It was September 4,1187. Outside the coastal city Ashkelon Palestine... ...talks on the surrender of Jerusalem were underway in a Muslim camp. The Crusader team from Bait Al-Muqdis was sitting with Sultan Saladin-Ayubi. The Sultan put conditions before them... ...that if you surrender peacefully, I will give you all protection. All Christians with their belongings will be allowed and go peacefully... ... to any other place. The Holy sites of the Crusaders
will be respected. Christians can visit their holy places whenever they want in the future. The Crusader delegation listened to the terms and sought time for consultation. They sat in a separate camp and began to think over these conditions. It happened in the meantime that suddenly it was darkness all over. It was a solar eclipse. Some Crusaders got scared as the day turned into night, but... ...after a while the duration of the eclipse ended and the light came again. One of the Crusaders in the delegation inferred that... ...this moment has brought a good omen in their favour. He told everyone that it seems that God intends to keep Jerusalem with us. This Muslim army cannot take it away from us despite a desire. The rest of the delegation also
believed him. So when negotiations resumed
after the break... ...the Crusaders rejected all of
Sultan's terms. They said the city where our Massiah got the Cross for us... ...we will never surrender that city. It would be against God's will. When the Sultan heard this all, his attitude also changed. He said, "Okay, now the sword will decide the fate of this city." The Crusader delegation went back... ...and Saladin also moved with his army
to Bait al-Maqdis. Now the fate of Jerusalem was to be decided by the strong walls of the city... ...or the sword of the Sultan. I Faisal Warraich in the 8th episode
of Dekho, Suno, Jano's series... ...The Crusades and Ayyubi,
will show you all this. The Crusaders of Jursalum had decided to fight the Sultan... ...but the question is what
they had to fight with? The defenders of the city had perished in the battle of Al-Hattin... ...the story which you have seen in the previous video. Except for a few trained soldiers... ...everyone else in the city was ordinary people who did not know how to fight. Another problem was that the city was crowded with refugees. These emigrants were from the areas of Palestine now occupied by Saladin. These refugees had camped in the streets and churches of the city. So much so, no place was left
to put a foot. Due to so many refugees, not only living in the city had paralysed... ...but the food and drink had also gone short of needs. In these circumstances, the victory of Saladin Ayubi was certain. The Crusaders simply could
not face him. However... ...in these conditions, a commander entered Jerusalem... ...whose sight boosted the morale
of the Crusaders. They were convinced the auspicious omen due to the solar eclipse... ...was about to come true. That they will be victorious and Jerusalem will not be captured by Muslims. This commander was Balian of Ibelin. Balian of Ibelin was a Crusader chief... ...who was governor of Jaffa on behalf of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He took part in the battle of Al-Hattin but after the defeat of the Crusaders... ...he escaped and went to Tyre, which is also called Sur in Arabic. However, Balian's wife and children were in Bait al-Maqdis... ...and all routes leading there were controlled by Ayyubid forces. Bailian sent a message to Saladin Ayubi... ...to provide him with a safe passage
to Jerusalem... ...so that he could bring his wife and children safely to Tyre. The sultan allowed Balian to go to
Bait al-Maqdis. However, he made a condition Balian will not stay there for more than a night. Also, he would never take up arms against the Ayyubid Empire. Balian accepted these conditions... ...and was allowed to go to
Bait al Maqdis. As Balian reached Bait al Maqdis. He wanted to leave the city quietly with his wife and children. But... ...some people there recognized him. They took Balian to Heracles, the chief priest of the city. Heracles asked Balian to take
command of the city... ...and fight the Ayyubid army. Balian said, I have promised not to take up arms against Sultan Ayubi. On it, Heracles said, 'I release you from this promise.' 'Anyway, what is the importance of a promise made to an unbeliever?' 'Keeping this promise is a major sin and breaking it is a minor one.' 'If you leave Bait al-Maqdis in this state... ...you will not be honoured wherever you go.' Hearing all that, Balian pledged to
defend the city. He also wrote a letter to the Sultan... ...to tell him that he has broken the promise because of the people of the city. Saladin Ayubi accepted this excuse
of Balian... ...which meant he delivered him from
the promise. Despite the fact, Balian had backed out of the promise... ...Saladin kept his word. He gave a safe way to the wife and children of Balian to the city of Tyre. He invited the family of Balian from Bait al-Maqdis and made them stay in his tent. His children were also given valuable clothes, diamonds and other gifts. The Sultan also sent a troop of fifty horsemen with them... ...which escorted them to the city of Tyre. Free of worry about his wife and children, Balian focused on defending the city. There was a small number of soldiers and 14 knights in the city. So, Balian gave the title of knight to another 60 young men. Most of the youths were
