and set up two catapults, for each of which he imposed a levy of one thousand five hundred dinars (1). The townspeople burned them down (2). Letters then arrived from the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople apologizing to Salah (3) al-Din on account of the German king, explaining that he had not (4) crossed the emperor’s realm or country by his own choice, but only (5) because of the vast size of his army; nevertheless, he conveyed to the Sultan the glad tidings that Allah would destroy them wherever they might be—and so it came to pass, and to Allah belongs the timeless praise for His enduring beneficence.

He wrote to the Sultan, saying:
‘I intend to establish the Friday congregational prayer for the Muslims and to appoint a preacher (6).’ The Sultan therefore dispatched with his envoys a preacher and a pulpit. Their arrival was a momentous day, an assembly worthy of praise. The sermon was delivered in Constantinople, the Abbasid caliph was invoked in the supplication (7), and the Muslims resident there, together with the travelling merchants (8), all gathered for the occasion—and all praise is due to Allah (9), Lord of the worlds.

Section

The governor of Acre on behalf of the Sultan (10)—the amir Bahaʾ al-Din (11) Qaraqush—wrote [to the Sultan] (12) during the first ten days of Shaʿban, stating that the provisions remaining with them (13) would suffice only until the night of mid-Shaʿban. When the letter reached the Sultan, Yusuf kept the matter to himself and disclosed it to no one (14), fearing that if the news spread (15) it would reach the enemy, who might then find strength (16) against the Muslims and the hearts would falter.