An Arab-Syrian Gentleman & Warrior in the Period of the Crusades - Memoirs of Usamah ibn-Munqidh

Foreword xiii Preface xvii Introduction 3(22) SECTION I WARS, TRAVELS AND OTHER EXPERIENCES Fighting Against The Franks 25(3) Zanki's victory near Qinnasrin 25(1) The Byzantines and Franks besiege Shayzar 25(3) Usamah's First Sojourn in Damascus, 1138--1144 A.D. 28(2) Usamah in Egypt, 1144--1154 A.D. 30(30) Mutiny in the Egyptian army 30(1) Ibn-al-Sallar's successful revolt against al-Zafir 31(1) Ibn-Masal, the rival of ibn-al-Sallar, defeated 32(1) The Fatimite caliph conspires to kill his vizier 33(1) Usamah saves a fugitive negro 33(1) A forger beheaded 34(1) The cooperation of Nur-al-Din is sought against the Franks 34(1) A curious Arab tribe at al-Jafr 35(2) Lost in the desert 37(1) The treasure bag lost 38(1) Usamah's interview with Nur-al-Din 39(1) The cleft at Petra Mosque 39(1) An encounter with the Franks at `Asqalan 40(1) Another encounter on the way back from Bayt-Jibril 41(1) An assault on Yubna 42(1) Usamah's brother killed 42(1) Al-`Adil murdered 42(2) `Abbas becomes vizier 44(1) The caliph instigates ibn-`Abbas against his father 44(1) The caliph assassinated by his vizier 45(1) Al-Zafir's son proclaimed caliph 46(1) Other members of the royal family put to death 47(1) The watchman dies performing his duty 47(1) `Abbas subdues the rebels 47(1) `Abbas resolves to depart for Syria 48(1) `Abbas prepares for the trip 49(1) A conspiracy is hatched 50(2) Usamah wounded 52(1) `Abbas killed by the Franks 53(1) Perils at Petra 53(1) Arrival in Damascus 54(1) The story of a rich saddle belonging to Usamah 54(1) The unheeded example of al-Afdal 55(1) Usamah on a mission to al-Afdal 56(2) Ridwan imprisoned in Egypt 58(1) Ridwan killed by one of his own men 58(1) Blood-letting saves the life of a wounded soldier 59(1) Usamah's Second Sojourn in Damascus, 1154--1164 A.D. 60(3) Usamah's family pillaged by Franks on way from Egypt 60(3) Battles Against Franks and Moslems 63(70) The cavalier's sense of honor: Jum'ah avenges his honor 63(1) A duel between two Moslem champions 64(1) Faris's miraculous escape from a deadly blow 65(2) Usamah's first experience in warfare against the Franks 67(3) A Moslem cavalier survives a Frankish thrust which cuts his heart vein 70(1) An artisan dies from a needle prick 70(1) The exploits of al-Zamarrakal, the brigand 70(3) Horse stealing 73(1) The atabek appropriates for himself Usamah's horse 73(1) Fatal blows in unusual parts of the body: In the throat 74(1) In the chest of a mare 74(1) In the bone of the lower arm 75(1) Noteworthy lance thrusts: One cuts ribs and elbow 76(1) One cuts coat of mail 76(1) One transpierces a Frankish knight 77(1) One kills two horsemen at once 78(1) One kills two horsemen and two horses 78(1) Usamah's father: A warrior 79(2) A Koran copier 81(1) An exemplary attendant of Usamah's uncle 81(2) Usamah's uncle stabbed in eyelid 83(1) Acts of bravery by Usamah's uncle and father 84(1) A Frankish ruse on Shayzar foiled 85(1) Usamah and Jum'ah rout eight knights but are themselves routed by one footman 86(1) The battle of Kafartab: Unexpected cures 87(1) Narrow escape of Usamah's cousin 88(1) An unusual way of curring dropsy 88(1) A falcon's eye cured in a strange way 89(1) In flight before the Franks of Antioch 90(1) Even Jum'ah flees 91(1) Usamah strikes the wrong man 91(1) Jum'ah saves a farmer and his cow 92(1) The high position enjoyed by the Frankish knights 93(1) Tancred's guarantee of safety proves worthless 94(2) Badrhawa the knight routs four Moslem cavaliers 96(1) Single-handed feats: One knight charges a Moslem army 97(2) One man carries away booty from eight men 99(1) One Frank captures a cavern 99(1) Usamah's uncle ransoms a woman 100(1) A maiden's ingenuity