volume one

176 HISTORY OF THE CUV r.ADi-:.-^.
When the danger was past, the holy hmce which had ijjlveu
so much confidence to the Crusaders dui'ing the battle, no
longer excited their veneration, and lost all its marvellous
influence. As it remained in the hands of the count of
Thoulouse and his Proven9als, to whom it brought a great
number of oflerinsis, the other nations were not wiliino: to
leave them the sole advantage of a miracle which augmented
their consideration and their wealth ; and, as we shall soon
see, it was not long before doubts were raised upon the
authenticitv of the lance which had effected such wonders,
and the spii^it of rivalry did that which reason might have
done in a more enli2:htened age.
The -victory of Antioch appeared to the Saracens to be so
extraordinary an event that many of them abandoned the rehgion
of their prophet. Those who defended the citadel were so
struck with terror and surprise, that they surrendered to
Raymond the very day of the battle. Three hundred of
them embraced the faith of the holy Grospel, and many
went among the cities of Svria declaring that the God of the
Christians must be the true Grod.
After this memorable day the Turks made scarcely any
eflbrt to impede the march of the Christians. This last
triumph of the Franks appeared to them like a decision of
heaven that men ought not to contend against. Most of
the emirs of Svria who had shared the spoils of the sultan
of Persia, considered the invasion of the Christians as a
passing calamity, ^\^.thout thinking of the consequences it
niicjht leave behind, and onlv sousfht to take advantacje of it
to assure their ovra domination and independence. The
dvnasty of the Seljoucides was every day losing its strength
and its splendour. The vast empire of Togi'ul, Alp-Arslan,
and Malek-Scha was crumbKno^ awav on all sides amidst
ci^il and foreign wars. This empire, created towards the
middle of the eleventh centurv, whose sudden increase had
alarmed Constantinople and carried terror even among the
nations of the West, was soon doomed to see other states
elevate themselves upon its ruins ; for, according to the
remark of an historian, it might be said that God was
pleased to show how insignificant the earth is in his eyes,
by thus causing to pass from hand to hand, like a child's
toy, a power so monstrous as to tlu-eaten the universe.