volume one

BOOK VIII.
A.D. 1188—1192.
Whilst the crusade was being preached in Europe,
Saladin was following up the course of his victories. The
battle of Tiberias and the taking of Jerusalem had created
so general a terror, that the inhabitants of the Holy Land
were persuaded it was useless to endeavour to resist the
army of the Saracens. Amid this consternation, one city
alone defied and checked all the united forces of the new
conqueror of the East. Saladin was exceedingly anxious
for the conquest of Tyre, and had twice collected both his
fleets and his armies to attack it. But the inhabitants had
sworn to die rather than surrender to the Mussulmans
which noble determination was the work of Conrad, who
had recently arrived in the city, and appeared to have been
sent by Heaven to save it.
Conrad, son of the marquis of Montferrat, bore a name
renowned throughout the West, and the fame of his
exploits had preceded him into Asia. In his earliest
youth he had distinguished himself in the war of the Holy
See against the emperor of G^erman3^ A. passion for glory
and a love of adventure then led him to Constantinople,
where he suppressed a sedition which threatened the imperial
throne, and killed the leader of the rebels on the field of
battle. The sister of Isaac Angelus and the title of Caesar
were the reward of his courage and his services ; but his
restless character would not allow him to enjoy his good
fortune long. Whilst surrounded by peaceful grandeur, he
was roused by the fame of the holy war, and, heedless of the
tenderness of a bride, or the gratitude of an emperor, he
hastened into Palestine. Conrad reached the coast of
Phoenicia a few days after the battle of Tiberias. At the
moment of his arrival, the city of Tyre had named deputies
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