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The Crusades and the Zangi Dynasty
Europe had been harboring evil designs against the followers of Islam ever since they had annexed the eastern wing of the Roman Empire including all the Christian holy places. But, as the Muslims then were strong enough to defy all incursions, the Christian nations of Europe could not bring themselves to challenge them.
Towards the close of the 11th century, however, the situation underwent a change, and great armies of Crusaders were organised all over the European continent to attack the Muslim countries of Palestine and Syria. The Crusaders regained possession of Jerusalem in 1099 (492 A.H) and over-ran the greater part of Palestine. Describing their invasion Stanley Lane-Poole says:
“ The Crusaders penetrated like a wedge between the old wood and the new, and for a while seemed to cleave the trunk of Mohammedan Empire into splinters.”
Of the unspeakable cruelties perpetrated upon the helpless Muslims by the Christians on their entry into Jerusalem, a responsible Christian history writes:
“So terrible, it is said, was the carnage which followed that the horses of the Crusaders who rode up to the mosque of Omar were knee-deep in the stream of blood. Infants were seized by their feet and dashed against the walls or whirled over the battlements, while the Jews were all burnt alive in their synagogue.”
The conquest of Jerusalem by the Christians was a momentous event. It exposed the rot that had started in the lands of Islam. Besides that it announced the awakening of Europe after the Dark Ages which had followed the decline of Rome. It threw the entire Muslim World into jeopardy. The spirits of the Christians rose so high after it that Reginald, the master of Krak, began to dream of laying his hands on the holy cities of Macca and Medina.
The most calamitous hour in the history of Islam since the Tragedy of Apostasy (during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr) was struck. Right at that moment there arose, from an unexpected quarter, new star on the firmament of Islam. It was Zangi dynasty of Mosul, two members of which Imadudding Zangi and Nuruddin Zangi repeatedly defeated the Crusaders and drove them out of almost every town in Palestine except Jerusalem.
Nuruddin holds a high place in the history of Islam for his administrative merit, piety, humility, justice and zest for Jihad. A contemporary chronicler Ibn Athlr al-Jazari, while speaking of Nuruddin, observes, “ I have studied the lives of and “Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz, none among them was more religious, just and clement than he.”
When Nuruddin died, Salahuddin took the field as the spearhead of Muslim resistance. Fighting battle after battle, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Crusaders at Hittin on July 4, 1187 (Rabi II 14, 583 A.H.). The hopes of the Christians were dashed to the ground. Their armies were so totally demoralized that:
“A single Saracen was seen dragging some thirty Christians he had taken prisoners and tied together with ropes. The dead lay in heaps, like stones upon stones, among broken crosses, severed hands and feet, whilst mutilated heads strewed the ground like a plentiful crop of melons.”
Salahuddin then proceeded to retake Jerusalem. The fire that had been blazing in the breasts of the Muslims since that city had fallen into the hands of the Christians was at last quenched. Kazi ibn Shaddad, an intimate friend and counselor of the Sultan, has set forth the stirring spectacle of the victory of Jerusalem in these words:
“On all sides prayers were being offered; from all sides the cries of “ Allah u Akbar” could be heard. After ninety years the Jum’a prayers were offered in Jerusalem. The cross, which the Christian soldiers had mounted on the Dome of the Rock, was pulled down. It was a wonderful spectacle. The grace of the Almighty and the triumph of Islam were visible everywhere.”
The generosity, the magnanimity and the high sense of Islamic morality, which Salahuddin displayed in that hour of his triumph, have been universally applauded by the historians. Says Stanley Lane-Poole:
“ If the taking of Jerusalem were the only fact known about Saladin, it were enough to prove him the most chivalrous and great-hearted conqueror of his own and perhaps of any age.”
Europe was furious at these reverses. In desperation, the Crusaders from every European country made a great rally towards Syria and another series of bitter battles was fought between the Christians and the Muslims. Once again Salahuddin stood gallantly through the storm of concentrated Christian fury.
