Climate and Political Climate. Environmental Disasters in the Medieval Levant 9789004216563, 9789004244773, 2012043423, 9789004244733

Table of contents :
Contents
List of fig ures, tables and maps
Acknowledgements
Notes on transliteration
Introduction
Historical Background
The Geographical Framework
Resources, Environmental Disasters and Conflict
Part one
Droughts and famines
A short survey of climate in the Levant, Iraq and North Africa
The Definition of Drought
Assessing the Severity of Medieval Droughts
Agriculture in Greater Syria
The Agricultural Hinterlands of the Syrian Cities
Grain-growing Regions in the Eastern Mediterranean
Salination, Soil Erosion and Black Winds
Animal Husbandry and the Role of Nomadic Tribes
Drawing the Line: Defending Sedentary Interests
Preparing for and coping with droughts and famines
Granaries and Storage Conditions: Fortresses in the Levant and their Role as Granaries
Preparing for and Coping with Droughts among Nomads
Rituals, Famine Foods and the Question of Cannibalism
Droughts and famines: Social, military and political consequences
Conflicts and Peace Treaties Driven by Droughts and Famines
1178-1181, the Longest of the Twelfth-Century Droughts
The Longest of the Thirteenth-Century Droughts
Mega Droughts across the Middle East
The fourteenth century: Gradual changes in the weather
Long and Short-term Relief Programs Initiated by al-Nāṣir Muḥammad
The End of the Medieval Warm Period in the Levant (?)
Rare and Unusual Weather Tales
Part two
Earthquakes and the politics of mass destruction
Assessing the Force of Historical Earthquakes
A Brief Geological Survey of Faults and Plate Tectonics in the Levant
Twelfth and early thirteenth century earthquakes and their impact on Crusader-Muslim affairs
I Feel the Earth Move under My Feet: Twelfth Century Earthquakes
The 1202 Earthquake—A Link in a Series of Peace Treaties
Domestic Architecture and Earthquakes
Raw Materials and Structural Behaviour
Trial and Error—Some Archaeological Evidence Depicting Changes in Fortress Construction
The Citadel of Damascus
Crac des Chevaliers (Hisn al-Akrad)
The Round Free Standing Tower at Safad
The Mamluk octagonal towers at al-Ṣubayba and Karak
The Active Fault below the Crusader Fortress of Vadum Jacob
Part three
Small and destructive enemies
The curse of insects and rodents on an agricultural based economy
Locusts
Recipes for Disasters
Waves of Mice and Rats
Part four
Dearth, crisis and violence
Climatic fluctuations, political stability and
military strength
Glossary
Bibliography
INDEX

Citation preview

Climate and Political Climate

Brill’s Series in the History of the Environment General Editor

Aleks Pluskowski, University of Reading

VOLUME 3

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bshe

Climate and Political Climate Environmental Disasters in the Medieval Levant

By

Sarah Kate Raphael

LEIDEN • BOSTON 2013

Cover illustration: Sand storm taken by Shai Urman and clear sky by author.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Raphael, Kate, author. Climate and political climate : environmental disasters in the Medieval Levant / by Sarah Kate Raphael. pages cm. -- (Brill's series in the history of the environment ; VOLUME 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-21656-3 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-24477-3 (e-bk) 1. Climatic changes--Middle East--History--To 1500. 2. Climatic changes--Social aspects-Middle East. 3. Climate and civilization--Middle East. 4. Nature--Effect of human beings on--Middle East--History. 5. Paleoclimatology--Middle East. 6. Middle East--Climate-History. I. Title. QC990.M53R37 2013 551.695609'02--dc23 2012043423

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contents

v

Contents List of Figures, Tables and Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ix Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  xiii Notes on Transliteration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   xv Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    1 Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    4 The Geographical Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    5 Resources, Environmental Disasters and Conflict. . . . . . . . . . . . .    6 Part One

Droughts and famines 1. A Short Survey of Climate in the Levant, Iraq and North Africa . .   13 The Definition of Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   19 Assessing the Severity of Medieval Droughts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   21 2. Agriculture in Greater Syria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   29 The Agricultural Hinterlands of the Syrian Cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . .   30 Grain-growing Regions in the Eastern Mediterranean . . . . . . . . .   33 Salination, Soil Erosion and Black Winds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   40 Animal Husbandry and the Role of Nomadic Tribes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Drawing the Line: Defending Sedentary Interests . . . . . . . . . . . . .   52 3. Preparing for and Coping with Droughts and Famines. . . . . . . . . .   55 Granaries and Storage Conditions: Fortresses in the Levant and their Role as Granaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   56 Preparing for and Coping with Droughts among Nomads . . . . .   68 Rituals, Famine Foods and the Question of Cannibalism . . . . . .   69 4. Droughts and Famines: Social, Military and Political Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   73 Conflicts and Peace Treaties Driven by Droughts and Famines .  74 1178-1181, the Longest of the Twelfth-Century Droughts . . . . .   76 The Longest of the Thirteenth-Century Droughts . . . . . . . . . . . . .   87

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Mega Droughts across the Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   90 5. The Fourteenth Century: Gradual Changes in the Weather . . . . .   95 Long and Short-term Relief Programs Initiated by al-Nāṣir  Muḥammad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   97 The End of the Medieval Warm Period in the Levant (?). . . . . . .  101 Rare and Unusual Weather Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  106 Part Two

Earthquakes and the politics of mass destruction   Assessing the Force of Historical Earthquakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  115   A Brief Geological Survey of Faults and Plate Tectonics in the Levant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  118 6. Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Century Earthquakes and their Impact on Crusader-Muslim Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  127 I Feel the Earth Move under My Feet: Twelfth Century . Earth­quakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  127 The 1202 Earthquake—A Link in a Series of Peace Treaties . . .  138 Domestic Architecture and Earthquakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  143 Raw Materials and Structural Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  144 Trial and Error—Some Archaeological Evidence Depicting Changes in Fortress Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  147 The Citadel of Damascus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  150 Crac des Chevaliers (Hisn al-Akrad). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  151 The Round Free Standing Tower at Safad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  155 The Mamluk Octagonal Towers at al-Ṣubayba and Karak . . . . . .  158 The Active Fault below the Crusader Fortress of Vadum Jacob. .  161 Part Three

Small and destructive enemies 7. The Curse of Insects and Rodents on an Agricultural Based Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  167 Locusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  168 Recipes for Disasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  172 Waves of Mice and Rats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  178

contents

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Part four

Dearth, crisis and violence 8. Climatic Fluctuations, Political Stability and Military Strength . .  187 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  195 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  197 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  209

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list of figures, tables and maps

ix

List of figures, tables and maps Figures 1.1 The Dead Sea chart. Courtesy of Dr. Stein, The Israel Geology Institute, Jerusalem Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   11 1.2 Jerusalem, Germain’s Pool (Birket sultan Sept. 1943, Library of Congress prints and photographs Division LC-Dig Matpc 12447). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   17 1.3 Annual rainfall in Jerusalem 1847-2000. After Amiran, D. H. K. Rainfall and Water Management in Semi-Arid Climates: Israel as an Example (Jerusalem, 1995), 49: figure A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   25 3.1 Bethsaida, gate complex. Arav, R. “A chronicle of a pre-known destruction, analysis of the stages of conquest and destruction of the city of Bethsaida by Tiglat Pilesr III 732-734 B.C.E.” in Eretz-Israel, eds Aviram, J. et al., (Jerusalem, 2009), vol. 29, figure 4. Courtesy of Dr. Rami Arav, University of Omaha Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   58 3.2 Bethsaida, reconstruction of the gate. Arav, R. “A chronicle of a pre-known destruction, analysis of the stages of conquest and destruction of the city of Bethsaida by Tiglat Pilesr III 732-734 B.C.E.”, in Eretz-Israel, eds Aviram, J. et al. (Jerusalem, 2009), vol. 29, figure 3. Courtesy of Dr. Rami Arav, University of Omaha Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   59 3.3 Karak, the western storage galleries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   65 3.4 Karak, inside the storage galleries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   65 5.1 The rise in the Dead Sea level at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Courtesy of Dr. Stein, The Israel Geology Institute, Jerusalem Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  102 5.2 Dust devil in the Judean Desert (August 1999, National Photo Collection (70329), photographer: Ohayon Avi) . . . . . . . . . . . . .  108 5.3 Sand storm over the Negev May 2007. Coutesy of Mr. Shai Urman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  109 6.1 Strike slip fault. Adapted from Shoval, S. Secrets of the Earth (Raanana, 2006), page 141:a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  121 6.2 Damascus, towers along the Ayyubid citadel. Courtesy of Dr. David Nicolle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  151

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list of figures, tables and maps

6.3 Crac des Chevaliers, plan. Adapted from Müller-Wiener, Castles of the Crusades (London, 1966), page 61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  154 6.4 Crac de Chevaliers, the glacis “chocking” the towers. Courtesy of Mr. Michael Stadel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  154 6.5 Safad, plan of the Crusader fortress. Adapted from Conder, C. R. and Kitchener, H. H. Survey in Western Palestine (London, 1881), vol. 1, Plan opposite page 249. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  157 6.6 Safad, reconstruction of the round tower. Illustration by S. Rotem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  157 6.7 Safad, section across the tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  158 6.8 Safad, the tower wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  158 6.9 al-Ṣubayba, fortress plan. Adapted from Deschamps‫ ת‬P., Les Chateâux des Croisés en Terre Sainte II:La défense du royaume latin de Jérusalem (Paris, 1939), figure 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  160 6.10 al-Ṣubayba, the large stones at Bilik’s tower (11). . . . . . . . . . . . .  160 6.11 al-Ṣubayba, key stone tower 16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  160 6.12 Plan of the Crusader fortress Vadum Jacob and the fault below. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  162 6.13 Vadum Jacob, the rupture along the northern wall. . . . . . . . . . .  163 7.1 Desert locust. Adapted from Bodenheimer, F. S. et al., The Farmers Book of Insects (Tel Aviv, 1935), figure 25. . . . . . . . . . . .  168 7.2 Members of Kibbutz Saad swipingat swarms of locust with sheets (Noveber 1955, National Photo Collection (D401-018), photographer: Eldan David) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  171 7.3 Levant Vole. Adapted from Bodenheimer, F. S. Problems of Vole Populations in the Middle East, Report on the Population Dynamics of the Levant Vole (Jerusalem, 1949), figure 3: f. . . . . . .  179 Tables 1.1 Droughts in the 12th-14th centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   22 5.1 Cold and wet winters in the 14th century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  103 6.1 Earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean basin 11th-14th centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  124 6.2 1157, distribution of earthquake damage according to Ibn alJawzi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  132 6.3 1170, distribution of earthquake damage according to William of Tyre and Ibn al-Athīr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  133 6.4 List of places damaged in the 1202 earthquake. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  141

list of figures, tables and maps

xi

7.1 Waves of locust in the 12th-15th centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  174 Maps 1.1 The Dead Sea Basin-the hydrological gauge of the Levant region. Courtesy of Dr. Mordechai Stein, The Israel Geology Institute, Jerusalem, Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   12 1.2 Climate in the Levant and North Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   16 1.3 Droughts in the medieval Levant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   23 1.4 Famines in the medieval Levant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   24 2.1 The Crusader kingdom and principalities. Adapted from Prawer, J. The Crusades (Jerusalem, 1985), map 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2.2 Grain growing regions in the Eastern Mediterranean. . . . . . . . .   36 2.3 The Crusader kingdom after 1187. Adapted from Prawer, J. The Crusades (Jerusalem, 1985), map 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   38 6.1 The Dead Sea Transform. Adapted from Shoval, S. Secrets of the Earth (Raanana, 2006), figure 6.31:G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  119 6.2 Plate tectonics in the eastern Mediterranean. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  120 6.3 Major faults in the Levant. Adapted from Meghraoui, et al., “Evidence for 830 years of seismic quiescence from palaeoseismology, archaeoseismology and historical seismology along the Dead Sea fault in Syria,” Earth and Science Letters 210 (2003): figure 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  122 6.4 The earthquake of 1157. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  130 6.5 The earthquake of 1170. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  131 6.6 Earthquake damage to fortresses in the twelfth century. . . . . .  142 6.7 Fault systems in the region of the Crusader fortress of Vadum Jacob. Adapted from Shroder, J. F. et al., “Geologic and geographic background to the Bethsaida excavations,” in Bethsaida, eds. R. Arav and R. Freund (Kirksville, Missouri, 1995), vol. 1, figure 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  162 7.1 Waves of locusts in the medieval Levant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  176

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list of figures, tables and maps

list of figures, tables and maps

xiii

Acknowledgements This study of climate and history in the medieval Levant is based on my post-doctorate research at the Institute of Earth Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I am most grateful to the members of The Galilee Project, Dr. Derek Sturdy, Mrs. Nan Godet and Professor Geoffrey King. This research was generously funded by Dr. Derek Sturdy. I would like to thank both professor Enzel who sponsored the first part of this study, and professor Amotz Agnon from the Institute of Earth Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor Amitai from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem helped in funding a number of the maps needed for this research. Special thanks are due to Professor Geoffrey King, from the Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France, Mrs. Tamar Sofer and Mrs. Michal Kidron both from the Cartographic Laboratory at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who drew the maps that accompany this research, without them it would have been impossible to understand or grasp the scale of environmental disasters in this period. I would like to thank my parents and Mrs. Evelyn Katrak who edited the work and Noam Tamari and Art Plus who worked on the photographs and graphics. Special thanks are due to the librarians at the Jewish National Library in Jerusalem, the librarians at The School of Oriental and African Studies in London and Mrs. Sharon Lieber at the library of the Institute of Earth Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. My colleagues Shai Shir, Amir Mazor and Yonatan Barak helped translate the Arabic and added valuable information, which they noted while conducting their own research. Special thanks are due to Shmulik for suggesting the title. Any mistakes and faults in this study are entirely my own. This study is dedicated to the shadow dancers of Tell Jezreel.

xiv

list of figures, tables and maps

list of figures, tables and maps

xv

Notes on transliteration Arabic terminology is italicized and transliterated according to Mamlūk Studies Review. Common Arabic words such as amir and sultan are written without diacritical points. Most of the sources in Arabic are translated into English by the author unless otherwise noted. Name places are brought in the Arabic version as they appear in contemporary medieval sources. The Frankish names are mentioned in brackets, for example Ḥisn al-Akrād (Crac des Chevaliers). When the context deals explicitly with Frankish historical events, the name place appears in the Latin or the old French version. Well known place names appear in their current usage in English (Aleppo, Cairo, Damascus, etc). The Mongol and Turkish names of are transcribed as if they were Arabic.

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list of figures, tables and maps

xvii

Abbreviations BASOR BSOAS DI EI2 JESHO JRAS MSR PPTS SI

Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research Bulletin of the Schools of Oriental and African Studies Der Islam Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden and London, 1960) Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Journal of Royal Asiatic Society Mamluk Studies Review Palestine Pilgrims Text Society Studia Islamica

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list of figures, tables and maps

introduction

1

Introduction In late November 2010 a small group of Muslim, Jewish and Christian clerics gathered at the spring of Ein Heniya between Jerusalem and Bethlehem and prayed for rain. A month later, the grand mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani conducted rain prayers at the Mohammed al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut, hundreds of people attended.1 Fluctuations in precipitation and severe droughts have been known to occur in the past. While modern western societies have learnt how to cope with long dry periods by using advanced technology, in the past, a succession of droughts left a trail of ruin: crop-failures, large-scale migration, famine, epidemics and high death tolls. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw a substantial rise in the number of droughts throughout the Levant. This coincided with some of the most violent tectonic activity the region had witnessed. Nature, however, could conjure numerous other powerful and destructive calamities: flash floods, swarms of locusts, armies of mice and rats, scorching winds and thick dust storms. The data for this study was drawn from Arabic and Latin sources, which date from 1100 to the Black Plague (1346). Contemporary authors often include a short line or a passage that refer to extreme or unusual weather events and natural disasters. In some cases they give a clear and detailed picture, which allows one to grasp the full scale of environmental disasters and assess their impact on the local population and regional affairs. Medieval societies, like the population of developing countries in modern times, relied to a great extent on environmental resources.2 Many scholars argue that environmental scarcity often was and still is the main cause for violent conflicts. Reuveny sums this idea clearly: “Environmental scarcity can cause conflict through interrelated social, economic and political channels. A decline in the quality or quantity of natural resources may lead to economic decline. Another channel involves contests over scarce resources, particularly when they have no readily

1 O’Sullivan Arieh, Praying hard to make the rain fall. 2010-11-26 http://www.middleeast-online.com. Lebanese Muslims hold prayers for rain. Associated Press published: Dec 3, 2010 23:44. http://www.arabnews.com. 2 Homer-Dixon, T. F. Environmental Scarcity and Violence (Princeton, 1999), 12.

2

introduction

available substitutes.”3 In his article on civil war in the Sudan, Muhamed Suliman concludes: “Here we have an outstanding example of an ethniccultural conflict being gradually but firmly transformed through persistent ecological degradation into a resource conflict.”4 Molvaer defined environmental conflicts as those arising when the environment fails to supply people with what they expect from it. He then narrowed the definition: “Environmental conflicts are fought mainly for the fruits of the earth— namely food.”5 Tannehill saw an almost direct link between droughts, war, disease and famines.6 Similar opinions have been voiced by politicians. President Barack Obama said that climate change “will fuel more conflict for decades”7 The prime minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland stated “The environmental problems of the poor will affect the rich, in the not too distant future, transmitted through political instability and turmoil.”8 A critical judgment and more complex study, opposing the above views is presented by Levy: “By the time one arrives at the end of the logical chain—violent conflict—so many intervening variables have been added that it is difficult to see the independent contribution of environmental degradation. There appear to be no interesting mechanisms that are purely and directly environmental. Therefore any research strategy aimed at deepening understanding of security problems by studying only environ3 Reuveny, R. “Economic growth environmental scarcity and conflict,” Global Environmental Politics 2, 1 (2002):84-5. Similar views were voiced by Brancati, D. “Political Aftershocks: the impact of earthquakes on interstate conflict,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 51, 5 (2007): 715-43; Miguel, E., Satyanath, S. and Sergenti, E. “Economic shocks and civil conflict: An instrumental variables approach,” The Journal of Political Economy 12, 4 (Aug. 2004): 725-53; Tuchman Mathews, J. “Redefining security,” Foreign Affairs 68, 2 (Spring 1989), 162, 166-8; Ember, C. R. and Ember, M. “Resources unpredictability, mistrust and war,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 36, 2, (1992):257; Molvaer, R. K. “Environmentally Induced Conflicts ? A discussion based on studies from the Horn of Africa,” Bulletin of Peace Proposals 22, 2 (1991):183. Myers, N. Ultimate Security, the Environmental Basis of Political Stability (New York and London, 1993), 7-11, 17. Myers carefully points out to his readers that “Not all environmental problems lead to conflict, and not all conflicts stem from environmental problems. Far from it. But there is enough evidence …. for a central thesis to stand.” Myers, Ultimate security, 21-2. 4 Suliman, M. “Civil war in Sudan the impact of ecological segregations,” Center for Security Studies, Swiss Peace Foundation, environment and conflict projects. Occasional Papers, eds. K. R. Spillmann and G. Bächler (Zurich, Berne 1992-1995), 26. 5 Molvaer, R. K. “Environmentally induced conflicts? A discussion based on studies from the Horn of Africa,” Bulletin of Peace Proposals, vol. 22 (2) 1991:183. 6 Tannehill, I. R. Drought its Causes and Effects (Princeton, New Jersey, 1947), 23. 7 President Barack Obama’s Nobel prize speech, cited in “Climate wars, does a warming world really mean that more conflict is inevitable?” The Economist July 8th 2010. 8 Cited in Myers, Ultimate Security, 17.

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3

mental connections can never succeed.”9 Levy’s opinion is shared by a relatively small group. Most studies emphasize the links between scarcity of natural resources, environmental disasters and violence. Few studies survey and examine environmental disasters in the medieval Levant. Tucker published two articles on the environmental hazards in the Mamluk sultanate, “Miscellanea, natural disasters and the peasantry in Mamluk Egypt,” and “Environmental hazards, natural disasters, economic loss, and mortality in Mamluk Syria.”10 Little wrote a short paper listing earthquakes throughout the Mamluk period.11 Dols’ book published in 1977 on the Black Death is still one of the most important studies on this subject. A more recent work on the Black Death, written by Borsch, examines the economic repercussions of the plague in Egypt in comparison to England.12 An extraordinary Italian team of scholars, led by Guidoboni has assembled a catalogue recording all the earthquakes around the Mediterranean from the eleventh to the sixteenth-century.13 This work, based on a wide variety of sources in several languages, emphasizes the wider geological aspects, it rarely looks at the impact of severe earthquakes on contemporary societies. While the role of past climate and environmental disasters in Europe and Asia Minor has been studied by prominent historians,14 the study of 9 Levy, M. “Is the environment a national issue,” International Security 20, 2 (Autumn, 1995):58. 10 Tucker, W. “Miscellanea, natural disasters and the peasantry in Mamluk Egypt,” JESHO 24 pt. 2 (1981): 215-24; Tucker, W. “Environmental hazards, natural disasters, economic loss, and mortality in Mamluk Syria,” MSR 3 (1999):109-128. 11 Little, D. P. “Data on earthquakes recorded by Mamluk Historians,” in Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire, ed. E. Zachariadou (Crete University, 1999), 137-51. 12 Dols, M. W. The Black Death in the Middle East (Princeton, 1977); Borsch, S. J. The Black Death in Egypt and England (Austin, Texas, 2005). The Black Death is only briefly mentioned in this study. 13 Guidoboni E. and Comastri, A. Catalogue of Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Mediterranean Area from the 11th to the 15th century (Rome, 2005). 14 Lamb, H. H. The Changing Climate (London, 1966); Lamb, H. H. Weather, Climate & Human Affairs (London & New York, 1988); Le Roy Ladurie, E. Times of Feast, Times of Famine: A History of Climate since the Year 1000, tr. B. Bray (New-York, 1971); Le Roy Ladurie, E. Times of Feast Times of Famine (London, 1972); Wigley, T. M. L. et al., Climate and History, Studies in Past Climates and Their Impact on Man (Cambridge, London, New York, New Rochelle Melbourne and Sydney, 1981); Stathakopoulos, D. Ch. Famine and Pestilence in the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Empire (Aldershot, U.K., 2004); Ioannis, G, T. “Historicalclimatological information from the time of the Byzantine Empire (4th-15th centuries AD,” History and Meteorology 2 (2005):41-50; Brazdil, R. et al., “Historical climatology in Europe— The state of the art,” Climate Change 70, 3 (2005):363-430; Ogilvie, A. and Farmer, G. “Documenting the medieval climate,” in Climates of the British Isle: Present, Past and Future, eds. K. Hulme, E. Barrow (London and New York, 1997), 112-133.

4

introduction

past climate in the Levant has attracted little attention.15 Some historians briefly mention an event, but most ignore the subject. The development of a natural disaster into a full scale crisis depends on the size of the area afflicted, the severity and length of the event, the state of regional economics, the regional balance of power, the population’s strength and the abilities of the local rulers. In a few instances severe natural disasters changed the balance of power almost overnight, albeit usually for a short space of time. It is thus important to examine each casestudy independently in order to receive a balanced perspective of the role of environmental disasters in the regional affairs throughout this period. Historical Background During much of the twelfth century the Franks16 dominated the political and military scene in the Levant. The unification of Egypt and Syria under the rule of Salaḥ al-Dīn (Saladin, d. 1193) gradually changed the balance of power in the region. Though the Franks had lost much of their military strength, Saladin’s successors could not maintain a firm united political or military front against the Crusader states. During the next sixty seven years (589/1193-658/1260) the Franks and the Ayyubids managed to maintain relatively long periods of calm. Although the two sides were engaged in raids and counter raids, the capture of hostages, and the building of fortresses, few large-scale open-field battles took place. The balance of power tilted in favor of the Franks only when a new Crusade arrived and the local armies received substantial reinforcements. The fall of the Ayyubid dynasty and the rise of the Mamluks to power stretched over a decade (1250-1260). The establishment of al-Muẓaffar Quṭuz (r. 1259-1260) as sultan coincided with the Mongol invasion of Syria led by Hülegü (1260). The first Mamluk-Mongol clash occurred in the Jezreel Valley, near the spring of ʿAyn Jalūt, on the 3 September 1260. The Mongols suffered a humiliating defeat. Their forces in Syria and those who survived the battle fled back east across the Euphrates. 15 Lewis, B. The Middle East, 2000 Years of History from the Rise of Christianity to the Present Day (London, 2001), 84; Kennedy mentions the earthquake of 1170 and 1202, the damage and construction that followed at the fortress of Crac des Chevaliers. Kennedy, H. Crusader Castles (Cambridge,1994), 150-3; Prawer describes the peace treaty between the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem and the Muslim sultan in Cairo in 1204, following the severe three year famine in Egypt and the earthquake damage in Syria. Prawer, J. A History of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 1963), 114. 16 The term Franks refers to Europeans who settled in the Levant after the first Crusade.

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5

During the next thirty one years (1260-1291) the Mamluks slowly eradicated the Frankish settlement and fought to prevent the Mongol-Īkhānids17 from crossing the Euphrates and invading Syria. The Crusaders, who had been the main political and military entity in the region during the Ayyubid period, played a lesser part in the politics of the thirteenth-century. After the fall the Crusader enclaves along the coast, the Mamluk sultanate ruled over the entire Levant. Although the Mongol invasion had been repelled, once the Īkhānid state was established it became the Mamluks’ chief opponent and remained the main threat to the sultanate’s existence until 1323 (the year the final Mamluk-Īlkhānid peace treaty was signed). The first half of the fourteenth century was dominated by the strong and centralized reign of the Mamluk sultan al-Nāṣīr Muḥamad (r.1310-1341). It was characterized by political stability and economic prosperity. His death, considered by many as a turning point in Mamluk history, ushered a period of weak rulers that were often subject to the power of high ranking officers. This study concludes with the outbreak of the Black Plague (1346), which reduced the population of the Levant by a quarter or a third. According to Dols the Levant’s economical and technological progress came to a halt soon after the plague.18 The Geographical Framework Most of the data refers to Greater Syria, (Bilad al-Sham), which correlates with the modern state of Syria, south east Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Environmental disasters in Cairo and Baghdad have been incorporated in this study because of their political importance and prominant position as centers of government. While Baghdad was the seat of the caliphate until 1258 when it was conquered by the Mongols; Cairo served as the capital of both the Ayyubid and the Mamluk sultans. It was from Cairo that the sultans conroled and supervised the large grain growing regions of Egypt and the grain prices. The impact of poor crops in Egypt was often felt in many of the urban markets throughout the Levant. The manipulation of grain surpluses is best witnessed in the relations between north Africa and the Christian Kingdom of Sicily, I therefore decided to include both these region in the study. 17 The Īkhānid state was established by Hulegu east of the Euphrates in what is today Modern Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan. Īlkhān was the title of the Mongol ruler literally meaning “subject khān.” Morgan, D. Medieval Persia 1040-1797 (London and New York, 1988), 178. 18 Dols, Black Death, 154, 169, 231-2, 280.

6

introduction Resources, Environmental Disasters and Conflict

Did environmental disasters spur or hinder conflict? How if at all did the frequent droughts and earthquakes influence internal and international affairs in the Levant? How and what decisions did rulers make in times of crisis related to environmental disasters? Did the sedentary populations cope better than the nomads? Which political entity fared better, who fared worse and why? This research examines environmental disasters in a broader historical context. The aim of this study is to determine the long and short-term reprecussions of environmental disasters on the political, military and social affairs in the medieval Levant.

introduction

Part one

Droughts and famines

7

8

introduction

part one

9

Al-Dalajī al-Miṣri (d. 838/1435), author of al-Falkha wa’l-mafilūkūn, divides natural disasters into those from earth and those from heaven. Under the latter he charts extreme cold spells, hot wind, hailstorms, ice, lack of rain, floods and locusts. Among the earthly disasters al-Dalajī lists bad soil, late sowing, rats, mice and lack of good fertilizer.1 It is interesting that al-Dalajī begins with cold spells; lack of rain comes only fourth on his list. A possible explanation for this somewhat unusual hierarchy may be that al-Dalajī was writing at a time when the climate was gradually shifting to wetter and colder winters,2 a cold, wet interval that “broke” the Medieval Warm Period (9th-14th centuries).3 The term “Medieval Warm Period” was first coined by Lamb. Its duration and impact throughout the world differed from one region to another. Dendrochronology studies show that West and South America suffered from severe droughts. The latter experienced a drought lasting twentythree years (1276-1299).4 While parts of Europe became warmer, allowing vines and cereals to grow in the northern regions of the continent, the Eastern Mediterranean, generally defined as arid or semi-arid, witnessed an increase in the number of droughts. Climate fluctuations are known to have occurred even within relatively short historical spans of time. Droughts have been recorded during hot and dry periods as well as in moist and wet ones, appearing at irregular intervals with varying intensity.5 Although they are an integral part of existence in Greater Syria and have been accepted and woven into the local culture,

1 Rabie, H. “Some technical aspects of agriculture in medieval Egypt,” in The Islamic Middle East, 700-1900: Studies in Economic and Social History, ed. A. L. Udovitch (Princeton, New Jersey, 1981), 75. 2 Lamb, Climate, 449-452. 3 Ibid., 435-448. In recent years scholars have raised a number of questions concerning the length of and geographic regions in which the Medieval Warm Period occurred. Researchers who have collected new data mainly from Mediterranean Europe have argued against the climatic picture depicted by Lamb and the use of the terms Medieval Warm Period or Little Ice Age. Worster, D. Dust Bowl:The Southern Plains in the 1930s (Oxford, 1979), 24, 240; Wainwright, J. and Thornes, J. B. Environmental Issues in the Mediterranean (London, 2004), 117-118; Hughes, M. K. and Henry, F. D. “Was there a ‘Medieval Warm Period’ and if so, where and when?” Climate Change 26 (1994):109-142. 4 Worster, Dust Bowl, 75; Cook, E. et al., “Long term aridity changes in Western United States,” Science 306 (2004):1015-1018. 5 Miller-Rosen, A. Civilizing Climate: A Social Response to Climate Changes in the Ancient Near East (Plymouth, 2007), 7; Dando, W. A. The Geography of Famine (London, 1980), 104.

