THE REIGN OF GUY DE LUSIGNAN (1186-1213)
Part III: Impending Doom
The new Crusade against the feared Hashishin was to proceed immediately. Guy graciously allowed the newly subdued Prince Bohemond some added time to call up his feudal levies and rebuild his battered army. In the meantime, the combined hosts of Jerusalem, Tripoli, and the Templars marched on to the Hashishin sanctuary of Masyaf, which lay within the confines of Archa Province. After a brief skirmish with the Muslims, the Crusader army laid siege to the city. Weeks turned into months as Lord Sinan’s people seemed able to outlast the Crusaders interminably.
Known to most simply as the
Old Man of the Mountain, Rashid ad-Din Sinan remained a formidable mystery to the Crusaders. As Master of the Order of the Hashishin, he was as much an enemy to Sultan Saladin as he was to King Guy. His true motivations were ever an enigma, and his deadly Assassins stole life from the inattentive like a thief in the night.
As the Year 1187 neared its close, the Army of Jerusalem spotted the Antiochene host on the horizon. Bohemond was joined by a detachment of the Knights Hospitaller led in person by their Grandmaster, Roger de Moulins. In short order these new allies arranged themselves in battle lines around the stronghold. Messengers brought a short epistle to Guy from Bohemond, who preferred to write rather than speak, as his pen was unhampered by his stutter. Bohemond’s short message was both curt and contemptuous: “What are all your men just sitting around for, my lord?” At the very moment the messenger finished reading the note, the earth shook as flaming projectiles from Antioch’s trebuchets smashed into the seemingly indomitable ramparts of Masyaf.
Jerusalem’s knights were astonished to see the Antiochenes and Hospitallers climbing over the citadel’s walls on ladders as rams battered down its gates. Broad-shouldered Hospitallers wielding two-handed swords hacked away at the Assassins atop the battlements while the Knights of Antioch charged through the broken gates, eviscerating anyone foolish enough to be caught in their path.
The battle was hard fought, however, and the Antiochenes were rapidly being depleted by the superior forces of the Hashishin in an uphill battle through the streets of the mountain fortress. At that point, Marshal Gerard finally had the sense to close his gaping mouth and order the Knights of Jerusalem into the fray. As the fresh Christian reinforcements poured into the breach, the Muslims began to buckle under the strain. At the last, the remaining Crusaders stood atop a pile of Muslim corpses and faced Sinan himself, who stared down at them from the walls of his keep with the last handful of his warriors.
“The infidel Franks will suffer a thousand times over for this unpardonable sacrilege!” he shouted down to the knights below.
“Get down from there, cur!” called Guy, “And face death like a man!”
“You are a lesser king than your predecessor!” Sinan spat, “You dishonor his memory!”
“Baldwin?” Guy responded, “That leper was only half a man!”
“And as half a man, he was thus ten times the man you are!” came Sinan’s stinging response. With that, the last of his Assassins flung themselves from the walls of the citadel onto the waiting blades of the crusaders below. And in the midst of the tumult, the great Sinan disappeared.
No one knows what happened to the mysterious Old Man of the Mountain. His body was never found. Some say he was struck by a well-aimed bolt slung from an Antiochene crossbow. Others say he too threw himself from the parapets of Masyaf to an honorable death. Still others claim he escaped by means of a secret tunnel and returned to his hidden fortress of Alamut in the northern mountains of Persia. Regardless of his fate, his fiendish laughter can still be heard echoing in the halls of Masyaf to this very day.
Witness the Siege of Masyaf – 1187
As the knights celebrated their great victory, the fiefdom of Masyaf was bestowed upon Prince Bohemond of Antioch as his prize for storming the castle. Per usual, Bohemond’s acceptance of this honor came in stammered dignity.
Also as usual, Reynald de Chatillon was incensed at a perceived slight to his own actions. “Am I not the most loyal of your vassals?” he raged at Guy, “Is it not customary to reward friends instead of enemies, and badly beaten enemies at that?”
Guy’s response was another of the brief moments of perverse genius that punctuated his uncouth, impulsive life. “Bohemond won the citadel by the blood of his warriors,” he said, deliberately speaking slowly so that Reynald would understand his true meaning, “And if I reward him now, I won't have to fight him later! Now, if
you want more lands, choose one of the four winds; we have enemies on all sides! Think on this for a time, and at the feast of Easter in Jerusalem, tell me where it is you would go, and together we will do battle there!”
At these words, the ears of Gerard de Ridefort (who was standing nearby) perked up. He was all for expanding their power and lands, but in any direction? Such a promise was
extremely dangerous! He resolved to keep an eye on them, just to be safe.
Thus did the soldiers for Christ return to their homes, and Guy and his nobles to Jerusalem. Soon after, word reached the Eternal City that Roger de Moulins was leading his men on another crusade… this time to the Balearic Islands.