saves the day 100(1) Other single-handed feats 101(4) A stratagem by the governor of Aleppo 105(1) Numayr storms a cavern in which Franks were hiding 106(1) One man routs many near Rafaniyyah 107(1) One man captures a whole castle 107(1) Superiority among men in zeal: A native Christian muleteer 108(1) The fidelity of a Bedouin 109(1) Usamah ransoms captives 110(2) Cases of miraculous escape: An unsuccessful attempt at Amid 112(1) Delivered from the jaws of the lion 113(1) Reason and warfare: Think first, then act 114(1) The consequences of ignorance: An attempt to burn the Frankish camp 115(1) A deacon inadvertently sets his church on fire 115(1) Presence of mind when attacked by a lion 116(1) Wise administrations: The case of Usamah's uncle 117(1) The case of the lord of Diyar-Bakr 117(1) The case of the lord of Badlis 118(1) The case of the lord of Ja'bar 119(1) Courage of no avail in the case of destiny: The case of ibn-Saraya 120(1) Usamah's cousin saved by him 121(1) Under Allah's protection: An ascetic overlooked by the Franks 121(1) The case of a Moslem captive ransomed by an unknown man 122(1) An angel comes to the succor of Usamah 123(1) The Prophet comes to the rescue of a prisoner 123(1) Fighting for heavenly reward: A jurisconsult and an ascetic 124(1) Fighting because of loyalty: Faris the Kurd 124(2) Stories of horses: An enduring horse 126(1) A horse with its heart cut carries its rider 127(1) Another feels normal with three wounds 127(1) Usamah's horse fails him on account of a little scratch 127(1) Tirad's horse does not give up with its entrails out 128(1) Always prepared for battle: Usamah's case 129(1) Testing Usamah's presence of mind 130(3) Adventures with Lions and Other Wild Animals 133(10) A glimpse into Usamah's breeding 133(1) How men differ: A weak Turkoman 134(1) A hornet's sting proves fatal to a miller 135(1) A slave singled out by a lion 135(1) Usamah's experience with a fearless lion 136(1) A lion flees before a sheep 137(1) A dog saves its master from a lion 137(1) All animals fear the lion 138(1) Kills a lion but is killed by a scorpion 138(1) The habits of the lion as studied by Usamah 139(1) Usamah and his companions riddle a leopard 139(1) A leopard jumps from a church window and kills a Frank 140(1) Distinction between a leopard and a cheetah 141(1) A leopard turned loose in a lord's sitting room 141(1) An adventure with a tiger 141(2) Other War Experiences 143(18) Byzantine mangonels at the siege of Shayzar 143(1) The unlucky march of the Franks against Damascus 144(1) A Kurd carries his brother's head as a trophy 145(1) Blows of sharp swords: One breaks an Isma`ilite skull 146(1) Usamah's blow cuts a blade and a forearm 146(1) Usamah's father cuts his groom's outfit and arm with a sheathed sword 147(1) Two blows kill two men 147(1) Heroic deeds by women 148(1) Baldwin succeeds Roger in Antioch 148(1) Tughdakin beheads Robert 149(1) Baldwin exempts Usamah's uncle from payment of an indemnity 150(1) Baldwin cedes Antioch to Bohemond's son 150(1) Bohemond II in battle against Usamah's people 150(1) An encounter with the son of Bohemond 151(1) The story of Buraykah 152(1) A woman warrior in Shayzar 153(1) Usamah's mother as a warrior 154(1) An aged maid also fights 154(1) Usamah's grandmother gives him wise advice 154(2) The piety of Usamah's grandmother 156(1) `Ali, the far-sighted, is killed by his wife for his betrayal of the Moslem cause 156(2) A Frankish woman inflicts a wound on a Moslem with her jar 158(1) A Shayzar woman captures three Franks 158(1) Prefers to be a Frankish shoemaker's wife to life in a Moslem castle 159(1) A Frank and his children revert to Christianity 160(1) An Appreciation of the Frankish Character 161(10) Their lack of sense 161(1) Their curious medication 