The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades

Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of Ibn Al-Qalanisi

H. A. R. Gibb

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780486425191
• eBook ISBN: 9780486143408
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European History
• Index: History

A Saracen stronghold throughout the long history of the Crusades, Damascus served as the capital city for Nur al-Deen, Saladin, and other medieval Muslim leaders. From this prime vantage point comes a remarkable contemporary account of the early Crusades, written by one of the city's leading citizens. Ibn Al-Qalānisī, a distinguished scholar of literature, theology, and law, was twice elected mayor of Damascus. His Chronicle begins in 1097, in the early years of the First Crusade, and concludes in 1159, the year before his death at the age of 90.
An informative introduction sets the scene just prior to invasion by the Crusaders. The colorful narrative relates the particulars of life during wartime; in addition to his accounts of battles, blockades, and diplomatic negotiations, Ibn Al-Qalānisī paints vivid and decidedly biased portraits of the personalities on both sides of this holy war, from gallant commanders and intrepid troops of his native land to their opposition, the "infidels" and :accursed ones."
The author based his work on both written documentation and oral reports, the latter sometimes transcribed from the lips of actual participants. Intended primarily as a textbook for students, this translation by H. A. R. Gibb renders the Arabic text as literally as possible, with minimal annotation, and constitutes an indispensable resource for anyone who needs a firsthand account of the early Crusades.

PART I

FROM 1097 TO 1132

A.H. 490

(19th December, 1096, to 8th December, 1097)

In this year there began to arrive a succession of reports that the armies of the Franks had appeared from the direction of the sea of Constantinople with forces not to be reckoned for multitude. As these reports followed one upon the other, and spread from mouth to mouth far and wide, the people grew anxious and disturbed in mind. The king, D

’ud b. Sulaim

n b. Qutulmish,¹² whose dominions lay nearest to them, having received confirmation of these statements, set about collecting forces, raising levies, and carrying out the obligation of Holy War. He also summoned as many of the Turkmens¹³ as he could to give him assistance and support against them, and a large number of them joined him along with the ‘askar ¹⁴ of his brother. His confidence having been strengthened thereby, and his offensive power rendered formidable, he marched out to the fords, tracks, and roads by which the Franks must pass, and showed no mercy to all of them who fell into his hands. When he had thus killed a great number, they turned their forces against him, defeated him, and scattered his army, killing many and taking many captive, and plundered and enslaved. The Turkmens, having lost most of their horses, took to flight. The King of the Greeks bought a great many of those whom they had enslaved, and had them transported to Constantinople. When the news was received of this shameful calamity to the cause of Isl

m, the anxiety of the people became acute and their fear and alarm increased. The date of this battle was the 20th of Rajab (4th July, 1097).

In the middle of Sha ‘b

n (end of July) the am

r Y

gh

Siy

n, lord of Antioch, accompanied by the amir Sukm

n b. Ortuq¹⁵ and the, amir Karbuq

[lord of Mosul], set out with his ‘askar towards Antioch, on receipt of news that the Franks were approaching it and had occupied al-Bal

na. Y

gh

Siy

n therefore hastened to Antioch, and dispatched his son to al-Malik Duq

q at Damascus, to Jan

h al-Dawla at Hims, and to all the other cities and districts, appealing for aid and support, and inciting them to hasten to the Holy War, while he set about fortifying Antioch and expelling its Christian population. On the 2nd of Shaww

l (12th September) the Frankish armies descended on Baghr

s and developed their attack upon the territories of Antioch, whereupon those who were in the castles and forts adjacent to Antioch revolted and killed their garrisons except for a few who were able to escape from them. The people of Art

h did likewise, and called for reinforcements from the Franks. During Sha ‘b

n a comet appeared in the West; it continued to rise for a space of about twenty days, and then disa...

Table of contents

• DOVER BOOKS ON HISTORY, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• PART I - FROM 1097 TO 1132
• PART II - FROM 1132 TO 1159
• INDEXES
• INDEX I - NAMES OF PERSONS, ETC.
• INDEX II - NAMES OF PLACES
• INDEX III - CONTEMPORARY WESTERN FORMS AND TRANSCRIPTIONS OF NAMES OCCURRING IN THE DAMASCUS CHRONICLE