A Short Stroll to Tiberius
Dear Folk,
On this day, July 4, 1187 Saladin, Commander of the Faithful, met with
the kings, knights and assorted royalty of the Latin East Kingdom (the
Holy Land) at a small hill called The Horns of Hattin. The meeting was
unfortunate. It did not have to happen. There had been a truce, you
see. Saladin was honoring it. The crusaders had difficulty keeping
their part of the bargain. What had been a bargain turned very
expensive.
Reynald of Chatillon, former Prince of Antioch, had been imprisoned by
Saladin's mentor Nur ad-Din for 16 years. He was not fond of his Moslem
brethren. In fact, Reynald had cut down darned near a whole forest in
Moab to build boats. He tried them out in the Dead Sea, little sea
trials, and then put wheels on them and ported them to Aqaba on the Red
Sea. Of course he meant only nice things with these boats, sort of
spreading brotherhood and peace up and down the coast. Okay, he was not
above helping a boat that was too heavily laden with cargo to lighten
its load. And he was only organizing a welcome wagon for the folks in
Mecca when he landed that contingent of knights nearby. Honest. Saladin
sent the Egyptian fleet to go persuade Reynald to get out of the
neighborhood. Saladin, completely misunderstanding Reynald's ways,
vowed that Reynald would never be forgiven. This was in 1182.
1183 found Saladin besieging Kerak, Reynald's stronghold. How the story
is told, it was inconveniently during a wedding party Reynald was
hosting for his wife's son, Humphrey of Toron, and the Princess
Isabella. Well, the party went on because the guests had all arrived
and it was already catered. Lady Stephanie, Reynald's wife, in a
gesture worthy of a lady from Texas sent down some food and dainties
for Saladin. Really! Saladin was moved to ask in which wing the
newlyweds were having their honeymoon. He then ordered his artillery
not to bother the new bride and groom. Awww.
Flash forward, 1187. There had been another truce and another breaking
of it (guess whom by?) Yup! Reynald raided a caravan traveling along
the neutral area. Saladin complained to the king but no one really
listened or said they were sorry. Saladin's recon party found some
Templars and Hospitallers out near Galilee and killed a grunch of them
including the Master of the Hospitallers and the Marshal of the
Templars. The aggrieved Christians decided it was war.
The Christians mounted up a force of about 20,000 men including 1500
knights, a bit of the True Cross, and a nifty treasure in a treasure
box sent to Jerusalem as an "I'm sorry" gift by Hank II of England.
This was because Hank's men had killed Tom Beckett, Archbishop of
Canterbury, a couple of years before. The Latins decided to open the
treasure (under the care of the Templars) and spend it on hiring some
mercenary muscle. Saladin must have had a couple of thousand more guys
even so and a whole lot more smarts.
On June 30, 1187, Saladin sent half of his troops to besiege the
citadel at Tiberius, home of Raymond of Tripoli (nice guy and former
protector of the king of Jerusalem). Raymond was with the army at the
time but his wife, Countess Eschiva was holding the fort. The other
half of his troops Saladin led into Galilee to a point about 6 miles
west of the Sea of Galilee. He camped where there was water. Important
point.
Even though Mrs. Raymond, the Countess, was being harassed by Moslems,
Ray told the army not to go. He knew it was nasty ground between where
they were and Tiberius. They would have to march through Galilee in the
summer and the heat with no chance of water for a long, long while.
Reynald, we do remember him, and the new Master of the Temple, Gerard
of Ridfort, called Ray a sissy, a wuss, and a Saracen sympathizer.
King Guy of Jerusalem decided to go. Ray went with him, dragging his
heels. This was July 3rd.
It was only 15 miles from where they started to the Sea of Galilee as
the crow flies. Unfortunately for King Guy and his troops, no one knew
how to fly crows. Up and down the hot and very dusty hills and rift
valley. They were in chain mail in July. It was hotter than Texas and
drier than Baylor. Ray's prediction about no water was right. Top that
all off, Saladin sent some young Turkish lads who were good with bows
just to make the folk feel welcome. Shoot a few at the end of the
column and then ride away.
The Templars were tired. They persuaded King Guy to make camp just
beside a hill, The Horns of Hattin, named because of the small twin
peaks which kind of look like horns. Too bad David Lynch did not know
about this or his TV show might have been called something else. Ray
was still doing his Eeyore routine. He is quoted as saying "Alas, Lord
God, the battle is over. We have been betrayed unto death. The Kingdom
is finished." Now this was on July 3rd. Ray was right, of course.
Saladin decided to make things a little more unpleasant for his foes,
he had his boys at dawn of July 4th set some fires on the dry grass of
the hillside. No one had any antihistamines nor any water to take them
with. Wave after wave of those Turks with bows rode forward, shot, and
rode back. The French infantry broke ranks and climbed the hill,
leaving the rest to their fate. The bishop of Acre was killed and True
Cross was captured. During part of the chaos, Ray and some of his guys
road their horses over their own troops, over the Turks, and over the
True Cross to get out.
King Guy and his nobles, tired and thirsty and beaten on, were steadily
pushed up the hill to surround the king's red tent. Then there was
charge and counter charge: the French and Turks back and forth.
Finally, Saladin and his son watched the red tent fall. It was over.
The king and some of his nobles surrendered and survived. Saladin made
good his promise and personally executed Reynald of Chatillon. Huzzah!
About time, says I. All the Templars and Hospitaller knights were
beheaded. The kingdom was lost. Its entire field army was gone, so was
The True Cross. Saladin's army took the remainder of the Latin boys
off to the slave markets in Damascus. The price of a Christian slave
dropped so low that one of them was sold for a shoe. By August almost
the entire Holy Land was Moslem. Tiberias did fall but Saladin was nice
to Countess Eschiva and let her leave. Thought you might be relieved to
hear that.
What have we learned? Sticks and stones may break my bones but arrows
sure annoy me? Folks may call you chicken but it really should not make
you do stupid things? Even holy relics will not protect one from rank
stupidity? I would quote something that Kim Stanley Robinson said, "All
of politics is about water."
Well, fools are blowing up the strawberry fields behind me in memory of
Saladin, Mel Gibson, or maybe Reynald. Take care of each other. I am
going to take a shower. As always, if you want to forward these things,
keep my email and name intact. Who knows, a nice Countess might want to
hold my fort. *S*
Love your enemies and drive them nuts,
Ells