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the Muslims: disunity and treachery. Yaghi-Siyan sent out messengers to all the surrounding cities asking their emirs for assistance against the Crusaders. Unfortunately, the attitude of the Turkish emirs of the day was one of every man for himself. They were unlikely to help out a rival emir unless they felt threatened themselves. As a result, the emirs all over Syria ignored his pleas for help. Some even felt that if Antioch were to fall to the Crusaders, it would benefit them since Yaghi-Siyan would be out of the picture. Despite this, Antioch may well have still held out, were it not for one man inside the city. Firuz was an armor maker who was in charge of the defense of Antiochs towers during the siege. He was found guilty of black-market trading by Yaghi-Siyan before the Crusaders and thus was fined a hefty amount. He figured that the best way to get back at Yaghi-Siyan would be to let the Crusaders into the city. In June 1098, over 200 days since the siege started, Firuz let some Crusaders climb into his window in the dead of night. These Crusaders opened up the gates for the rest of the army, and by morning, the city was lost. Massacre followed as men, women, and children were killed in the streets and the city was set on fire. All because of one armor maker who was upset with a fine. With the best defended city out of their way, the Crusaders continued their march towards Jerusalem. The same treachery of Antioch continued in most cities they passed. Emirs of cities would regularly sell out their neighbors in the hope for protection themselves. Almost all the cities along the coast gave the Crusaders a free pass through their lands to avoid the same fate as Antioch. On June 7th, 1099, the Crusaders reached their goal, the city of Jerusalem. The city was in no position to defend itself. Just one year earlier, the Fatimids of Egypt had conquered Jerusalem from the Turks, extending Shiite control into Syrian lands. The walls were damaged, there were nothing more than a few hundred soldiers defending the city, and no help seemed to be coming from anyone. After a month-long seiege, the walls were breached and the holy city of Jerusalem, the city from which Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) ascended to heaven during the Israa and Miraj, was lost to the Crusaders. A massacre followed, with over 70,000 civilians (Muslims and Jews) being killed in the streets. Muslims fled to Masjid al-Aqsa, but were massacred in the holy masjid as well. One Crusader chronicler boasted that the blood of the Muslims was up to the ankles. Masjid al-Aqsa itself was looted and defiled. The nearby Dome of the Rock was turned into a Christian church. For the first time since the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, no adhan was heard in the streets of Quds nor was salah performed in its masjids. Despite this shocking and disgusting capture of the third holiest site in Islam, the reaction from the rest of the
Muslim world was disappointing. It would be years before a real effort at liberating the city would take root. Read Part 2 to learn about the occupation under Crusader kingdoms in the Muslim world.
Sources: Maalouf, A. (1984). The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. New York: Schocken. Ochsenwald, W., & Fisher, S. (2003). The Middle East: A History. (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.