Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

to fanatical cannibalism as shown in the events which followed the fall of the
city of Ma’arra, Syria. In 1098, the Franc Chronicler, Radulph of Caen,
reported horrific scenes of barbarism: “In Ma’arra our troops boiled pagan
adults alive in cooking-pots; they impaled children on spits and devoured them
grilled.” 7
Another Franc, Albert of Aix, who took part at the battle for Ma’arra
wrote: “Not only did ours [troops] not shrink from eating killed Turks and
Saracens but they also ate dogs!” 8 Such horrible acts, which could only be
explained by blind religious hatred, tarnished Muslims-Christians relations.
Centuries later, animosity persisted and the religious gap kept growing.
Indeed, the Crusades left an indelible heritage of hatred and savageness
towards Muslims. In the Muslim mind, whether Saracens 9 or Turks who fell to
the teeth of the cannibals, the Crusaders could claim nothing of a ‘holy’
mission against ‘infidels’ except barbarism and cruelty; or as expressed by an
anonymous Muslim poet who survived Ma’arra: “I do not know whether it is a
grazing ground for ferocious beasts or it is my house, my native home!” 10
Thus, Muslim’s “hatred for Christians is explained, and in part justified, by the
fanaticism and cruelty of the latter during the Crusades.” 11 Ultimately, under
the strikes of the Muslims, particularly Sultan Salah Eddin (1137-1193) and the
7 Maalouf, Les Croisades, pp. 55-56; unknown, “The Cannibals of Ma’arra,” 2003. (Accessed 9 June
2008). http://utah.indymedia.org/news/2003/10/6476.php
8 Ibid., Translations are from the researcher unless otherwise indicated.
9 Throughout the Medieval Ages, the Crusaders used the term ‘Saracens’ to refer to Muslims of the
Orient—Arabs, Turks, or others who resisted them. In the following centuries, its use was extended to
denote Arab tribes in general. In the Byzantine Empire, this term referred to all subjects of the Muslim
caliphate. From Crusaders and Byzantines, the term spread into Western Europe where it has survived
into modern times. “Saracen,” Encyclopædia Britannica, from Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate
Reference Suite DVD. (Accessed 26 May 2008).
10 Maalouf, Les Croisades, p. 53.
11 Ann Thomson, Barbary and Enlightenment: European Attitudes towards the Maghreb in the 18 th
Century (Leiden/New York/KØbenhavn: E. J. Brill, 1987), p. 23.
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