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

:
USAMAH IN EGYPT 35
I replied, "0 my lord, in case he offers excuses or has some business
which would hinder him from carrying out this plan, what are then
thy instructions to me? " To this he replied
If he sets out against Tiberias,
give him the money which thou hast,
but if there is anything to prevent him, then enlist thou as many soldiers
as thou canst, go up to 'Asqalan, and establish thyself in it for combat
against the Franks. As soon as thou arnvest there, write me and I shall
send thee instructions as to what to do next.
He then put at my disposal six thousand Egyptian dinars, a
camel load of Dablqi 26 clothes, of ciclatoun, of squirrel-furred
gowns, of Dimyati 26 brocade, and of turbans. He also arranged
for a group of Arab guides to accompany me. Thus I proceeded,
after he had removed every difficulty in the way of my departure
by supplying me with everything I needed, whether great or small.
A curious Arab tribe at al-Jafr. — As we approached al-Jafr,
27
my guides said to me, "Here is a place which is rarely free from
Franks." Acting upon my order, two guides riding on Mahri 28
camels preceded us to al-Jafr. No sooner, however, had they
departed than they returned, with their camels almost flying under
them, and said, "The Franks are at al-Jafr." I immediately halted,
assembled the camels which carried my luggage, and certain members
of the caravan who were in my company, and turned back
toward the west. Choosing then six horsemen from among my
mamelukes, 29 I said to them, "Go ahead of us and I shall follow
right after you." They dashed off at a gallop and I dashed behind
them. One of them returned to me, saying, "Not a single one at
al-Jafr! Perhaps what the guides saw was nomadic Arabs." 30
An argument ensued between him and the guides. I dispatched
someone who immediately turned the camels back, and continued
my way
• Fabricated in Dabiq (perhaps modern Dablj), a town which lay in the district
of Dimyat, Lower Egypt The cloth was woven of linen, occasionally interwoven with
gold and silk
M Dimyat (Damietta), colloquially Dumyat, famed throughout the Moslem
world, especially during the Fatumte period, for its textiles, manufactured mostly of
white linen or silk with an admixture of gold threads
27
An oasis in the desert between Egypt and Palestine
58
A breed of dromedaries, so called after an Arab tribe of that name
w maml&k, literally "possessed" or "owned," used by Arabic writers for slaves
when not black.
M 'urbdn. Since the manuscript ignores the diacritical marks, the word may be
ghirbdn - "ravens."