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part one

the populations’ dependence on rain places droughts as one of the harshest and most frequent environmental disasters. The chapter that follows surveys and analyzes the droughts that struck Greater Syria from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, identifying their type, severity and frequency. A decline in yields or complete crop failures, lack of grazing and death of livestock could result in partial or complete economic ruin, from which recovery was long and slow. How, if at all, did these extreme conditions, affecting Crusader and Muslim lands, which incorporated both nomad and sedentary populations, influence the development of regional affairs? Is scarcity the cause of unrest and violence? Is there a pattern of behaviour among rulers in times of severe shortages? Contemporary medieval works usually provide some details concerning the meteorological events in a particular year; if they were of unusual intensity or duration, leaving a trail of destruction, they were described in greater detail. Their scale was judged according to previous events in the chronicler’s lifetime. There are a few rare examples, however, where a chronicler discusses changes in the weather pattern or concentrates on a particular disaster, giving a detailed analysis of its development into a crisis. In an interesting observation, William of Tyre, (c. 1130-1185) compares water sources in Jerusalem and its surroundings to a description of the region he had read in the Polyhistor, a work written by Gaius Julius Solinus (c. mid 4th century Ad).6 William of Tyre was probably born in Jerusalem and lived in the Levant all his life except for the years he spent studying in Europe. He was thus both qualified and capable of making such a comparison. The city [Jerusalem] lies in arid surroundings, entirely lacking in water. Since there are no rills, springs or rivers, the people depend upon rain water only. During the winter season it is their custom to collect this in cisterns, which are numerous throughout the city. Thus it is preserved for use during the year. Hence I am surprised at the statement of Solinus that Judea is famous for its waters. He says in the Polyhistor “Judea is renowned for its waters, but the nature of these varies.” I cannot account for this discrepancy except saying either that he did not tell the truth about the matter or that the face of the earth became changed later. (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 8: 346-347)

William of Tyre doubts Solinus’ description; his remark clearly suggests that springs were fewer and precipitation throughout the Crusader period considerably lower than during the Roman period. 6 Much of the Polyhistor was based on Pliny’s Natural History.

part one

11

The above description tallies with recent paleo-climate research conducted in the Dead Sea basin. Since the Dead Sea has no outlet, it serves as a large rain gauge for the drainage area of the Judean hills, the Galilee, Mount Hermon and northern Jordan.7 From the third century Bc until the third century Ad the Levant went through a cool and humid phase. During this period both Lake Van and the Dead Sea rose, the latter by more than 30 m above the present level, attesting to a higher rainfall.8 The level of the Dead Sea started to decline in the middle of the eleventh century, and this trend continued until the fourteenth century attesting to a continuous drop in precipitation throughout the Levant (Figure 1.1; Map 1.1).9

Figure 1.1: Chart of the Dead Sea

7 Enzel, Y., Bookman, R., Sharon, D., Gvirtzman, H. Dayan, U., Ziv. B. and Stein, M. “Late Holocene climates of the Near East deduced from Dead Sea level variations and modern regional rainfall,” Quaternary Research 60 (2003):263-72. It is difficult to apply both pollen and dendrochronology studies for the period under discussion. Most pollen studies refer to prehistory periods. It is important to note that the dating and analysis of pollen cores still contains many uncertainties. The interpretations of pollen assemblages in terms of vegetations of the past differ considerably. Van Zeist, W. “Past and present environments of the Jordan Valley,” in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, ed. A. Hadidi (London, 1985), 2:201. 8 Issar, A. S. Climat Change during the Holocene and Their Impact on Hydrological Systems (Cambridge, 2004), 25. 9 Issar, Climatic Change, fig. 1.3, page 9.

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Map 1.1: The Dead Sea basin, hydrological gauge of the Levant region

climate in the levant, iraq and north africa

13

Chapter One

A short survey of climate in the Levant, Iraq and North Africa The following is a short and general summary of the climate and precipitation in the region today. It is intended to provide a basic background for comparison with the data collected from contemporary medieval sources. The Levant is located between two major climate belts: The Mediterranean climate and the arid Saharo-Arabian desert belt. These two different climate regimes are of considerable importance to the grain balance and trade between Syria and Egypt. When both Syria and Egypt were under one rule (as was the case for much of this period), when one suffered from grain shortage the other could and was expected to provide its needs. Thus the region could at times manage to avoid short-term famines by maneuvering surpluses. This of course depended on the political and military interests of each ruler. The climate along the coast of Syria and Lebanon is dominated by several mountain ranges that run parallel to the Mediterranean coast. The land between the shoreline and the mountains is fertile; annual rainfall is high, allowing rain-fed agriculture to prosper. The regions east of the mountains receive little rain. The city of Hims is an unusual enclave; the break in the mountain range allows the clouds to move from the coast creating a pocket of Mediterranean climate with a relatively higher rainfall.10 This geographical division is clearly described by Abū’l-Fidā’ (1273-1334) who gives an account of the drought in central Syria during 723/1323. The land of Syria was stricken by drought from Damascus to Aleppo, rainfall was withheld and only a very little of the crops grew. The people of the country prayed for rain, and rain did not come. As for the coastlands from Tripoli to Latakia and Jabal al-Lukkam the rain did not cease to fall in these districts and their crops ripened. (Abū’l-Fidā’, Syrian Prince, 83)

The Jazira, the land between the central sections of the Euphrates and the Tigris, is referred to by medieval Muslim chroniclers as an independent geographical area. It is a barren zone, mostly pasture growing on a stony 10 Ashbal, D. Climate of the Near East (Jerusalem, 1973), vol. 2: 22.

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plain. However, if irrigated, the soil could support farmers. Due to the mountain ranges to the north and east, the Jazira suffers from extreme aridity. While the northern section receives sufficient rain to maintain farming, agriculture in the center and south is irrigated by the two large rivers. The region referred to as Iraq (also referred to as al-Sawād, meaning the black ground) runs from Baghdad south to the mouth of the Gulf.11 The alluvial plain was formed by silt brought mainly from the Karun River, which flows from the east. Today as in the past, this is one of the most intensively farmed areas, the principal crops being, wheat, barley, dates and rice.12 In good years the area receives 300 mm of rain, but the annual average is usually below 150 mm. Although the soils are suitable for farming, rainfall in the region between the Euphrates and the Tigris is hardly enough to sustain winter crops without an irrigation system.13 Large-scale agriculture has always depended on a strong central government that could maintain the complex infrastructure of irrigation and drainage canals. The two rivers that are the basis of the population’s livelihood could also become its source of ruin. The devastating force of spring floods caused by melting snows could destroy the crops just when they were due to be harvested.14 Houses, roads, orchards and fields were washed away and river fords were impossible to navigate. Furthermore public health was threatened by disease caused by stagnant waters, which created humid conditions optimal for bacteria, insects and rodents. Mosul is often referred to as an independent geographical and political entity during this period. Although the city sits on the Tigris, the area also receives sufficient rain to grow cereals. An important aspect in the Euphrates and Tigris region is soil salination, which over time reduces yields and eventually turns much of the arable land into wasteland. According to Jacobsen and Adams, by the mid twelfth century a large percentage of the alluvial soils around Baghdad were destroyed by salination of the soil due to the silting of canals and drainage problems.15 Much of the land was taken over by nomadic populations, since it was suited only for grazing. Thus the abandonment of the area by 11 Le Strange, G. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate (London, 1966), 24. 12 The Middle East, A Geographical Study, eds. P. Beaumont, G. H. Blake, and J. M. Wagstaff, 2nd edition (London, 1988), 349-50, 355. 13 Ashbal, Climate, vol. 1:18-19. 14 Ibid., vol. 1:20, 24. 15 Jacobsen, T. and Adams, R. M. “Salt and silt in ancient Mesopotamian agriculture,” Science 128 (1958): 1251-1252, 1257.

climate in the levant, iraq and north africa

15

farmers begun a few decades prior to the Mongol invasion, due to the decline in the land’s productivity and was not solely a result of the Mongol invasion.16 The reclamation of saline land is a long and slow process; Framers began to return to these lands only in the nineteenth century.17 The most important environmental factor in this region was and still is the availability of water.18 Fresh water sources included annual precipitation, springs, lakes and rivers. The three large rivers that dominate the region, the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris, were the source of large-scale irrigated agriculture. The amount of water drawn from these rivers was relatively small, and irrigated fields were limited to areas close to the rivers. Dry farming, which is practiced throughout Syria, North Africa and much of Iraq, depends solely on rainfall and requires no less than 300 mm a year. Much of the region is defined as arid or semi-arid. The humid Mediterranean climate dominates northern Israel, Lebanon and Western Syria; but even these areas are known to have gone through periods of drought. The central Syrian cities of Aleppo, Hama, Hims and Damascus mark the border between the semi-arid and arid regions. Iraq and Jordan lie within the arid climate. Cairo and the Delta lie within the semi-arid climate, while most of Egypt is defined as arid. The North African coast all the way west up to Tunisia is largely semi-arid. A small section along the coast of Tunisia and Algeria is defined as humid (Map 1.2) But like the coast of the Levant, the North African coast has its own share of droughts. Rainfall measurements taken in Libya during modern times show that almost every decade has had two years of drought.19 Annual precipitation throughout the region varies considerably; Eastern Syria, southern Israel, northern Jordan and Iraq receive less than 250 mm a year. Rainfall along the North African coast ranges, between 250 and 500 mm (Alexandria has 175 mm while Tripoli receives close to 400 mm). The narrow coastal strip of the Levant, backed by mountain ranges receives the highest annual rainfall in the region, running between 500 and 750 mm. As one moves along the coast from the north Syrian highlands to the south16 Khazanov, A. M. Nomads and the Outside World, 2nd edition (Madison Wisconsin, 1984), 80. 17 Beaumont, et al., Geographical Study, 362. 18 Allan, J. A. and Olmsted, J. C. “Politics, economics and (virtual) water: A discursive analysis of water policies in the Middle East and North Africa,” in Food, Agriculture and Economic Policy in the Middle East and North Africa, ed. H. Lofgren (Oxford, 2003), 53-4; Blake, G. Dewdney, J. and Mitchell, J. The Cambridge Atlas of the Middle East & North Africa (Cambridge, 1987), 25. 19 Fisher, W. B. The Middle East, 7th edition (Cambridge, 1978), 66.

Map 1.2: Climate in the Levant and North Africa

16 chapter one

climate in the levant, iraq and north africa

17

ern coastal plains, precipitation declines.20 Six hundred millimeters is an extraordinary amount of rain; most agricultural communities managed to maintain themselves on considerably less. Domestic needs depended largely on directing runoff during the winter into cisterns and waterholes. In addition, cities relied on large public reservoirs that collected runoff and on aqueducts that drew water from nearby springs. The only source of running water in Jerusalem was the spring of Gihon. During the Crusader rule a private citizen called Germain conducted several works meant to improve the water supply of the city (Figure 1.2). In the first year after the death of Baldwin the Leper (1184) it so happened that it rained neither in Jerusalem nor in the territory around, so that there was nothing to drink, or very little. Now in Jerusalem there was a citizen called Germain who was always very ready to do good for the love of God. Because of this dearth of water he had made, in three places in Jerusalem, marble tanks. In each of the three tanks there were two chained bowls, and he had them always kept full of water. Everyone who wanted to, both men and women went to drink there. When this Germain saw that there was

Figure 1.2: Jerusalem, Germain’s pool (the Sultan’s Pool)

20 Blake, Atlas of the Middle East, 19; Beaumont, et al., Geographical Study, 65; Goldreich, Y. The Climate of Israel, Observation, Research and Applications (New York, 2003), 56.

18

chapter one hardly any water left in his cisterns, and that it was not raining, he was much distressed and feared that the good work he had begun would be wasted. Then he remembered how he had heard that men who dwelt there in former days said that close to the pool of siloan there was an ancient well, the well of Jacob, which had been filled in and covered over, so that now one walked over it and it would be extremely difficult to find. So this prudent man went and prayed to Our Lord that He would give him the grace to find this well and help him continue the good he had begun, and that by His Grace the poor people might enjoy the blessing of water. When the next morning came, he arose and went to the monastery and prayed God to counsel him. After that he immediately went and got workmen and went to the place where he had been told the well had been. He had so much tapping and boring done that the well was found. When he had found it he had it emptied and walled anew, all at his expense. (The Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, 16)

For villages that depended on rain-fed agriculture, and for many communities that are still farming in these arid and semi-arid regions today, a shift of 50 mm per year in the rainfall can make the difference between a plentiful crop and famine.21 Since rain is confined to the winter and spring months, and summers are hot and dry, cereals are sown in the early winter. During the months of February to May one can almost watch the crops grow. The timing of the rains is thus of the greatest importance. If the rains come early there is more time to plough and a larger area can be prepared. After the sowing, if the rains are late, or there are long dry intervals between the rains, the seeds will sprout, shrivel and die. On the other hand if the rainy season continues well into the spring, the yields will increase. Climate fluctuations were significant during the late Pleistocene and Holocene (13000-1500 bpe); long dry periods as well as moister periods than those of the present are known, but even in these moist episodes, droughts were a threat.22 As noticed earlier, research carried out at the Dead Sea shows that in comparison to the Roman and Byzantine periods the Medieval Levant saw a substantial drop in precipitation.23 Nevertheless, it seems that even during this period of relatively low rainfall, much of the Levant was intensively farmed. One of the few regions that were abandoned in the medieval period was the Negev (southern Israel), which was well known for its agricultural prosperity in Late Roman and Byzantie 21 Miller-Rosen, Civilizing Climate, 5. 22 Ibid., 7. 23 Enzel et al., “Late Holocene,” figure 2A page 265.

climate in the levant, iraq and north africa

19

periods.24 There is no evidence to date that this region was settled by sedentary farming communities during the Crusader, Ayyubid or Mamluk periods. The Definition of Drought Drought is a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently long to cause serious damage to agriculture and other activities in the affected area.25 A narrower definition is: a condition relative to some long-term average state of balance between rainfall and evaporation in a particular area. The definition of drought is however more complex and problematic. It is a relative term, and its definition refers to an arbitrary threshold. It may be caused by a sharp drop in rainfall or irregularity in the normal seasonable distribution. Droughts cannot be predicted, and in most cases they are only identified once they are well established. Some claim that a drought can only be identified in retrospect. As Greater Syria is mostly semi-arid or arid, one should probably perceive winters with high rainfall as unusual and a year or more of drought as a common climatic feature.26 The World Meteorological Organization defines a drought as a period of two consecutive years in which rainfall is less than 60 percent of the normal in half the country.27 In general, droughts can be divided into three types. 1. Meteorological drought: When there is no rain or insufficient rain over a long period; a significant decrease from the climatologically expected and seasonally normal precipitation over a wide area. 2. Agriculture drought: When soil moisture and rainfall are inadequate during the growing season. Extreme crop stress prevents the plants from reaching maturity. Agricultural drought can also be caused by bad timing of rainfall with regard to the growing seasons in an otherwise above-average year of rainfall. 24 Watson, Agriculture Innovation, 129. 25 Ahrens, C. D. Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate and the Environment, 7th edition (Forest Grove California, 2003), G-5; Beaumont, et al., Geographical Study, 357; For a discussion on the definition of drought see Goldreich, Climate of Israel, 76-77. 26 Wilhite, D. A. and Glantz, M. H. “Understanding: the drought phenomenon the role of definition,” Water International 10 (1985):111; Glantz, M. H. and Katz, R. W. “When is a drought a drought?” Nature 267 (1977): 192. 27 Inbar, M. and Bruins, H. J. “Environmental impact of multi-annual drought in the Jordan watershed, Israel,” Land Degradation and Environment 15 (2004):243.

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3. Hydrological drought: Characterized by the shrinkage and drying up of streams and rivers, depletion of water stored in surface reservoirs and lakes, cessation of spring flows and decline of ground water levels. A hydrological drought is the result of an extended meteorological drought.28 Researchers have tried to find the cause for fluctuations in rainfall, but no definite conclusions have been reached. On the whole it seems that fluctuations are random.29 Droughts can occur in most agricultural regions in any climatic zone;30 they are, however, more frequent in arid and semi-arid regions. The impact of a one-year drought, even the most extreme, is relatively minor in comparison to a series of drought years that occur after all the reservoirs have been exploited. The severity depends on the degree of moisture deficiency, and the duration and size of the affected area. Economic damage caused by droughts is greater than that caused by any other environmental disaster. Reduction of crops or complete crop failures, lack of grazing and death of livestock may result in total economic loss. If a rural economy is disrupted for longer than one season, social and political frameworks will be put to the test. The impact of droughts is most devastating when the main food-growing areas are affected.31 Consecutive years of drought are a major factor in land degradation and have a long-lasting impact on vast areas. The dry dusty soils are easily carried away by winds, leaving a thin layer of soil that will be of little use to farmers and will yield poor grazing.32 Gvirtzman, who analyzed the frequency and severity of droughts in Israel according to data collected from 1856 to 1989, concluded that a threeyear drought in which rainfall is 20-30 percent lower than that of an average year is a normal and common feature in this region. An extreme case is that of six years of drought. During the drought of 1958-1963, rainfall in Israel dropped by 40-50 percent or more in comparison to the annual aver28 Heathcote, R. L. “Drought perception,” in The Environmental, Economic and Social Significance of Drought, ed. J. V. Lovett (Sydney, 1973), 19; Goldreich, Climate of Israel, 76-8. 29 Gvirtzman, Water, 23-5, Table 2.2. 30 Dando, Geography of Famine, 10. 31 Da Cunha, L. V., Valchos, E. and Yevjevich V. “Drought, environment and society,” in Coping with Droughts, eds. V. Yevjevich, E. Valchos and E. Valchos (Chelsea, Michigan, 1983), 6-7. 32 Middelton, N. J. “Effects of drought on dust production in the Sahel,” Nature 316 (1985): 431-4.

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age.33 Fluctuations in rainfall can be extreme. Shifts of 20 percent above or below the annual average are common. A good example is the winter of 1990-91, during which only 393 mm of rain fell in the region of Jerusalem. In the winter that followed, rainfall almost tripled, reaching 1,134 mm. Gvirtzman clearly shows that in every fifty years there are three consecutive dry years.34 Assessing the Severity of Medieval Droughts Accounts of droughts often appear at the end of detailed commentaries on political and military events of the given year. They are seldom the main feature. A unique exception is the work of the Egyptian chronicler Taqī al-Dīn al-Maqrīzī (766/1364-845/1442) Ighāthah al-ummah bi-kashf alghummah (Helping the community by examining the causes of its distress). Completed in 1405, the Ighāthah, is a thorough review of grain shortages and famines in Egypt from pharaonic times until the year 776/1374. Maqrīzī openly criticizes the rulers’ political and economic decisions which affected the grain markets. Although droughts are not the main theme of this work, Maqrīzī does mention the most severe droughts in Egypt and in neighboring countries. His position for several years as market supervisor (muḥtasib) gave him a good understanding of market fluctuations, grain stocks available in Cairo and the importance of the sultan’s intervention in times of shortage.35 Maqrīzī’s analysis of famines and their causes enables us to better understand the rulers’ means for dealing with droughts. Table 1 shows droughts in Greater Syria from the eleventh century until the end of the fourteenth century. One must bear in mind that some droughts may not have been recorded and some records have not survived. The general assumption is that the most severe droughts were either recorded by contemporary chroniclers or remembered, transmitted orally and written much later.

33 Lewis, Nomads and Settlers, Figure 3, page 171. 34 Gvirtzman, Water, 235-6. 35 Allouch, A. Mamluk Economics, A Study and Translation of al-Maqrīzī’s Ighāthah (Salt Lake City, 1994), ix-x; Rosenthal, F. “al-Maqrīzī,” EI 2 6:193-4.

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Table 1.1: Droughts in the 12th-14th centuries (italic: droughts that resulted famines. See maps 1.3 and 1.4 ) 12th century

13th century

14th century

1100—Iraq and the northern districts

1200-1 Egypt

1300-1301 central Asian Steppe

1113 Edessa

1216 Kingdom of Jerusalem and Syria

1304 Syria and Egypt (Nile 16.16 cubits)44

1118—Kingdom of Jerusalem throughout the lands and Iraq

1224 Jazira, Diyar-Bakr, Mosul and Iraq

1310 Egypt

1226 Mosul, Jazira

1318 Diyar-Bakr, Mosul, Basra

1125-1126 Iraq Mosul, Jazira, Diyar-Bakr and many other countries

1227 Jazira

1319 Syria

1139 Iraq

1263 Syria and Egypt

1323 Syria

1141-1142 Ifriqiya

1293 Egypt

1373-1374 Egypt (Nile 15.19 cubits)

1144 Egypt (Nile:16.0916.04 cubits)

1294 Holy Land, coastal plain, Damascus, Hawran, Nablus, Jerusalem, most of Syria, Egypt

1393-1394 Egypt

1149 Hawran

1295 Holy Land, coastal plain, Damascus, Hawran, Nablus, Jerusalem, most of Syria, Egypt

1153 Diyar Bakr

1296 Holy Land and coastal plain

1168 Baghdad

1297 Damascus

1174-1179 Syria 1178 Syria (The Nile during this year reached: 16.19 cubits) 1179 Syria, Jazira, Iraq, Diyar Bakr, Mosul, Khilat, Egypt 1180 Ifriqiya 1181 Egypt 1185 Kingdom of Jerusalem 1199 Egypt, Holy Land and the coastal plain

Map 1.3: Droughts in the medieval Levant

s-Syria da- Damascus h-Homs d-Dyiar Bakir t-Terra Santa z-Hijaz ki-Akhlat e-Egypt i-Iraq bg-Baghdad m-Mosul b-Basra j-Jazira sw-Swad if-Ifriqya sp-Steppe

climate in the levant, iraq and north africa 23

Map 1.4: Famines in the medieval Levant

s-Syria z-Hijaz ki-Akhlat e-Egypt i-Iraq m-Mosul j-Jazira if-Ifriqya cy-Cyprus jr-Jerusalem ed-Eddessa

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Droughts that resulted in famines: 12th century: 16 droughts → 8 famines 13th century: 11 droughts → 6 famines 14th century: 8 droughts → 3 famines Droughts that resulted in famines, according to region: Syria—7, Jazira—5, Egypt—6, Iraq—3, Mosul—3 Khilat—1, Diyar-Bakr—1, Edessa—1, Ifriqiya—1 During the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries droughts were more frequent; there were several single years of drought as well as three periods in which they lasted for two consecutive years; few decades were entirely free of droughts. When comparing the medieval data to data collected in modern times, it appears that severe droughts were as frequent then as in the period from the mid nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. The second half of the fourteenth century saw a marked change in precipitation throughout the region; Greater Syria was free of droughts for most of that century. This is not unprecedented. The longest drought-free period in modern times in the region of Jerusalem is twenty-five years (1873-1898); not only were there no droughts, but measurements show rainfall as being higher than the annual average (fig. 1.3). Thirty six droughts were recorded over the three hundred years from 1100 to 1400. Seven of them lasted more than one year. The longest, reported by William of Tyre, lasted five consecutive years. This may have been confined to the region of the Crusader kingdom, as it is not mentioned by any of the Arabic sources. Seventeen of these droughts resulted in severe famines. A further eleven accounts describe years with low rainfall resulting in very poor crops. Although chroniclers did not describe these years as droughts, the results and the suffering of the people were similar to those witnessed in years of drought. 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 1640

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

Figure 1.3: Annual rainfall in Jerusalem 1847-2000 (white low line: ten driest years, annual average 390mm; white high line: ten wettest years, annual average 700mm)

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Nāṣer-e Khosraw, the Persian poet and theologian, author of the Safarnāma (Book of travels), visited Jerusalem in 1047. His account begins with a description of prosperous villages along the Jerusalem hills. He leaves the region convinced that Jerusalem and Syria in general have never experienced a food shortage. They say there has never been a famine in the land of Syria, and I heard from reliable sources that a great man once saw the Prophet in a dream and said, “O Prophet to God, assist us in our livelihood!” In response the prophet said, “The bread and olives of Syria are with me.” (Nāṣer-e Khosraw, 21)

During the first half of the eleventh century neither droughts nor famines were recorded in Syria. Whether Nāṣer Khosraw was relying on what he saw or on information acquired from local inhabitants, his statement should be taken at face value. In the second half of the eleventh century Syria was afflicted by three famines, in 1056, 1077 and 1086. The first was the worst; it stretched over the entire eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as Persia, and the central Asian cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. Plague soon followed, claiming in some regions a third of the population.36 This is probably a suitable place to stop and explain how one goes about determining the severity of droughts without having measurements of rainfall. Droughts vary considerably. Unlike in Egypt, where the Nilometer gave an exact reading of the water level and revealed to all the future of the coming harvest, in Syria measurements of rainfall began only in the early modern period. Thus the assessment of droughts relies solely on the descriptions of chroniclers. Contemporary historical sources will describe the length of the drought, rain failure or scarcity or the late arrival of rains. This will sometimes be followed by an account of the damage caused to the region’s crops. The geographical regions affected are usually well defined. Sometimes, towards the end the account, the writer will become somewhat vague and conclude his description by saying drought struck Iraq, Mosul, Jazira, Diyar-Bakr and many other countries. The Arabic terminology used in the various accounts often helps in the evaluation of droughts, although certain terms have more than one meaning. ‫ ) جم‬drought, food shortage, starvation, famine majāʿa (‫��ا ع��ة‬ ‫م‬ �) barrenness, aridity, drought, shortage, famine maḥl (‫ح�ل‬ 36 The Chronography of Bar Hebraeus, tr. E. A. Wallis Budge (Piscataway 2003), vol. 1: 209.

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māḥl (‫ )�م�ا ح�ل‬thin or barren land, a drought-stricken year ‫ف‬ jafāf (�� ‫ ) ج���ف���ا‬severe dryness, to dry out ‫ف‬ jaff (ّ ����‫ ) ج‬dry, to run out of water, to dry out ‫ن‬ ‫ )����ض‬to run, dry naḍaba (�‫�� � ب‬ ‫ آ‬out‫( ن‬when describing springs, rivers) � � ) rain failure/a delay or interruption of the � inḥibās al-maṭar (‫ح ب���ا ��س � �ل���م��طر‬ ‫إ‬ rains (�‫ )إ� ن���ق������ط ا �ل غ����ي� ث‬rain failure/a delay or interruption of the rains inqṭāʿ al-ghīth ‫ق‬ ‫ع‬ � ) lack of rain, � rainlessness, drought, dryness, famine, scarcity qaḥṭ (‫ح��ط‬ jadaba- (�‫)��د ب‬ ‫ ج‬to be or become dry, infertile jadb (�‫)��د ب‬ ‫ ج‬drought, barrenness jūʿ ( ‫ ) ج�و‬hunger, starvation ‫ع‬ When measuring the severity of droughts through the suffering of humans, the details reveal the vast scale of the famines that frequently followed long periods of drought. One begins by examining descriptions of food shortage, high prices, hunger, famine and the rate of mortality. Severe famines will drive communities to migrate; in some cases families will sell their children; in extremity, when in despair people will turn to cannibalism. Poor regions are more susceptible to environmental disasters,37 and hunger is always worse among the lower socio-economic communities.38 Low crops yields or crop failures, decimated grazing regions and the rate of death among domestic and wild animals are a key to assessing agricultural damage and the severity of a drought. In most cases information gathered from the sources is sufficient to define the type of drought and its severity according to the chain of events that followed. When examining lands struck by drought one must be aware that droughts are most destructive when they occur in primary food-growing areas.39

37 Homer-Dixson, T. F. “On the Threshold: Environmental changes a cause of acute conflict,” International Security 16, no. 2 (Fall 1991), 78. 38 Dando, Geography of Famine, 57. 39 Da Cunha, et al., “Drought, environment and society,” 6-7.

