

After the council concludes, Reynald with Gerard of Ridfort corner King Guy and accuse Raymond of being a coward and a Saracen sympathizer.  They urged him to sound the alarm and for everyone to take his place in battle formation and follow the banner of the Holy Cross.  The advise is sheer lunacy but King Guy who is tired of being called a coward takes it as inspired guidance and at the crack of dawn has the trumpeters sound the call to arms.  The nobles awake at this sound and rush to the King's tent and ask why the sudden change in plans.  The King responds that his task is to command and their duty is to obey.  Off they go with their banners limp in the oppressive heat.  Raymond of Tripoli is at the vanguard, King Guy leads the center, and Gerard of Ridfort who is the Grand Master of The Hospitallers takes up the rear.  They march across the plains of Sephoria toward the Sea of Galilee and the heat is unbearable.  You could fry an egg on the chain mail of any given soldier.  The columns move along in a cloud of dust that is kicked up by thousands of horse hooves.  Within a few hours the army is choking mad with thurst.  Adding to the discomfort, Moslem raiding parties keep attacking the rear guard.  They descend from the dunes, shower arrows at the flanks of the slow moving army and gallop off in clouds of dust. 

By the time they reach the Horns of Hattin, a small hill with twin peaks several miles from the Sea of Galilee, King Guy calls a halt so that the rear guard still busy fighting off Moslem skirmishers, can catch up with the rest of the army.  Everyone is utterly exhausted and craving for water.  But the one source of water, the Spring of Cresson has been drained and poisoned by Saladin's soldiers.  The place where the Crusaders are camped is the dry crater of an extinct volcano.  The ground is strewn with black basalt that is treacherous to men and horses.  Saladin's army meanwhile has moved to a well-watered valley less than a mile from the Christian camp.  Toward dawn, while an easterly wind is blowing, the Moslems set fire to the dry grass and scrub around the Horns of Hattin sending clouds of suffocating smoke into the Christian camp.  At dawn the Moslem archers unleashed tens of thousands of arrows.  The Christians are in a frenzy and cannot breathe or see because of the smoke and are being picked off like flies.  It is a scene of sheer pandemonium and diaster.  Hundreds of Christian infantrymen, uncontrollable in their desire for water, race toward the Sea of Galilee for a drink and are hacked to pieces.  The Knghts however fight bravely and attempt to hammer through the encircling ranks of Saladin's army by a series of head-on charges.

The battle continues for a day and a half.  By the time it is over, the entire Christian army has been destroyed.  The scene as described by Imad ed-Din is one of complete carnage: "I rode across the battlefield and learned many lessons.  I saw heads lying far from their bodies, eyes gouged out, bodies covered with powdery ashes, their beauty marred by the claw marks of birds of prey, limbs mangled in battle and scattered about, stumps of flesh, crushed skulls, cloven necks, shriveled mouths and gaping foreheads out of which eyeballs dangled from sockets."  When the Crusaders pitched camp on the Horns of Hattin, Raymond of Tripoli was heard to say: "Alas, Lord God, the battle is over, we have been betrayed unto death.  The Kingdom is finished."  The Bishop of Acre who had been carrying the jeweled True Cross was killed in battle.  The Cross was picked up by the Bishop of St. George of Lydda who was so foolish that he wandered right into the hands of the Moslems and was captured.  He thought the Cross would repel them just as it repels vampires.  The holy relic was conveyed to the Great Mosque in Damascus where it was buried under the threshold so that every Moslem who entered the mosque would step on it. 

After the battle, Saladin has King Guy and Reynald brought to his tent.  King Guy is suffering terribly from thurst and Saladin gives him a goblet of water cooled by the snows of Mount Hermon.  This scene was shown in the movie as you recall.  The King takes a drink and passes the goblet to Reynald.  Saladin breaks out in an uproarious laugh and dances around his prisoners saying: "You gave him the drink King Guy, not I."  King Guy and Reynald are dumbfounded as they do not know the rule of Moslem hospitality that says a stranger who has received drink or food is under the protection of the host; he cannot be killed or maimed in any way.  Saladin runs out of the tent and returns with a saber and stabs Reynald in the throat.  As Reynald is gagging for air, Saladin cuts his enemy's head off with an axe and holds it high in the air.  The eyes of Reynald appear to blink at the King and his mouth opens to emit a voiceless scream.  King Guy shudders in horror thinking he will be next.  Saladin says: "This man was guilty of unimaginable crimes.  His perfidy and insolence brought about his death.  You should have no fear, for a King does not kill a King."  Saladin lives up to his word and does not kill King Guy.  Instead he opts to keep the King at Damascus like an exotic animal chosen for guests to view.  But he orders the execution of his other captives, including the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers by mullahs.  The mullahs are religious teachers who accompany the army.  They are Sufi holy men who have never raised a sword or wielded a battle-axe.  Most of the executions are boched and the heads are left hanging from severed necks much to the amusement of the Moslems. 

After his victory at the Horns of Hattin, Saladin sweeps over the Christian Kingdom.  Within a week he conquers the city of Acre, frees 4,000 Moslem captives and acquires the wealth of the richest city on the Palestinian coast.  By the end of August only two Christian cities remain in the Middle East: Tyre and Jerusalem.  Saladin is not concerned about Tyre.  His mind is focused on the Holy City.  This now ties in with the first part of the story which I posted about the fall of Jerusalem and completes the story.

As a side note Saladin set free Raymond of Triploi and after the battle sent a note to his wife who remained in Tiberius.  In the note Saladin offered safe passage through Galilee so she could rejoin her husband.  Her children, her servants, her soldiers, and her possessions were allowed free passage through the country as a mark of the respect he held Raymond in. 

It most certainly was a brutal time in history.

 

[ferdinand_the_yak]

My goodness... what a story! Thank you for summarising it so nicely - I will be able to structure my readings around this now

I've sent a copy of all of this to my friend who saw it with me

[savage727]

You are welcome!     The Crusades and World War II are my two most favorite periods in history and I have spent most of my life reading, researching, and writing about them.