THE DISHONORABLE TRUCE
Book XV.. Joseph-Francois Michaud .. Illustrated by Gustave Dore

History of the Crusades

Illus -82 Tissue

THE DISHONORABLE TRUCE

Kelaoum from that time had it in his power to attack the Christians ; but busied in establishing his authority among the Mamelukes, and in replulsing the Tartars, who had advanced towards the Euphrates, he consented to conclude a truce with the Franks of Ptolmais. It may plainly be perceived by this treaty, which the Arabian authors have preserved, what were the designs of the sultans of Cairo, and the extent of the ascendancy they assumed over their feeble enemies. The Christians engaged, in the event of any prince of the Franks making an expedition into Asia, to warn the infidels of the coming of Christian armies from the West. This was at the same time signing a dishonorable condition, and renouncing all hopes of a crusade. - Book XV

 

We offer Beautiful Giclee Art Print Productions of all of these illustrations at HistoryoftheCrusades.net

 

ill -1 ill -2 ill -3 ill 4 ill -5 ill -6 ill -7 ill -8 ill -9 ill -10 ill -11 ill -12 ill -13 ill -14 ill -15 ill -16 ill -17 ill -18 ill -19 ill -20 ill -21 ill -22 ill -23 ill -24 ill -25 ill -26 ill -27 ill -28 ill -29 ill -30 ill -31 ill -32 ill -33 ill -34 ill -35 ill -36 ill -37 ill -38 ill -39 ill -40 ill -41 ill-42 ill -43 ill -44 ill -45 ill -46 ill -47 ill -48 ill -49 ill -50 ill -51 ill -52 ill -53 ill -54 ill -55 ill -56 ill -57 ill -58 ill -59 ill -60 ill -61 ill -62 ill -63 ill -64 ill -65 ill -66 ill -67 ill -68 ill -69 ill -70 ill -71 ill -72 ill -73 ill -74 ill -75 ill -76 ill -77 ill-78 ill -79 ill -80 ill -81 ill -82 ill -83 ill -84 ill -85 ill -86 ill -87 ill -88 ill -89 ill -90 ill -91 ill -92 ill -93 ill -94 ill -95 ill -96 ill -97 ill -98 ill -99 ill -100
The images you see are only low resolution scans from our books. We offer Beautiful Art Print Productions of all of these illustrations at HistoryoftheCrusades.net
Home All Content design images text within this site are Copyright de Haerne 2003-2004

Note; page 202 . . .thus all the treaties raised a new barrier between the Christians of the East and those of the West. . . there were no checks upon the sultan of Cairo, who always found some pretext for breaking them. . . Thus the fortress of Margat upon the river Eleuctera, in the neighborhood of Tripoli, guarded by the Hospitallers was sieged by the Mussulman army. . . Upon the seacoast, between Margat and Tortosa, stood another castle, to which a Frank nobleman had retired, whom some of the Arabian chroniclers call the sieur de Telima, and others, the sieur Barthelemi. Descripotion of the pleas made to Barthelemi to leave and allow the desruction by the mussulmans. Barthelemi killed his own son for his attempt to plead his case to the Sultan. All turned against Barthelemi for his act of parricide and he disgusted with the Christians became an agent of the Mussulmans. . . .The sultan of Cairo pursued the war against the Christians, and everything seemed to favor his enterprises. He had for a time entertained the project of gaining possession of Laodicea, whose port rivalles that of Alexandria ; but the citadel of that city, surrounded by the waters of the sea, was inaccessible ; an earthquake which shook the towers of the forest, facilitated his conquest of it. The castle of Carac and some other forts, built on the coast of Phoenicia, fell into the hands of the Mussulmans. After having thus laid open all the avenues to Tripoli, the sultan turned the whole of his attention to the siege of that city. Neither the faith of treaties, nor the recent submissions of Bohemond, were able to retard for a moment the fall of a flourishing city ; no Christian city, no prince of Palestine offered the least assistance to Triopli. Such indeed was the spirit of division that always reigned among the Franks, that the Templars, in conjunction with the seigneur de Gilbet, had entertained the project of introducing some Christian soldiers into Bohemond's city, and taking it by surprise. they were not able, it is true, to execute their design ; but what evils must not these odious jealousies, these black treacheries, have brought upon the feeble remains of the Christian colonies !

A formidable army appeared before the walls of Tripoli, and a great number of machines were erected against the ramparts ; after a siege of thirty-five days, the Mussulmans penetrated into the city, fire and sword in hand. Seven thousand christians fell under the arms of the conqueror ; the women and children were dragged away into slavery, and a terrified crowd vainly sought an asylum from the bloodthirsty Mamelukes in the island of St. Nicolas. Aboulfeda relates, that having occasion to go to that island, a few days after the taking of Tripoli, he found it covered with dead bodies. some of the inhabitants having succeeded in getting on board ships, fled away from their desolate country ; but the sea drove them back again upon the shore, where they were massacred by the Mussulmans. Not only the population of Tripoli was almost exterminated, but the sultan gave orders that the city should be burnt and demolished. . . . the city of Tripoli attracted a great part of the commerce of the Mediterranean .. .it was rich with sources evidence of prosperity. . . Ptolemais, which remained neuter in this cruel war, learnt the fall and destruction of a Christian city from some fugitives, who, having escaped the sword of the Mussulmans, came to entreat an asylum within its walls. From this sad intelligence, it might easily predict the misfortunes that awaited it. Ptolemais was then the capital of the Christian colonies, and the most considerable city of Syria. Most of the Franks, upon being driven from the other cities of Palestine, had taken refuge there, bringing with them all their portable wealth. In its port anchoored all the warlike fleets that came from the West, with the richest trading vessels from most countries of the of the world. . . . page 203 to 210 describes the valiant knights battles to the end of the Mussulman assault on Ptolemais.