I

About  the  same  time,  a  dispute  arose  between  the  two
most  powerful  Saracen  princes,  the  sultans  of  Aleppo  and
Babylon,  owing  to  the  French  king  having  been  ransomed
and  released  from  the  hands  of  the  Saracens  through  the
avarice  of  the  latter  sultan ;  for  all  the  Orientals  in  common
said,  that  they  should  never  have  lost  such  a  precious
priTe  except  tkrough  the  idleness  and  avarice  of  the  Baby-
loniana;  wherefore,  the  said  sultan,  being  attacked  on  all
sides  by  the  Saracens,  and  especially  by  the  sultan  of
Aleppo,  was  compelled  to  confess  this,  and  also  to  send  word
to  the  French  king,  humbly  begging  for  peace  and  terms  of
friendship  on  good  and  certain  conditions  ;  from  which  cir-
cumstance it  was  hoped  that  the  preservaticm  of  Jerusalem
would  be  effected. Concerning  this  matter,  we  have  received
bulled  letters  from  the  master  of  the  iG[ospitallers,  at  Jeru-
salem ;  and  if  any  one  desires  to  see  them,  let  him  look  in  the
book  of  Additaments. The  person  who  had  slain  the  sultan
was  so  elated  with  pride,  that  he  provoked  the  anger  of  all
the  men  of  the  East ;  for  the  sultan  who  had  just  been
treacherously  slain  was  a  discreet  and  modest  man,  and  one
indeMigably  zealous  in  his  faith. Having  been  severely
reproached  during  his  lifetime  for  having  allowed  the
French  king  to  be  ransomed  and  to  depart  alive,  he  is  said
to  have  replied  as  follows  : — "  My  friends,  you  know  that  he
is  the  most  noble  of  all  the  Christians ;  therefore  if  he  were
to  be  slain,  his  relations,  who  are  numerous,  would  aspire
with  their  whole  heart  to  avenge  him ;  moreover,  I  should


416  MATTHEW  PABIS. [a.D. 125L

have  lost  his  ransom  :  by  the  payment  of  which  the  whole  of
Fnu.ce  is  impoveriBhi  and^  ^anism  is  enriched  and
exalted  ;  neither  did  I  dare  to  attempt  the  sin  of  poisoning
a  person  of  such  high  rank,  lest  such  great  treachery  should
provoke  the  Grod  of  the  Christians. Let  us  therefore  be
satisfied  with  the  favour  of  Mahomet,  and  with  the  ruin  of
such  a  great  king,  who  has  been  defeated,  made  prisoner,
and  ransomed,  and  with  the  knowledge  that  there  was  not
one  person  of  noble  rank,  or  even  of  any  note,  who  could
escape  our  hands. 