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agriculture in greater syria

29

Chapter Two

Agriculture in Greater Syria In his research Stone asserted that the role played by medieval farmers in determining the productivity of their herds and fields was negligible. Everything was essentially determined by factors beyond their control, soil exhaustion, bad weather or disease.1 Agriculture has always been a risky occupation. Farmers even in modern times face numerous difficulties: anticipating market needs, fluctuations in prices, outbreaks of disease in both crops and animals, and the uncertainties vagaries of the weather. To this one may add problems of security, ongoing raids, invasions and passing armies who consumed crops, destroyed orchards and fields, and drove off sheep and cattle. The problem of security is clearly demonstrated in the following passage that describes tension on both sides of the upper Euphrates in 1113.2 Now it happened in those days [when Baldwin II ruled over Edessa, d. 1131] that a terrible famine arose in the land of Edessa. This was partly on account of the inclement weather, which affected the crops, and partly because that country lay in the midst of the enemy and was surrounded on all sides by foes. Consequently, fear of hostilities prevented the dwellers on the land from devoting their attention freely to agriculture. The result was that the people in the city and the surrounding country were driven to the necessity of eating bread made of barley, and even that at times was mixed with acorns. The land of the Lord Joscelin (Lord of Tall Bāshir), however, lay in safety on this side of the Euphrates (i.e. west of the Euphrates) and had plentiful crops and an abundant supply of provisions. (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 11: 497-8)

Unlike in Egypt, where agriculture relied on the Nile, or in Iraq, where complex irrigation systems were fed by the Tigris and the Euphrates, farming in Greater Syria depended on rainfall (dry farming); it was thus less susceptible to the damage and destruction to irrigation canals caused by

1 Stone, D. Decision-Making in Medieval Agriculture (Oxford, 2005), 18. 2 Runciman, S. A History of the Crusades, The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East 1100-1187 (London, 1994), vol. 2:89-116.

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invading armies or weak rulers that could not afford to maintain such systems.3 The Agricultural Hinterlands of the Syrian Cities During most of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the fertile coastal lands were settled and cultivated by the Crusaders. Each of the large Muslim urban centres in Syria was supported by its own agricultural hinterland. Agriculture was carried out in Aleppo and further south, where the annual rainfall reaches 300 mm. Farming around Damascus was supported by perennial springs and two rivers, the Barada and A’waj, which come down from the Anti-Lebanon.4 The large irrigated areas of intensive cultivation bordering arid land are known as the ghūta; fields and orchards are sown and planted on terraces watered by an irrigation system fed by the perennial springs and the two rivers. The ghūta of Damascus was renowned for its abundant water, fertile soil and agricultural produce. Cereals, legumes and animal fodder were grown in the winter. During the hot dry summers, vegetables were cultivated close to the springs. Several types of deciduous fruit trees grow well in this region: apricot, almond, cherry, fig, pomegranate, hazelnut, walnut, peach, pear and plum. Olive groves and vines, which require less water are planted beyond the fruit orchards at a greater distance from the source of the spring.5 The oasis of Tadmor and the Orontes River running between Homs and Hama supported numerous villages where wheat, barley and beans were the main crops. Further south lay the flat basalt plains of the Hawran, where summers were mild and winters cold, with snow.6 The annual precipitation is 250 mm. Jabel Druze, which dominates the eastern region of the Hawran, was known in the thirteenth century for its vineyards; the eastern slopes, which overlook the Syrian Desert are famed for their lush winter pastures. Oak trees can still be seen today on the summit. The main crop on the Hawran however was wheat. In a report written in 1855 the surveyors concluded that “Were it to be efficiently protected … sufficient 3 According to Issawi, the irrigation system in southern Iraq was left in ruins for five centuries after the Mongol invasion, for lack of a strong and efficient government. Issawi, C. ed. The Economic History of the Middle East 1800-1814 (Chicago and London, 1966), 129,130, 205. 4 Beaumont, et al., Geographical Study, 371-373. 5 Elisséeff, N. “Ghūṭa,” EI 2 2: 1104-1106. 6 Ashbal, Climate, vol. 2:11.

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grain could be raised in the Hawran alone to supply the whole of Syria.”7 While orchards were widely cultivated, wheat and barley were the most common crops throughout Syria. In the early twentieth century eighty three percent of the cultivated area of Syria was sown with cereals.8 In Jordan wheat and barley were grown on the plateau and the uplands of northern and western Jordan; the mountain ranges were more suitable for fruit orchards; natural forest covered large parts of the area near Amman and ‘Ajlun.9 Rain in these regions is limited to the months of December to February, and in general the rainy season is relatively short. The southern Jordan Valley lies in the rain shadow and thus receives considerably less rain than the uplands. To a certain degree the high water table in the valley floodplain compensates the low rainfall. An important factor in the agriculture of the Jordan Valley is the high salinity of the soil. During the Mamluk period both Karak and Shawbak were used as granaries, but it is not clear whether the wheat was grown locally or brought from Egypt.10 Recent and past surveys have shown that the eastern Jordan valley was most densely settled under Ayyubid and Mamluk rule. According to the waqfiyyat in Cairo, Mamluk investment in agriculture properties in southern Jordan grew considerably during the fourteenth century; there is sufficient evidence to show that water intensive crops were cultivated throughout the Jordan valley and the wadis to its east. It was only towards the end of the Mamluk period (late fifteenth century) that the number of villages dropped and was replaced by pastoralist or a combination of herding and small scale farming. The reason for this change in the settlement pattern was related to the political instability in Cairo, withdrawal or reduction of garrisons in Jordan and Palestine along the main routes and the rise of the beduin tribes in the region. According to Ghawanmeh the decline in Trans-Jordan in the late Mamluk period was due to natural disasters specifically earthquakes, droughts and plague. However, the number of droughts as well as earthquakes was on the whole smaller during the late Mamluk period. It thus seems that the lack of a strong central 7 From Wood to Clarendon, Damascus 12 February, 1855 FO 78/1118. in Issawi, C. The Fertile Crescent 1800-1914 (Oxford, 1998), 272. 8 Issawi, Fertile Crescent, 303. 9 Beaumont, et al., Geographical Study, 409. 10 The fortress granaries will be discussed in greater detail in the following pages. Van Zeist, W. “Past and present environments of the Jordan valley,” in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, ed. A. Hadidi (London, 1985) 2:199-202.

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regime and financial support triggered this decline.11 Rainfall along the Mediterranean coast is high and the soils fertile. In comparison to the Muslim territories in Trans-Jordan, and in central and eastern Syria, the Crusader settlements along the coast were bound to suffer less from droughts. The coastal plains were divided between the principality of Antioch, the county of Tripoli and the kingdom of Jerusalem. The latter controlled land from Beirut all the way south to Gaza, as well as territories in the Jordan valley and southeast of the Dead Sea. The administration of Trans-Jordan was handed over in the early 1140s to the lord of Karak, who resided in a small, well fortified-town. The Crusader county of Edessa was the only political entity established in an arid region, its land stretching east of the Euphrates (Map 2.1).12 Although trade and the pilgrim industry flourished, the vast majority of the Frankish population settled in villages and lived off the land, combining their European agricultural knowledge with local farming practices.13 Two new agriculture crops were introduced into the Levant during the tenth century: sugarcane and cotton. Both developed considerably during the Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.14 Cotton grew mainly in northern Syria and was exported to southern Europe.15 Both sugarcane and cotton require large amounts of water, but unlike cotton, sugarcane needs a regular supply of water throughout the growing season. Most plantations were irrigated and thus required a reliable water supply (spring or river).16 The profits to be made on the local markets and by exporting sugar to Europe gave this agricultural crop a considerable boost. Shortly after the 11 Ibrahim, M., Sauer, J. A. and Yassine, K. “The east Jordan Valley survey, 1975,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 222 (1976):63-4; Lawrence, T. G. and Øystein, S. L. “The local environment and human food production strategies in Jordan: The case of Tell Hesban and its surrounding region,” in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan ed. A. Hadidi (London, 1985), 2:328; Walker, B. “Mamluk investment in southern Bilad alSham in the eighth/fourteenth century: the case of Hisban,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 62, 4 (2003):241-261; Ibid., “Militarization to nomadization: The middle and late Islamic periods,” Near Eastern Archaeology 62, 4 (1999):214; Ghawanmeh, Y. “The effect of plague and drought on the environment of the southern Levant during the Mamluk period,” in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, ed. A. Hadidi (London, 1985), 2:315. 12 It was also the first Crusader entity to fall, conquered by Zengi, ruler of Mosul in 1144. 13 Prawer, J. The Crusaders a Colonial Society (Jerusalem, 1985), 435-59. [Hebrew] 14 Watson, A. M. Agriculture Innovation in the Early Islamic World (Cambridge, 1983), 28. 15 Ashtor, E. “The Crusader Kingdom and the Levant trade,” in The Crusaders in their Kingdom 1099-1291, ed. B. Z. Kedar (Jerusalem, 1988), 34-5. [Hebrew] 16 Watson, Agriculture Innovation, 35, 40; Peled, A. Sugar in the Kingdom of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 2009), 7-8.[Hebrew]

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establishment of the Crusader states, cultivation of sugarcane spread along the coastal plains from Beirut all the way to Acre, along the Sea of Galilee, the Hula valley, Beit Shan and the oases of Jericho. It was also grown around Damascus and throughout the Nile valley.17 Although sugarcane can show remarkable resistance to drought,18 it grows best when there are constant ground moisture, high temperatures and relatively high humidity; a long drought may be more harmful than short spells of inadequate moisture.19 The decline of the sugar industry in the Levant was the result of its widespread cultivation in the New World in the sixteenth century. The fact that the number of sugar mills grew and flourished during the Crusader period and continued to do so under Mamluk rule indicates that the fluctuation of temperatures and rainfall along the coastal plain were negligible and had little impact on the development and growth of this industry. Grain-growing Regions in the Eastern Mediterranean The two most important cereals grown in the Levant were wheat (Arabic: qamḥ, ḥinṭa, burr) and barley (shaʿīr). Barley is better adapted than wheat to semi-arid and arid regions. It can grow where rainfall drops below 250 mm and in diverse environments, very cold conditions as well as very warm temperatures.20 Unlike wheat, barley is more tolerant of soils that tend to suffer from salination.21 One of its most important advantages is that it has the shortest growing season among cereals.22 Nevertheless, wheat flour was the most important component in the populations’ daily diet. Hard Wheat (Latin: Triticum durum Desf) is grown throughout the eastern Mediterranean, but small samples of the more delicate wheat (Triticum aestivum vulgare) were found at the excavations of the Red 17 Peled, Sugar, 2, 115; Ashtor, E. “Levantine sugar industry in the later middle ages-An example of technological decline,” Israel Oriental Studies 7 (1977):226-280; Galloway, J. H. “The Mediterranean sugar industry,” The Geographical Review 67 (1977):177-194; Phillips, W. D. Jr. “Sugar production and trade in the Mediterranean at the time of the Crusaders,” in The Meeting of Two Worlds, ed. V. P. Gosse (Kalamazoo, 1986): 393-406. 18 Blackburn, F. Sugar-Cane (London and New York, 1984), 70-1. This information should be treated with caution, as the lowest average rainfall in the examples cited by Blackburn is around 1200 mm/year. 19 Hanna, L. W. “Climatic influence on yields of sugar-cane in Uganda,” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 52 (Mar. 1971):44-56. 20 Ashley, Food Crops, 62. 21 Renfrew, J. M. Palaeoethnobotany (London, 1973), 80-1. 22 Dando, Geography of Famine, 49.

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Map 2.1: The Crusader kingdom and principalities

agriculture in greater syria

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Tower, a small fort on the plain of the Sharon.23 Hard Wheat grows well in dry regions where common bread-wheat will not grow. The low water content in the grain lengthens the storage period of Hard Wheat without it spoiling.24 Wheat was the main crop throughout Egypt. Although it was cultivated in both Upper and Lower Egypt, the western Delta and Upper Egypt were the natural granaries of the country (Map 2.2).25 According to al Masʿūdī (d. 349/956) the best wheat is al-qamḥ al-yūsufī, it was the largest, heaviest and longest grains. Ibn Jubayr (d. 614/1217) states that wheat cultivated in Manfalūṭ, was famous for its quality, and was shipped to Fustat. Irrigation was and still is almost universal in Egyptian agriculture. Today more than three-quarters of the wheat grown on farms is irrigated by water pumped from a canal.26 In Syria, the Hawran was the main supplier of wheat.27 In the late nineteenth century surplus wheat was exported to Egypt, Greece and Western Europe.28 Although the Hawran was known for its high wheat yield during the Mamluk period, in times of shortage Syria imported grain from Egypt. According to Lapidus, most of the military’s grain supplies in Syria were shipped from Egypt in order not to burden Syria’s population.29 Wheat was also cultivated in Baalbek, Tripoli, Tyre and the Baqa’a Valley. The granaries of the Crusader Kingdom were the Galilee, Banyas, Acre, the Jezreel Valley, Ascalon and the regions around Hebron. Nāṣer-e Khosraw describes the barley and wheat grown at Hebron, the latter being less widely cultivated.30 The southern coastal plains were famous for their 23 Pringle, D. The Red Tower (al Burj al Aḥmar) Settlement in the Plain of Sharon at the Times of the Crusades and Mamluks A.D. 1099-1516 (London, 1986), 187; Amar, Z. Agricultural Produce in the Land of Israel in the Middle Ages (Jerusalem, 2000), 65. 24 Watson, A. M. Agriculture Innovation in the Early Islamic World (Cambridge 1983), 20. 25 Shoshan, B. Money, Prices, and Population in Mamluk Egypt, 1382-1517. PH.D dissertation, Princeton University 1977. unpublished, 6. 26 Kherallah, M., Minot, N. and Gruhn, P. “Adjustment of wheat production to market reforms in Egypt,” in Food, Agriculture and Economic Policy in the Middle East and North Africa, ed. H. Lofgren (Oxford, 2003), 138; Tsugitaka, S. State and Rural Society in Medieval Islam (Leiden, New York and Köln, 1997), 201. 27 From Wood to Clarendon, Damascus 12 February, 1855 FO 78/1118. in Issawi, Fertile Crescent, 272. 28 Issawi, Fertile Crescent, 311, note 1. 29 Lapidus, I. M. Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1967), 18. 30 Nāṣer-e Khosraw, Book of Travels (Safarnama), tr. from Persian W.M. Thackston (New York, 1986), 36.

Map 2.2: Grain growing regions in the Eastern Mediterranean

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agriculture in greater syria

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wheat crops, and prior to the Crusader period surpluses were sent to Jerusalem.31 Cereals were also cultivated on the plateau, on the highlands of northern and western Jordan and in the lower Jordan valley (Ghor).32 In 1191 Cyprus had come under Crusader rule. Wheat and barley were among the main crops grown on the island, the Mesaoria plain being one of the highest-yielding areas. Its contribution to the grain reservoir of the kingdom and its principalities was of the greatest importance.33 In addition, revenues were collected from Muslim farmers who paid no less than half their harvests.34 After the battle of Hattin (1187), the Franks lost to Saladin the highlands of Judea, Samaria, Galilee, the plateaus of Trans-Jordan and the lands of al-Sawād (the black land, a district east of the Sea of Galilee). Although the Franks still rulled the fertile coast, the area could not provide sufficient cereals. Thus the most important item imported into the kingdom during the late twelfth century and throughout the thirteenth century was grain (Map 2.3).35 Matters became worse under the Mamluk régime. By the mid 1260s Mamluk policy towards the remnants of the Crusader states became aggressive and uncompromising. Between 1265 and 1268 Caesarea, Arsuf, Haifa and Jaffa were in turn besieged and destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars.36 The villages on the coastal plain were distributed among his high-ranking amirs.37 But as was tradition in Mamluk military elite, none resided in their newly acquired villages. To this one may add the loss of Safad with its rich agriculture lands;38 Hunin, Beaufort and the Western

31 Prawer, J. The Crusaders A Colonial Society (Jerusalem, 1985), 439-40; Amar, Agricultural Produce, 54-8. 32 Ghor [Arabic] literally means bottom or lower. 33 Boas, A. Crusader Archaeology (London, 1999), 76; Richard, “Agricultural Conditions,” 274, 283. 34 Boas, Crusader Archaeology, 61. 35 Prior, J. H. “In subsidium Sanctae: Exports of foodstuffs and war materials from the Kingdom of Sicily to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1265-1284,” Asian and African Studies 22 (1988), 131; Abulafia, D. “The Levant trade of the minor cities in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: Strengths and weaknesses,” Asian and African Studies 22 (1988),198. 36 Ibn al-Furāt, Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders: Selections from the Tā’rīkh al-duwal wa’l-mulūk of Ibn al-Furāt, ed. and tr. U. and M. C. Lyons; Introduction and notes J. S. C. Riley-Smith (Cambridge, 1971), 72. 37 Amitai-Preiss, R. “The Mamluk officer class during the reign of sultan Baybars,” in War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th-15th Centuries, ed. Y. Lev (Leiden, 1997), 267-300. 38 Richard, J. “Agricultural conditions in the Crusader states,” in A History of the Crusades, ed. K. M. Setton (Wisconsin, 1985), vol. V, 262-4.

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Map 2.3: The Crusader kingdom after 1187

Galilee region surrounding the Teutonic castle of Montfort (Qalat alQurayn) were conquered in the summer of 1271.39 The sedentary farming population along the coast was partially replaced by Kurdish, Türkmen and Mongolian nomadic tribes, whose loyalty to the sultan must have been unquestionable. They were entrusted with the guarding of the coast against a possible Crusader invasion from the sea.40 Some of the tribes may have maintained a pastoral economy. 39 Ibn ʿAbd al- Ẓāhir, Rawḍ, 385-6. 40 Ayalon, D. “The Mamluks and naval power: A phase of the struggle between Islam and Christian Europe,” in Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. 1/8

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Destruction of the ports along the Crusader coast reduced direct contact and commerce with the southern European merchants.41 In 1280 a letter was sent from Acre by Godfrey, Bishop of Hebron (who was temporarily replacing the patriarch of Jerusalem) to Edward I, king of England, recounting the problems faced by the local Frankish population. The bishop complained about the high price of food, the locusts that hit Armenia and Cyprus and that no grain was being transported from Italy because of the wars of Charles of Anju.42 The kingdom was not suffering from drought or from plagues of mice or locusts; it was simply not growing sufficient grain and was gradually becoming dependent on outside sources. The trade in grain gradually replaced much of the commerce in luxury goods, which had previously played a more dominant role in East-West trade along the Palestinian coast. European imports of grain now came via Alexandria and smaller ports such as Damietta; the only ports left along the Palestinian coast were Ghaza and Acre. Unlike Baybars, his successor, Qalāwūn (r. 1280-1290) maintained the northern Levant ports of Tyre, Tripoli and Latakia. Although these ports were modest in size, he clearly saw the profits that could be derived from taxes and commerce.43 Although Iraq is not directly included in the present research, the most important wheat-growing area since the early Abbasid period was al-Sawād, the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates south of Baghdad.44 The question still remains whether the agriculture infrastructure that had brought prosperity to this region was being maintained by Mongol-Īlkhānid rule (1260-1325). The arable lands may well have lost much of their value due to salination prior to the Mongol invasion. During the later medieval period up to the Ottoman conquest a large percentage of grain was grown in Mosul, which was considered the granary of Baghdad and much of Iraq.45 1967:1-12. [Rpt. in Studies on the Mamluks of Egypt (1250-1517), London, Variorum, 1977, no. VI], 5; Irwin, R. “The Mamluk conquest of the County of Tripoli,” in Crusade and Settlement, ed. P. W. Edbury (Cardiff, 1985), 249. 41 Drory, J. Chapter 1: The Land of Israel under the Mamluk state (1260-1516) in The History of Eretz Israel under Mamluk and Ottoman rule (1260-1804), (Jerusalem, 1990), 19 [Hebrew]. 42 Tomas Rymer, Foedera I 2 188-9, cited in Prawer, Latin Kingdom, 2:506-7, note 59. 43 Northrup, L. S. From Slave to Sultan: The Career of Al -Mansur Qalawun and the Consolidation of Mamluk Rule in Egypt and Syria (678-689A.H/1279-1290 A.D) (Wiesbaden, 1998), 127-130. 44 Waines, D. “Cereal, bread and society, an essay on the staff of life in medieval Iraq,” JESHO 30, pt. 3 (1987), 247. 45 Shields, S. D. Mosul before Iraq (New York, 2000), 4, 128; Issawi provides a description of the large grain crops in the region of Mosul in the late nineteenth century. “The grain

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Among the islands of the Mediterranean the two main cereals growers were the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Kingdom of Sicily. The latter had become the chief supplier of grain to Italy during Roman times. A drop in cereal production seems to have occurred under Muslim rule due to the introduction of new agricultural crops. The growing number of European land owners and farmers on the island in the twelfth century brought an important rise in the cultivation of wheat; preference was given to this crop, probably because it offered both high yields and high profits.46 In the early twentieth century almost a third of the cultivated land was still sown with wheat.47 Sicilian wheat was well suited to a hot dry climate. Its greatest advantage was its long shelf-life, which enabled it to survive long storage without fermenting. According to Lamb, precipitation in Sicily during the twelfth century was higher, resulting in better crop yields.48 In contrast to the modern Middle East, which is far from self-sufficient,49 much of the Levant grew its own grain and was able to meet the requirements of its population. Supplies were imported only in times of scarcity. Within the Levant, grain was mainly shipped from Egypt to Syria. When the entire Levant was experiencing a shortage, grain was imported from Cyprus, Sicily and southern Italy. The diet of the population in the region was based on cereals as well as seasonal fruits and vegetables; however as agricultural crops were often poor and insufficient, hunting and gathering were an important source of food in nomadic, farming and urban communities.50 Although a large portion of the land in the Levant was cultivated, vast areas could still be described as open wilderness where wild animals roamed freely. Salination, Soil Erosion and Black Winds The type of soil largely determines agricultural activity. Alluvial soils, found all along the large rivers, provide some of the most fertile agriculraised here is more than sufficient for local consumption and the consumption of a large portion of the beduin Arabs…” Issawi, Fertile Crescent, 194. 46 Abulafia, D. “The end of Muslim Sicily,” in Commerce and Conquest in the Mediterranean, 1100-1500 (Variorum, Aldershot Hampshire, 1993), III, 112. 47 Basile, D. B. “Agriculture in Sicily,” Economic History, 17, 2 (1941):109, 114 -115. 48 Abulafia, The Two Italies, Economic Relations between the Roman Kingdom of Sicily and the Northern Communes (Cambridge, 1977), 36-7; Lamb, Climate, 8. 49 Fisher, Middle East, 209; Beaumont, P. “Conflict, coexistence, and cooperation, A study of water use in the Jordan Basin,” Water in the Middle East, eds. H. A. Amery and A. T. Wolf (Austin Texas, 2000), 21. 50 Allsen, T. T. The Royal Hunt in Euroasian History (Philadelphia, 2008), 4-7.

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tural land. Much of the ‘Fertile Crescent’ is however dominated by Red Prairie soil that developed under grassland conditions. The latter is usually of good agricultural value. The Terra Rossa soils that develop from limestone in Mediterranean climate are prominent along the coast of Lebanon, Syria, Israel and in parts of Jordan. One of the most important features of Terra Rosa is its ability to hold moisture. The coarse Red Desert soils found in dry regions cannot support plant life.51 Salinity is one of the main problems in arid and semi-arid regions, especially where soils have a high silt and clay content and drainage is poor. Salination is caused as water evaporates from the soil, leaving it with a high percentage of salt and sodium, which are harmful to crops and to soil texture. In large quantities, sodium ions are toxic to many plants. In arid regions sodium ions cause a breakdown of the soil; thus the drainage of the soil further deteriorates, crop yields are reduced and the land slowly loses much of its value.52 It is important to note that wheat is much less salt-tolerant than barley.53 The other problem threatening soil in arid regions is erosion. This occurs when vegetation is upset or removed, exposing the surface to water and winds. Terra Rossa soils will easily erode if the vegetation is removed. Damage to soil from erosion is worse in summer, when the upper section of the soil is dry, dust-like, and easily blown away. A series of drought years will cause a significant increase in soil erosion and dust storms;54 fertile fields and grazing areas may turn to wasteland. The recovery of droughtstricken regions is a long process, especially if the population continues to graze and farm the land. Dust storms and dust devils are significant contributors to land erosion. Several accounts mention fierce and destructive black winds that brought death and damage to crops and date palms in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the Jazira. These black storms were the result of vast quantities of thick dust swept by strong winds. This year (574/1178-1179) a dark black wind blew in the Jazīra lands, in Iraq and elsewhere. It occurred generally throughout the lands from midday until a quarter of the night had passed. It remained so dark that a man could hardly see anyone he was with. I was in Mosul at the time. We prayed the 51 Beaumont et al., Geographical Study, 34-8. 52 Ibid., 47, 358. 53 Jacobsen and Adams, “Salt and silt,” 1252. 54 Middleton, “dust,” 431-4; Goudie, A. S. “Saharan dust storms: nature and consequences,” Earth-Science Reviews 56 (2001):194.

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chapter two afternoon, evening and late night prayers by supposition and guesswork. People turned to submissiveness, repentance and seeking forgiveness. They thought that the day of Judgment had arrived. When the first quarter of the night had passed, that darkness and gloom that covered the sky, ceased. We looked up and could see the stars. We realized how much of the night had elapsed because there was no further increase in the darkness by the onset of night-time. Everybody who arrived from whatever direction told the same story. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:268)

In this year (717/1317-1318) the people of the al-Ṣaʿīd (‫ )ا �ه�ل ا �ل���ص�عي���د‬in Egypt mentioned, that a black wind came to Aswan with a foul smell and destroyed all that was left. One thousand women, men and children fled. (Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz, 9: 290-1) A black wind swept through the quarters of Damascus (723/1323). And a group of people died a sudden death from it. And the date palms were destroyed and its waters dried up. The price of grain rose. After this similar events happened in Cairo in Egypt. People’s temperament worsened and sickness spread and many died each month. Date palms were destroyed, the scream of people’s grief strengthened. Thirst and famine were at their worst. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3: 28)

A number of seasonal winds of different strengths blow through the Eastern Mediterranean during the year. The simoon, also known as “fire wind” and “the breath of death,” blows from Syria and the Jazira. The khamsin blows over the Nile Delta and the Sinai, carrying large quantities of dust.55 Dust from North Africa is commonly associated with spring winds where as dust from the Middle East is deposited in the Mediterranean region during the autumn.56 Contemporary Arabic accounts resemble some of the descriptions written during the “Dirty Thirties”—the period of the Dust Bowl (1930-1941)-a decade of drought that struck the southern plains of the United States, driving thousands of farmers off their lands. The dry soil, high temperatures, intensive agriculture and grazing had left the soil bare, enabling the strong winds that characterize this area to sweep away vast amounts of soil. The descriptions and photographs tell of huge, thick clouds of dust that choked animals and plant life.57 They also carried a peculiar odour “A sharp peppery smell that burnt the nostrils to heavy greasiness that nauseated.”58 The sun was blocked out and the world 55 Worster, Dust Bowl, 24, 240; Wainwright, J. and Thornes, J. B. Environmental Issues in the Mediterranean (London, 2004), 80-1. 56 Goudie, “Saharan dust storms,” 188. 57 Worster, Dust Bowl, 13-22. 58 Ibid., 15.

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became black, dark and forbidding. Dust storms can be red, yellow, black or brown depending on the soil source. The six-year drought in the Sahel (1968-1974) brought similar extensive dust bowls.59 The dust storms on the Southern Plains and the Sahel were first and foremost the result of long severe droughts; in both regions removal of the natural vegetation by intensive farming and grazing increased the scale of damage substantially. In contrast, the methods of medieval Levant farming can hardly be described as destructive and the scale of farming was relatively small, playing an almost negligible part in soil erosion. Some of these black winds are clearly the result of drought conditions while others may be caused by seasonal winds like the simoon or the khamsin characteristic of arid regions. Although the Levant dust storms caused agricultural damage, killing people and domestic animals, none of the sources mentions rural migration on a large scale, and on the whole they do not appear to have been a frequent hazard. Once the dust settled and the damage cleared, life picked up again. Unlike full-scale dust storms, dust devils are a common feature in arid regions and areas that have suffered from drought. The rainfall throughout the region during the winter of 512/1118 was exceptionally low. Ibn al-Athīr describes poor yields and a food shortage.60 William of Tyre describes a strong dust devil during a battle against Il-Ghazi, ruler of Aleppo, which took place nearby Antioch in August 1119. An event worthy of mention happened during this battle. In the midst of combat, while both sides were fighting furiously, a terrible whirlwind came forth out of the north. Before the eyes of all, it clung to the very centre of the battleground. As it writhed along, it swept with it such clouds of dust that men of both armies were blinded and could not fight. Then it soared aloft in circles, bearing a close resemblance to a huge jar ablaze with sulphurous flames. Because of this unlikely occurrence the enemy won the victory. The Christians were defeated and nearly all of our soldiers fell by the sword. (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 12: 530)

Few dust devils are of sizeable dimensions, extending upward for many hundreds of meters. Such whirlwinds are capable of causing considerable damage and can exceed 75 knots.61 Most, however, are small and last only a short time.

59 Ibid., 24, 240. 60 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, vol. 10: 544. 61 Ahrens, Meteorology Today, 274-6.

