An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades

INTRODUCTION
7
the school building when the trembling took place, received no
inquiry whatever from any parent regarding the fate of any child.
Not one parent and not one child survived.
The destruction of Taj-al-Dawlah and his children closed the
last page in the Munqidhite chapter of the history of Shayzar.
The stronghold, however, was in the same year repaired and taken
possession of by Nur-al-Dln of Damascus.
To return to Sultan and young Usamah. As long as Sultan
had no male children he took keen interest in Usamah and presided
over his military education, singling him out from among his three
brothers, one of whom was older than Usamah. He often gave
him advice regarding the conduct of warfare, intrusted to his care
important missions (see infra, p. 177) and made attempts to probe
his presence of mind during combat (infra, p. 130). But when
Sultan was blessed with male heirs his attitude towards his young
protege changed, and his jealousy led Usamah in 11 29 to leave
Shayzar for a time. He later returned, but the death of his father,
the brother of Sultan, on May 30,
departure the following year.
1137, resulted in his definitive
Next to Sultan's influence, the paternal influence of the father
was apparently the strongest single force in Usamah's life. The
picture Usamah has left us in his Memoirs of his father is that of a
devout Moslem who "employed all his time reading the Koran,
fasting and hunting during the day, and copying the Book of Allah
at night" (infra, p. 228. Cf. p. 242). His chief diversions were
falconry and the chase, in which he excelled. Usamah knew nobody
comparable to his father in this respect (infra, p. 228). And withal
he was no coward or weakling. "It is in my horoscope," once he
declared to his son, "that I should feel no fear" (infra, p. 85).
One of the very rare seemingly incredible stories told by Usamah
relates how his father in a fit of anger struck his groom with a
sheathed sword, with such force that the sword cut through "the
outfit, the silver sandal, a mantle and a woolen shawl which the
groom had on, and then cut through the bone of the elbow"
(infra, p. 147).
with his moral courage.
His physical strength was apparently commensurate
Of special interest to us are the remarks which throw light on
Usamah's training by his father. The young boy once climbed the