volume one

HISTOET or THE CRUSADES. 228
leaping from the tops of the wooden towers. The Mussulmans
fled on all sides, and Jerusalem resounded with the
cry of victory of the Crusaders,—
" It is the will of God ! It
is the will of God /
" =*
The companions of Godfrey and Tancred beat the gate of
St. Stephen to pieces with axes, and the city was at once
thrown open to the crowd of Crusaders, who pressed forward
and contended for the honour of dealing the last blow
to the conquered infidels.
Raymond alone still experienced some resistance. Warned
of the success of the Christians, by the clashing of arms,
and the tumult he heard in the city, he endeavoured still
further to animate his soldiers. The latter, impatient to
join their companions, abandoned then* tower and machines,
which they could no longer move. They planted ladders
and swords, by the means of which they mounted the rampart,
whither they were preceded by the count of Thoulouse,
^Raymond Pelet, the bishop of Bira, the count de Die, and
William de Sabran. Nothing now could stop their progress
they dispersed the Saracens, who with their emir had taken
refuge in the fortress of David,t and soon all the Crusaders
united in Jerusalem embraced, wept for joy, and gave all
their attention to the completion of their victory.
Despair, however, for a moment forced the bravest of the
Saracens to rally, and they charged with impetuosity the
* The details of this assault are repeated by all contemporary historians ;
several describe it at length. Foulcher de Chartres, who without doubt
distingmshed himself there, is the one who says the least. Anna Comnena
says that the Christians took Jerusalem in fifteen days, but gives no
details.
t The Oriental authors give no details of the siege of Jerusalem. The
manuscript history of Jerusalem and Hebron, which is in the Imperial
Library, and of which M. Jourdain has been kind enough to translate
several fragments for me, contains nothing but vague notices. The author
contents himself with saying that the siege lasted more than forty days,
and that the Christians killed a great number of Mussulmans. We may
here make a general remark : when the Mussulmans experience reverses,
the Arabian authors are very sparing of details, and satisfy themselves
with telling things in a vague manner, adding, " So God has willed it,
may God curse the Christiatis." Aboul-Feda gives very few more details
than the rest. He says that the massacre of the Mussulmans lasted
during seven consecutive f'ays, and that seventy thousand persons were
killed in the mosque of Ouiar, which is evidently an exaggeration.
;