which, he took after a short siege ; though, to compensate the sovereign of that place, 'Emad-ed-din ibn Maudud, for its loss, he bestowed upon him the territory of Sanjâr. The conquest of Aleppo took place in the month Safar, and a poet of Damascus (Muhiy-ed-din), celebrating the event in an ode addressed to the Sultan, " declared that the capture of Aleppo in Safar was a good augury for that of Jerusalem in Rejeb "—a verse which seems to have been prophetic, for Jerusalem fell in the month Rejeb of the year 1187 A.D. The next year the Sultan made a fresh attack upon Kerek. A severe conflict took place between his forces and the Christians, and some of the forts fell into his hands. He did not, however, follow up his advantage, but returned to Damascus, having first marched upon Nablus, which he -plundered and burnt. In 1186 Diyâr Bekr also-yielded to his arms, and his kingdom was now becoming so extensive that he found himself obliged to make some different provision for the government of the various provinces. Sending for his son, El Melik el Afdhal, from Egypt, he assigned him the seigneurie of Damascus ; Egypt, Hamah, Diyâr Bekr, &c, he allotted to other members of his family. We now come to 1187, the year of the fall of Jerusalem, and the most important era in Saladin's career. His operations against the Franks, though generally successful, had as yet partaken rather of the character of border forays than regular warfare, and, although they harassed and annoyed the Crusaders, they did not materially weaken their position in the country. Jerusalem was defended by the flower of the Christian chivalry, and as yet appeared too strong for him to attack ; but his determination had long been taken, and he merely waited for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow. An appeal was, moreover, made to him, artfully calculated to inflame his religious zeal, and sting his personal pride. An aged