only 16 years old. There were about 60,000 men in the city, including the refugees. They were not trained soldiers yet able to stand on the safety wall of the city... ...to throw arrows and stones
at the enemy. Not much martial skill was necessary
for this. On this line, Balian recruited thousands of common men as soldiers. Besides that, many soldiers who escaped from the field of Al-Hattin... ...were also made part of the army
by Balian. With the financial help of the priest Heracles, Belion armed... ...and trained the soldiers. A huge amount of food and drink was also stored in the city. Now they were ready to face
the Ayyubid army. On September 20, 1187, the Ayyubid army reached outside walls of Bait al-Maqdis. Ayyubi was surprised to find that the city walls were full of guards. But the Sultan knew that these were not highly trained soldiers... ...and would not be able to resist much. He pitched his tent in front of the western wall of the city near David's Gate. After that, as a formality, he again sent a message to the people of the city... ...to tell them that he did not want bloodshed, so better they surrender. But people in the city refused more strongly than before. After this refusal, the Ayyubid army rained arrows, stones and greek fire on the city. Engineers from the Ayyubid army began digging along the wall... ...to bring down the walls by filling the gaps with explosives. After 5 days of fighting, the Muslims failed in demolishing the wall with gunpowder. The reason was that the towers built along David's Gate were very high... ...and the range of archers standing on them was also much far. These archers were causing serious damage to the Muslims. Apart from this, crusader raiding parties would time to time leave the city and... ...attack the Muslims and
then hide in the city. Most of these attacks targetted
the Ayyubid engineers... ...to prevent them from
pulling down the wall. Muslims also attacked many times to break the security of the protective wall. They also tried to climb the wall with the ladders and wooden siege towers. But the Crusaders repulsed
these attacks every time... ...and destroyed some siege towers
as well. For 5 days, the Ayyubid army did not get any success on the western wall. So the Sultan removed his tent from the western wall... ... and ordered for shifting it to
the eastern wall. He got the secret report the wall of the city on this side was somewhat weak... ... and that could be blown up
with gunpowder. It was evening when the tent was
being rooted out. Crusaders standing on the western wall were watching this scene. They got the impression that the Sultan was returning after lifting the siege. Which meant the Crusaders had won. So these Crusaders started shouting slogans out of joy... ...and the joyful news spread
across the city... ...that the siege was over and the enemy has fled and they were victorious. Thousands of Christians in the city rushed to the churches... ...and began thanksgiving to God. Celebrations were held in Bait al-Maqdis throughout the night... ...that the good omen of that day
was fulfilled. During this ignorance of
the Crusader army... ...the Ayyubid army moved stealthily towards the eastern wall. In front of the eastern wall is the Mount of Olives, also known as Jabal al-Zaytoun. Saladin had pitched his tent on it. That night, the Muslim forces prepared many catapults and siege towers. That is, before sunrise the next day... ...the Sultan's forces were ready on the other side of the city, just... ...as they had been on the west side
the day before. It was an active and largely
a surprise move. So when the sun rose the next morning... ...and the Crusaders saw Sultan Saladin fully ready on the other side... ...their all celebrations were dampened. When this news reached the residents
of the city... ...they were quite appalled. Thousands of people started
shouting in grief. Now this was the scene inside the city while outside the city... ...10,000 cavalry had taken positions on the eastern wall on Sultan Ayyubi's order. After that, for taking the engineers
to the walls... ... plant the explosives, execution of a military plan started. In it, many foot soldiers joined their shields to form a strong roof. Engineers from the Muslim army marched under this roof to the wall. And to provide them cover, the catapults of the Ayyubid army... ...rained stones and greek fire on the city. So that the defending Crusader forces do not interrupt the work of the engineers. The Crusaders also knew that once these engineers reached the wall... ...there was no way to save the wall and the city from being conquered. Therefore, they targeted the engineers. But it didn't help them at all. Because the arrows failed to break through the wall of strong shields. Some crusading soldiers rushed out of the city in a frenzy to change the situation... ...and they attacked the engineers. But the Ayyubid cavalry was ready to meet this situation. They killed the Crusaders on their
way out. Thus the engineers were able
to reach near the wall. They excavated 40 feet below the wall and filled it with gunpowder... ...planted firewood and rushed back. Shortly afterwards there was a
heart-rending explosion... ...and that particular section of the eastern wall collapsed. The guards standing on it also fell