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The land suitable for cultivation in the Levant is limited. In the 1980s it was estimated that less than 7 percent of the entire Middle East was cultivated.62 Until the development of better irrigation technology, farming machinery and fertilization methods, the scale of agriculture remained relatively small, allowing nomadism to develop as an alternative to agriculture in many of the regions where farming could not be practiced. Nomadic living patterns are, however, also strongly linked to geopolitical changes. Invasions by numerous nomadic tribes from the Eurasian Steppe in the eleventh century disrupted and at times altered urban and agricultural patterns.63 Animal Husbandry and the Role of Nomadic Tribes Until the establishment of modern independent states and for several decades after, nomadic tribes dominated the vast arid regions that bordered the sedentary settlements. Mixed farming, livestock and cultivation of crops, were rarely practiced in the Middle East. Fodder was only provided for draught animals.64 Herds were traditionally kept on pasture and reared in arid and semi-arid regions that could not support agriculture. The term used in contemporary medieval Arabic sources for nomads of Arab origin is ʿurbān or ʿarab.65 The socio-economic organization of nomadic tribes was based on private ownership of livestock and corporative ownership of pasture.66 Large herds were not only a source of food and income but also a sign of status, prosperity and prestige. Camels symbolized strength and were a primary source of food. Sheep and goats were kept for meat, milk and wool. Most of the meat in the urban markets came from animals raised by nomadic herders. It is noteworthy that in the Near East, in contrast to Central Asia, milk and vegetables are a more important component than meat in the population's diet.67 Surplus animal by-products such as wool and hides were sold in urban markets. Animals of burden, mainly camels, required 62 Beaumont, et al., Geographical Study, 166. 63 Khazanov, Nomads, 83, 104. 64 Lewis, N. N. Nomads and Settlers in Syria and Jordan, 1800-1980 (Cambridge, 1987), 174. 65 Ayalon, D. “The auxiliary forces of the Mamluk sultanate,” DI 65 (1988):23-25. 66 Khazanov, Nomads, 123-124. 67 Anfinset, N. Metal, Nomads and Culture Contacts, the Middle East and North Africa (London, 2010), 84.

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for long-distance transport during military campaigns or for pilgrim and merchant caravans, were supplied by nomadic tribes.68 Although nomads were often described in contemporary accounts as a menace and at times a true threat to towns and villages, nomads and sedentary populations had long since developed an economic interdependence.69 In times of severe drought the nomads’ dependence upon sedentary settlements grew considerably.70 While their livelihood largely relied on livestock, trade with the sedentary population was almost a necessity. Few traders seem to have ventured into the desert to trade with the beduin; in most cases it was the nomads who drove their herds to be sold at the urban markets.71 The nomadic tribes in Egypt occasionally engaged in the grain trade. During the 1181 drought the beduin in Egypt set out to make a profit by selling grain to the Franks. Saladin quickly put an end to this enterprise and punished them by confiscating their lands.72 Pastoralism is not a self-sufficient way of life. Cereals and manufactured goods were obtained from the sedentary settlements either by trade, exchange or by force—raiding villages and towns and grazing their herds on cultivated fields.73 Khazanov raised an interesting question concerning stability and surpluses: How could a nomadic economy produce the necessary surpluses for trade when instability is one of the most common characteristics of nomadic society ?74 And yet, a large percentage of the meat in the markets of the medieval and early modern Levant was supplied by nomadic tribes. In times of drought nomads usually fared worse than sedentary settlements. During the 1226-1227 drought that struck the region of Mosul, the 68 Lancaster, W. and Lancaster, F. “Desert devices: The pastoral system of the Rwala bedu,” in The World of Pastoralism, eds. J. G. Galaty and D. L. Johnston (New York, 1990), 179; Marx, E. “Political economy of Middle Eastern and North African pastoral nomads,” in Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, Entering the 21st century, ed. D. Chatty (Leiden and Boston, 2006), 86-7. 69 Shields, Mosul, 162-5; Lancaster, “Desert devices,” 180, 185; On the raiding of the pilgrim route and uprisings of tribes in upper Egypt see Ayalon, “Auxiliary Forces,” 24-5. 70 Cervello, M. V. “From the disappearance of ‘tribe’ to reawakening of the tribal feeling: Strategies of state among the formerly nomadic Bidān (Arabophone) of Mauritania,” in Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, Entering the 21st century, ed. D. Chatty (Leiden and Boston, 2006), 153. 71 Kressel, G. M. and Ben David, J. “The beduin market—the cornerstone of Beer Sheva,” Cathedra 77 (1995): 40-41. [Hebrew] 72 Ayalon, “Auxiliary forces,” 25; Maqrīzī, Sulūk, vol. 1 pt. 1: 71. 73 Lindner, R. P. Nomads and Ottomans in Medieval Anatolia (Bloomington Indiana, 1983), 11. 74 Khazanov, Nomads, 203-5.

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demand for wheat remained high while both the demand for and the supply of meat were relatively low. The death of animals represented a real loss of capital goods, food supply and traction power.75 Exchange rates between grain and animals were prone to dramatic changes. Because grain was a basic component in the diet of both rural and urban populations, the demand for grain was always high. During times of shortage in pastoral areas (as opposed to agricultural regions), the price of animals will usually drop considerably in comparison to grain.76 During this year (624/1226-1227) the famine persisted in the Jazīra. Prices continued to go up and down a little. There was no rain for all of Shubāṭ [February] and ten days of Ādhār [March] and famine increased. Wheat reached a dinar and two qīrāṭs for two makkūks in Mosul and barley also a dinar and two qīrāṭs for three makkūks of the Mosul standard. This year everything was in short supply and expensive. In the spring there was little lamb to be had in Mosul and it became expensive, so that a Baghdaī raṭl of meat cost two ḥabbas by weight. For some days it possibly cost more than this. Those engaged in the sale of lamb at Mosul told me that one day they sold nothing more than a single lamb and on some days five or six head, sometimes more, sometimes less. This is something quite unheard of and something we have never witnessed in all our lives. We have never been told anything like it, because spring is when one expects meat to be cheap, as the Türkmens, Kurds and Kīlakān(?) move from the places where they have wintered to Zuzan and sell sheep cheaply. Every year at this season meat used to cost a qīrāṭ for every six or seven raṭls. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:285-6)

Even in the mid twentieth century, meat markets of the main Syrian cities bought a large number of sheep and lamb from local beduin tribes. After the long drought of 1958-1961, merchants from Hama, Aleppo and Hims helped herdsmen that had lost their flocks to purchase a number of sheep and start anew, knowing that within a short space of time meat prices would rise and business would once again prove profitable.77 Few tribes reared horses; although prestigious and always in demand, horses were difficult to rear in this region.78 During the fourteenth century the al-Muhannā and al-Faḍl tribes in northern Syria and southern Jordan in the region of Karak made their living solely from the sale of mounts. The 75 Stone, Decision-Making, 18 76 Sen, A. Poverty and Famines, an Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation (Oxford, 1982), 106, 110-11. 77 Lewis, Nomads and Settlers, 173; Issawi, Economic History, 273. 78 Khazanov, Nomads, 26.

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al-Muhannā gained much of their wealth, power and honour through the excellent horses they bred and the direct trade with the sultan’s court.79 Unlike sheep, goats and camels horses, are fussy eaters and cannot go for any length of time without water. They are also among the most wasteful of grazing animals. In their search for the most edible grasses they tend to trample and destroy a great deal of good grazing.80 Since they were reared on pasture it was probably in regions of central and western Syria in areas known as marj- a term refering to pasture land or meadow, a wide open tract of land abounding in herbage81 and close to a secure and steady water supply. Furthermore, horses are more susceptible to infection and disease than sheep and cattle. In 703/1303-1304 vast numbers of horses died throughout the Levant. This affected mainly the Mamluk military forces, whose most important contingents were the mounted archers. There was a high mortality among horses and the number that perished cannot be reckoned, so that most of the stables of the amirs and soldiery were empty. (Abū’l-Fidā’, Syrian Prince, 44)

Herds will consist of either sheep and goats or just one type of animal, depending on the quality of the grazing and the availability of water. Sheep are more selective eaters and must be grazed close to a source of water; goats are hardier and can survive on relatively poor grazing and little water. Their ability to climb allows them to make the most of grazing areas in steep and harsh mountain terrains. Camels are the best equipped for a severe desert climate; they move faster than sheep, need less water and will feed on desert shrubs that sheep will not eat. Although camel meat was an important part of the diet, in most parts of the Levant camels served primarily for transport.82 Thus the plague that spread among camels in 590/1193-1194 and led to the death of thousands of camels must have been a severe blow to the entire region. And in this year there was a great plague among the camels in all the lands and 100,000 camels died. (ʿImād al-Dīn, al-Bustān al-Jāmiʿ, 454)

The amount of water needed by a herd is closely related to the quality of the pasture. The more arid regions of east Syria that receive less than 240 79 Ayalon, D. “The system of payment in Mamluk military society,” in Studies on the Mamluks of Egypt (1250-1517) (London, 1977), 264. 80 The Manual of Horsemanship, gen. ed. B. Cooper, 11th edition (Kenilworth Warwickshire, 1997), 146. 81 Lane, 7:2704. 82 Lewis, Nomads and Settlers, 5; Khazanov, Nomads, 28.

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mm of rain a year provide fairly good grazing during the winter and spring months; but by the end of the summer the area is over-grazed and water sources scarce. During the summer most of the tribes move west to the foot of the mountain ranges.83 If drought conditions force a tribe to migrate from its territories, its rights to pasture will be maintained by virtue of tradition.84 Migration patterns among the nomads in Jordan, who were completely dependent on livestock, ran according to the same rationale. During the winter months tribes would move into the eastern desert or down to the Jordan valley. The summer months would have been spent in the west and the uplands, which are better watered. In years of good grazing herdsmen try to improve their stock and enlarge their herd in an attempt to safeguard their existence during periods of drought. This policy seems rather questionable, since large herds increase the pressure on the land and water sources, and in the long run reduce the quality of grazing. Over-grazed pastures that leave soils with little or no vegetation are easily eroded and slow to recover. In times of drought the number of animals will drop sharply and rebuilding a herd in the aftermath of a drought may be extremely difficult.85 Contemporary medieval sources do not allow one to gauge the numbers of animals lost during droughts. During the severe drought of 1958-1961 the number of camels in Syria fell from 80,000 to 11,000.86 The following account is of the drought that struck Syria in the winter of 2007-2008. This example conveys the scale of damage and threat to the livelihoods of herdsmen. …the drought (winter of 2007-2008, Syria) has resulted in decreased vegetation in the natural ranges, where contribution to feed resources dropped to zero. As a result herders sold their animals for 60-70% below the average of the original prices and in many cases they even exhausted their herds. 59,000 small herders (owning less than 100) lost almost all their herds and 47,000 herders (owning 100-300 heads) lost 50-60% of their livestock. The government has responded by distributing amounts of feed on loan to be repaid next season, as well as providing veterinary medicines and vaccines for free. Most recently, the government distributed emer-

83 Lewis, Nomads and Settlers, 1-2. 84 Ashkenazi, T. The Bedouins in Israel (Jerusalem, 2000), 24. [Hebrew] 85 Beaumont et al., Geographical Study, 158-62. 86 Lewis, Nomads and Settlers, 175.

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gency aid to 29,000 families. However, the needed assistance is far beyond the government capacity.87 The conditions of nomadic tribes in times of extremely cold winters had similar results to those of drought. In 1030 Iraq was struck by a severe cold spell that led to disease and high mortality throughout a vast area. And in [that] year (1030) the water froze in Baghdad, and red sand descended as rain, and trees were destroyed and produced no fruit at all that season. And there was so great a famine in the wilderness that the nomads who lived there ate their camels and their horses, and even their children. And man would exchange his child for that of his fellow so that he might not suffer (or, feel it) when he pounded him up. And they were in tribulation not only because of the famine (or, want of food) but also through thirst which was due to the scarcity of water, and they came and camped by the rivers (or, canals) which were in the neighborhood of the towns and villages (Bar Hebraeus, vol. 1: 193-4).

In 544/1149-1150 the delayed rains in southern Syria added to the already harsh conditions from which the region invariably suffers at the end of the summer. Thus drought conditions developed within a short space of time. In this particular case the rains eventually arrived and the population was spared further suffering. … the rains had been withheld from Hawran, the ghūta88 and the marj so long the majority of the people of Hawran had abandoned it on account of the scarcity and severe distress, the exhaustion (?) of their flocks and herds, and lack of drinking water…(Ibn al-Qalānisī, Damascus Chronicle, 297)

Heavy continuous rains put an end to this period of acute shortage and this year’s drought was relatively short. When Nūr al-Dīn reached Baalbek, it happened by the predestined decree and celestial mercy that the heavens opened their fountains with rains, dews, out pourings, and heavy showers lasting from Tuesday (3rd Dhū al-Ḥijja/4th April) until the following Tuesday. The water courses overflowed, the pools of Hawran were filled, the mills turned, and the crops and plants that had been withered were restored to fresh green shoots. The people clamored with blessings upon Nūr al-Dīn, saying “This is due to his blessed influence, his justice, and upright conduct.” (Ibn al-Qalānisī, Damascus Chronicle, 297)

Although one tends to view nomadic tribes as being self-sufficient, mobile, independent and well adapted to the harsh climate, they were no less 87 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Date: 29 Sep 2008. 88 Elisséeff, N. Ghūṭa EI 2 2:1104-1106.

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vulnerable than the sedentary population. The existence of a tribe will largely depend on its mobility, finding new pasture; but to a certain extent they too will often depend on the good will of rulers and their sedentary neighbours. Unlike the Franks, who often saw the nomads as a source of trouble and a threat, the Muslim rulers maintained a complex relationship with the nomads living in their territories and along their frontiers. While some tribes gained substantial power and threatened sedentary populations, others showed loyalty and cooperated with the central régime. In the early eleventh century the Fatimid Caliph ordered the tribe of al-Faḍl to guard the roads between Syria and Iraq. In return he provided them with land (iqṭāʿ- iqṭāʿat). The iqṭāʿat allocated to the beduin may well have been in regions with better pasture and water sources. In times of drought nomadic tribes may have been tempted to acquire land and settle either permanently or until the drought was over. There is however little evidence to support this practice in the period under concern.89 Their economic and social organization gave many of the nomadic tribes both political and military influence that few rulers could afford to ignore.90 During the Ayyubid and early Mamluk period the beduin tribes played an important role in the military affairs of Syria. Their official leader, the amīr al-ʿarab (commander of the beduin), was nominated by the sultan.91 After the establishment of the Mongol-Īlkhānid state the Mamluk sultans tried as best as they could to secure the bedouin’s loyalty for fear they would cooperate or join forces with the Mongols east of the Euphrates. The Mamluk sultans often called upon local nomadic tribes to reinforce their armies.92 In return for joining the campaigns the nomads would receive a share of the loot. If they showed loyalty and gained the sultan’s trust they were often granted an iqṭāʿ. Some were integrated into the official Mamluk military hierarchy and received the rank of amir of forty.93 Several of the Mamluk sultans depended on nomadic forces to 89 Al-Radihan, K. “Adaptation of bedouin in Saudi Arabia to the 21st century: Mobility and stasis among the Shararat,” in Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, entering the 21st century, ed. D. Chatty (Leiden and Boston, 2006), 853-4. 90 Anfinset, Metal, Nomads, 82. 91 Amitai-Preiss, R. Mongols and Mamluks, The Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281 (Cambridge, 1995), 64-5. 92 Tritton, A. S. “The tribes of Syria in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,” The School of Oriental and African Studies 12 (1948):567-573; Ayalon, “Auxiliary forces,” 13-37. AmitaiPreiss, Mongols and Mamluks, 64-71. 93 Ayalon, “Auxiliary forces,” 23.

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secure major routes used by merchants, pilgrims and the Mamluk “pony express” (barīd). The nomadic tribes that guarded the main roads were called the arbāb al-adrāk. The sultan provided them with land at the side of those roads and they lived on or near the routes they guarded. After Baybars took Karak, he entrusted the safety of the pilgrim routes leading to the Hijaz to the southern Jordanian tribes.94 Once the Crusader territories along the coastal plains had been conquered, Türkmen tribes were settled there in order to safeguard the coast from any possible landing of Frankish ships. It was thus important for many of the Muslim rulers to reach a basic understanding with nomads and secure their allegiance. This was done by assisting the tribes in times of scarcity, providing them with grain or allocating sufficient pastures for their flocks in regions where the grazing was of better quality all year round. In the long run, this policy no doubt reduced raids and the acts of violence that the urbān carried out. In 1261 the entire region of Aleppo suffered from a shortage of food. Following the Mongol invasion the previous year many villages were destroyed, causing some farmers to abandon their land; crops were ruined and the sowing season missed. The available grazing was no doubt demolished by the Mongol armies, leaving the local herdsmen with little or no pasture. According to Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, the sultan’s personal biographer and secretary, Baybars ordered his local governor to take care of the nomadic tribes and see to their immediate needs. The Sultan had ordered the issue of a diploma of investiture for the amir ʿAla’ al-Dīn al-Bunduqdārī as the governor of Aleppo. It was issued, and he stayed in this town at a time when its territories were suffering from an excessive rise in prices and lack of food. The (Mamluk) army suffered heavily owing to the lack of food, and it was not possible for them to stay there. The sultan (Baybars) issued a commission for the amir Sharaf al-Dīn ʿIsa b. Muhannā, giving him the rank of amir over all the bedouin and he released grain from Aleppo for the bedouin…(Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ, (Sadeque), 123) 94 Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Sīrat al-Malik al-Zahir in Sadeque, S. F. Baybars I of Egypt (Pakistan, 1956), 181; Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ, 294; Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 1, pt. 2, 51; Poliak, A. N. Feudalism in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and the Lebanon, 1250-1900 (London, 1939), 9; Ayalon, “Naval Power,” 10; Thorau, Baybars, 188; Amitai-Preiss, Mongols, 70; Irwin, R. “Iqṭā’ and the end of the Crusader states,” in The Eastern Mediterranean Lands in the Period of the Crusades, ed. P. M. Holt (Warminster, 1977), 71. In later decades groups of Wāfidiyya were also settled along the Syro-Palestinian coast. This policy was established at the end of the Ayyubid period. Ayalon, D. “The Wafidiyya in the Mamluk Kingdom,” in Studies on the Mamluks of Egypt (1250-1217) (London, Variorum, 1977), II, 94, 99-100.

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Although the sultans partly depended on the nomads’ military capabilities and their knowledge of the arid regions, when necessary a clear stand was made to protect the interests of the sedentary population. Norman Lewis describes the vast herds in nineteen and twenty century Syria. For the rural population it was the numbers of beduin livestock as much as their arms or predatory habits which made them a menace. Every large tribe possessed tens of thousands of camels and even when they came peacefully to the borders of the cultivated country their very presence was a threat.95

The above account explains the villagers’ fear. The sheer number of their herds was enough to leave a village with little pasture and a serious water deficit. During the eleventh century the Fatimid sultan had a diploma of investiture drawn up according to which “they (the ʿurbān of Syria) were not to enter the cultivated area unless it was impossible for them to live on the steppe.”96 In 661/1263 the fortress of Karak came under Baybars’ rule. The sultan stayed for a number of days and saw to the garrison and the administration of the town and fortress. During his stay he was called upon to intervene in the water dispute between the local villagers and the bedouin. The inhabitants of these territories used to drink only the rain water which gathered in the water tanks, and when the Bedouins drank and watered their horses from them they were soon exhausted. The inhabitants of the village were thus exposed to the torment of thirst. So the Sultan issued orders that no one from among the Bedouin should drink or water his horse from the tanks. He entrusted them with the responsibility of guarding the territories up to Hejāz. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 181)

Raiding was an important factor in the economy of nomadic tribes, but it seems to have been more prominent among those that had a constant struggle to survive. During the drought that struck Syria, Egypt and Jordan in 1293-1296, the fortress of Shawbak that served as a granary was attacked by the local beduin tribes. It appears that the shortage of food in the region drove the tribes to try and gain control over the fortress. The sultan, alAshraf Khalīl, fearing the tribes’ growing strength, decided the only way to protect the region was by ordering the destruction of Shawbak. Al-ʿAynī, 95 Lewis, Nomads and Settlers, 12. 96 Tritton, “The tribes,” 567.

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who describes this incident, criticizes the sultan’s decision and says that the destruction of Shawbak showed poor judgment.97 The frequency and/or severity of raids among the nomadic tribes and between them and the sedentary population did not increase dramatically in years of drought. A study concerning the relation between violence, food shortages and dwindling grazing in Africa shows the connection between these factors is far from clear. Take the widely cited case of the war in Darfur, the western region of Sudan. Ban Kimoon, the UN secretary-general describes it as “an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change”…. Average rainfall in the region fell abruptly (by a third or more) in the early 1970s and Darfur repeatedly suffered droughts. Clashes over grazing and then displacement of villagers were followed, from 2003, by horrific wars. Yet the connection is elusive. Roughly three decades elapsed between the rain stopping and war starting. Many other factors—political, ethnic, demographic and economic– conspired to stoke violence. Those were specific to Darfur, whereas the sharp drop in rainfall hit the whole Sahel, without intensifying conflict elsewhere.98

Although severe and fast climatic changes may induce violence, conflicts are seldom caused by one factor. Climatic fluctuations and scarcity of natural resources rarely seem to be the main cause of social, political or military tension.

97 al-ʿAynī, Badr al-Dīn Maḥmūd b. ʿAli, ‘Iqd al-jumān fī ta’rīkh ahl-zamān, ed. M. M. Amīn (Cairo,1988-1992), vol. 3, 164-5. 98 Anonymous author “Security and the environment climate wars” The Economist July 8th 2010; See also Davies, S. Adaptable Livelihoods, Coping with Food Shortage in the Malian Sahel (London, 1996), 8-9.

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droughts and famines

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Chapter Three

Preparing for and coping with droughts and famines In his analysis of droughts in Israel from the mid nineteenth to the late twentieth century Gvirtzman says: “Drought is a frequent and ‘normal’ climatic phenomenon in our region, one should not treat it as an unexpected ‘natural disaster.’ The necessary preparations should be carried out as best as one can.”1 The definition of famine is: A protracted shortage of total food in a restricted geographical area, causing widespread disease and death from starvation.2 Famines are rarely unpredictable unless the result of flashfloods, earthquakes or military causes such as sieges, civil war or invasion.3 Penkethman, who wrote about periods of severe shortage in England from the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries, claims the main causes of famine were war and unfavorable weather. Unseasonable weather, extreme cold, frost and high winds was rated as second to war and violent acts by man.4 According to Dando “droughts do not lie at the bottom of most famines. Droughts can cause a crop failure, but man, by withholding lifesupporting food from his fellow man causes famine. …famine is a cultural hazard—not a physical hazard.”5 Sen followed a similar line of thought: Drought-related famine, according to Sen, is often a result socio-political and bureaucratic inadequacy.6 The causes of famine have been divided into two. 1. Natural causes: flood, frosts, severe cold, hailstones, droughts and locust. 2. man-made causes: warfare or the calculated hoarding of grain.7 Unlike the modern Middle East which has managed to avoid the worst consequences of droughts and has remained off the list of regions suffering from acute famines,8 the potential for famine in the eastern Mediterranean 1 Gvirtzman,Water, 24. 2 Dando, Geography of Famine, 71. 3 Arnold, D. Famine, Social Crises and Historical Change (Oxford, 1988), 7. 4 Penkethman, quoted in Dando, Geography of Famine, 121-2. Sixty eight famines are recorded in England between 1066 and 1485. Dando, Geography of Famine, 120. 5 Dando, Geography of Famine, 11-12. 6 Ashley, J. Food Crops and Drought (London, 1999), 8- 9. 7 Arnold, Famine, 29. 8 Weinbaum, M. G. Food, Development and Politics in the Middle East (London, 1982), 3.

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existed throughout the medieval period. Famines occurred in some of the richest agricultural regions in the Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk territories. If the rains did not arrive on time or were not adequate; if locusts or mice consumed the year’s harvest or crops were destroyed as a result of floods or hailstones, the population suffered severely. Although many factors contributed to famines it seems that neither war nor hoarding were the main reason for famine in the medieval Levant. The correlation between droughts and famines is such that the two are in many ways synonymous. Over half the droughts and crop failures recorded in this study developed into famines (see table 1). A chronicler’s description of famine will often begin by noting that the rains failed, crops were poor, prices were high and there was a severe food shortage—the basic conditions for the development of famine. Sickness soon became rife and the death toll rose at an alarming rate. In most cases the epidemics that followed in the wake of famines caused more deaths than the famine itself.9 Food shortages were dealt with by combining several methods: cultivating larger tracts of land, building and securing granaries and establishing a network outside the country that would sell the quantities of food needed in times of scarcity. On a private domestic scale each family unit, whether urban, rural or nomadic, kept supplies for times of shortage. Granaries and Storage Conditions: Fortresses in the Levant and their Role as Granaries The methods of grain storage and the quantities involved often reflect the social and economic policies of rulers.10 Centralized regimes frequently saw to the grain harvests. They were clearly aware of the need to maintain large well-stocked granaries, and the potential power behind grain surpluses. While even well-organized regimes found it hard to cope with long periods (more than two years), of food shortage weak rulers and loosely organized polities were often caught unprepared, leaving their subjects to fend for themselves. Few rulers showed outstanding resourcefulness and

9 Barret, “Climate change,” 142. 10 Ilan, D. “The socioeconomic implications of grain storage in early Iron Age Canaan: The case of Tel Dan,” in Bene Israel, Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and the Levant During the Bronze and Iron Ages in Honour of Israel Finkelstein, eds. A. Fantalking and A. YasurLandau (Leiden and Boston, 2008), 87.

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the ability to maneuver quickly and utilize sound diplomacy to secure food from neighboring countries. Building granaries and storing grain was a long-term investment that required continuous management; the risk involved was by no means small or trivial. Grain in storage had no current use value, and its storage was limited by its ‘shelf life’. The storage area had to be large, well-aired, dry and protected from both rodents and potential raiders. The safe limit of moisture for grain in storage is 10-15 percent, depending on the type of grain, the climate and the length of storage. Temperature should be below 600 F to avoid vermin, which tend to breed if grain overheats.11 Granaries had to be located in a central place where transport could reach with ease. The history of granaries in the ancient Near East shows the rulers' different approaches to the power behind and the control of grain stocks. In Mesopotamia, temples played a dominant part in the economy until the end of the third millennium.12 During the rule of the second King of Ur, Šulgi (2094-2047 bc), temples were gradually turned into state institutions responsible for cultivating public fields, storing and distributing agricultural products. Management was seen to by temple staff who in fact had no role in its religious function. Governors were appointed to supervise the cultivation of public fields.13 Much of the arable land was owned by either the palace or the temple.14 By the end of this period “the temples served as piggy banks to be emptied in times of need.”15 Part of the cereal was stored for future use and part was exported and exchanged for raw materials.16 Some of the grain was distributed among the poorer socioeconomic classes, cripples, orphans and widows.17 Granaries from the mid third millennium were excavated in the city of Shuruppak in central Babylonia. Thirty silos were found, each measuring 8 m in depth and 4 m in diameter. They were faced with brick and were 11 Rickman, G. Roman Granaries and Store Buildings (Cambridge, 1971), 1-2. 12 Frankfort, H. The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient 4th edition (London and New Haven, 1970), 43-4. 13 Maekawa, K. “The “temples” and the “temple personnel” of Ur III Girsu-Lagash,” in Priests and Officials in the Ancient Near East, ed. K. Watanabe (Heidelberg, 1999), 61-2. 14 Renger, J. “Interaction of temple, palace and ‘private enterprise’ in the old Babylonian economy,” in State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East (Leuven, 1979), vol. 1, 250; Van De Mieroop, M. The Ancient Mesopotamian City (Oxford, 1997), 146. 15 Kraus, F. R. The Role of Temples from the Third Dynasty of Ur to the First Dynasty of Babylon, tr. Foster B. Monographs on the Ancient Near East, vol.2:4 (Malibu, 1990),11, 15. 16 Oppenheimer, A. L. Ancient Mesopotamia, Portrait of Dead Civilization, 2nd edition (Chicago ,1977), 84, 187. 17 Renger, “Interaction,” 254.

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probably roofed. A simple clay seal protected the granary from thieves. As suggested by Van De Mieroop, “This provided a psychological barrier rather than a physical one.”18 This method of sealing was still used by the sultans in Mamluk Egypt, probably for much the same reason.19 In Egypt, under the reign of the New Kingdom (1152-1070 Bc), granaries became one of the most prominent institutions. The temple belonged to the pharaoh but operated as a specialized branch of the government.20 In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt large granaries were tightly controlled by either the temple or the rulers themselves.21 A later example from the Levant shows granaries were incorporated into the urban fortifications. In a well-preserved granary excavated in the capital city of Geshur (10th-8th century Bc), located in the southern Golan on the Jordan River, a fourchamber gate served for the storage of cereals. It was further protected by a large double curtain wall, the external wall measuring 6 m in width. A large tower protected the gate (Figures 3.1, 3.2). A thick layer of ash containing both wheat and barley bears evidence of the violent conquest of Tiglat

Figure 3.1: Bethsaida, the gate complex

18 Van De Mieroop, Mesopotamian City, 151-2. 19 Ibn Shaddād, Ta’rīkh al-malik al-ẓāhir, ed. A. Khuṭayṭ (Wiesbaden, 1983), 252. 20 Janssen, J. J. “The role of the temple in the Egyptian economy during the New Kingdom,” in State and Temple Economy in the Ancient Near East (Leuven, 1979), vol. 2, 508-509. 21 Waines, D. “Cereals, bread and society, an essay on the staff of life in medieval Iraq,” Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient, 30 (1987):258-9.