162(1) Newly arrived Franks are especially rough: One insists that Usamah should pray eastward 163(1) Another wants to show to a Moslem God as a child 164(1) Franks lack jealousy in sex affairs 164(2) Another curious case of medication 166(1) A funny race between two aged women 167(1) Their judicial trials: A duel 167(1) Ordeal by water 168(1) A Frank domesticated in Syria abstains from eating pork 169(2) Sundry Experiences and Observations 171(31) Unusual forms of weakness: Usamah's uncle scared by a mouse 171(1) A hero scared by a snake 171(1) Trifles may lead to serious results: Loose reins 172(1) No strirrup 172(1) Usamah hurt more by a hyena than by lions 173(1) One man faints at the sight of gushing blood 174(1) Another would faint at the sight of bloodletting 175(1) Strong spirits: A negro saw his own leg 175(1) One afficted with dropsy is cured by slashing his abdomen 176(1) Frankish knights take a part of Shayzar unawares, but are repulsed 177(2) A Moslem captive drowns herself 179(1) The value of stratagem in warfare: A ruse against the army of Damascus 180(1) Usamah tries a ruse against the army of Kafartab 181(1) Disadvantages of excessive audacity: Usamah recovers stolen calico 182(1) Usamah's party loses some of its members through inexperience 183(2) Ambition as the cause of heroic adventure: The case of al-Sawr 185(1) The case of al-Bari`ah 186(1) The ferocity of Salah-al-Din Muhammad: He cuts one of his men in two 186(1) Another is halved 187(1) He cuts the beard of an old man 188(1) He takes captive people of the covenant 189(1) The Isma`ilites in Shayzar 190(1) Reflections by Usamah on old age 190(2) The duration of life is predetermined: The case of a Shayzar man cut by an Isma`ilite 192(1) Another survives a deep gash in his face 193(1) The burden of old age 194(1) A eulogy of Saladin 195(7) SECTION II RARE ANECDOTES Stories of Holy Men 202(11) Al-Basri's clairvoyance 202(1) A man in Kufah hears a voice from Hamah 202(1) The wish of a dying sheikh granted 203(1) A man at Ma`arrah is conscious of the death of one at Mecca 204(1) Dreams come true: `Ali removes a tumour from a custodian of one of his mosques 205(1) The Prophet sends a poor man to Malik-Shah 206(1) The Prophet sends a father of three daughters to the caliph's vizier 207(1) A paralyzed man miraculously healed by `Ali 208(2) Prayer answered: A reward for honesty 210(3) Noteworthy Cures 213(9) A carbuncle removed by supping a raw egg 213(1) Hernia cured by eating ravens 213(1) Dropsy cured by vipers in vinegar 214(1) Marvelous cures by ibn-Butlan 215(2) Usamah's cold cured by Indian melon 217(1) Colic cured by a dream 217(5) SECTION III USAMAH'S HUNTING EXPERIENCES Hunting in Syria, Mesopotmia and Egypt 222(6) Usamah's father as a hunter 222(1) Hunting with Zanki 222(2) Hunting in Damascus 224(1) Chase in Egypt 224(2) Hunting in `Akka 226(1) Hunting in Hisn-Kayfa 226(1) The hunt with Nur-al-Din 226(2) Usamah's Father as a Hunter 228(27) Al-Yahshur 232(4) A remarkable cheetah 236(2) The red-eyed falcon 238(1) A Frankish falcon 239(1) A young shahin 240(1) Hunting dogs 241(2) A hunting trip interrupted by the return of the Franks 243(1) An Arab mare contrasted with a hackney 243(1) A teacher's scruples against killing birds 244(1) Hunting hares 244(1) A starling caught by a falcon 245(1) Hunting geese and bustards 245(1) The `aymah 246(1) A lion scared by a falcon 246(1) Watching the fishermen 247(1) Ghana'im, the falconer 247(1) Hunting wild asses 248(1) Someone afraid the falcon would drown 249(1) Birds have their fates, too 250(1) Hunting the wild boar 251(1) An indefatigable mameluke 252(1) Playing chess on a bitch 253(1) Hunting according to a system 253(1) Hunting gazelles and francolins 253(1) Epilogue 254(1) The End of the Book 255(4) Index 259