down screaming... ...and were buried under the rubble to become silent forever. The Muslims moved on and hoisted their flags on the safe side of the cracked wall. However, the Sultan did not order an attack the same day through the crack. He wanted to freshen up and attack
again the next day. The Crusaders had no arrangement to fill this breach immediately. They could only protect it with the help
of their forces... ...so that's what they did. That night the Muslim army went to its camp for rest, but... ...there was an uproar all over the city. People realized the next day when the Muslim army entered through the breach... ...no one would be in peace. The frail-hearted people ran to the church for psychological help. Even then, some superstitious people began to pray hoping for a miracle. Some people foreseeing a sure defeat, began to grumble to atone for their sins. Because most of them thought they might not see the sunset tomorrow. It is said that many old women cut off the hair of their young daughters... ...so that they would look ugly and not lose their virginity. Given it, Governor Balian and the Crusader leaders lay their heads together. They understood that now they have only two ways. Either surrender or fight the Muslims
and die. The majority of the meeting
voted for death. It was decided that the next day they would leave the city together... ...and fight the enemy till the last breath. Priest Heracles was also present
in this meeting. He forbade people from fighting. He said if all are killed, the Muslims will enslave their wives and children. So better to surrender the city and save your life and that of your family. After some discussion, Heracles's suggestion was accepted. So the next morning when Sultan Saladin's army... ...advanced towards the broken wall of the fort, a weird thing happened. Commander Balian personally reached Saladin's camp with an offer of surrender. He met the Sultan and said the citizens are ready to surrender. But now Saladin Ayubi was not ready to accept surrender. Pointing to the crack in the outer wall, he said to Balian... ...that "How can a conquered city decide terms of a patch-up?" At this answer from the Sultan,
Balian fell silent. Both commanders were watching the battle scene from the same place. It happened that the defenders of the city somehow pushed back the Muslim army. The attack of the Ayyubid force
had failed. On it, Balian once again requested peace from the Sultan. At the same time, he also threatened covertly that if you continued the war... ...the Christians would kill their wives and children and burn all their valuables. "You will get neither wealth nor
slaves in the city." They will destroy the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Five thousand Muslim prisoners in the city will also be killed. Then everyone will come out and attack the Muslims. "In this war either we will have the death with honour or we will succeed." None of us will survive by the time
you win. These words of Balian worried
Saladin Ayubi. He did not want to risk the lives of 5,000 Muslims and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He had sworn to conquer
the city by the sword. But he was obliged to break his oath after the threat of Balian. He told Balian, "Well if the Crusader forces surrendered peacefully... ...all civilians would be given peace. On October 2, 1187, the agreement on the surrender of Bait Al-Maqdis was signed. Jerusalem i.e. Baital Maqdis, which was captured by the Crusaders in 1099... ...returned to the Muslims after 88 years. Victory Day also had a symbolic value. October 2, the day agreement was signed, was Shabe Meraj (night of Ascension)... The night in the Islamic faith, when Holy Prophet (PBUH) came to Baital Maqdis. Under the Jerusalem agreement, the city population was prisoners of war. For each man, 10 dinars, for each woman 5 dinars and for each child one dinar... ...was fixed as reparation for leaving
the city. Those who cannot pay the reparation for 40 days were to be made slaves. 5000 Muslims imprisoned in the city will also be released. When this agreement was announced to the people in the city... ...they expressed mixed emotions
of joy and sorrow. They were happy their lives were spared and grieved their holy places were lost. People cried while clung to the holy walls. Hundreds of people worshipped before the Church of the Holy Sepulchre... ...where Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified... and buried and resurrected
three days later. So, as the Christians became convinced of the defeat... ...they go on leaving the city by paying the reparation. First, the rich people and their
family members... ...and their slaves paid for
leaving Jerusalem. The poor Christians who had no money were not attended to. The deepest selfishness was shown by Priest Heracles. He paid a reparation of 15 dinars each for himself and his women. Then from the churches of the city, he picked up the gold, silver vessels... ...costly carpets and other equipment and loaded them on animals and left the city. He did not spare even the gold plate in the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Western historians say this treasure was worth freeing at least 15000 Christians. The courtiers asked Saladin Ayubi for stopping this arrogant man... ...from leaving with this huge treasure. But he refused to act saying, 'I have given my words... I cannot go back on it. I have asked them to take their belongings. I do not want my enemies to accuse me of breach of promise." So the people took away whatever