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Figure 3.2: Bethsaida, reconstruction of the gate

Palesser III (732 Bc). Geshur may well have served as the central granary of this small kingdom.22 During the Roman period granaries were often built in auxiliary forts flanking the headquarters. They were also positioned near the gates, particularly on sites located on a river and used as regular transportation routes. Granaries were long narrow rectangular buildings strongly constructed with buttresses. To resist the pressure of the grain’s weight, the walls were relatively thick (the lateral pressure of grain is about two thirds of the vertical pressure),23 a raised floor allowed a current of air. A large granary was excavated at the Roman port of Caesarea—a complex of barrel vaults (14 individual units) each measuring 30 m long, 5 m wide and 5 m high. The vaults opened on to one of the main harbour streets. Built by King Herod the Great (d. 4 Bc), it continued to serve as a warehouse during the Byzantine period.24 A second horrea of seven vaults was found below the Temple 22 Arav, R. “A chronicle of a pre-known destruction, analysis of the stages of conquest and destruction of the city of Bethsaida by Tiglat Pilesr III 732-734 bce,” in Eretz-Israel, eds. J. Aviram, A. Ben-Tor, I. Eph’al S. Gitin and R. Reich (Jerusalem, 2009), vol. 29:333. 23 Rickman, Roman Granaries, 2. 24 Blakely J. A. et al., The Joint Expedition to Caesarea Maritma Excavation Report. The Pottery and Dating of Vault 1: Horreum, Mithraeum and Later Uses (New York, 1986), vol. IV:150-51.

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of Roma and Augustus.25 The incorporation of granaries in temples and military forts and their vaulted structures date from the Iron Age and earlier, and all through the Roman and Byzantine periods. The Greek ُword ْ horrea, granary, ْ ‫ َأ‬was later incorporated into the Arabic language �‫ �هر �ي‬hurī (singular) ٕ‫ � �هرا‬ahra (plural).26 During the early Fatimid period (696-1169) the regime was responsible for buying 100,000 dinars worth of grain every year. This policy practiced by the Fatimid rulers, known as the matjar, was later abandoned due to the losses in both income and grain in years when prices dropped and the rulers held stocks of grain that could not be sold. During the late Fatimid period there were three granaries in Cairo, two of which were located in ports along the river, one for wheat and one for barley. The three granaries together could contain 300,000 irdab.27 According to Lev, the granaries in Cairo were better stocked and maintained during the Fatimid period than in the late twelfth century under Saladin’s rule.28 This may well be true, but as the following case demonstrates, the Fatimid rulers were often reluctant to distribute their own grain in times of shortage. During the crop failures of 397/1007 caused by the low Nile, the caliph al-Hākim ordered the removal of taxes on grain and rice. He publicly threatened those who hoarded grain, promising: “I will cut off the head of whoever possesses any grain whatsoever. I will burn his house and confiscate his wealth.”29 Those who failed to comply were not allowed to sell until the new crops were harvested. This policy however is tainted by a large measure of hypocrisy, as taxes on cereals were introduced a year later, long before the crisis was over. The caliph himself did not release grain from the state granaries.30 The Franks storage system and policy was differnt from that of the Fatimids. There is some evidence rulers built granaries within their urban citadels or added large warehouses to existing fortresses.31

25 Holum, K. G. et al., King Herod’s Dream, Caesarea on the Sea (New York and London, 1988), 88-9. 26 Sharoni, A. The Compressive Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary (Tel-Aviv, 1987), vol. 1, 217; Ayalon, D. and Shinar, P. Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary of Modern Arabic 7th edition (Jerusalem, 1975), 397. 27 1 Irdabb = 2.500 pounds. Hava, J. G. Arabic-English Dictionary (Beirut, 1970), 7. 28 Lev, Y. State and Society in Fatimid Egypt (Leiden, New York and Köln, 1991), 162-4. 29 Allouche, Mamluk Economics, 33. 30 Lev, Fatimid Egypt, 168-9. 31 Avitzur, S. Man and His Work, Historical Atlas of Tools and Workshops in the Holy Land (Ramat Gan, 1976), 38. [Hebrew]

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The Russian abbot Daniel (d. 1122), who traveled in the Holy Land c. 1106-1107, describes the large grain stocks in the Tower of David, which served as Jerusalem’s citadel.32 It (the Tower of David) is curiously built in massive stone, is very high, and of square, solid impregnable form…. It contains plenty of water, five iron gates, and two hundred steps lead to the summit. An immense quantity of corn is stored in this tower. It is very difficult to take and forms the main defence of the city. (Russian Abbot Daniel, PPTS, 4:17)

Although the Crusader kingdom was relatively small, it seems they seldom stored enough grain to see them through times of crisis. The 1154 acute food shortage in the kingdom was prevented from turning into famine due to the Egyptian grain supplies found after the conquest of Ascalon from the Fatimids. In the following year, a severe famine spread over the whole land (Kingdom of Jerusalem). The Lord, filled with anger towards us, took away our main support, bread, so that a measure of wheat was sold for four gold pieces. In fact, had it not been that a supply of grain was found in Ascalon when that city was taken, famine would have invaded the land and the people would have almost wholly perished. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 18:236) It is important to note, however, that few strongholds were owned by the king and in general he had little control of grain surpluses. Most fortresses were initially built by wealthy families who owned large agricultural estates. In the late twelfth century many of the fortresses were sold to the military orders, who may have maintained their own granaries. The fortress of Safad, rebuilt by the Order of the Templars in 1240, could accommodate 2500 men. It received 12,000 mules laden with barley, wheat and other foodstuffs every year.33 In comparison to both the Ayyubid and Mamluk sultanates, few famines have been recorded in the Crusader kingdom and its principalities. One reason, no doubt was their location along the coast, which has relatively high rainfall and rich agricultural land. The kingdom and principalities with their many harbours and merchants were linked to several grain-growing regions outside the Levant, in southern Italy, Sicily and Cyprus. Transportation of surplus grain was not impossible; distances were 32 Pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land 1106-1107 A.D. Annotated by C. W. Wilson Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society (London, 1895), vol. 4, pt. 3, vii-viii. 33 De Constructione Castri Saphet: Construction et Functions d’un Chateau Fort Franc en Terre Sainte cited in Kennedy, Castles, 196.

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short and the terrain and roads along the coast were relatively easy to travel and navigate. Although no exact figures exist, the population in the cities of Egypt and Syria was larger than that in Frankish cities. In times of scarcity it was thus probably easier to obtain supplies from the Muslims rulers, even if this meant turning to your most formidable enemy, as the following account reveals. In 1185 Count Raymond of Tripoli, who acted as the regent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, was well aware of the drought conditions threatening the Frankish territories. He called upon his council in order to find a solution. Raymond quickly signed a four-year peace treaty with Saladin, who then sent food supplies to relieve the Frankish food shortage.34 Grain storage policies did not change or improve under the Ayyubid rule. There were, however a number of cases where rulers foresaw the coming calamities and were strong and/or wealthy enough to intervene at an early stage. The initiative taken by the Ayyubid ruler of Aleppo is a good example of a quick relief plan in a city that was on the verge of famine: This year (628/1230-1231) there was little rain in the Jazīra and Syria, especially at Aleppo and its dependencies, for there it was exceedingly sparse. Prices rose, the rise in prices in Aleppo was the worst, although not as serious as has been mentioned in the past years. The Atabeg Shihāb al-Dīn, who was in charge of affairs at Aleppo, the source of commands and prohibitions, the regent and guardian for its sultan, al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Zāhir, produced much of his own money and corn and bestowed plentiful alms. He administrated the city so well that there was no obvious sign of shortages and high prices. May God reward him with goodly reward. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:310)

During the great famine of 1199-1201 al-ʿĀdil had acted in much the same way as rulers before and after him, although it seems his generosity and care for the poor exceeded that of other sultans. For three consecutive years, the Nile rose only insignificantly… al-ʿĀdil Abū Bakr ibn Ayyub released quantities of grain to the poor. He also divided the latter among the wealthy [to be fed], assembled twelve thousand of them in the place where camels were fenced, which was adjacent to the palace, and fed them generously. The commanders and the affluent and wealthy people acted in a similar manner…. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 42)

The famine during al-ʿĀdil’s reign was remembered for decades, and future years of food shortage were compared to and measured against it. During 34 The Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, 1184-97. in The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade, Sources in translation, P. W. Edbury (Aldershot, 1998), 17.

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the severe food shortage that struck Egypt in 1263-1264, under Baybars' reign, his biographer, Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir (d. 1292), praised Baybars in the most obsequious manner, comparing his way of dealing with the poor to the conduct of al-ʿĀdil. The sultan gave orders that the prices of commodities should be fixed for compassion’s sake, but the situation became more precarious and bread was completely lacking. The sultan gave orders for all the poor people to be summoned to the foot of the citadel. On Thursday, the 7th of the month of Rabīʿ II, he came down to the House of Justice; the first thing that he discussed there was the question of wheat, and the abolition of the fixed price. He issued orders to the granaries to sell each day a quantity of five hundred irdabs of grain, as God the Exalted had ordained, and not to sell more than two waibah at a time, so that those who hoard could not buy, but that this should rather be sold to the poor and to widows. His chamberlains went down to the foot of the Citadel and wrote down the names of the poor. He sent one chamberlain to each quarter of the town to make the list of all the poor who were in Cairo and Miṣr, and their surrounding places. The sultan said” by God, if I had sufficient quantity of grain to feed all these people, I would have distributed it to them.” When all these people were counted and assembled, the sultan took thousands of them and allotted a similar number to the deputies of his son al-Malik Saʿīd. He called the military chancellery which took down their names. He allotted to each amir a number of poor in proportion to the number of soldiers under his command, and divided the poor among the amirs, the soldiers, the mufradīs of the ḥalqa, the commanders and the Baḥrīs. A separate class was made for the Türkmens, and also for the Kurds and native inhabitants. He issued orders that each poor person should be given provisions sufficient for three months…..Then the sultan said: “We have to-day assembled these poor people, and already half the day has passed; let half of one dirham be given to each of them, so that he can procure bread, and the measure decided upon should be carried out from to-morrow.” In this way a great sum was distributed specially for this purpose. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 204-5)

The sultan later admits the task was beyond his ability. Tucker concludes that the Mamluks’ response to disasters was ad hoc and haphazard; official aid to the affected population was indirect and variable.35 And yet the Mamluk sultans were better organized and appear to have had greater control over grain surpluses and granaries. Baybars, may have learnt from his early experiance of famine; he later established a policy were by he stocked each of the fortresses he conquered and carefully supervised the 35 Tucker, “Environmental hazards,”113.

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military granaries. One of the chief responsibilities of each fortress governor, who was nominated by the sultan, was to look after the granaries.36 This policy was established as fortresses were being won from the Crusaders and the Ayyubids and rebuilt by the Mamluks in the 1260s. It seems previous regimes had less control over the grain surpluses and were poorly equipped to combat severe food shortages. It is important to note that during the seventeen years of Baybars’ reign, both the Levant and Egypt were almost free of droughts, which no doubt made maintaining grain reserves an easier undertaking. A number of Mamluk sultans had large grain supplies transported from the two main granaries at Fusṭāṭ and Cairo to Syria, Gaza, Safad, the citadel of Damascus, Karak, Shawbak and cities along the coast.37 The distribution of grain to several sites no doubt helped reduce the risk of losing the entire grain stock. At first it seems that much of the grain was stored in these fortresses in order to supply military campaigns and the local garrison, a policy that eased the burden on the population, who were thus exempt from allocating a portion of their crops to the garrisons. The large quantities of grain stored in these fortresses could also be used in times of emergency. This is confirmed by Maqrīzī, who says that during the severe drought of 695/1295-1296 that struck Syria, the entire coast and Egypt, the Mamluk sultan relieved Cairo’s food shortage by ordering the transportation of grain from the Mamluk military granaries in fortresses along the coast and in southwest Jordan.38 More than twenty thousand ghiraras that were stored in Karak, Shawbak, and [along] the Palestinian littoral were sent to the cities, [although] they had been kept originally as provisions and destined to supply military expeditions. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah, 28-29)39

During the two-year famine that struck Egypt in 695-696/1295-1296 Baybars al-Manṣūrī describes the distribution of the poor among the rich who 36 Ibn al-Furāt, Nāṣir al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, b. Muḥammad, Tā’rīkh Ibn al-furāt, eds. N. Izzedin and C. K. Zurayk (Beirut, 1942), vol. 7:192.  37 Lapidus, I. “The grain economy of Mamluk Egypt,” JESHO, 12 (1969):6.  38 Karak is noted as a grain producer in the Ottoman period. Milwright address the subject of grain in Karak relying on Khalil al-Zahiri (15th century). Johns examines crops in Karak according to Ottoman tax records. I have not found Mamluk sources that state Karak was a grain growing region. Milwright, M. The Fortress of the Raven, Karak in the Middle Islamic Period (1100-1650), (Leiden and Boston, 2008), 109-111; Johns, J.”The longue durée: State and settlement in southern Transjordan across the Islamic centuries,” in Village, Steppe and State: the Social Origins of Modern Jordan, eds. E. L. Rogan and T. Tell (London, 1994), 24. 39 see also Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 44.

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Figure 3.3: Karak, the western storage galleries

Figure 3.4: Karak, inside the storage galleries

provided food for the starving. Grain was imported from Sicily and Constantinople to relieve the famine in Egypt.40 The Sultan, al-ʿĀdil Kitbughā (r. 1295-1297) acted in a similar way, ordering his high-ranking amirs and officials as well as wealthy merchants to help provide food for the Sufi communities, the beggars and the poor population.41 40 Baybars al-Manṣūrī al-Dawādār, Rukn al-Dīn, Kitāb al-tuḥfa al-mumlūkiyya fī l’-dawla al-turkiyya, ed. ʿA-R. S. Ḥamdān (Cairo, 1987), 305-6. 41 Lapidus, Muslim Cities, 147.

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Although Tucker’s conclusion reflects the conduct of most Frankish, Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers, during the early Mamluk period sultans were to a certain degree better equipped to fight short-term urban food shortages. Their strong and centralized rule, their amirs’ full cooperation (whether through respect or fear) and superior military organization, in this case the storage of surplus grain in fortresses, enabled them to assist the urban population. These rush emergency programs managed to save thousands of people, but they could not help many of the towns and villages throughout Egypt. Importing grain was not always a viable solution in the sultanate, whether because of transport difficulties, the small Muslim fleets, and the quantities of grain needed or the ruler’s empty treasury. In most cases rulers were able to provide famine relief only in their capital cities. In general, the medieval Middle East was ill equipped to battle longterm droughts and famines. The sultans' main difficulty was in controlling those who hoarded grain, hoping to make a handsome profit when prices were high.42 Although hoarding was widely practiced in the large cities, it was not the main cause of mass famines across Egypt and Greater Syria. Crop failure whether due to pests, cold spells, floods or droughts caused almost immediate food shortages, prices would soar and hunger and epidemics were quick to follow. Coping with Droughts in the Rural Regions One tends to think that the rural population was less prone to short-term food shortage. The majority were self-sufficient, consuming much of what they grew and selling whatever surpluses for fear of losing grain in storage.43 Data from Greece show that individual farmers could store enough grain for two years. Wheat kept for three years was still edible, but infertile and of no use as seed.44 Their existence, however, was precarious. Farmers might go through a period of three to six months of pre-harvest hunger starting towards the end of the summer when the amount of cereals in storage was nearing the end or had already ended.45 Payment of land tax in cereals and keeping 42 Lapidus, Muslim Cities, 52-3. The hoarding of grain and exploitation of the grain markets in both Damascus and Cairo occurred throughout the Mamluk period, although it seems to have grown worse during the late fourteenth century and after. 43 Weinbaum, Food, 158, 162; Halstead, P. “Banking on livestock: Indirect storage in Greek agriculture,” Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture, 7 (1993):63. 44 Forbes, H. and Foxhall, L. “Ethnoarchaeology and storage in the ancient Mediterranean,” in Food in Antiquity, eds. J. Wilkins, D. Harvey and M. Dobson (Exeter, 1995), 76.

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sufficient seed for the following sowing season would leave little surplus. Thus, if a drought were to occur, famine would develop within a relatively short time. In years of bumper crops, when farmers would have been left with a fair amount of their harvest, few had large secure granaries to store their surpluses. The iqtāʿ system,46 practiced throughout the Ayyubid and Mamluk sultanates, amplified many of the difficulties farmers encountered in times of drought. The lands with the highest yields were assigned to high-ranking amirs in the form of an iqtāʿ; each iqtāʿ could consist of one to ten villages. The lower-ranking amirs and the beduin tribes sometimes shared the revenues of one village.47 Most of the amirs dwelt in the large urban centers; they were professional military men who possessed no agricultural knowledge, and took little interest in the land. Their only concern was the tribute collected after the harvest. They seldom saw, understood or cared about the daily hardships of the farming population. Taxes seem to have remained much the same even when crops were poor. Christian as well as Muslim farmers in Syria and Palestine under Frankish or Mamluk rule had to hand over half of their crop to the landowner. In addition, Christian farmers paid the jeziya tax to their Muslim landlords and Muslim farmers paid poll tax if they lived under Frankish rule.48 Unless yields were remarkably high, farmers would have found it almost impossible to store large enough quantities of grain to see them through long periods of drought. The isolation of many rural areas led to further problems. Villages were often far from the food relief centres that were organized in the large Mamluk cities. When prices rose, the necessary products were usually way beyond their reach. Volney, who traveled through Syria in 1785, reports: “if they (the villagers) are visited by a two year drought and famine, the whole village is ruined and abandoned.”49

45 Mariam, M. W. Rural Vulnerability to Famine in Ethiopia 1958-1977 (London, 1986), 83. 46 iqṭāʿ pl. iqṭāʿāt: land allocated by the sultan or great amir to soldiers in return for military service. Tsugitaka, State and Rural Society, 246. 47 Rabie, H. “The size and value of the iqtāʿ in Egypt, 564-741 A.H. 1169-1341 A.D.” in Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East, ed. M. A. Cook (Oxford, 1970), 129-30. 48 Frenkel, Y. “Rural society in Mamluke Palestine,” Cathedra 77 (1995):28-9. 49 Volney C. F. “Travels through Syria and Egypt” in The Economic History of the Middle East 1800-1814, ed. C. Issawi (Chicago and London, 1966), 214.

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chapter three Preparing for and Coping with Droughts among Nomads

The saving and storing of food for bad times is a complex matter even among sedentary farming communities. In general, grain stocks are much more adjustable and amenable to control than livestock. If stored in dry conditions the value of grain will not fall and the profit will be immediate. Pastoralists’ savings for the future take the form of storing animals ‘on the hoof’. But even this solution is not always feasible. In times of drought the condition of a herd will deteriorate rapidly.50 Milk production will fall considerably; consequently lambs born will perish within a short time. As conditions worsen and the herd is reduced in size, meat and milk will become scarce. Moreover, the nutrition and calorie value of lean meat is very low.51 Pastoral nomads become more dependent on the sale of their animals and by-produce in order to be able to purchase food—mainly grain. While in some nomadic tribes bread was part of the daily diet, in some cereals were turned into flour, mixed with water and salt, and cooked into porridge.52 Although neither bread nor cereals were a major component of the nomadic diet, in times of dearth they were usually expensive and beyond reach. Mariam has pointed out that many pastoralists in Ethiopia will not slaughter and eat their animals in order to survive droughts. He raised the following questions: Why do people and livestock die of famine together? Why don’t starving people turn their livestock into food during famine periods? Some contemporary medieval accounts describe a similar phenomena, the death of people as well as large herds during a drought. The fact that the herd is a pastoralist’s capital, his source of income and savings, will prevent him from slaughtering his animals, even if his own life could thereby be saved.53 Once the drought is over, the recovery of the tribe’s economy will be a slow process. Since many of the older animals are the first to be sold in times of scarcity, the number of stock suitable for biological reproduction is reduced; thus rebuilding the herd will stretch over a considerable period. Having little milk and few animals to sell means that many families continue to struggle long after the drought had ended.54 50 Halstead, “Banking,” 66-67. 51 Halstead, “Banking,” 66; Dahl, G. and Hjort, A. Pastoral Change and the Role of Drought. Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (Stockholm, 1979), 16. 52 Waines, “Cereals,” 267. 53 Mariam, Rural Vulnerability, 60, 64. 54 Dahl and Hjort, Pastoral Change, 9, 16-17.

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Keeping different species, goats and camels or goats and sheep, will reduce the risk of total loss.55 Both camels and goats are more resistant to drought than sheep. Certain animals have a better immune system and are more resistant to the many diseases that are prevalent in times of drought when animals are weak. Raiding was one way of supplementing income among nomads. There is however little evidence that raiding became more frequent in times of drought. Rituals, Famine Foods and the Question of Cannibalism Not surprisingly, the native population of this arid region developed a particular type of rain prayer, one that addressed the needs, of nomads, farmers and the urban comunities. These rituals go back to pre-Islamic times but were adopted and adapted by Islam at a very early stage. Muslim rain rituals and prayers can still been seen today in Morocco and Sudan. In Sudan, separate prayers are conducted by men and women accompanied by their children. The men gather under the sun with the droughtstricken animals. The ceremony is led by a pious member of the community who in addition to the prayer recites a long religious poem in which each line of invocation is followed by a line of petition.56 You who mete out good and evil, oh God, In this land we are broken, milk the clouds from above! The young children who accompany their mothers recite:57 … Oh God give us rainwater! Oh God I have eaten carrion! Oh God I have stolen water!

The Sudanese rain poems convey the intimate nature of the prayer recited by a small local farming community. Similar prayers and rituals may well have been preformed in the medieval Levant in rural regions and among the nomads. The pre-Islamic ritual practiced in the Arabian Peninsula is one of many performed with fire. Oxen pulling a load of dry wild-grape branches were led to a high hill. A Mudar plant (Calotropis procera) was attached to their tails and hocks and was set alight on reaching the summit. The bellowing 55 Dahl and Hjort, Pastoral Change, 17-20. 56 Andrzejewski, B. W. “The Roobdoon of Sheikh Aqib Abdullahi Jama: A Somali prayer for rain,” African Language Studies 11 (1970):21, 28, 32. In the Sudan the majority are Sunni. 57 Andrzejewski, “Somali prayer for rain,” 33.

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of the oxen and the men’s pleading cries were directed towards the heavens to the gods above. When Muhammad was alive, the Prophet himself performed rain prayers, but those were already of a different nature to the one described above. Raising his hands to the sky, he would turn his cloak inside out and his back to the crowd.58 This communal prayer is still performed in various parts of the Middle East. Sura al-A’la is recited after Sura al-Fatihah. Then the leader of the prayer reads Sura al-Ghashiyah. The three suras emphasize the power and greatness of Allah in the Universe. When the ceremony is over, each person in the crowed turns his outer garments inside out while facing the qiblah and raising his hands.59 When the rain comes one should say: ‘Our Lord a useful rain’ and reveal part of the body to the rain. If the rain is too heavy and may cause damage one should say ‘O’Allah, make it upon the woods, farms and trees. Make it around us and not upon us.’60 ‫ � ��س��ت ق‬, rain prayer) was perNuwayrī, says that in Cairo the Istisqa (‫��س��ى‬ ‫إ‬ formed in the graveyard.61 According to a Moroccan tradition, during the time of the Prophet a Jew was called upon to pray in order to end a severe drought. The old man went to a Jewish grave and held a bone while praying. Within two hours it began to rain. It is also customary among Muslims in many countries to pray for rain at a saint’s tomb. A similar ritual to that conducted by children in the Sudan, is held in Morocco. Little boys and girls go to the local village shrine, with their hands behind their backs, they walk round and round reciting: Help us quickly O our Lord. Have mercy upon us O our Lord, hear us God, give us rain and we shall have a variety of crops between the chick-peas and durra.62 58 Fahd, T. “Istisḳā’” EI2 4:269-71. 59 Shiekh Sayyed Sabiq, Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Salatul Istisqa, The Asking for Rain Prayer, tr. from Arabic by F. Amira Zrein Matraji, corrected and revised by M. Matraji (Beirut, 1996), vol. 1: 246-7. 60 Sabiq, Fiqh-us-Sunnah, vol. 1: 250. 61 Nuwayrī, Nihāyat 32:143. 62 Westermarck, E. Ritual and Belief in Morocco (London, 1926), vol. 2:256. There are other rituals such as alms giving, slaughtering cattle running through the village streets; people throw water while the women and children yell “the barley is thirsty, God give the barley water.” 261; weeping, 264; using a ladle as a rain-charm, 266. Use of a ladle is also known from Karak. Curtiss, S. I. Primitive Semitic Religion To-Day (Chicago, New York and Toronto, 1902), 114.

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Famine Foods Famine foods are drawn from a store of folk knowledge.63 They are sometimes mentioned in the Arabic sources and were no doubt used by both sedentary and nomadic populations, although each probably had a different type of famine foods. They included wild plants as well as parts of domesticated plants only eaten when food is scarce. In times of plenty, flour was sifted the remnants usually thrown out; but when food was scarce these remains were often used. This is frequently commented: People fed themselves on what was left after sieving [flour]. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, 10:544)

In times of food shortage, bread was made out of barley which was cheaper than wheat. When the price of both wheat and barley was high, ful (Egyptian fava beans) was used as a substitute.64 In several cases, at the height of a prolonged famine, chroniclers mention the consumption of cats, dogs and carrion. This year the famine at Mosul and in the whole of the Jazīra intensified. The people ate carrion and dogs and cats. Dogs and cats became scarce after they had been very numerous. One day I had entered my house and seen the servant girls cutting up meet for cooking. I was struck by the number of cats I saw, so I counted them and there were twelve. During this famine however, I saw meat in the house with nobody nearby guarding it from the cats because there were none. There was not that much time between these two occasions. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:266-8)

It is doubtful whether a hungry man or a starving family will give the matter of Islamic dietary laws much thought. Islamic law, however, clearly permits the eating of forbidden food including carcasses in times of severe food shortage.65 Cannibalism According to Nuwayrī, Bar Hebraeus and Maqrīzī, during the two-year famine that struck Egypt in 1199-1201 people reverted to cannibalism. The 63 Freeman, M. Sung in Food in Chinese Culture, ed. K. C. Chang, 2nd Edition (New Haven and London, 1978), 144. 64 Shoshan, B. “Money supply and grain prices in fifteenth century Egypt,” The Economic History Review 36, 1 (1983):49, note 19. 65 Eisenstein, H. “Animal life” Encyclopedia of Quran (Leiden, Boston and Köln, 2001), vol. 1: 100.

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recurring stories of cannibalism may seem at first mere exaggeration. Modern scholars tend to regard these accounts as common topos. But when the length and scale of the famine are made clear it seems there is more than a grain of truth in some of those accounts. Even if they are slightly exaggerated by the chronicler, they are no doubt used to convey the scale of the crisis.

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Chapter Four

Droughts and famines: Social, military and political consequences When the peasants, who have nothing in store and who have staked all the future on their small plots of land that have failed to meet their minimum expectations for subsistence, experience crop failure there is hopelessness that makes a human being empty to the core; there is helplessness that tortures a human being standing face to face with slow but certain death.1

In contrast to other natural disasters such as earthquakes or plagues which are not class conscious, the victims of famines are almost always the poor sections of society.2 A prolonged drought and the famine that follows will upset the social structure in both rural and urban societies. The physiological and physical impact may last for decades. Marriages are postponed or cancelled because of death and migration. The demographic impact of famine is severe, not only due to the immediate deaths from hunger and sickness. The inability to feed an extra mouth will be the main factor in deciding whether to have yet another child, and in the long run the population will experience a sharp decline in birth rate. Moreover, hunger diminishes sexual appetite, and malnutrition and stress among women can lead to temporary infertility—a condition known as famine amenorrhea. Young children who have undergone severe malnutrition at a young age will suffer from mental retardation, their bodies will seldom catch up with the growth of children of similar age that have never experienced long and acute periods of food shortage. The struggle to survive is further evident in parents who are willing to sell their children. Division and separation of families due to migration and the death of parents and children disrupt the life of thousands of people. The rural landscape changes as villages are abandoned due to death and mass migration.3 Regaining economic and social stability after a long period of drought is a slow process. It requires not only the resourcefulness of the population 1 Mariam, Rural Vulnerability, 55. 2 Seyf, A. “Iran and the great famine, 1870-72,” Middle Eastern Studies 46, 2 (2010):289. 3 Mariam, Rural Vulnerability, 55-6.