After five years of relentless fighting, truce was singed at Ramla in 1192 A.C. The Muslims retained Jerusalem and all the other towns and fortresses they had captured, while the Christians reigned only over the small state of Acre. Thus, at last, the task, which Salahuddin had set himself, or rather, the mission God had charged him with, was accomplished. Lane-Pool observes:
“The Holy War was over; the five years’ contest ended. Before the great victory at Hittin in July 1187, not an inch of Palestine west of the Jordan was in the Muslims’ hands. After the Peace of Ramla in September, 1192, the whole land was theirs except a narrow strip of coast from Tyre of Jaffa. Saladin had no cause to be ashamed of the treaty.”
Salahuddin was a man of extraordinary ability and energy. His capacity for organization and leadership was astounding. After hundreds of years he had succeeded in uniting the various nations and tribes among Muslims under the banner of Jihad, by making them forget their feuds and jealousies for the sake of Islam:
“All the strength of Christendom concentrated in the Third Crusade had not shaken Saladin’s power. His soldiers may have murmured at their long months of hard and perilous service year after year, but they never refused to come to his summons and lay down their lives in his cause.
“Kurds, Turkmans, Arabs and Egyptians, they were all Moslems and his servants when he called. In spite of their differences of race. Their national jealousies and tribal pride, he had kept them together as one host –not without difficulty and, twice or thrice, a critical waver.”
The Death of Salahuddin
This faithful son of Islam passed away on March 4, 1193 A.C. (Safar 27, 598 A.H.). His selfless, crusading spirit had made the Muslim world safe from the tyranny of the West for a long time to come. But the Christians had derived an immense benefit form these wars and they busied themselves at once in preparing for a new assault. Their turn came in the 19th century.
The Muslims, on their part, wavered again and allowed the ground to slip from under their feet. They began to fight among themselves. To their misfortune, they were not blessed with another leader possessing the iron purpose, glowing enthusiasm and unflinching sincerity of Salahuddin.
Europe had been harboring evil designs against the followers of Islam ever since they had annexed the eastern wing of the Roman Empire including all the Christian holy places. But, as the Muslims then were strong enough to defy all incursions, the Christian nations of Europe could not bring themselves to challenge them.
Towards the close of the 11th century, however, the situation underwent a change, and great armies of Crusaders were organised all over the European continent to attack the Muslim countries of Palestine and Syria. The Crusaders regained possession of Jerusalem in 1099 (492 A.H) and over-ran the greater part of Palestine. Describing their invasion Stanley Lane-Poole says:
“ The Crusaders penetrated like a wedge between the old wood and the new, and for a while seemed to cleave the trunk of Mohammedan Empire into splinters.”
Of the unspeakable cruelties perpetrated upon the helpless Muslims by the Christians on their entry into Jerusalem, a responsible Christian history writes:
“So terrible, it is said, was the carnage which followed that the horses of the Crusaders who rode up to the mosque of Omar were knee-deep in the stream of blood. Infants were seized by their feet and dashed against the walls or whirled over the battlements, while the Jews were all burnt alive in their synagogue.”
The conquest of Jerusalem by the Christians was a momentous event. It exposed the rot that had started in the lands of Islam. Besides that it announced the awakening of Europe after the Dark Ages which had followed the decline of Rome. It threw the entire Muslim World into jeopardy. The spirits of the Christians rose so high after it that Reginald, the master of Krak, began to dream of laying his hands on the holy cities of Macca and Medina.
The most calamitous hour in the history of Islam since the Tragedy of Apostasy (during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr) was struck. Right at that moment there arose, from an unexpected quarter, new star on the firmament of Islam. It was Zangi dynasty of Mosul, two members of which Imadudding Zangi and Nuruddin Zangi repeatedly defeated the Crusaders and drove them out of almost every town in Palestine except Jerusalem.