they wanted. When the 40 days time was over according to the agreement... ...thousands of Christians were
still in the city. On this occasion, Sultan's brother Al-Adil... ...paid for 1000 Christian slaves and helped them to leave the city. Apart from it, Commander Balian, who was still in the city... ...with the people... ...and held the treasure of the city, he paid for 7000 Christians to get them free. The Sultan also allowed all the old people with no money to pay to leave the city. In addition, on his orders, Muslim soldiers bought from Christians... ...their goods against money. The Christians paid the money as reparation and left the city. Similarly, many Christian women also appeared before the Sultan... ...and wept the death of their husbands or fathers in war or their imprisonment. They had no money to meet the expenses of their needs. The Sultan released those whose husbands or brothers were in prison And also provided financial support
to all the women... ...that they could pay reparation and leave for any place of their choice. The Christians who were leaving the city... ...they were all gathering in one place to move on jointly. So that they could also feel secure. Historically they were divided into
three groups... ...which then moved to nearby Crusader states such as Tripoli and Tyre. Because these areas belonged to the Crusader ruler. The Sultan on this occasion sent his forces with them... ...so that they are safe from the looting of the desert bedouins on the way. Yes, a part of Christians was not ready to leave the city in any case. They were also allowed to stay in the city by paying Jizya (a levy on non-Muslims). But in order to get a favourable demographical ratio... ...Sultan Saladin brought a large number of Muslims and settled them here. After the Crusaders left Baital Maqdis, the Al-Aqsa Mosque... ...and the Golden Domed Mosque
were cleaned. The walls etc., built therein during the Crusader period were demolished. The two mosques were washed with rose water and the Quran was recited there. The Sultan also had a beautiful
wooden pulpit... ...as a memorial to his former master
Nur ad-Din Zengi. Nur ad-Din Zengi had this pulpit prepared by an artisan from Aleppo... ...so that it could be placed there after the conquest of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. When Nur ad-Din Zengi was no more... ...when Saladin conquered Aleppo, he took this pulpit to Damascus. He took this pulpit along while going to conquer Baital Maqdis. He fixed the pulpit in the Al-Alqa Mosque i.e. in the mosque with the gray dome. This pulpit came to be called Saladin Minbar (pulpit) after his name. The original pulpit is no longer there yet a replica is placed in its stead in the Mosque. You can find out what happened to the original pulpit in this video of ours. You can see after this video by touching the 'I' button. After the conquest of Baital Maqdis, some Muslims advised Saladin Ayubi... ...to destroy the holiest place of Christians, the Church of Holy Sepulchre. But Sultan Ayubi rejected this advice... ...and said such a move would be against Islamic injunctions. With the conquest of Jerusalem... ...the power of the Ayyubid Empire also touched its peak. Many regions of Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey... ...became part of this great empire. But now the biggest challenge for the Sultan was to sustain this empire. The news of the Crusaders' surrender in Jerusalem was like a quake in Europe. Thousands of volunteers in Europe rose to take back Jerusalem from Muslims. European ships landed these Crusaders on the shores of Palestine on a daily basis. On the other hand, the Sultan committed a mistake knowing on unknowingly... ...which greatly helped the Crusaders. That the Sultan might be under some agreement or as strategy... ...released the crusader king of Jerusalem "King Guy of Lusignan." Sultan had captured him in the Battle of Al-Hattin as you have seen in the last video. Along with King Guy, several other crusader leaders were also released. Soon after their release, they formed a front against Saladin Ayubi. Volunteers from Europe began
to join them. The new Crusader army also had a powerful fleet of European ships. This army under King Guy besieged the important coastal city of Acre. Soon a crusader commander
jumped into this war... ...who was younger than Saladin Ayubi... ...but equal to him in bravery and
fighting skills. This commander was Richard the Lionheart. First time two commanders of Muslims and Crusaders were face to face... ...and the future of Jerusalem was to be decided between them. It was the start of the largest and last of the Crusades in the Sultan's lifetime. The same battle that has kept both heroes alive in military history to date. Could Richard the Lionheart
take back Jerusalem? Why at one point Sultan Saladin's forces... ...refused to obey his orders? Whose victory or defeat did the two centuries-long crusades end? See all this in the next and last episode of Crusades and Ayyubi. Touch here to watch from the start of this wonderful history series. Here's how the Ottoman Empire went from its pinnacle to its fall. And here's the story of
Tipu Sultan's bravery.
