all of them beauties (1), having come with that very purpose. Once the men obtained what they desired from them, they remained steadfast in war and exile, so much so that many of the dissolute Muslims even went over to the Franks for the sake of these women (2). The news became widespread (3) and circulated among Muslims and Franks alike that the King of the Germans was on his way with about three hundred (4) thousand fighting men from the direction of Constantinople, intent on seizing Syria and killing its people and its rulers in vengeance for Jerusalem. The Muslims were gripped by great anxiety (5) and feared [the calamity this might bring] (6) while already weighed down by immense toil and the massive siege; the Franks, however, took heart at the rumor and redoubled their efforts in the blockade and in combat. Yet Allah’s grace intervened, and He destroyed the greater part of the Germans (7) on the roads through cold, hunger, and their losing their way in deadly terrain, as will be set forth and detailed later, if Allah Most High so wills.

The reason for the Christians’ [general mobilization] (8), as Ibn al-Athīr relates in his al-Kāmil (9), was that a group of monks (10) and priests who had been in Jerusalem and elsewhere embarked from the city of Tyre in four ships. They sailed along the coastal lands (11) and crossed to the far shore, inciting the Franks and urging them to avenge Jerusalem, recounting to them what had befallen its people and the inhabitants of the seaboard towns in terms of slaughter, captivity, and the ruin of their homes. They had painted an image of Jesus the Messiah—peace be upon him (12)—and beside it the likeness of an Arab man striking and abusing him. When the listeners asked, “Who is this man beating the Messiah (13)?” they replied, “It is the Prophet of the Arabs; he is striking him—he has wounded him and he has died.” At this the crowds were shaken, their fervor ignited; they wept and grieved. Consequently, they left their homelands to champion their religion, their prophet, and their pilgrim sanctuary, traveling under every hardship and ease—even veiled ladies, prostitutes, fornicators, and sons who were among their families’ most cherished and carefully sheltered treasures.