DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10358#0193
i66
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
position on the sea-coast, Godfrey invested Ascalon with five thousand cavalry and infantry,
while Tancred and the two Roberts directed the attack upon the enemy. Gallantly the
Christians charged their swarthy antagonists, who exceeded them greatly in numbers. It is
related that large flocks of sheep and herds of cattle accompanied the Christians from the
mountains, and these were mistaken by the Mohammedans for the Christian reserve forces,
apparently so numerous that when the first collision took place a panic arose among them
and they fled in all directions, hotly pursued by the Christians. Some fled to the seashore
and were there put to death by Raymond, while others perished in the desert. One
portion attempted to escape into Ascalon, but were intercepted by Godfrey and killed. On
the destruction of this vast army Godfrey now laid siege to Ascalon, but was in a short
time obliged to raise the siege again in consequence of the quarrels among his knights, and
Ascalon still remained in the hands of the Mohammedans, a standing menace to Jerusalem.
In a.d. 1124 the Mohammedans made an ineffectual raid from Ascalon upon Jerusalem,
while the Christians were endeavouring to subdue Tyre. It was not until a.d. 1153 that
Ascalon was taken from the Mohammedans. Then Baldwin III. laid siege to it, determined
to capture it at all hazards ; he completely invested the fortress both by sea and land, and for
two months carried on extensive siege operations. During this period he omitted to observe
the Easter festival, and ordered all the pilgrims in the land to hasten to the assistance of the
investing army. The Mohammedans defended the walls with the utmost gallantry, and when
at last they were obliged to submit they wrere enabled to make their own terms and march
out of the fortress with all the honours of war.
In a few years the cause of Christendom languished, and under the leadership of the
Sultan Saladin the followers of Islam recaptured many of the cities of Syria. Among others
Ascalon was the last to capitulate previous to the march of the Mohammedans upon Jerusalem
(a.d. i 187). In 1190 Saladin determined to destroy the fortifications of Ascalon, lest it should
again fall into the hands of the Christians ; accordingly, under his directions, this magnificent
fortress became in a short time a heap of ruins (see page 169). During the Third Crusade the
walls of Ascalon were rebuilt by the Christians, in which work Richard Plantagenet took a
special interest, part of the expenses being defrayed by a subscription from the ladies of
England. In the year 1270 the walls were again totally destroyed by the Sultan Bibars.
The walls of Ascalon are still standing in places (see page 173), but they are of small-sized
pieces of indurated sandstone ; here and there may be seen remains of the massive blocks
which formed the old walls, which for the most part have been carried away for the building
of other sites. Columns of oranite, seventeen to eighteen feet in length and two and a half
feet in diameter, are to be seen projecting from the faces of the walls. Ascalon is still used
as a seaport in a small way (see page 172), and exports bones and pottery. The neighbourhood
is very fertile ; groups of palm-trees give a picturesque aspect to the place (see page 169).
Vines, olives, and many kinds of fruit, including apples, are cultivated by the inhabitants of
El Jurah, a small village north-east of the group of ruins now called 'Askulan.
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
position on the sea-coast, Godfrey invested Ascalon with five thousand cavalry and infantry,
while Tancred and the two Roberts directed the attack upon the enemy. Gallantly the
Christians charged their swarthy antagonists, who exceeded them greatly in numbers. It is
related that large flocks of sheep and herds of cattle accompanied the Christians from the
mountains, and these were mistaken by the Mohammedans for the Christian reserve forces,
apparently so numerous that when the first collision took place a panic arose among them
and they fled in all directions, hotly pursued by the Christians. Some fled to the seashore
and were there put to death by Raymond, while others perished in the desert. One
portion attempted to escape into Ascalon, but were intercepted by Godfrey and killed. On
the destruction of this vast army Godfrey now laid siege to Ascalon, but was in a short
time obliged to raise the siege again in consequence of the quarrels among his knights, and
Ascalon still remained in the hands of the Mohammedans, a standing menace to Jerusalem.
In a.d. 1124 the Mohammedans made an ineffectual raid from Ascalon upon Jerusalem,
while the Christians were endeavouring to subdue Tyre. It was not until a.d. 1153 that
Ascalon was taken from the Mohammedans. Then Baldwin III. laid siege to it, determined
to capture it at all hazards ; he completely invested the fortress both by sea and land, and for
two months carried on extensive siege operations. During this period he omitted to observe
the Easter festival, and ordered all the pilgrims in the land to hasten to the assistance of the
investing army. The Mohammedans defended the walls with the utmost gallantry, and when
at last they were obliged to submit they wrere enabled to make their own terms and march
out of the fortress with all the honours of war.
In a few years the cause of Christendom languished, and under the leadership of the
Sultan Saladin the followers of Islam recaptured many of the cities of Syria. Among others
Ascalon was the last to capitulate previous to the march of the Mohammedans upon Jerusalem
(a.d. i 187). In 1190 Saladin determined to destroy the fortifications of Ascalon, lest it should
again fall into the hands of the Christians ; accordingly, under his directions, this magnificent
fortress became in a short time a heap of ruins (see page 169). During the Third Crusade the
walls of Ascalon were rebuilt by the Christians, in which work Richard Plantagenet took a
special interest, part of the expenses being defrayed by a subscription from the ladies of
England. In the year 1270 the walls were again totally destroyed by the Sultan Bibars.
The walls of Ascalon are still standing in places (see page 173), but they are of small-sized
pieces of indurated sandstone ; here and there may be seen remains of the massive blocks
which formed the old walls, which for the most part have been carried away for the building
of other sites. Columns of oranite, seventeen to eighteen feet in length and two and a half
feet in diameter, are to be seen projecting from the faces of the walls. Ascalon is still used
as a seaport in a small way (see page 172), and exports bones and pottery. The neighbourhood
is very fertile ; groups of palm-trees give a picturesque aspect to the place (see page 169).
Vines, olives, and many kinds of fruit, including apples, are cultivated by the inhabitants of
El Jurah, a small village north-east of the group of ruins now called 'Askulan.