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CHARLES J. ROSEBAULT.
Saladin. Prince of Chivalry
page 307
Richard planned an assault upon Beirut and Saladin swooped down upon Jaffa, He had taken the city and was promised the surrender of the citadel, to which the soldiers had retreated, largely upon the suggestion of the Moslem commander, who did not want to see them massacred, yet found it difficult to restrain his men, when Richard arrived in his ships from Acre. Undoubtedly there was a mix-up on the part of the Moslems. The Turks and Kurds, bent on making the most in the way of looting of this first important victory in a long time, interfered with the arrangements made by the Sultan, which assured the besieged the same terms he had made at the capture of Jerusalem. To make this possible it was necessary to prevent the Moslems from going on with their looting, and the mamelukes of the Sultan had to use force in some instances to accomplish this, a circumstance which was to have unpleasant results for the Sultan.
In the end the Moslems lost the day. The Cadi, who was in the midst of the fighting, acting as the Sultan's messenger to the garrison, forgot all partisanship in describing what occurred. His picture of the fighting of the Franks is a glorification of their steadfastness, their heroism and their alertness, as it is a tribute to the fighting qualities and leadership of Richard.
As the walls go down under the onslaught of the Moslem mangonels the Christian soldiers fill the breach with a, menacing, unwavering line of lances. A stone from the mangonels sends a soldier down from the rampart. Immediately another steps into his place
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