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Aymeric, Patriarch of Antioch
Letter to Louis VII of France
(1164)

Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History ,
(Philadelphia: Department of History, University of Pennsylvania, 1894) vol. 1,
no. 4, 14-17

Hanover Historical Texts Project
Scanned by Linda Xue, December 1997.
Proofread and pages added by Jonathan Perry, March 2001.





Munro's introduction:
After the second crusade it was difficult to arouse enthusiasm in many letters
were written begging piteously for aid. In the meantime a Holy Land went from
bad to worse. Owing to the mistaken policy of Christians, Noureddin had been
allowed to get a strong foothold in Egypt. But dissensions arose between his
general and the vizier of Egypt, and the latter the king of Jerusalem for aid.
While Amalric, profiting by this carrying on a successful campaign in Egypt, the
events recorded in the took place. See Kugler: Geschichte der Kruzzuge pp.
167-169.






Aymeric, by the grace of God, patriarch of the holy A of Antioch, to Louis,
illustrious king of the French,--greeting tonic benediction.

It would be fitting that we should always write joyful tiding to his royal
majesty and should increase the splendor of his heart by the splendor and
delight of our words. But the reverse has ever been our lot. The causes for
tears, forsooth, are constant, the grief and the groaning are continuous, and we
are unable to speak except concerns us. For the proverb says: "Where the grief
is, there is also the tongue and hand." The deaths of the Christians are
frequent and the captures which we see daily. Moreover, the wasting away of the
church in the East afflicts with ineradicable grief us who, tortured internally
even to our destruction, are dying while living in anguish of soul, and, leading
a life more bitter than death, as a culmination of our culmination of our
miseries, are wholly unable to die. Nor is there anyone who turns his heart
towards us and out of pity directs his hand to aid us. But not to protract our
words, the few Christians who are here cry out to you, together with us, and
implore your clemency, which with God's assistance is sufficient to liberate us
and the church of God in the East.

And now we will tell you of all the events which have happened to us. In the
Lent which has just passed, a certain one [Noureddin] of the men who are about
us, who is held as chief among the Saracens, and who oppresses our Christian
population far more than all who have gone before, and the leader of his army
[Schirkub] having gotten possession of Damascus, the latter entered Egypt with a
great force of Turks, in order to conquer the country. Accordingly, the king of
Egypt, who is also called the sultan of Babylon, distrusting his own valor and
that of his men, held a most warlike council to determine how to meet the
advancing Turks and how he could obtain the aid of the king of Jerusalem. For he
wisely preferred to rule under tribute rather than to he deprived of both life
and kingdom.

The former, therefore, as we have said, entered Egypt and favored by certain men
of that land, captured and fortified a certain city. In the meantime the sultan
made an alliance with the lord king [Amalric] by promising to pay tribute each
year and to release all the Christian captives in Egypt, and obtained the aid of
the lord king. The latter, before setting out, committed the care of his kingdom
and land, until his return, to us and to our new prince, his kinsman Bohemond,
son of the former prince Raymond.

Therefore, the great devastator of the Christian people, who rules near us,
collected together from all sides the kings and races of the infidels and
offered a peace and truce to our prince and very frequently urged it. His reason
was that he wished to traverse our land with greater freedom in order to
devastate the kingdom of Jerusalem and to be able to bear aid to his vassal
fighting in Egypt. But our prince was unwilling to make peace with him until the
return of our lord king.

When the former saw that he was not able to accomplish what he had proposed,
full of wrath, he turned his weapons against us and laid siege to a certain
fortress of ours, called Harrenc, twelve miles distant from our city. But those
who were besieged--7,000 in number including warriors, men and women--cried
loudly to us, ceasing neither day nor night, to have pity on them, and fixed a
day beyond which it would be impossible for them to hold out. Our prince having
collected all his forces, set out from Antioch on the day of St. Lawrence and
proceeded as far as the fortress in entire safety. For the Turks in their
cunning gave up the siege and withdrew a short distance from the fortress to
some narrow passes in their own country.

On the next day our men followed the enemy to that place and lie they were
marching without sufficient circumspection, battle was engaged and they fled.
The conflict was so disastrous that hardly anyone of ours of any rank escaped,
except a few whom the strength of their horses or some lucky chance rescued from
the tumult. Those captured were our prince [Bohemond III], the count of Tripoli
[Raymond II], a certain Greek, Calaman, a duke of illustrious lineage,
Mamistrensis, Hugh of Lesiniaco, and some of the brethren of the Templaris and
Hospitalers who had come from the country of Tripoli with the count. Of the
people, some were killed, others captured; very few escaped; men, horses and
weapons were almost entirely destroyed.

After the slaughter of the Christians the Turks returned to the above-mentioned
fortress, captured it, and by compact conducted the feeble multitude of women,
children and wounded as far as Antioch. Afterwards they advanced to the City,
devastated the whole country as far as the sea with fire and sword and exercised
their tyranny according to their lusts on everything which met their eyes.

God is a witness that the remnant which is left us is in no way sufficient to
guard the walls night and day, and owing to the scarcity of men, we are obliged
to entrust their safety and defense to some whom we suspect. Neglecting the
church services, the clergy and presbyters guard the gates. We ourselves are
looking after the defense of the walls and, as far as possible, are repairing,
with great and unremitting or, the many portions which have been broken down by
earthquakes. And all this in vain, unless God shall look upon us with a more
kindly countenance. For we do not hope to hold out longer, in as much as the
valor of the men of the present day has been exhausted and is of no avail. But
we do, in order that whatever can be done may not be left undone by us.

Above all, the only anchor which is left in this extremity for our hope is in
you. Because we have heard from everybody of your greatness, because we have
understood that you, more than all the other kings of the West, always have the
East in mind. From that we are given to understand that your joy will not be
full until you accomplish at some time what we are unable through our misdeeds
to accomplish. And it is our hope that by your hand the Lord will visit His
people and will have compassion on us.

May the sighings and groanings of the Christians enter the ear of the most high
and incomparable prince; may the tortures and griefs of the captives strike his
heart! And, not to make our letter too long, lest we should waste away in this
vain hope and be for a long time consumed by the shadow of death, may his royal
majesty deign to write to us and tell us his pleasure. Whatever we undergo by
his command will not he difficult for us. May our Lord Jesus Christ increase in
the heart of the king the desire which we desire, and may He in whose hand are
the hearts of kings enkindle that heart! Amen. [Antioch, 1164]





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