This article presents the Arabic text and an English translation ofa letterof condolence sent from Saladin to Baldwin IV concerning the death of his father Amaury on 11 July 1174. For the date see WT 20.31, p. 957. The letter is significant because it seems to preserve an attempt by Saladin to establish or maintain peaceful relations with the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem. Its contents have been discussed by Malcolm Lyons and David. Jackson, Hannes Möhring, Michael Köhler, and Anne-Marie Eddé (Malcolm C. Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson, Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War (Cambridge, 1982), , nannes Möhring, Heiliger Krieg und politische Pragmatik: Salahadinus Tyrannus,” Deutsches u Erjorschung des Mitelalters 39 (1983): 417-66, at 433-34; Michael A. Köhler, Alliances d 1reaties between Frankish and Muslim Rulers in the Middle East: Cross-Cultural Diplomacy in the the Crusades, trans. Peter M. Holt and Konrad Hirschler (Leiden, 2013), 205-06; Anne-Marie de, Saladin (Paris, 2008), 383: and in English: eadem, Saladin, trans. Jane Marie Todd (Cambridge, MA, 201), 325). The letter is preserved by Ahmad al-Qalqashand+ (756-821/1355-1418) in his chancery manual Subh al-a ‘shã fi kitbat al-insh (A-Qalqashandi, Subh al-a’shã, 14 vols. (Cairo, 1913-22), 7:115-16. On the letter’s authenticity, See Möhring, “Salahadinus Tyrannus,” 433). It was allegedly written to Baldwin (Bardaw+l) on behalfof Saladin by his secretary al-Qd+ al-Fãdil. According to its contents, it was composed immediately after receiving the news of Amaury’s death. However Saladin addresses Baldwin as king in the letter. This seems to Indicate that the letter was composed somne time after Baldwin’s coronation on 15 July (WT 21.2, p. 962).

It would appear then that Saladin was following after it had been decided that the youth would inherit the throne. the events in Jerusalem rather closely, and that he sent the letter to Baldwin only The contents of Saladin’s letter to Baldwin may be summarized thus: Saladin addresses Baldwin as the Guardian of Jerusalem,” and wishes him success in his reign. He expresses his grief over the death of Baldwin’s father, the Just King” whom he had considered a friend and a neighbor. He states that God has mitigated the tragic situation by making the youthful Baldwin heir to the throne. He stresses that Baldwin’s father would still be worthy of loyalty, were he alive. He afirs reciprocate this love and to trust him. that Baldwin has inherited the love that he had felt for his father, and urges him to It should be noted that this letter shares some similarities in content, structure vocabulary, and style with the letter of condolence sent by Saladin to an unnamed Syrian emir on the occasion of Nur al-Din’s death on 15 May 1174. Saladin claims in the letter that he and Amaury were friends, and expresses his hope that he and Baldwin will share a similar relationship.

It is possible that Saladin developed some was genuine feelings of friendship towards Amaury during his brief stay at his camp and in light of the courtesy that was shown to him and his soldiers and allies. 3 If Saladin did Iregard Amaury in an amicable way, he certainly did not convey it in the abovementioned letter to his nephew. In fact, he expressed very different sentiments concerning Amaury and his death. Making a pun based on Amaury’s name in Arabic (Murri), Saladin remarks on his death: “May God curse him and abandon him and lead him to punishment as bitter [murr] as his name abundant 1 thanks to God as this is the fulfillment of the most for which we could have We give hoped.” >»14 Saladin was thus delivering different messages internally and externally.l5 The question remains: what did Saladin hope to achieve by evoking the notion of friendship in his letter to Baldwin? Möhring has interpreted Saladin’s talk of friendship as referring to an actual agreement or alliance that existed between his Egypt and the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem in opposition to Zengid Syria. As evidence for such an agreement, he points to Saladin’s tepid involvement in attacks carried out against the Franks: Saladin did not assist Nkr al-D)n during his attack on Shawbak/Montréal in 1171. Instead he and his forces backed away and returned to Egypt. He also turned back from an attack on Kerak in 1173. The Franks themselves were not the declared targets of this attack, but rather their Bedouin allies. Furthermore, Amaury was willing to engage the Armenians up north at about the same time, seemingly leaving the border with Egypt exposed. According to Möhring, this agreement appears to have lasted into Baldwin’s reign. The Franks did not aid the Sicilian fleet which attacked Egypt on 28 July 1174.

This does not necessarily mean th. there was a formal agreement in place as Möhring has suggested. It is possible h Saladin merely meant to dissuade Jerusalem from joining the Sicilian attack or ns similar to it, or sought to present himself as unthreatening towards the Franke e that they would not stand in the way of any future Egyptian incursion into Syria the letter, Saladin presents himself and Amaury as friends and good neighbors. Thie does not have to be taken literally. It could simply be understood as a euphemism for the lack of significant aggression between Jerusalem and Egypt in the period leading up to Amaury’s death. I suspect that the letter reflects Saladin’s disinterest in fighting the Franks at the time, while he was turning most of his attention toward Syria. Essentially, he is sending a clear message to the minor king and his court: do not interfere! Saladin refers to Baldwin by the title “the Guardian of Jerusalem” (Hiz Bav! al-Maqdis). This title is not listed by al-Qalgashand+ in his inventories of titles and appellations which were used in corespondence with the infidels.”19 However these inventories include similar titles which were used in addressing Christian leaders that provide a point of reference for Baldwin’s title. The Guardian of the Seas and Gulfs” (Hãfz al-Bihr wal-Khuljn) is given as a title of the pope in Rome (al-Pp bi-Rkmiya).20 “The Guardian of the Southern Lands” (Hz al-Bilãd al-Jankbiyya) is given as the title of the king of the Ethiopian Christians (Malik al-Habasha min al-Na_r). Apparently it was not out of the ordinary for Muslim dignitaries to describe their Christian counterparts as Guardians of their respective domains.

1. One might argue that Saladin’s mention of Baldwin’s guardianship over Jerusalem is still remarkable due to this city’s religious significance in Islam when compared with Rome or Ethiopia. Thus, a Muslim acknowledgement of Christian guardianship over the Holy City can be considered a noteworthy concession. However, it is likely that this title is merely diplomatic in nature, as can be evinced
2. Translation