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but a significant amount of the ruler’s direct or indirect help. Lowering taxes will reduce the burden on farmers, small urban industries and merchants. Supporting the agriculture infrastructure and maintaining irrigation canals will secure village crops and help expand the size of fields. While controlling the weather and eliminating famine was impossible, maintaining peace and ending aggression in times of scarcity were often a relatively feasible policy. Securing a village’s safety from internal as well as external acts of violence enabled farmers to sow their fields, harvest, transport and sell their crops. The pages that follow provide examples of rulers who managed to prevent famines or reduced the damage by using diplomatic negotiations. Conflicts and Peace Treaties Driven by Droughts and Famines Although there is a general consensus among scholars that food shortages will trigger unrest and violence, especially in urban centers, none of the rulers during the Crusader, Ayyubid and early Mamluk periods were threatened or disposed of due to a severe food crisis. Ibn al-Athīr (11601233), records unrest in Mosul, his own town, during the drought of 11791180. But even he indicates that this was an unusual event: A strange thing to tell is that in the year 575 (1179-1180) people came forth to pray for rain because of the drought and severe famine and Sayf al-Dīn [Lord of Mosul] also did so, accompanied by his retinue. The people rose against him and targeted him with their protests. They demanded that he order the prohibition of the selling of wine. He agreed, so they entered the city and attacked the houses of the winesellers. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:270)

A ruler’s ability to achieve stability in times of uncertainty is surely not of negligible social and economic importance.4 Large granaries and warehouses were owned by sultans, amirs, wealthy individuals and merchants. Within the Crusader kingdom and principalities, granaries were controlled by the king, the nobility and religious institutions—monasteries,5 churches or military orders. While it seems that many individuals viewed grain supplies as a means of making a quick profit, rulers in theory regarded granaries as a necessity, a means of securing their rule and the country’s economy. 4 Barrett, T. H. “Climate change and religious response: The case of early Medieval China,” JRAS 3 (2007):55. 5 Avitzur, Man and his Work, 38.

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Surpluses of grain enabled them to cope with food shortages and control prices by releasing grain from their own supply. The existence of a wellstocked granary provided rulers with stability as well as economic and political power at home and in the international arena. Ayyubid and Mamluk sultans regarded most wealth as their own and tried to prevent their amirs from controlling agricultural surpluses. This was done partly by paying salaries to their amirs or providing them with an iqṭāʿ in return for military service.6 Many amirs, however, bought, hoarded and sold large stocks of grain for the sheer profits that were to be made by selling it in times of scarcity.7 The sultan’s means of controlling grain hoarding depended almost entirely on his political power and wealth. The main grain-growing region in the early decades of the Mamluk sultanate was still Egypt.8 While Egypt managed to create a surplus of grain, Syria’s grain reserves were considerably smaller. However, even in Egypt the surplus was not always sufficient. The number of droughts and famines in Egypt and Syria during the Ayyubid period (1170-1250) was higher than in the Crusader territories. The high number of famines in Syria may be explained by the limited amount of cultivated lands, the low precipitation and agriculture being largely dependent on winter rains. If crops failed or yields were poor the country would find itself on the verge of famine within a short space of time. The worst droughts in the Eastern Mediterranean were those of 11781181, 1294-1296 and 1304, when both Syria and Egypt suffered. All three led to acute famine throughout the region. Droughts are most severe when the main grain-growing regions are badly hit; when vast areas that include different political entities are simultaneously struck by drought, rulers will find it exceedingly difficult to maneuver. Grain will have to be shipped or carried over long distances, raising costs and risk of loss. The accounts below describe some of the regions’ most severe periods of drought and the political and military events that followed. 6 Chamberlain, M. Knowledge and Social Practice in Medieval Damascus 1190-1350 (Cambridge, 1994), 40, 42. 7 Irwin, Middle East, 94. 8 This changed shortly after the Black Death (748-750/1347-1349). A third of the population perished and a vast number of villages were destroyed. The maintenance of irrigation canals deteriorated due to weak rulers and lack of manpower. Borsch, Black Death, 41-4; Levanoni, A. A Turning Point in Mamluk History, the Third Reign of al-Nāṣir Muḥammad Ibn Qalawun (1310-1341) (Leiden, New York and Köln, 1995), 137, 172-3. Dols, Black Death, 282-3; Dols, M. “The general mortality of the Black Death in the Mamluk Empire,” in The Islamic Middle East, 700-1900 Studies in Economic and Social History, ed. A. L. Udovitch (Princeton, New Jersey, 1981), 416-17.

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chapter four 1178-1181, the Longest of the Twelfth-Century Droughts

The 1179-1181 drought covered most of the Eastern Mediterranean, moving gradually from northeast to southwest and stretching over Syria, Iraq, the Jazira, Egypt and North Africa.9 All the upheavals caused by drought can be witnessed, beginning with food shortages, high prices, spread of sickness, a high death toll and migration. There were no extreme political incidents; the most important outcome was two peace treaties which were signed as a result of this period of acute food shortage. This year (574-575/1179-1180) the rains failed completely in all the lands of Syria, the Jezīra, Iraq, Diyār Bakr, Mosul and the Uplands, Khilāṭ and elsewhere. Famine became severe and widespread in all the lands. A ghirara of wheat which is twelve makkūks in Mosul measures, was sold in Damascus for twenty old Tyrian dinars. In Mosul barley cost one Amīrī dinar for every three makkūks. In all other lands prices were comparable. The people in all regions of the land prayed for rain but their prayers were not granted. Food became short and people ate carrion and similar things. This situation lasted until the end of 575 (May 1180), but it was followed by severe sickness, also widespread. The mortality rate was high. Everyone had the same illness, namely delirium (sarsām). The people could not keep up with burying the dead. However some places suffered worse than others. Eventually God had mercy on His servants and the animals and sent them rains. Prices became cheaper. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:261-2)

The severity of the drought and the complexity of the regional affairs led to several military and diplomatic acts between the three main political entities in the region: the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli and the Ayyubid sultanate. Although Saladin was clearly faced with greater difficulties, which threatened the population and his army in Syria, the crisis that was to develop due to this drought did not change the regional balance of power. The first phase, however, saw a sharp rise in the level of aggression. Bearing this in mind, it is somewhat surprising that one of Saladin’s first moves was to reduce his forces in Syria.10

9 This drought is mentioned also by Abū Shāma Shihab al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Rahmin b. Ismail, Kitab al-Rawḍatyn fi Akhbar al-Dawlatin (Beirut, 1997), 3:21; Maqrīzī, Sulūk, vol.1.pt.1, 71-2; Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, 11: 451-2. 10 Saladin’s order’s concerning the evacuation of the army to Egypt can be found also in Imad al-Din, Barq, 3:376; Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij al-Khrūb fi’ Akhbar Bani Ayyub, ed. D. al-Din al-Shayyal (Cairo,1957), vol. 2:73.

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The sultan sent his brother Turanshah from Syria to Egypt because of the weakness of his army due to the drought in the country. (Abū Shāma, Rawḍatayn, 3:21)

The risk of losing a large part of his army through famine and disease no doubt prompted this decision. This military group, accompanied by merchants and other Syrian people returned to Syria only four years later, in 578/1182.11 Several Muslim sources mention the drought of 574-575/1178-1179 as lasting for two years, ending only in the spring of 575/May 1180. Damascus and its close surroundings, according to William of Tyre, had been suffering from drought for five consecutive years.12 The coastal regions, which are less prone to droughts, are not mentioned and may have had their regular annual rainfall. Thus most of the Crusader kingdom’s territories and the principalities along the coast were probably spared.13 This had several implications for the ongoing Muslim-Frankish conflict. The Franks exploited this situation in various ways, assuming the sultan, Saladin, would carefully calculate the risk to his forces, which were somewhat smaller due to the evacuation of part of his army to Egypt. The drought, however, did not deter the sultan; Saladin retaliated with great force in order to maintain the safety along his frontier and his political position in Syria. The first Frankish act was triggered by the mass movement of nomadic herdsmen towards the Frankish-Muslim frontier. Until the early twentieth century, herds from eastern Syria periodically moved west, some going as far as Lebanon in search of pasture. During the spring of 1179 Muslim herdsmen entered the region of Banyas, which is rich in water. Not only does it have a high rainfall, its springs are fed by the snows of Mount Hermon. The grazing around Banyas must have seemed lush and plentiful in comparison to the drought-stricken areas in eastern Syria. The movement of large Muslim herds did not pass unnoticed by the Franks. News reached the King (Baldwin IV) that the enemy in search of pasture had incautiously led their flocks and herds into the forest near Banyas. They were without fighting men on who they might count to repel any attack made by us. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 21: 438-9) 11 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, vol. 11:478. 12 William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 22:446-7. 13 The only hint of food shortage in the Crusader Kingdom comes from a series of document that tell of a shipment of wheat from southern Italy to Acre. Abulafia, Two Italies, 147-8.

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The nomadic tribes, searching for food, water and pasture, were obviously not expecting to be attacked by the Franks, Banyas was after all within the boundaries of Saladin’s territories. This was apparent even to William of Tyre who says “They were without fighting men.” The sheer number of cattle, sheep and people were both tempting and threatening. An ambush was organized; the prospect of capturing large herds was a temptation the Franks found difficult to resist. The ambush was repelled with the help of a Muslim contingent sent from Damascus under the command of Saladin’s nephew Farrukhshah. Many of the Franks were killed, and the king barely escaped with his life. This event triggered a series of raids and counter raids that lasted for several months.14 In April the king raided the district of Damascus. During the same year the lord of Antioch and Lattakia raided horses in Shayzar.15 At the end of the spring 1179, Saladin invaded the land of Sidon. He (Saladin) located his camp between the city of Banyas and the River of Dan and set out skirmishers in large numbers to drive off booty and set fires. He himself, ready to aid in emergencies, remained in the camp and there awaited their return and the results of their aggressions. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 21: 440)

William of Tyre gives a detailed account of the Frankish response. A largescale raid was carried out in June by the forces of the king assisted by Raymond of Tripoli and the Knights Templars. Saladin’s camp was attacked, but the Frankish force eventually retreated, some finding refuge in the towns of Sidon and Tyre.16 Many were captured and later ransomed for large sums. The most extreme military move was made in the winter of 1178 by King Baldwin IV, who decided to build a fortress on the west bank of the Jordan River at Jacob’s Ford, a day’s journey from Damascus.17 Baldwin appears to have counted on Saladin having little time or money to retaliate, given the severe drought conditions. In October 1178 Baldwin set out with his entire army to oversee and safeguard the construction of the fortress of Vadum Jacob. Saladin was quick to realize the threat this fortress would 14 This period of raids run by both the Franks and Muslims is described in Prawer, Latin Kingdom, vol. 1, 452; Ehrenkreutz, A. S. Saladin (New York, Albany, 1972), 161-4. 15 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, vol. 11:452-453; Ibn-al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:262. 16 William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 21: 442-3. 17 Abū Shāma, Kitab al-Rawḍatyn, 3:19; Ellenblum, R. “Frontier activities: the transformation of a Muslim sacred site into the Frankish castle of Vadum Iacob,” Crusades 2 (2003):83-97.

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pose. If completed it would serve as a jumping point for the Franks to raid the territories of Damascus. According to Ehrenkreutz, it also commanded the approach to the plain of Banyas, which was the granary of Damascus.18 Saladin determined to put an end to its construction, but trying to avoid a military conflict, began by offering a peaceful solution. Diplomatic negotiations failed due to Baldwin’s refusal to accept a cash payment. Saladin first offered 60,000 dinars, then raised the sum to 100,000 dinars, a sum that would have covered the king’s building expenses.19 Saladin was forced to gather his armies. The sultan, who was residing in Damascus at the time, called upon his council. His advisers were clearly against a campaign, arguing that the country was suffering from a severe drought, no doubt pointing out the poor condition of the army and the cost of the campaign, which was currently beyond the means of the sultanate’s treasury. The people were suffering from the drought (mujdib) and the drought was widespread. The Sultan was told: this is not a year to wage Jihad. If they ask you for safety grant it and if they lean towards peace follow it. (Abū Shāma, Rawḍatayn, vol. 3, 19)

Saladin did not heed to their advice. After the failure of the diplomatic negotiations, he turned to his opposition and said: “God has ordered Jihad, and He will guarantee success.” (Abū Shāma, Rawḍatayn, vol. 3, 19)

Despite the severe drought, the scarcity of food and fodder, the rise in prices and the high mortality rate in Syria, the sultan was determined to carry out this campaign and demolish the Frankish fortress of Vadum Jacob before it was completed.20 His first campaign failed. The Frankish garrison held its ground and the Muslims were forced to retreat. The fortress eventually fell in late August 1179. The campaign against this Frankish fortress was the largest Saladin conducted during this period of 574-575/1178-1179. After Saladin’s success at Vadum Jacob and the failure of several Frankish raids Baldwin sued for peace. William of Tyre reveals the details of this treaty:

18 Ehrenkreutz, Saladin, 161. 19 Abū Shāma, Rawḍatyn, 3:26. 20 On the fortress of Vadum Iacob see Ellenblum, R. Crusader Castles and Modern Histories, (Cambridge, 2007), 258-274

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chapter four Saladin willingly agreed to the suggestion, although not, it is claimed because he distrusted his own strength or had any reason to fear our forces, which he had so often defeated during the past year. But for five successive years extreme dryness and a dearth of rain in the region round Damascus had caused a scarcity of food of every description for both man and beast. A truce on both land and sea, for foreigners and natives alike, was accordingly arranged and confirmed by an exchange of oaths between the two parties. The conditions were somewhat humiliating to us, for the truce was concluded on equal terms, with no reservations of importance on our part, a thing which is said never to have happened before. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 22: 446-7)

Ibn Wāṣil provides an account of a most daring raid conducted by the Muslims probably shortly after the signing of the peace treaty with Baldwin IV. Saladin’s forces swept through the villages between Sidon and Beirut (County of Tripoli).21 He (the sultan) camped at Tall al-Qadi and acted from the camp that bordered the enemy’s land. He rode every day into Sidon and raided the region. The army and the beduin tribes raided Sidon and Beirut and harvested the enemy’s crops, what they took they loaded on their camels and animals of burden, until little remained [in the fields]. (Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij, 2:73-74)

The raid was not triggered by the need for revenge, it was clearly meant to ease the food shortage in Damascus. The Muslim forces had set out prepared to harvest Frankish crops in the fields and drive off as many head of cattle and sheep as they could. William of Tyre gives a more aggressive description of this same raid. He (Saladin) burnt all the crops, those that had been gathered into the granaries, those still stacked in the fields, and the growing grain as well. He drove off the cattle as booty and lay waste the whole country in every direction. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 22:448)

Within days of this raid a peace treaty was signed between the Count of Tripoli and Saladin.22 It lasted for as long as it took the Ayyubids to recover from the drought.23 By the middle of 1182 the Franks and the Ayyubids had resumed their raids.24 Raids and counter raids were carried out by both sides throughout the Crusader period and were far more numerous than siege warfare and full21 This raid is described also by Abū Shāma. Abū Shāma, Rawḍatyn, 3:26-7. 22 William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book, 22:449. 23 Ibn al-Athīr: “Saladin then set out from Egypt, followed by a large host of merchants, locals and those who had gone to Egypt from Syria because of the Famine there and elsewhere.” Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), vol. 2:281 24 William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 22: 468.

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scale open-field battles. Yet the number of raids carried out during the drought was higher. The 1178-1179 drought clearly shows an increase in the level of aggression. It was only after Saladin dealt the Franks two severe blows (the conquest and destruction of Vadum Jacob and the fierce raid on Tripoli and its region) that the two sides reached a peaceful solution. No demands or conditions were made by either side, and both treaties were settled and signed within a short space of time. The Franks, who at first refused to accept Saladin’s diplomatic offers to buy the fortress of Vadum Jacob, eventually initiated the peace treaty. Runciman may well have been correct when he concluded that neither side desired raids that would ruin the meagre crops still waiting to be harvested.25 The raid that ended with the Muslim forces harvesting crops in the region of Tripoli and driving large herds of cattle back to Damascus shows the scale of the crisis; it also helps in understanding the problem of storage or rather the lack of grain surpluses in Syria. If William of Tyre is to be believed and May 1180 marks the last year of a five-year drought,26 there can be no doubt that any grain reserves would have long been consumed. If the drought lasted for two years as Ibn al-Athīr writes, then whatever cereals were stored were obviously not enough to support the local population for more than a year. It also illustrates Saladin’s inability to mobilize resources. There is no hint in any of the sources that grain was imported. This was probably because Iraq and the Jazira were also suffering from drought and simply could not afford to assist the neighbouring Muslim territories. It seems more than likely that the scale of the drought, the famine and the sickness were such that the amount of grain needed to relieve Syria’s population was far beyond Saladin’s means. The sole solution was to migrate to where food was plentiful (Egypt) and prey upon your neighbours’ cattle and crops. Matters in Syria were further complicated by the low water level of the Nile. By 1181 Egypt was suffering from low yields. It is therefore quite likely that Egypt could not help relieve the famine in Syria. The Nile dried up so that it became but a ford and its waters withdrew from the banks of Maqs and Misr. Numerous islands of sands formed, and it was feared that all water would drain from the Nilometer and require a new one to be built. The water withdrew from the walls of Maqs, and the main stream now flowed on the western side. (Maqrīzī, Ayyubid Sultans of Egypt, 63)

25 Runciman, Crusades, vol. 2: 343. 26 See full quote in page 53-55. William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 22:446-7.

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For the Nile to drop as low as this description suggests, there must have been a considerable decline in the monsoons in the Ethiopian highlands.27 While Syria and Egypt were confronted by drought and were both suffering from food shortages, the central section along the North African coast was experiencing a drought that led to famine on a similar scale. Yūsuf ibn ʿAbd al-Mu’min went to Mahdiyya, where the envoy of the king of the Franks, the ruler of Sicily (William II, d. 1189), came to him, requesting peace. He made truce with him for ten years. The land of Ifrīqiya was stricken by drought and it was impossible to find food for the army and fodder for the animals, so he returned speedily to the Maghrib. God knows best! (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:274)

Diplomatic negotiations prevailed and a long-term peace treaty was concluded. Military clashes did not take place, since the Muslim army from the Maghrib could not find food for its men and fodder for their mounts. A similar peace treaty was signed between the North African Muslim ruler al-Ḥasan and the Sicilian king, Roger II (d. 1154), during 536/1141-1142, when the region of North Africa was enduring a two-year drought. The Normans set draconicnian conditions,28 al-Ḥasan had little choice but to comply and sign the treaty. Roger posted his own officials in the customs to guarantee payment for his supply of grain.29 Muslim rulers had been forced to initiate peace since there were no grain surpluses along the North African coast. The towns of Bona, Mahdia and Tripoli, facing Sicily, gradually came to rely on the Norman kingdom to supply it with grain during periods of drought.30 When famine lasted for a considerable time, Muslims often found refuge in Sicily. The Normans were well aware of the value of surplus cereals.31 Grain became an important political tool, perhaps even a weapon, which as shown above, could at times be stronger and more efficient than military forces. The lord of Sicily, Roger the Frank, sent a fleet this year to the coast of Ifrīqiya. They captured some ships that had been sent from Egypt to al-Ḥasan, the ruler of Ifrīqiya. Al-Ḥasan was betrayed by Roger but later made contact 27 Hurst, H. E. The Nile (London, 1952), 256-7; Kerisel, J. The Nile and its Masters: Past, Present and Future, tr. Cockle, P. (Rotterdam, Netherlands 2001), 15, 33. There are several accounts during the medieval period describing the low water levels that caused mass famines in Egypt: 944-953, 1059-1066, 1180-1181, and 1201; Said, R. The River Nile (Oxford, 1993), fig. 2.28 p. 162, 164-6; Collins, R. J. The Waters of the Nile (Oxford, 1990), 3-4. 28 Talabo, M. “Al-Mahdiyya,” EI2 5:1246. 29 Matthew, D. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge, 1992), 58. 30 Abulafia, The Two Italies, 222. 31 Matthew, The Norman Kingdom, 58.

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with him and renewed the truce for the sake of transporting grain from Sicily to Ifrīqiya because there was a serious famine there and high mortality. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 1:365) This year (537/1143-1144) there was a famine in Ifrīqiya, which lasted a long time. It had begun in the year 537 (1143-1144). It had a terrible effect on the population, who even resorted to cannibalism. Because of the starvation the nomads sought out the towns and the town’s people closed the gates against them. Plague and great mortality followed. The country was emptied and from whole families not a single person survived. Many people traveled to Sicily in search of food and met with great hardship. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:16-17)

Back to the Levant, in 1185, the Crusader kingdom was experiencing a trying period of drought. Although it lasted only one year, springs in Jerusalem became saline and some dried up. This may indicate that the previous winters had seen a marked drop in rainfall, as the drying up and salination of springs require more than one poor winter. In the first year after the death of King Baldwin the leper [1185] it did not rain at all in the kingdom of Jerusalem with the result that in Jerusalem there was no water and hardly anything to drink …. The spring of Silwan which was close by this well was not good to drink because it was salt. They used the water for tanning hides in the city, for washing clothes and watering gardens that were down in the valley. (Continuation of William of Tyre, 16-17)

With the kingdom’s grain surpluses consumed and no help from Europe via the Italian maritime communes,32 the Frankish ruler acted with surprising haste and determination and turned for help to the Ayyubid Sultan, Saladin. When he [count Raymond of Tripoli who was regent of the kingdom of Jerusalem] saw that there was no rain in the land and that the corn that had been sown was not growing, he feared that there would be shortages, and so he called the barons of the land and the masters of the Temple and Hospital and said to them “Lords, what advice will you give me seeing as there is no rain and the corn will not grow? I fear that the Saracens will realize that we are in difficulties and will attack us. What counsel will you give me? Should I make truces with the Saracens through fear of famine? The barons advised him to make truces with the Saracens and especially with Saladin. Saladin willingly agreed to a four year truce. After the truce had been concluded between the Christians and the Saracens, the Saracens 32 According to Abulafia the Crusader Kingdom and principalities received grain supplies from Southern Italy from as early as 1104. Abulafia, The Two Italies, 76-7.

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chapter four brought the Christians as many supplies as they would normally have had in good times. If there had been no truce, they would have all died of hunger. So the count of Tripoli was much loved by the people of the land, and because of the truce he had made with the Saracens they greatly honored him and gave him their blessings. (Continuation of William of Tyre, 17)

This truce like the previous one was not initiated by Saladin. Count Raymond of Tripoli, well aware of his position, opted for a truce. Saladin’s reaction was surprising, not so much because he agreed to the truce but because of his generous offer to supply the Crusader kingdom with all the food it needed. The size and wealth of a political entity that found itself in crisis was of the greatest importance. The fact that Saladin could supply the kingdom suggests that his granaries were well stocked; it may also indicate the rather modest size and needs of the Crusader kingdom. The main question in this particular case, however, is why Saladin chose to assist the kingdom that he had been so determined to destroy. Why did he not seize the opportunity and wage war on the Crusader kingdom, which had neither a king nor wheat? According to Bueno de Mesquita and Lalman “rational decision makers are motivated by their values and constrained by their power.”33 Did Saladin’s firm and uncompromising policy against the Crusader states give way to his values? Or were his forces simply not fully ready to meet the Franks? One way or the other, he chose not take advantage of his neighbour’s poor state and waited for two more years, until 1187. The geopolitical changes that occurred at the end of the twelfth century had a strong and lasting impact on agriculture and grain production in the Crusader kingdom. After the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin (1187) and the loss of the Crusader territories, the kingdom relied to a much greater extent on the import of grain from southern Italy and Sicily.34 This was not because of long or frequent droughts but a direct result of the loss of valuable arable lands due to Saladin’s conquests, which had reduced the Crusader kingdom to a narrow strip along the coast (see map 2.3). At the turn of the century (1199-1201) the region of Jerusalem, the Frankish coast and Syria were suffering from a prolonged drought. Matters in Egypt were considerably worse; drought was followed by famine, and epidemics spread throughout the country.

33 Bueno de Mesquita, B. and Lalman, D. War and Reason, Domestic and International Imperatives (New Haven and London, 1992), 19. 34 Abulafia, The Two Italies, 76-7.

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It (the famine) was caused by the interrupted increase of the Nile-level, which fell short of the normal. Hunger compelled flocks of people to leave their villages and move to Cairo. When spring came winds blew and an epidemic and destruction followed. Foodstuffs disappeared to the point that adults were compelled to eat small children. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah, 41)

Ibn al-Athīr further notes the plight of the army: The Nile in Egypt did not reach its full flood which prepares the land for the people to plant crops. Food was short and prices high, so the army was weakened. This year famine became serious in Egypt because of the failure of the Nile’s inundation. Provisions were impossible to come by, so that people ate carrion and even one another. Later a plague came upon them and high mortality destroyed the population. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:54)

Villages were abandoned. Many people fled to Cairo, where food was distributed; some left for Syria, the Maghrib, the Hijaz and Yemen.35 According to Nuwayrī people left Egypt and migrated to the Palestinian coast.36 The migration of people from Egypt to Syria would soon prove futile, as drought struck Syria during the same year. Along the coast and the region of Jerusalem farmers had missed the sowing season due to the late rains. In Jerusalem the spring of Silwan dried up.37 In Cairo food was handed out by the sultan, charity foundations and high-ranking amirs. Although this could not save the masses, the distribution of food was well organized. There is no mention of the Frankish population receiving aid from the king, the military orders or the local nobility. Jerusalem (still under Muslim rule) and the Frankish coastal cities were left to fend for themselves. The truce signed in 1198 between al-ʿĀdil and Aimery II of Lusignan king of Cyprus and Jerusalem (d. 1205) before the famine began, was maintained until 1203.38 This treaty was signed first and foremost to settle the outcome of the Crusade initiated by the German emperor Henry VI. His army recaptured Beirut and Sidon;39 Beirut was to remain in Frankish hands while the sultan was to retain Jaffa. Revenues from Sidon were to be divided between Aimery II and the sultan. On the whole these territorial adjust35 Baghdādī, Al-Ifāda wa’l-I’tibār, 204-206; Rabie, “Agriculture,” 75-6; Nuwayrī, Nihāyat al-arab, 29:12-13; al-Zahabi, Sir Aʿalam, vol. 22:219; Ibn al-Dawādāri, Kanz, 7, 149. 36 Nuwayrī, Nihāyat vol. 29:12-13. 37 Maqrīzī, Ighāthah, 26-7; Abū al Fida’, Tarikh Abī al Fida’ al-msama al-Mukhtaṣar fī’ akhbār al-bashar (Beirut, 1997), vol. 2:187, 190; Ibn Wāṣil, Mufarrij al-Khrūb, 115. 38 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards) 3:31. 39 The Atlas of the Crusades, ed. J. Riley-Smith (New York and Oxford, 1990), 64.

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ments were relatively minor,40 but this peaceful period must have made dealing with the drought slightly easier. A year after the long famine had ended a devastating earthquake struck the Levant (May 1202). Cyprus suffered a strong tidal wave. The damage was felt in Egypt, along the Frankish coast from Acre to Tyre, and in Samaria, Safad, Banyas and Hūnīn. The large fortress of Crac des Chevaliers and several other Frankish fortresses in Syria were damaged, as were the central Muslim Syrian cities Baalbek, Damascus, Hims, Hama and Aleppo. This earthquake occurred before the 1198 peace treaty had expired (expiry date spring 1204). Within less than six months a new peace treaty was signed. al-ʿĀdil made peace with the Franks for Damascus and its dependencies and for what he held in Syria. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards) 3:79)

According to Humphreys al-ʿĀdil initiated this truce to try to prevent the raids on Muslim territories conducted by a contingent of the Fourth Crusade, which had landed in Acre.41 It seems, however, that the treaty was partially prompted by the damage of the earthquake that had struck Damascus and its dependencies. In addition to extending the peace treaety the sultan made the following concessions: He gave up his right to collect taxes in Tyre, Ramla and Lod; and Nazareth and Jaffa were returned to King Aimery.42 The fact that the truce was to last for six years may indicate the extent of the damage. The expense must have weighed heavily on both Muslim and Christian treasuries. The long drought and famine that had afflicted the region prior to the earthquake no doubt left little spare cash for large expenditures. It is important to emphasize that both the Sultan and the King are portrayed by chroniclers and modern scholars as wise, sensible and moderate men. About Aimery II Ibn al-Athīr wrote: He was a wise man who loved peace and good food. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:30)

According to Humphreys: “al-ʿĀdil and the other princes of his empire often found it necessary to go to war against the Franks, and yet the struggle against the infidel is not really a salient feature of his reign. He seems 40 Humphreys, R. S. From Saladin to the Mongols (New York, 1977), 108. 41 Humphreys, Mongols, 134. 42 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards) 3:79; Prawer, Latin Kingdom, 2:109, 114; Marshall, C. Warfare in the Latin East, 1192-1291 (Cambridge, 1996), 199-200. The period before and during the truce was pierced with raids and counter raids.

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to have played it down as much as possible; throughout his entire reign he undertook but one major campaign against the Latin states and even this was a punitive expedition rather than a drive for conquest. Nor was he averse to giving up a few villages or a town if he could thereby gain a truce. It is clear he did not follow this careful, nonideological policy out of weakness, for his empire was remarkably stable and well administrated.”43 Jonathan Riley-Smith has given a similar description of this period: “Although ideas of jihad survived and even flourished, the emphasis was on co-existence and the period was marked by a succession of truces. Jerusalem and Antioch-Tripoli, now almost integrated into Near Eastern politics, engaged in alliances and counter-alliances like any other petty state in the region.”44 The two severe environmental disasters that came in quick succession urged both sides to reach an agreement. The political climate and the moderate rulers no doubt facilitated dealing with food shortages and mass destruction, easing the tension and hastening the recovery. The Longest of the Thirteenth-Century Droughts The number, frequency and intensity of droughts in the thirteenth century were considerably lower than those of the twelfth century. In the first half of the thirteenth century droughts were more frequent in Iraq and the Jazira, which were ruled by the Abbasid caliphate, the Ayyubids and the Saljuqs. The second half of the century saw more droughts in the regions of Syria and Egypt. While the Franks still reigned along part of the coast, most of this region was controlled by the Mamluks. Drought began in 621/1224-1225, covering the Jazira, Diyār Bakr, Mosul and Iraq. The meager crops and the large wave of locusts soon led to severe food shortage.45 In 622/1225-1226 the unusual heavy summer rains and the extreme cold winter intensified the famine in Mosul and the whole of the Jazira. Ibn al-Athīr, who lived in Mosul, describes the difficulties and the scarcity of food in the town. His writing desplays the difference between the suffering of the poor and that of a man who belonged to the upper socio-economic

43 Humphreys, Mongols, 136. 44 Riley-Smith, J. The Crusades A Short History (London, 1992), 190. 45 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:249-50.