Nuruddin holds a high place in the history of Islam for his administrative merit, piety, humility, justice and zest for Jihad. A contemporary chronicler Ibn Athlr al-Jazari, while speaking of Nuruddin, observes, “ I have studied the lives of and “Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz, none among them was more religious, just and clement than he.”
When Nuruddin died, Salahuddin took the field as the spearhead of Muslim resistance. Fighting battle after battle, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Crusaders at Hittin on July 4, 1187 (Rabi II 14, 583 A.H.). The hopes of the Christians were dashed to the ground. Their armies were so totally demoralized that:
“A single Saracen was seen dragging some thirty Christians he had taken prisoners and tied together with ropes. The dead lay in heaps, like stones upon stones, among broken crosses, severed hands and feet, whilst mutilated heads strewed the ground like a plentiful crop of melons.”
Salahuddin then proceeded to retake Jerusalem. The fire that had been blazing in the breasts of the Muslims since that city had fallen into the hands of the Christians was at last quenched. Kazi ibn Shaddad, an intimate friend and counselor of the Sultan, has set forth the stirring spectacle of the victory of Jerusalem in these words:
“On all sides prayers were being offered; from all sides the cries of “ Allah u Akbar” could be heard. After ninety years the Jum’a prayers were offered in Jerusalem. The cross, which the Christian soldiers had mounted on the Dome of the Rock, was pulled down. It was a wonderful spectacle. The grace of the Almighty and the triumph of Islam were visible everywhere.”
The generosity, the magnanimity and the high sense of Islamic morality, which Salahuddin displayed in that hour of his triumph, have been universally applauded by the historians. Says Stanley Lane-Poole:
“ If the taking of Jerusalem were the only fact known about Saladin, it were enough to prove him the most chivalrous and great-hearted conqueror of his own and perhaps of any age.”
Europe was furious at these reverses. In desperation, the Crusaders from every European country made a great rally towards Syria and another series of bitter battles was fought between the Christians and the Muslims. Once again Salahuddin stood gallantly through the storm of concentrated Christian fury.
After five years of relentless fighting, truce was singed at Ramla in 1192 A.C. The Muslims retained Jerusalem and all the other towns and fortresses they had captured, while the Christians reigned only over the small state of Acre. Thus, at last, the task, which Salahuddin had set himself, or rather, the mission God had charged him with, was accomplished. Lane-Pool observes:
“The Holy War was over; the five years’ contest ended. Before the great victory at Hittin in July 1187, not an inch of Palestine west of the Jordan was in the Muslims’ hands. After the Peace of Ramla in September, 1192, the whole land was theirs except a narrow strip of coast from Tyre of Jaffa. Saladin had no cause to be ashamed of the treaty.”
Salahuddin was a man of extraordinary ability and energy. His capacity for organization and leadership was astounding. After hundreds of years he had succeeded in uniting the various nations and tribes among Muslims under the banner of Jihad, by making them forget their feuds and jealousies for the sake of Islam:
“All the strength of Christendom concentrated in the Third Crusade had not shaken Saladin’s power. His soldiers may have murmured at their long months of hard and perilous service year after year, but they never refused to come to his summons and lay down their lives in his cause.
“Kurds, Turkmans, Arabs and Egyptians, they were all Moslems and his servants when he called. In spite of their differences of race. Their national jealousies and tribal pride, he had kept them together as one host –not without difficulty and, twice or thrice, a critical waver.”
The Death of Salahuddin
This faithful son of Islam passed away on March 4, 1193 A.C. (Safar 27, 598 A.H.). His selfless, crusading spirit had made the Muslim world safe from the tyranny of the West for a long time to come. But the Christians had derived an immense benefit form these wars and they busied themselves at once in preparing for a new assault. Their turn came in the 19th century.
The Muslims, on their part, wavered again and allowed the ground to slip from under their feet. They began to fight among themselves. To their misfortune, they were not blessed with another leader possessing the iron purpose, glowing enthusiasm and unflinching sincerity of Salahuddin.