Why on earth the Hospitallers would choose to fight a Muslim emirate of little significance on the far side of the Great Sea was beyond any understanding, especially considering that they were surrounded by perfectly good Muslim targets on every side. No one ever said the Knightly Orders were logical.
Moreover, small parties from the Emir of Erzerum in Mesopotamia were constantly raiding the northern provinces, seeking revenge for the defeat of their ally Sinan. This incursion of hostile Muslims forced the lords Raymond and Bohemond to re-mobilize their respective armies of Tripoli and Antioch to counter the new threat.
Meanwhile, the Royal Court of Jerusalem prospered. The Year 1188 bloomed with an influx of gold into the royal coffers. Princess Alix, eldest daughter of Guy and Sibylla, formed a close friendship with her mother, who was the principal source of her education in courtly affairs. At a very tender age, Alix was already showing a prowess in all fields of study that far exceeded either of her parents. Should she survive her childhood, she would be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.
As spring reached its apex, Eastertide came at last. Gerard situated himself close to Reynald and the King at the royal table in order to hear what was promised.
Sure enough, Guy leaned over to Reynald and asked him what he had decided.
Gerard watched in horror as the words seemed to drop like poison from Reynald’s lips: “The County of Edessa is still in the hands of infidels. Let us take this great force of ours, cut a swathe across Aintab and Melitene, and fall upon Saladin’s dogs like a hard rain!”
The battle-hardened Templar instantly cut off Reynald at that point: “No, my lords! If we wage war on Saladin now, while we are weak, he will annihilate us! Let us strengthen ourselves, draw more warriors to our banner, more lands to the crown. And the Hospitallers are mostly gone to Menorca! Heaven knows I have no love for them, but their swords are sorely needed for any war with the Sultan. We must be strong enough to face the entire Near East before we can defeat Saladin.”
“What?” Reynald scoffed facetiously, “Don’t you think that the power of Christ will strengthen us?”
Gerard scowled. When he finally answered, it was to Guy, not Reynald that he spoke, his voice a harsh whisper, “If my King follows this course of action, the Knights Templar will not participate in his campaign.”
Ain’t gonna make me go to Aintab, I say no, no, no!
The Great Hall fell quiet instantly.
Guy laughed, as if he did not take Gerard’s threat seriously. “Gerard,” he said, “Your Templar brethren are sworn to slay the infidels! Are you telling me that they would refuse to fight the enemies of the Cross?”
“My lord,” the nearby Raymond of Tiberias intervened, “With respect, the Templars are sworn to
defend the Holy City. They are poor defenders if by rash action they hand Jerusalem over to Saladin.”
Guy realized that the situation was far more serious than he had realized. If he was not careful, he might be facing a barons' revolt. “Very well,” he relented, “You are ever the voice of reason, Tiberias. We will postpone the re-conquest of Edessa until we are adequately prepared.” He laughed again, trying to lighten the mood. Reynald was not amused. Refusing to speak for the rest of the feast, he simply sat and stared daggers at Gerard de Ridefort.
The summer of 1188 proved very eventful for the Kingdom.
The Estates General had a meeting with King Guy, who craved an exorbitant contribution to prepare the kingdom for the war with Edessa which was now postponed indefinitely. The council relented and filled the royal coffers with coin, but the stability of the realm was shaken by Guy’s decision.
As a result, many of Guy’s Muslim subjects began to revolt. Guy ordered them crushed. The subjugation of one rebellion opened up others elsewhere. The King’s orders were that all Muslims found in insurrection should meet the same harsh fate.
Instead of pressing his desires for war, Reynald acted amiably towards King Guy. He invited him on many hunting trips and feted him with large banquets. When the time was right, and Guy was properly bought, then, and only then, would Reynald make his move.
Autumn brought good news; Queen Sibylla was again with child. If it was a boy… the throne of Jerusalem could finally stop being passed along by daughters! The succession would be secure at last! Sibylla hated having the offspring of the false King Guy within her womb, but then, she could probably influence the child to do her bidding, as she was already succeeding in accomplishing with young Princess Alix.
It’s not hard to produce royal heirs when your Queen looks like Eva Green!
As winter dragged on, Gerard de Ridefort moved fastidiously to counter the irrational suggestions of his erstwhile ally, Reynald de Chatillon. He convinced Guy that some of the vast wealth accrued by the royal treasury could go towards constructing a new Chapter House for the Knights Templar in Jerusalem, so that they could expand from their cramped headquarters in the wing of the royal palace already devoted to them. He also suggested that the Templars deserved a province of their own in order to support themselves, and to be the equal of the Knights Hospitaller in power and lands. Guy agreed, and granted them the fiefdom of Ascalon along the coast.
The Year 1188 ended peacefully enough for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, though the superficial tranquility could not conceal the steaming pot of imminent doom percolating underneath, threatening to boil over.
And then on New Year’s Day, 1189, the Pope issued a new proclamation, calling for a
Third Crusade…