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classes. The poor were driven to eat carrion because of the high price of wheat, whereas wealthier people could still afford to buy meat. The people ate carrion and dogs and cats. Dogs and cats became scarce after they had been very numerous. One day I had entered my house and seen the servant girls cutting up meat for cooking. I was struck by the number of cats I saw, so I counted them and there were twelve. During this famine, however, I saw meat in the house with nobody nearby gaurding it from the cats because there were none. (lbn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:266)

Drought continued all through 623/1226 and 624/1226-1227.46 The meagre yields of 623 were further reduced by swarms of locusts and hailstones.47 The rise in the price of meat indicate that flocks had decreased considerably due to poor pasture. Food prices throughout these years remained high and famine continued all through this period. Contemporary accounts do not mention the rate of mortality, cannibalism or migration from the famine-stricken regions. There is also no mention of political or military tension, although this drought was long and the damage to crops considerable. An unusual cold spell is mentioned by Bar Hebraeus, a Jacobite Syrian bishop (1226-1286) who resided in what is today southeast Turkey: And in this year (1235 Ad) there was a great scarcity of grain in Beth Rhomaye and Beth Nahrin, and the vines and the trees shriveled up through the severity of the winter which took place. From the month of the latter Teshrin (November) to the full moon of the month of Shebat (February), the great Euphrates was frozen over and no rain fell on the young crops. (Bar Hebraeus vol. 1:401)

For the Euphrates to freeze, temperatures had to stay well below zero for a number of weeks. The result of this cold spell was similar to a regular drought. Although Bar Hebraeus is considered by modern scholars to be a reliable chronicler, his account is the only evidence we have for this event. By 1250 the Mamluks had risen to power; within a decade they had established a firm and uncompromising policy towards the Franks. Nevertheless, the sultan, Baybars, abandoned this policy when food shortage or famine threatened the local population. Military campaigns were postponed and peace negotiations took place in order to save the crops. 46 Ibid., 3:266-8. 47 Ibid., 3:281, 286. 48 Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Sīrat al-Malik al-Ẓāhir in Sadeque, S. F. Baybars I of Egypt (Pakistan, 1956); Prawer, J. A History of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 1963), 2:443. [Hebrew]; Thorau, P. The Lion of Egypt (London and New York, 1992), 149.

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In December 1263 a treaty (hudna) was signed between Baybars and the Franks, so that the Franks could sow and harvest their fields. In this month (Ṣafar 662) the Franks asked the governors of the sultan for permission to put the lands under cultivation, and sow them with large quantities of grain. A treaty was concluded with them lasting until harvest time... When this was ripe, the swords of Islam would reap their heads before the harvest, and the command of God would be carried out before they could carry out the harvest. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ, (Sadeque), 203)

Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir reveals here the aggressive Mamluk policy against the Franks.48 The same steps were repeated during the harvest of 662/1264. A similar account is given by Ibn al-Fūrat, who says the Mamluk governor of Palestine had asked Baybars to reschedule his campaign so that the Franks could harvest their crops and avoid famine.49 Mamluk interests went beyond immediate care for the Frankish population, part of the harvest was bound for Egypt, which was suffering from severe food shortage.50 Baybars promptly gave his permission, and the harvest was collected and secured by the Franks. Important agricultural changes took place in Egypt during the second half of the thirteenth century and the early fourteenth century. Wheat production increased through adding substantial tracts of arable land. This led to a significant rise in grain yields and a gradual fall in grain prices.51 Under Mamluk rule each province in Egypt had an office manned by a high-ranking amir that took care of irrigation and dams (Kashf al-Jusūr). The first two Mamluk sultans, Baybars and Qalāwūn, occasionally supervised exceptionally large irrigation projects, while their officers watched over the annual maintenance of irrigation canals.52 ʿIzz al-Dīn Aybak alAfram (d. 1295) played an important role in building and maintaining irrigation systems. He himself held large estates in southern Egypt,53 and served as an amir jāndār under Baybars, Qalāwūn (d. 1279) and al-Ashraf Khalīl (d. 1293).54 During his long years in office he improved existing 49 Ibn al-Furāt, Tā’rīkh al-duwal wa’l-mulūk of Ibn al-Furāt/ Lyons, vol. 2:82. 50 Irwin, R “The supply of money and the direction of trade in thirteenth century Syria,” in Coinage in the Latin East. The Fourth Oxford Symposium and Monetary History, eds. P. W. Edbury and D. M. Metcalf, BAR international series, 77 (1980), 78, note 38; Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir (Sadeque), Rawḍ, 205. 51 Borsch, Black Death, 91-2. 52 Rabie, “Agriculture,” 61-2. 53 Irwin, Middle East, 38. 54 Ibn Shaddād, Ta’rīkh, 242. During the Ayyubid and early Mamluk periods this post of amir jāndār was considered one of the most important offices in the Sultanate. It was

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irrigation systems, building new canals that allowed for the expansion of agricultural land. Aybak al-Afram acted as master of public works and as senior military engineer until the reign of al-Ashraf Khalīl, who removed him from office and confiscated his lands.55 The idea of combating periods of famine by increasing the cultivated land was further improved and developed by the Mamluk sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad (d. 1340). Mega Droughts across the Middle East The worst thirteenth-century drought lasted almost four consecutive years; it began in 694/1294-1295 and ended in 697/1297-1298. Both Egypt and Syria suffered severely. The coastal plains, which at times managed to escape regional droughts, were badly hit. According to Maqrīzī, Yemen and the Hijaz were also affected.56 Before describing the development of this drought, it is important to examine the political changes that occurred in the region. By 1291 the Mamluks had eradicated the last Crusader enclaves in Palestine. Most of the region between the Euphrates and the Nile was now under Mamluk rule, governed from the sultanate’s two capitals: Cairo and Damascus. The Mamluks’ main threat was the Mongol-Īlkhānid state east of the Euphrates. In this particular period the two entities were occupied with internal governmental difficulties that led to considerable tension in each court. While in Cairo rival factions were fighting to establish their leading amir as sultan, the Mongol-Īlkhānid treasury was empty and large herds throughout Persia were dying in great numbers. According to Boyle the depletion of cattle and sheep was not the result of an epidemic but “simply the consequence of a cold spell following abruptly upon a period of mild weather.”57 Geikhatu, the Īlkhānid ruler (r. 1291-1295), was both weak and corrupt, and like his Mamluk rival, the Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl (r. 1290given only to an amir of a hundred or an amir ṭablkhāna (an amir of forty). Under the Ayyubids the officer who held this post was not involved in building projects, military or civilian. He officially commanded the doorkeepers and esquires; he was the chief of the royal guards and was in charge of the zaradkhāna (arsenal and prison). He was also one of the inkwell carriers. According to Ayalon the post declined in importance during the Mamluk period. 55 al-ʿAynī, ‘Iqd, vol. 3, 164. 56 Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 44-5. 57 Boyle, J. A. The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge, 1968), vol. 5, 374.

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1293), he remained in power for only a few years.58 Although this drought was long, causing severe famine and high mortality, it had no real impact on regional politics; the main reason being that most of the area was now controlled by the Mamluks. The first report of the Nile’s failure is provided by Abū’l Fidā (d. 732/1298), an Ayyubid prince, governor of Hama, who transferred his loyalty to the Mamluk regime.59 Nuwayrī (d. 732/1332) only briefly describes the drought in Syria during 693/1294-696/1296,60 while Bar Hebraeus makes clear that the drought struck both Syria and Egypt simultaneously.61 Later chroniclers give longer and more detailed accounts of the condition in Egypt. Ibn al-Furāt (d. 807/1405) describes the dire situation in Cairo during 694/12945. Prices of grain rose beyond the reach of most people. Dogs, cats, and donkeys were eaten by many. The death toll rose to a thousand people a day.62 Ibn Taghrī Birdī (d. 874/1470) and Maqrīzī mention economical instability and political unrest stirred by the famine. … and the prices rose and there was destruction throughout Egypt and its regions and this spread in all of Syria during Shawal of this year. And the price of flour rose until each irdab fetched 120 dirhams. It had previously been twenty five dirham per irdab. And in the following year 695 the price of flour rose to 160 dirham per irdab. As for the death, it spread in Cairo in great numbers. And the numbers were confirmed by the diwan of inheritance in Dhū'l-Ḥijja it became known that 17,500 died, and this was equal to those that did not register in the diwan, the foreigners, the poor and those who are not included in the diwan. Many died from the population of the land of Egypt, it was the worse price rise and it destabilized the situation/rule in Egypt. (Ibn Taghrī Birdī, Nujūm 8:57) Disturbances occurred in the conduct of affairs of the state because of the lack of revenues and the increase of expenditure. The confiscation of the wealth of governors and administration increased. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 43-4)

Ṣafadī (696/1297-764/1363) and Maqrīzī both give gruelling accounts of cannibalism in Cairo. During his reign there was a severe rise in prices and destruction. And many people died. People ate human corpses, carrion, dogs and cats. Gardens 58 Morgan, D. The Mongols (New York, 1987), 165; Irwin, Middle East, 91. 59 Abū’l-Fidā’, Syrian Prince, 25. 60 Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, vol. 31:286. 61 Bar Hebraeus, vol. 1:509. 62 Ibn Furāt, Ta’rīkh, 8:199-200.

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chapter four were destroyed in Misr and Cairo. The price of an irdab of flour reached two hundred dirham. Many people died throughout Egypt, Upper Egypt and the Delta. (Ṣafadī, Nuzhat, 172)

Ibn al-Furāt is the only chronicler who gives a detailed account of the situation in Syria. The rain was late in Damascus, Horan, Nablus, Jerusalem and the villages in most of Syria. Due to the fact that winter came in Ṣafar 695 (December 1295) and ended in Kanun I, people [suffered] great shortage and pain. Prices rose to the maximum especially in the Horan, Jerusalem and Nablus. The water dried up in the land of Syria. The seeds were empty and dry. Hunger spread in Syria, there was little grass and pasture. The rain came and people saw this as a good omen ... after that a lot of snow fell on the first day of Rabiʿ I (January 1296). (Ibn Furāt, Ta’rīkh 8:210-211)

Maqrīzī gives an account of fierce dust storms that caused crop failure in Egypt. He is the only source that mentions the Hijaz and the Yemen. This year 695/1295-96 began with the people distress because of high prices and diminishing income. However they placed their hopes on the coming crop, which was almost due. When the crop became ripe, a wind coming from the direction of Barqah [in modern Libya] blew like a storm and darkened the horizon, carrying a yellow dust that covered the crops in the area. The crops, which were not extensive at that time, withered and completely failed. This wind and dust spread to the provinces of al-Buhayrah, al-Gharbiyah and al-Sharqiya, and reached Upper Egypt. The crops withered: the summer crops, such as rice, sesame colocsia (?) and sugar cane as well as other irrigated cultures, all failed. Consequently, prices soared. This wind was followed by diseases and high fevers that afflicted the entire population, thus causing the prices of sugar, honey, and other products needed by the sick to soar. Drought struck the area of Jerusalem, the littoral of Palestine, and the cities of Syria as far as Aleppo, [there the price of] one ghirara of wheat reached two hundred and twenty dirhams, while that of barley was half that price …. More than 20,000 ghiraras [of grain] that were stored in Karak, Shawbak and along the Palestinian littoral were sent to the cities [although] they had been kept originally as provisions and destined to supply the military expeditions. Drought also struck Mecca, where the price of an irdab of wheat reached nine hundred dirams and that of barley seven hundred. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 43)

Ibn al-Dawādārī inserts a small measure of black humour into his description of the situation in Egypt, counting the good fortune of the dead and the dying.

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And many died, those who were lucky and those who were poor. (Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz 8:363)

The drought reached its worst stage in 696/1296-97. By then parts of North Africa were suffering from a hydrological drought and springs and rivers had dried up. Maqrīzī reports that 30,000 people set out from the region of Barqah (to day modern Libya), to Egypt because of the severe famine, many perished along the way. While the drought in Egypt and Palestine continued, in Syria the rain failed to arrive on time. In Syria the rains of early spring came so late that the sowing season was missed. The people prayed for rain three times but their prayers were not answered. Then the populace assembled and went out to pray for rain; they shouted and implored God Almighty. He then sent them a succor and rain, and they returned to the city under a heavy downpour. In Egypt the Nile ceased to increase and the prices started to rise. In Jerusalem and along the littoral of Palestine rain was late, the sowing season was missed, wells dried up, and the spring that was located in Silwan near Jerusalem ran dry. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 43)

There were no other instances in which Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, the Hijaz and North Africa were struck by drought. There are only four examples of drought striking both Egypt and Syria simultaneously (1178-1179; 1263; 1294-1295 and 1304). The climatic patterns that affect the rains in Syria and the waters of the Nile belong to two very different systems. The waters of the Nile come from two sources. The main source is the White Nile, which is fed by the rains of equatorial Africa; the second source is the Blue Nile and the Atbara. The Nile flood maxima is attributed to the monsoon rains along the Ethiopian Highlands, while the Nile flood minima is due to rainfall in equatorial East Africa.63 Failure of the Nile to rise meant that the rains over the Highlands had ceased or were very poor for a number of years. Crops were bound to fail if the Cairo Nilometer showed the water level to be below 16 dhirā’ (dhirā’ = 58cm).64 The signal for opening the irrigation canal was given when the reading showed 16.20 (16 dhirā’ and 20 َ َ‫ْ أ‬ fingers: iṣba’  ُ ِ‫)إ� ��صبَ�� � �ص�ا �ب‬. This was perceived as the fulfillment of a promise ‫ِ ع ع‬ by Allah and was celebrated in an official ceremony− the wafā’ (plentitude).65 63 Hassan, F. A. “Historical Nile floods and their implications for climate change,” Science, 212 (1981):1143; Said, R. The River Nile, Geology, Hydrology and Utilization (Oxford and New York, 1993), 7. 64 Wehr, H. Arabic-English Dictionary, ed. J.M. Cowan 4th edition, 1994, 356; Rabie, “Agriculture”, 59-60. 65 Popper, W. The Cairo Nilometer (Berkeley, California, 1951), 69-72.

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Precipitation in the region of Syria is related largely to the relatively warm Mediterranean, the instability it creates and the level of humidity. Droughts in this region are partly a result of northward displacement of cyclone trajectories.66 In years of drought there is a northward shift of the depression tracks and a decrease in the number of depression systems.67 Given that all the wheat-growing areas were producing little or no grain, the impact of the 1294-1298 drought was felt at every level of society: urban communities, villages and nomadic tribes. Pasture withered and seasonal crops (grains and vegetables) died shortly after they were sown. Other than olive trees and date palms, few deciduous fruit trees would manage to survive a long dry season. Domestic herds of all kinds: cattle, sheep, goats, horses and even camels, would perish due to lack of pasture and the diminishing water sources. A long and severe drought would also affect the population of wild animals. This is of some significance, as hunting often supplemented the diet of both the nomadic and the sedentary populations.68 The recovery from such periods of drought is seldom mentioned or discussed in contemporary sources. On the whole, droughts were part of the landscape and few people completed the cycle of life without experiencing a season of drought. The impact of this drought on the politics of the region is questionable. Ibn Taghrī Birdī and Maqrīzī both wrote that the trouble and violence within the Mamluk court (the murder of the sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl in December 1293) were partly caused by the famine. The period that followed (1293-1310) was characterized by political tension and violence among the high-ranking Mamluk factions in Cairo, who each tried to secure the sultan’s throne for their favored amir. In 1296 al-Manṣūr Lajin managed to rise to power only to be murdered two years later. The long drought may have added to the tension in Cairo, but periods of political instability and assassinations of high ranking officers and sultans were well known throughout the Mamluk's reign. Matters in Cairo eventually settled in 1310 when al-Nāṣir Muḥammad (third reign) established himself as Sultan.69

66 Goldreich, Climate in Israel, 23, 78. 67 Inbar and Bruins, “Multi-annual drought,” 246. 68 Bamyeh, M. A. “Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia,” in Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, entering the 21st century ed. D. Chatty (Leiden and Boston, 2006), 34, 39. 69 Irwin, Middle East, 82-6.

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Chapter Five

The fourteenth century: Gradual changes in the weather The fourteenth century in the Levant can be roughly divided into two periods. Politically, the first half was fairly stable. Agriculture, commerce and the economy in general prospered throughout the Mamluk sultanate. The second half witnessed an economic decline, the arrival of the Black Death, a sharp fall in the population and a long period of political instability. Climatic fluctuations may well have influenced these changes, though it is at times difficult to isolate and measure their exact role. The following pages survey the worst droughts of the century. The three-year drought on the Central Asian Steppe (1300-1302) is the first to be mentioned by contemporary chroniclers. Although the steppe is not part of this study, it is presented here because of its almost immediate impact on the growth of the Mamluk army. Three years of drought on the steppe accompanied by epidemic killed horses and sheep. Starving pastoralists sold off their children and relatives to slave traders. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 1:3, 942)

The central Asian plains had always been the main source of manpower for the Mamluk army. The large number of children offered for sale, during the drought described above, and the low prices led to a considerable growth in the amirs’ military forces.1 The only year during the fourteenth century in which both Syria and Egypt experienced drought was 704/1304-5. Other than an account of some internal migration, there are no gruelling descriptions of famine or outbreaks of epidemics that are related to food shortages. Maqrīzī briefly mentions the difficulties encountered by pilgrims and the deaths of a number of scholars who went on ḥājj.2 Maqrīzī and Nuwayrī describe the performance of rain prayers in Cairo and Damascus. Unlike in the previous century where rain prayers are 1 Irwin, Middle East, 88. 2 Al-ʿAynī, ‘Iqd, 24: 17; Baybars al-Manṣūī Dawādār, Kitab al-tuḥfa, 381; Maqrīzī, Sulūk (Beirut 1997), vol. 2, pt 1: 12.

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described but prayers are seldom answered, in this particular year (704/1304-1305) the people’s prayers were rewarded. The people of Damascus sang the prayer for rain (Istisqa) because of the lack of rain for watering, and after that they watered [their crops]. The year was blessed with rain and prosperity. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 2:403)

Four droughts occurred during the third reign of al-Nāṣir Muḥammad (r. 709-41/1310-1340) 1310, 1318, 1319 and 1323. The first is briefly described. And no rain fell in Egypt and the Nile failed [to rise] and in the east of the country the prices rose. (Ibn Taghi Birdi, Nujūm, 9:10)

In 1316 Egypt, Syria, Diyār-Bakr, Mayyāfarīn, the Jazira, and much of Iraq suffered from a harsh winter that killed many date palms and crops.3 In Diyār-Bakr matters were made worse by a wave of locusts that devoured what little had survived.4 Severe famine spread in the Jazira and Mayyāfarīn; carrion and human corpses were eaten and children were sold. The heavy rains, floods, hailstones and severe cold were soon followed by drought. The two-year drought that began in 718/1318 struck Diyār-Bakr and Mosul; a year later it reached Damascus.5 Each group returned to its own area. Most of this wilderness and Islamic territory was barren because of the slight rainfall: the Arabs perished and innumerable beasts were stricken. (Abū’l-Fidā’, Syrian Prince, 75-6)

High mortality occurred, mainly among the nomads and their herds. Tensions rose and fighting broke out between the nomadic tribes over the poor pasture and drying water sources. In Damascus people gathered for prayer; the region then went from one extreme to the other—from drought to a devastating flood. Lack of rains in Syria brought people to despair, thus in Damascus they prayed for rain … they later had a strong flood, such as has rarely been seen. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 1997 3:18)

Abū’l-Fidā’ described the events that took place five years later in Syria; the title given by him to the year 723/1323 is ‘The Red Year’: The land of Syria was stricken by drought from Damascus to Aleppo, rainfall was withheld and only a very little of the crops grew. The people of the country prayed for rain, and rain did not come. As for the coastlands from 3 Ṣafadi, Nuzhat, 32: 231-234. 4 Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, 32: 284 5 Ibn al-Wardi, Tarikh Ibn al-Wardi (Najaf, 1969), 387.

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Tripoli to Latakia and Jabal al-Lukkam the rain did not cease to fall in these districts and their crops ripened. (Abū’l-Fidā’, Syrian Prince, 83)

Maqrīzī describes a black gale, an event that is frequently recorded in Egyptian sources but seldom in Syria; large thick dust clouds blackened the sky choking plants, humans and animals. A black wind swept through the quarters of Damascus. And a group of people died a sudden death from it. And the date palms were destroyed and its waters dried up. The price of grain rose. After this similar events happened in Cairo in Egypt. And people’s temperament worsened and sickness spread and many died each month. Date palms were destroyed, the yell of people’s grief strengthened. Thirst and famine were at their worst. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 1997, 3:28)

It was during this year that the longest of the regional conflicts ended. The ‘cold war’ between the Mamluk sultanate and the Mongol-Īlkhānid state came to an end with the signing of a peace treaty.6 None of the contemporary chroniclers relates this political move to the drought. It is possibly just a coincidence. But as has been shown periods of severe drought often induced rulers to resort to diplomacy. Long and Short-term Relief Programs Initiated by al-Nāṣir Muḥammad One of the most important changes in agriculture during this period was the large tracts of arable land added in Egypt and Syria by the sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad.7 Although the sultan’s own coffers and the welfare of his military elite were the first to profit, this long-term agricultural investment was partly carried out with the idea of increasing the grain supply throughout the sultanate and reducing its dependence on imports in times of shortages. Once his rule was secure, extensive land reforms were carried out (al-rawk al-Nāṣirī). The sultan redistributed the land among his Mamluk amirs, first in Syria and then in Egypt; he also increased the size of his own cultivated lands. The reforms were carried out in four stages. The first stage took place in the region of Damascus (713/1313); the second in Egypt (715/1315); the third along the coast in the region of Tripoli 6 The term “cold war” referring to the Mongol-Īlkhānid and Mamluk frontier wars along the Euphrates was first coined by Professor Amitai. Amitai-Preiss, R. “The aftermath of ʿAyn Jālūt: The beginning of the Mamlūk-Īlkhānid cold war,” Al-Masaq 3 (1990):1-21. 7 al-Nāṣir Muḥammad b. Qalāwūn ascended to the Mamluk sultanate’s thrown three times before he managed to secure his reign in 709/1310.

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(717/1317) and the fourth in Aleppo (725/1325). In addition to the land reforms, numerous taxes were abolished, among them the custom duties on cereals transported to the port at Būlāq (about 5.5 km north of the Cairo Nilometer), which served as the main Nile dock for grain.8 The fact that Syria was the first to undergo these reforms, may indicate that the sultan was well aware of the region’s grain balance, which usually tilted in favour of Egypt. New irrigation projects and the maintenance of existing canals in Egypt were carefully supervised by the sultan’s high-ranking officers and occasionally by the sultan himself.9 Tankiz al-Ḥusāmī, the governor of Syria (712-1312/740-1340), followed suit, improving the agricultural infrastructure.10 The reforms had a substantial impact on the region’s revenues, which increased steadily over the next two decades. Although the Mamluk land reforms boosted the economy, the farmers' social position changed considerably; the status of many now resembled that of serfs (ʿAbd).11 It is important once again to see this change in the larger historical context. In 702/1302 the Mamluks conquered Rhodes and put an end to the Frankish attacks on the sultanate’s coasts. After the Mongols’ defeat at Marj al-Ṣuffar (Shakhab) (703/1303) and the death of the Īlkhān Ghazan (d. 704/1304), the Mongols no longer posed a threat to the Mamluk sultanate.12 This period was relatively free from previous regional conflicts and long and expensive military campaigns. Although the army was enlarged by al-Nāṣir Muḥammad, a greater share of the funds was diverted to strengthen and improve the economy. Largely based on agriculture, the state economy served the interests of the military elite while the free market economy was open to anybody wishing to enter, although, according to Lapidus, the latter was often subject to the sultan’s control.13 While weather is a factor in the quantity and quality of the harvest the most important aspect in any attempt to combat environmental disasters and their harsh results is the ruler’s initiative and ability to adapt to climatic fluctuations.14 Was the sultan trying to break the long-existing cycle of low Nile floods, the years of drought in Syria, the rise in grain prices and 8 Levanoni, Turning Point, 142-143; Tsugitaka, Rural Society, 135-42. 9 Tsugitaka, Rural Society, 227-9. 10 Levanoni, Turning Point, 144-7. 11 Tsugitaka, Rural Society, 161, 236; Levanoni, Turning Point, 143-4. 12 Holt, P. M. “al-Nāṣir,” EI2 7:991-2. 13 Lapidus, “Grain economy,” 2. 14 Appleby, A. B. “Epidemics and famine in the little ice age,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 4, (1980), 663.

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famine, by adding arable land and increasing the yields? His keen interest in agriculture clearly made him more aware of the small farmers’ hardships. Some taxes were reduced and farmers were exempted from taxes on sugar cane, cereals and pasture. Taxes were further reduced in years of low yields resulting from natural disasters. In addition the sultan kept a close watch on the taxes extracted by his Mamluk amirs.15 Could a ruler reduce the impact of droughts and lessen the death toll in times of famine? It seems that beyond looking after his personal wealth and keeping his treasury full, al-Nāṣir Muḥammad was consciously trying to increase surpluses and prepare for times of scarcity in both Syria and Egypt. At this particular stage of Mamluk history, under a well-organized administration and a centralized Mamluk military régime, change and adaptation could gradually be achieved. It would have been more difficult to carry out such reforms during the reign of Saladin and his successors, who were organized in what resembled a loose family federation that stretched over Syria, parts of Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. And although the Crusader kingdom and principalities in the Levant were considerably smaller political entities, its kings, dukes and princes seldom possessed the required strength or wealth to allow them to initiate large-scale reforms in the economy or the agricultural infrastructure. Al-Nāṣir Muḥammad’s investments proved worthwhile. When an acute food shortage struck Egypt in 736/1336 and prices soared, the situation was dealt with by transporting grain from Karak, Shawbak and the region of Damascus, which could now spare large quantities of grain.16 Karak and Shawbak had supplied Cairo in previous emergencies, but Damascus had rarely been involved in sending aid. In addition the sultan organized his amirs, allocating to each of them a group of poor people to care for. Using his authority to regulate prices in the market, the sultan sold his own grain at an afordable low price. This required grain surpluses, a firm policy, and a strong and wealthy sultan who could stand against the high-ranking amirs and the merchants all of whom were determined to make a handsome profit on the backs of the poorer population. The populace appealed to the sultan earnestly and called for his help. The sultan gathered the commanders and said to them: commanders, one month upon you; the second upon me and the third upon God! “There upon the commanders opened the silos and sold wheat at thirty dirhams per irdab. 15 Levanoni, Turning point, 143; Tsugitaka, Rural society, 171. 16 Maqrīzī, Sulūk, vol. 2.2: 394. According to Ibn Taghrī Birdī and Ibn al-Hijāzī, the Nile failed in 738/1338 and 1339/739. Popper, Cairo Nilometer, 137.

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chapter five This relieved the populace. In the month of Shaban 736/15 (March 12 April 1336) the sultan released his reserves and sold wheat at twenty –five dirhams an irdab. Then came the new crops of beans and barley, of which the populace ate …. the new crop of wheat became available and prices decreased. (Maqrīzī, Ighāthah (Allouche), 48-9)

Al-Nāṣir Muḥammad was not the first or the last to exercise this idea of recruiting his officers and the wealthy citizens to relieve a food shortage.17 But his long-term planning and investment in irrigation and cultivated land, the increase in yields and the policy of reducing the burden upon villages by abolishing or reducing taxes made dealing with Nile failures and droughts in Syria a somewhat more feasible task. It is important to emphasize that the number of famines in Syria and Egypt was smaller during the first half of the fourteenth century. This was partly because the number of droughts was significantly less and partly due to the Mamluk’s centralized government that was better organized than that of past and future rulers. As noted above the geopolitical changes undoubtedly played an important role. Al-Nāṣir Muḥammad’s agrarian reforms and the general prosperity of the region were a marked climax in the political and economic affairs of the first half of the fourteenth century. Seven years after his death (d. 1340) matters changed dramatically. A gradual decline was brought about by political strife and weak sultans with poor ruling skills. Moreover, the arrival of the Black Death in the Levant (1346) and the numerous outbreaks of the plague over the next decades were accompanied by significant fluctuations in the regional climate.18 It is almost impossible to arrive at a clear-cut conclusion which of these factors played a more significant part in the changes the region underwent. Would a strong competent ruler have managed the sultanate in a better way? Would favourable climatic conditions reduced or prevented the political and economic decline? The lack of strong rulers and the rivalry among the high-ranking Mamluk officers led to general disorder throughout the sultanate. One of the 17 The Nile failed once more during this century, in 776/1374. The famine lasted two years. Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī describes a strong hot wind that burnt the leaves on the trees. Again the sultan, al-Ashraf Shaʿban (r.764/1363-778/1377), ordered the expenses of feeding the poor to be divided among the wealthy merchants of Cairo and the amirs. Maqrīzī, Ighāthah(Allouche), 49; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī, Inbā’ al-ghumr bi-anbā’ al-ʿumr, ed, H. Habashi (Cairo, 1969), vol.1: 59-60. 18 Although climate plays an important role in the development and transfer of disease there is not always a clear correlation between the two. This unusual climatic instability, however, may have played an important role in the arrival of the plague in the Levant. Appleby, “Epidemics and famine,” 648.

