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

CONTENTS
Frank, 140. Distinction between a leopard and a cheetah, 141. A leopard
turned loose in a lord's sitting room, 141. An adventure with a tiger, 141.
ix
PAGE
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... 143
Byzantine mangonels at the siege of Shayzar, 143. The unlucky march
of the Franks against Damascus, 144 A Kurd carries his brother's head
7. Other War Experiences . ...
as a trophy, 145 Blows of sharp swords: One breaks an Isma'ihte skull,
146 Usamah's blow cuts a blade and a forearm, 146 Usamah's father
cuts his groom's outfit and arm with a sheathed sword, 147 Two blows
kill two men, 147 Heroic deeds by women, 148 Baldwin succeeds Roger
in Antioch, 148 Tughdakln beheads Robert, T49 Baldwin exempts
Usamah's uncle from payment of an indemnity, 150 Baldwin cedes Antioch
to Bohemond's son, 150 Bohemond II in battle against Usamah's
people, 150. An encounter with the son of Bohemond, 151 The story of
Buraykah, 152. A woman warnor in Shayzar, 153 Usamah's mother as
a warrior, 154. An aged maid also fights, 154 Usamah's grandmother
gives him wise advice, 154 The piety of Usamah's grandmother, 156 'Ali,
the far-sighted, is killed by his wife for his betrayal of the Moslem cause,
156 A Frankish woman inflicts a wound on a Moslem with her jar, 158.
A Shayzar woman captures three Franks, 158 Prefers to be a Frankish
shoemaker's wife to life in a Moslem castle, 159 A Frank and his children
revert to Christianity, 160
8. An Appreciation of the Frankish Character ... 161
Their lack of sense, 161 Their curious medication, 162 Newly arrived
Franks are especially rough- One insists that Usamah should pray eastward,
163 Another wants to show to a Moslem God as a child, 164 Franks
lack jealousy in sex affairs, 164 Another curious case of medication, 166
A funny race between two aged women, 167 Their judicial trials A duel,
167 Ordeal by water, 168 A Frank domesticated in Syria abstains from
eating pork, 169
9. Sundry Experiences and Observations .... 171
Unusual forms of weakness. Usamah's uncle scared by a mouse, 171.
A hero scared by a snake, 171 Trifles may lead to serious results Loose
reins, 172 No stirrup, 172 Usamah hurt more by a hyena than by lions,
173 One man faints at the sight of gushing blood, 174 Another would
faint at the sight of bloodletting, 1 75 Strong spirits A negro saws his own
leg, I7S One afflicted with dropsy is cured by slashing his abdomen, 176.
Frankish knights take a part of Shayzar unawares, but are repulsed, 177.
A Moslem captive drowns herself, 179 The value of stratagem in warfare.
A ruse against the army of Damascus, 180
Usamah tnes a ruse against
the army of Kafartab, 181 Disadvantages of excessive audacity Usamah
recovers stolen calico, 182. Usamah's party loses some of its members
through inexperience, 183 Ambition as the cause of heroic adventure-
The case of al-Sawr, 185 The case of al-Ban'ah, 186 The ferocity of
§alab-al-DIn Muhammad He cuts one of his men in two, 186. Another
is halved, 187. He cuts the beard of an old man, 188 He takes captive
people of the covenant, 189 The Ismaihtes in Shayzar, 190. Reflections
by Usamah on old age, 190. The duration of life is predetermined The
case of a Shayzar man cut by an Isma'ihte, 192. Another survives a deep
gash in his face, 193 The burden of old age, 194. A eulogy of Saladin, 195.