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results was poor maintenance of irrigation canals along the Nile. Floods and cold spells throughout the Levant brought considerable destruction to both crops and property (see table 5.1). The high death toll wrought by the plague and its reoccurrence led to a sharp decline in the size of the population. An acute shortage of agricultural labour was felt all across the region, and the large tracts of arable land that had been added were abandoned. Although the price of wheat did not rise, the fact that labour was in short supply and expensive drove up the prices of basic processed foods, such as bread and sugar.19 The End of the Medieval Warm Period in the Levant (?) Chroniclers’ accounts of the fourteenth century portray a relatively higher number of cold and wet winters in comparison to previous centuries. They also show an increase in the number of floods. Studies of the Dead Sea reveal a rise in the water level during the fourteenth century indicating an increase in the precipitation throughout the Levant (Figure 5.1). Flash floods were not unknown, but their force and frequency appear to be greater in the fourteenth century. Several accounts describe the damage caused by flash floods along the Euphrates, the Tigris and other, smaller rivers in the Levant (see table 5.1). In this year (775/1373) Baghdad was flooded. The Tigris flooded and destroyed many houses. And it was said that the number of houses ruined was 60,000. Much of what people had was ruined … and the people moved from place to place from Tall to Tall until the water reached them and they drowned. (ʿAsqalānī, ʿInba’ 1:62)

Describing the flooding of the Euphrates, ʿAsqalānī continues: News arrived that a huge flood came to Aleppo while no one was paying attention, and it [the water] rose higher than usual. It destroyed many houses and much of the region’s villages near al-Bira and Ruha. (ʿAsqalānī, ʿInba’, 1:62)

Flash floods of incredible force also struck southern Syria. Sections of the fortifications of Baalbek were washed away by the strong current of a spring flood in 717/1317.

19 Dols, Black Death, 160-9, 259-263, 281-282; Tsugitaka, Rural Society, 237-9. Irwin, Middle East, 125-49.

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Figure 5.1: The rise in the Dead Sea level at the beginning of the 14th century

‫ة‬

� �‫ )ن‬occurred in this year at Baalbek in Syria. On the 7th of the A disaster ( ���‫�بك‬ month of Ṣafar (May) in the afternoon black clouds arrived in Baalbek and in their centre there was a pillar of fire. It ran from the sky to the earth as far as I could see. And there was strong thunder such as I have never seen in my life. Pregnant women misscarried for fear of it. It was followed by lightning. After that came strong rains and a huge flood arrived from the east and hit the town and its walls. It tore many towers from the wall …. and it took with it sections of the wall... a tower .... was torn apart. The flood entered the mosque and rose until it reached the lights and everybody in it drowned. Ibn al-Shih al-Hariri climbed the minbar, fell over and drowned. And the flood destroyed the northern wall. Except for one person no one inside the mosque survived. The water carried him to the head of the column inside and he held on to it and found safety. The number of houses destroyed was 500. (Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz 9:290-291) The most unique account is that of the winter of 762-763/1361 when the Euphrates froze. The ice was so thick and solid it allowed people to cross, reminding one of the famous paintings depicting London fairs on the frozen Thames during the second half of the seventeenth century. The severe cold in Syria caused the Euphrates to freeze. Passengers and their loads crossed, it was a wonderful scene that had never been witnessed beforehand. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 4:263)

The wonderful scene was however accompanied by high mortality. The next freezing episode was at the height of the Little Ice Age. During the winter of 1757, caravans passed over the Tigris without fear for 20 days: “I

fourteenth century: gradual changes in the weather 103 (Domenico Lanza, b. 1718) believe there is no record of such cold in the history of this country, whose climate is warm and where water very seldom freezes. Because of this terrible cold many animals, both wild and domestic—which constitute an important source of the wealth of this country—died.”20 People are reported to have died from the cold in Egypt during the winters of 1374 and 1403. In 1401 the army of Temür (Tamerlane, d. 1403), who led the last nomadic invasion into the Middle East, lost 3000 soldiers in Syria due to the bitter cold. This cold and wet episode is well known and documented in Europe. The historical evidence as well as the Dead Sea levels indicate that this was the end of the Medieval Warm Period in the Levant and the first marked shift towards a colder and wetter climate. Table 5.1: Cold and wet winters in the 14th century Year

Geographical location and short descrip- Source tion

1

1298-9

Damascus and large parts of Asia Minor are covered with snow for two weeks

2

1300-1

Snow and heavy rains in Syria for 41 days Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo)1:175177; Nuwayrī, Nihāyat 32:13

3

1305-6

A winter blessed with rain in Syria

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 2:403

4

1307-8

Crops in Syria destroyed by heavy snow and rain

al-Duwayhī, Azminat, 163

5

1315

Strong rains reported in both Syria and Egypt

al-Duwayhī, Azminat, 44:169170; Nuwayrī, Nihāyat 32:231

6

1316

Heavy rains flood Cairo, al-Gizah and Bilbis. Heavy rains reported in Syria. Severe winter in Baghdad

Ṣafadī, Nuzhat, 231-4; Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, 32:284

7

1317-18 Floods and hailstorms in Baalbak, Aleppo Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz, 9:290and Damascus 291

8

1324-5

Reports of floods along the Euphrates. Heavy rains in Cairo

Ibn Ayas 1.1:456-457

9

1326

Reports of floods along the Euphrates

Maqrīzī, Sulūk (1997), 3:93

10

1344-5

Snow blocks roads in Damascus region

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3:421

11

1348

Reports of heavy rains in Aleppo

Ibn al-Ajamī, “Trésors,” II:10

20 Issawi, Fertile Crescent, 96.

Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo) 1:110

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Table 5.1: Continued Year

Geographical location and short descrip- Source tion

12

1352

Snow and ice in Syria

Maqrīzī, Sulūk: 3, pt. 1:613

13

1361

The Euphrates frozen solid

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 4:263

14

1373-4

The Tigris floods Baghdad. Accounts of a ʿAsqalānī, Inbā’, 1:62; Maqrīzī, flood in Aleppo and along the Euphrates. Sulūk 3, pt. 1:220 Severe rains in upper Egypt, damage to crops and livestock

15

1374

Severe cold in Egypt

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 1:233; Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 4, pt. 2:648

16

1377

Hailstorms and snow in Syria. Flooding in Damascus

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 1:310

17

1382

Flooding in Damascus

Ibn Ḥabīb, Tadhkirat 21

18

1384

Flooding in Syria (?)

ʿAsqalānī, Inbā’, 1:289

19

1393

Strong rains in Syria (?)

ʿAsqalānī, Inbā’, 1:452

20

1397

Heavy rain in Cairo

ʿAsqalānī, Inbā’, 1:527-529; ʿAsqalānī, Inbā’, 2:10

21

1400

Snow, ice and bad frost in Syria.

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 3:1043

22

1401

Snow and ice in the Biqaʿ and all the way Ibn Qāḍī Shuhbah, Dhayl, north of Damascus. Temür’s forces in 1:612, 654 Asia Minor lose 3000 men due to the cold

The number of cold winters and floods in the thirteenth century is twelve. A similar number is recorded in the twelfth century. Although the rise in the number of floods, cold winters, heavy snow and rain in the fourteenth century is visible, another clear mark of this shift in the weather pattern is indicated by the drop in the number of droughts. • 12th century: 17 droughts • 13th century: 10 droughts • 14th century: 8 droughts A similar period of extreme fluctuations characterized Western and Northern Europe as well as America. In contrast to the Mamluk sultanate, which 21 Ibn Ḥabīb, Tadhkirat al-Nabīn fī Ayyām al-Manṣūr wa-Banīh, British Library, MS or. Add. 7335, fols. 40a-b. Cited in Tucker, “Environmental”, 115, 117.

fourteenth century: gradual changes in the weather 105 prospered during the first half of the fourteenth century under the reign of al-Nāṣir Muḥammad, Europe experienced numerous harvest failures as a result of torrential rains, severe cold and droughts. According to Kershaw and Huntington, the period 1308 to 1322 was marked by extreme fluctuations in the weather. Long wet summers in 1315 and 1316 led to harvest failures, food shortages, high prices and acute famine. In 1321 the crop failures were due to a prolonged drought.22 The following years in England 1325, 1331, 1344, 1362, 1374 and 1377, saw both droughts and famines. On the continent years of drought were so intense during this period that the Danube, the Rhine and several other major rivers nearly dried up.23 Reports of people eating dogs and cats and restoring to cannibalism are strikingly similar to those of the large famines in the Levant during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the villages and farming estates suffered from famine; one of the results was the loss of large tracts of arable land. Kershaw emphasizes that the crisis was not spread evenly; some areas suffered less than others.24 By the second half of the fourteenth century the Mamluks had joined much of Europe in suffering from both economic decline and political instability. Utterströn clearly attributes much of this decline to ‘changeableness of nature’.25 Only four outbreaks of epidemics are reported in the thirteenth century, most of them related to famines that followed droughts: the 1200-1201 epidemics in Egypt came after the failure of the Nile and famine; 1235-1236 in Egypt; 1258-1259 Syria; 1295-1297 saw a very high death toll in both Syria and Egypt. None of these however were related to the plague. No epidemics are reported in the first half of the fourteenth century.26 Did the relatively warm and dry climate of the Medieval Warm Period curb the development of infectious plague? Dols is somewhat cautious about pointing to the role of climatic changes as having created favorable conditions for the arrival and spread of the plague. “Both Arabic and Latin sources emphasize the fact that the pandemic was initially accompanied in the Far East by violent ecological changes such as flooding, famines and earth22 Kershaw, I. “The great famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322,” Past and Present 59 (1973), 15; Utterström, G. “Climatic fluctuations,” 45, 48-51. 23 Huntington, E. and Visher, S. S. Climate Change, their Nature and Causes (New York, 1978), 99, 101. 24 Kershaw, “Great famine,” 3-11, 22, 33, 46. 25 Utterström, G. “Climatic fluctuations,” 77. 26 Dols, Black Death, 35-36; Ashtor, Social and Economic History, 290.

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quakes. From the Chinese annals it is clear that the second quarter of the fourteenth century witnessed an unusually large number of damaging environmental disturbances. These natural disasters may have destroyed rodent shelters and food supplies and forced rodents beyond their very restricted habitats into contact with domestic rodents and human settlements, carrying the epizootic with them.” He later adds: “The progress of plague … is influenced by climate, harvests and natural ecological changes.”27 Although there is evidence of the arrival of the plague at a time of considerable cooling, the connection between the two, climatic fluctuations and the arrival of the plague, has yet to be proved. The early Mamluk period presents an interesting case study; the mid fourteenth century is seen by many as a turning point. While the Mamluk sultanate up to the early 1340s saw a long period of prosperity and agricultural growth, the second half of that century witnessed a decline in agriculture production, economic crisis, a sharp drop in population and substantial political instability.28 This decline closely coincides with the gradual cooling of the climate, wet and cold winters, and the arrival of the plague. Although the climate played an important role, there is never one element that influences, controls or determines the development of a crisis. As in most periods of crisis and transition the picture is more complex. Rare and Unusual Weather Tales To conclude this chapter I have brought a number of unusual weather reports that are occasionally mentioned in contemporary sources; hailstones in fabulous human and animal shapes, rains of blood and scorpions falling from the sky. They can not be attributed to a particular author, although, Ibn al-Kathīr has more examples included in his texts than other contemporary authors. While some have a scientific explanation, some are amusing and resemble tall tales of a “miraculous” type. Pillars of Fire and Flying Scorpions, Frogs and Red Fish One of the first unusual weather accounts during this period is given by William of Tyre, who describes and explains the defeat of the Frankish 27 Dols, Black Death, 39 see notes 7 and 8; 70 28 Ashtor, Social and Economic History, 288-319.

fourteenth century: gradual changes in the weather 107 forces (1119 August) due to an incredible dust devil that entered the battle field. This took place in Antioch as the forces of Il-Ghazi (ruler of Aleppo since 1118), clashed with the Franks. Visibility became poor and the Christian army was forced to a halt. It seems the Muslim forces were able to continue fighting, killing many of the Christian forces. An event worthy of mention happened during this battle. In the midst of combat, while both sides were fighting furiously, a terrible whirlwind came forth out of the north. Before the eyes of all, it clung to the in the very centre of the battleground. As it writhed along, it swept with it such clouds of dust that men of both armies were blinded and could not fight. Then it soared aloft in circles, bearing a close resemblance to a huge jar ablaze with sulphurous flames. Because of this unlikely occurrence the enemy won the victory. The Christians were defeated and nearly all of our soldiers fell by the sword (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 12: 530).

Dust devils are quite common in arid regions during dry seasons. Although they can reach a strong force as well as impressive heights (Figure 5.3), the second half of the description below is most striking. A sulphurous blaze of flames erupted. Pillars of fire are described once again when a strong black wind and clouds of red dust blew over Iraq. And in this year (522/1128) the black wind blow strongly over Iraq, and it brought red dust mixed with sand. And in the sky there were pillars of fire, and the people were scared …. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, 10:653)

Arid regions with poor soil or a very thin dry layer of top soil are more prone to strong dust storms. Thus regions, which have suffered from drought may experience heavy dust clouds that reduce visibility, if they are extremely thick they may block the sunlight until the dust settles. The most formidable dust storm in Sudan is the Haboob (Haboob, Arabic “to blow” or “to burst into flames,” “catch fire”). It is typical to desert regions and is usually associated with thunderstorms (Figure 5.3). The wind force can reach 100 km per hour and will kill people, damage property and up root trees.29 It is difficult however to explain how or why the fire was produced in the two cases presented above unless the storm included bolts of lightning. The Arabic for lightning is ṣāʿiqah (‫ )�ص�ا �ع��ق����ة‬can also translate as “fire from the sky.”30

29 Eagleman, J.R. Severe and Unusual Weather (New York, 1983), 256-265, 234 30 Ayalon, D. and Shinar, P. Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary of Modern Arabic (Jerusalem, 1991), 197.

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Figure 5.2: Dust devil in the Judean Desert

In this year (524/1129-1130) a severe earthquake struck Iraq and many houses were destroyed in Baghdad. And in the land of Mosul it rained heavily and fire fell and set light and burnt many houses and people fled from the rain. ‫� �ش� ت ن‬ And flying scorpions with two stings (� ‫ﻜ��ا‬ ‫ و‬shūktān) were found. And people were very scared. (Ibn al-Kathīr, Bidāya, 12:248)

While the above account of fire may well be a description of an electric storm the flying scorpions, frogs and red fish (see below) are a somewhat more difficult phenomenon to explain. And in this year (536/1141-1142) east of the Euphrates there was rain, thunder and a sand storm. The rain came down with animals, scorpions and frogs. (ʿImād al-Dīn, al-Bustan al-jamia, 355)

ʿImād al-Dīn is the only source that reports this incident. In the early spring of 716/1316, severe hailstorms and floods struck central Syria starting from Aleppo and stretching all the way south to Damascus, Ṣafadī ends this weather account with the following description.

fourteenth century: gradual changes in the weather 109

Figure 5.3: Sand storm over the Negev

And when the rain fell in ʿAzāz it was said to have brought with it large and small red fish. This was seen by the people, and praise be to the almighty for every thing. (Ṣafadī, Nuzhat al-Malik, 232-4)

Red Rain Coloured rain is caused by a combination of dust particles which serve as condensation nuclei in a thunderstorm. In many desert areas dust particles are red because of iron content. Copper minerals colour the raindrops in shades of blue or green.31 In this year (545/12th December 1151) it rained blood in the Yemen (Ibn al-Kathīr, Bidāya, 12:284; Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz, 6:556). In this year (549/1154-1155) a strong wind blew in the evening and it [carried] fire and people were scared at the time. And there was an earthquake and the water (of the Tigris) changed to red. And blood was found on soil in the center of earth and no one knew the reason. (Ibn al-Kathīr, Bidāya,12:289) In Muharram of this year [6 December 1195- 4 January 1196] a violent wind blew in Iraq, all the sky became black and red sand fell. The people were 31 Eagleman, Unusual Weather, 235-6.

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chapter five greatly disturbed and proclaimed ‘God is great!’ Lights were lit during the day. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards) vol. 3:27)

Animal and Human Shaped Hailstones The post master Amor ʿAlā al-Dīn al-Fakhrī came to Damascus and reported that in the month of Muharram (September 1301) a hailstorm hit the region between Hama, Hims and Ḥiṣn al-Akrād. Some hailstones took the shapes of mankind, male or female, as well as monkeys and such like. This story was brought to the attention of the sultan in Egypt- may his triumph be strengthened! It was really a strange thing the like of which has never been heard. (Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo), 1:199) A hailstorm upon Hama: in the middle of Rabīʿ I (November 1301), a letter was delivered from Hama to Damascus reporting that during these days, a hailstorm had hit the region of Bārīn in the Hama Province. The hailstones took various shapes of animals, some were like lions snakes, scorpions, birds, goats and some like men with waist bands. The judge in the region had confirmed the story and reported it to the judge of Hama. (Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo),1:199)

Unlike many of the descriptions of droughts and floods, unusual weather reports are seldom described in more than one contemporary source. Most events are the result of severe storms and can usually be given a meteorological explanation. In the eyes of medieval communities they were conceived and uderstood as a good omen in the case of fish falling from the sky or evil omens and a form of punishment sent by God, in the case of scorpions and storms, which blotted out the sun.

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Part two

Earthquakes and the politics of mass destruction

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Sūrah Zilzāl 1.

When the Earth is Shaken to her (utmost) convulsion,

2.

And the Earth throws up Her burdens (from within),

3.

And man cries (distressed): ‘What is the matter with her?’

4.

On that Day will she Declare her tidings;

5. For that thy Lord will Have given her inspiration. 6. On that Day will men Proceed in companies sorted out, To be shown the Deeds That they (had done). 7. Then shall anyone who Has done an atom’s weight Of good, see it ! 8.

And anyone who Has done an atom’s of weight Of evil, shall see it.1

1 The Holy Quran, Text, translation and commentary, A. Yusuf Ali (Cambridge Massachusetts, 1946), 1770-1772. Sūra Zilzāl (279).

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The earthquake in the Quran (Zilzāl, Arabic earthquake) symbolizes the powerful shaking of the world’s foundations, which will occur when the present order changes and the new spiritual world of justice is ushered in. This new world order will arrive only after the occurrence of “a bigger and more far-fetching convulsion.”2 A large scale earthquake will expose and set order among the good and evil deeds of men. From all the environmental catastrophes that struck the population of the medieval Levant, earthquakes have drawn the greatest attention and have been the focus of a considerable number of studies. Most of the works in this field were conducted by geologists, seismologists and historians. Several catalogues listing earthquakes from the earliest historical periods have been published.3 They all have long chronological lists, some include maps of cities and towns that were damaged in each earthquake; others have calculations of magnitude and epicenters.4 The main objective of studying past earthquakes, is to try and identify regions that might be at risk when the next earthquake strikes; and if possible reduce the damage of future earthquakes by improving infrastructures. The extensive work on past earthquakes has encouraged the development of new construction

2 Ibid., 3 Ambraseys, N. N. and Barazangi, M. “The 1759 earthquake in the Bekkaa valley: Implications for earthquake hazard assessment in the eastern Mediterranean region,” Journal of Geophysics Research 94, B4 (1989):4007-4013; Ambraseys, N. N. and Jackson, J. A. “Faulting associated historical and recent earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” Geophysics Journal International 133 (1998):390-406; Ambraseys, N. N. and Melville, C. P. “An analysis of the eastern Mediterranean earthquake of 29 May 1202,” in Lee, W. K. H., Meyers, H. and Shimazaki, K. eds. Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes of the World (San Diego California, 1988), 181-200; Ambraseys, N. N. and Melville, C. P. The Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical Review (Cambridge, 1994); Amiran D. H. K., Arieh E. and Turcotte, T. “Earthquakes in Israel and adjacent areas: Macroseismic observations since 100 B.C.E.,” Israel Exploration Journal 44 (1994):260-305; Ben-Menahem, A. “Earthquake catalogue for the Middle East 92 B.C.-1980 A.D.,” Bullettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata 21, 84 (1979):245-310; Ben-Menahem, A. “Four thousand years of seismicity along the Dead Sea rift,” Journal of Geophysics Research 96 (1991):20195-20216; Guidoboni, E., Bernardini, F., and Comastri, A. “The 1138-1139 and 1156-1159 destructive seismic crises in Syria, south-eastern Turkey and northern Lebanon,” Journal of Seismology 8 (2004):105-127; Guidoboni, E., Bernardini, F. Comastri, A. and Boschi, E. “The Large earthquake on 29 June 1170 (Syria, Lebanon, and central southern Turkey),” Journal of Geophysical Research 109 (2004): B07304; Guidoboni, E. and Comastri, A. Catalogue of Earthquakes and Tsunami in the Mediterranean area from the 11th to the 15th century, tr. from Italian B. Philips (Instituto Nazionale di geofisica e vulcanologia, Italy c 2005). 4 Epicenters—the site on the ground surface above the point from which the waves originate, usually many kilometres below the earth’s surface. Bolt, B. A. Earthquakes, 3ed edition (New York, 1993), 32-3.

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techniques, careful planning and use of various building materials that will, hopefully, endure violent seismic forces.5 Assessing the Force of Historical Earthquakes Although geologists hope that one day they will be able to predict earthquakes in the same manner and accuracy as weather forecasting, it is currently not possible to give a precise prediction. A primary earthquake can be preceded by foreshocks and followed by aftershocks, the latter are more common. The strongest aftershocks usually occur directly after the main earthquake.6 It is not unusual to witness a decrease in the activity of small to moderate earthquakes in an area prior to a large earthquake.7 But even foreshocks are not a clear indication that a large earthquake is about to strike. In modern, as well as ancient times people have reported odd animal behaviour, implying that animals could sense the coming calamity. There are, however, no controlled scientific experiments that have been able to verify this.8 Assessing the force of past earthquakes is done according to a number of parameters. The intensity scale is the most widely applicable way to judge the size and strength of an earthquake. It presents the severity of an earthquake according to its direct affect on the population, damage to property, the amount of disturbance to the surface of the ground, and the extent of human and animal reaction to the shaking. Cities, towns and villages mentioned in the historical source are charted on a map showing the distribution of the earthquake damage; lines are drawn between the sites (isoseismal lines), these isoseismal maps allow seismologists to identify the source of the seismic waves and give a rough estimation of the size and relative depth of the earthquake.9 Values on the intensity scale run between I-XII.

5 Milne, J. Earthquakes and other Earth Movements (London, 1939), 7. 6 Berlin, G. L. Earthquakes and the Urban Environment (Boca Raton, Florida, 1980), 66-7. 7 Rikitake, T. Earthquake Forecasting and Warning (Boston and London, 1982), 72. This idea was first published by the Japanese Geologist Mogi in 1978. 8 Bolt, Earthquakes, 197-8. 9 Ambraseys, N. Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East (Cambridge, 2009), 56-7; Bolt, Earthquakes, 147.

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The Abridged Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale10 I.

Not felt accept by very a few people under especially favourable circumstances. II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings. Delicately suspended objects may swing. III. Felt indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings, but many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing cars may rock slightly. Vibrations like passing of truck. IV. During the day felt indoors by many, outdoors only by a few. At night some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make creaking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing cars rocked noticeably. V. Felt by nearly every one, many awakened. Some dishes, windows will break; plaster cracks in a few places; unstable objects overturned. Disturbances of trees, poles and other tall objects. VI. Felt by all, many people run outdoors. Some heavy furniture moves; a few instances of fallen plaster and damage to chimneys. Damage slight. VII. Everybody runs outdoors. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate damage in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly or badly designed structures; some chimneys break. VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable in ordinary buildings with partial collapse; heavy damage in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns and walls. Heavy furniture overturned. Sand and mud eject in small amounts. Changes in well water. IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; severe damage in substantial buildings. Damage to foundations. Ground cracked conspicuously. Underground pipes are broken. X. Some well-built wooden structures are destroyed; most masonry and frame structure and foundations are destroyed; ground badly cracked. Rails bent. Landslides considerable from river banks and steep slopes. Sand and mud shift.

10 Bolt, Earthquakes, Appendix C Abridged and Modified Mercalli (MM) Intensity scale 311-314.

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XI. Few, if any, (masonry) structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Broad fuses in ground. Underground pipelines completely out of service. Earth slumps and land slips in soft soil. XII. Damage total. Waves seen on ground surface. Objects thrown into the air. Assessing earthquake forces before measuring instruments existed is thus done according to damage described in contemporary historical sources, geological field work, analysis of damage in well dated archaeological sites and the use of twentieth-century earthquake data for calibration. In order to be able to assess and compare earthquakes in both populated and desolate regions, a strictly quantitative scale was constructed in the early twentieth century using wave amplitude of ground motions measured by seismographs. The most common magnitude scale used in Europe is the Ms—surface-wave magnitude.11 Although the field of historical earthquakes has been thoroughly studied, the impact of earthquakes on the political, economical and military affairs in the Levant has seldom been examined. Where and why was the damage greatest? Who was responsible for clearing the damage and funding the reconstruction works? How do political entities act when severe earthquakes cover large geographical region, causing mass destruction to military, public and private structures? Were buildings constructed in a different manner after a sequence of earthquakes? Did architects and builders employ new methods of construction, or use different building materials as a result of witnessing the large-scale destruction? Contemporary Arabic accounts are short and schematic, giving the names of cities and regions struck, the main public buildings, citadels and strongholds that were partially or completely destroyed. In some cases the author gives the number of casualties. One must bear in mind that chroniclers were urban dwellers, thus most of the damage is reported from the large cities; the scale of destruction in rural settlements is seldom mentioned. One of the oldest works on earthquakes was written during the late Mamluk period by al-Suyuti (1445-1505); a Muslim scholar born in Cairo, his family had lived in Suyut. His many works are mostly dedicated to religion, although he may be defined also as a historian and a biographer.

11 Earthquake Surface waves: seismic waves that follow the Earth’s surface only. Bolt, Earthquakes, 152-6, 343.

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Thus his earthquake catalogue Kashaf al-salsala fi wasf al-zalzala, is a rather unique work.12 There is a tendency among modern scholars to treat medieval historical evidence as biased, exaggerated and unreliable.13 This criticism is often inappropriate. Few advantages could be gained by distorting earthquake accounts; the damage could seldom be manipulated by rulers or the local population. Death tolls largely depend on the time of day the earthquake struck. If it happened at night when most people are indoors and asleep the numbers were significantly higher than if it occurred during day time.14 The death toll in many cases is a clear indication of the low quality and vulnerability of the buildings, rather than the force of the earthquake. The geographical region covered by this study goes beyond the borders of the Levant. Earthquakes in Iraq, the Jazira, Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and Egypt have been recorded, covering the main and most influential political centres of the medieval Middle East. Earthquakes in this region are a known phenomena. The Dead Sea Transform that begins at the Gulf of Aqaba and ends at the Ghab depression in northwest Syria, is a thousand kilometers long (Map 6.1). The East Anatolian Transform fault system that moves in a southwestnortheast direction from the Gulf of Iskenderun to the center of eastern Anatolia is a continuation of the Dead Sea Transform.15 This long fault line has a number of branches varying in size and level of seismic activity. In an average year 10 earthquakes causing widespread death and devastation occur somewhere on the earth; about 100 others cause serious local destruction; 1000 do some damage about 100,000 are strong enough to be felt as tremors. And about one million can be detected by seismographs.16

A Brief Geological Survey of Faults and Plate Tectonics in the Levant An interesting scientific explanations to the phenomena of earthquakes in the Crusader kingdom is given by Jacques de Vitry (d. 1240) who wrote The History of Jerusalem and served as the bishop of Acre (1212-1227). 12 Geoffroy, E. “Al-Suyūṭtī,” IE2 9:913-916; Al-Suyūṭī, Kashf al-ṣalṣala ʿan wasf al-salzala, ed. A. Saʿadani (Fez, 1971). 13 Gouin, P. Earthquake History of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa (Ottawa Ontario, 1979), 10. 14 Ambraseys, Earthquakes, 55-6. 15 Guidoboni et al., “Crises in Syria,” 106. 16 McAlester, A. L. The Earth (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973), 74.

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Map 6.1: The Dead Sea transform

Dangerous, dreadful and terrible earthquakes often take place, not only in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but also in the countries round about, especially by the sea side, because of the violence of the winds, which being borne by the breath and impulse of the waves in underground places and caves in the earth, as the enclosed and rushing air had no free vent, shake the earth with strong trembling and blows. If the earth cannot resist this force, it bursts open, and there is a great gulf, so that thereby cities are sometimes swallowed up in the abyss. When the earth is not burst open it is shaken with such violent blows by the blowing of the winds that cities, with their walls and towers and other buildings, suddenly fall down. (Jacques de Vitry, The History of Jerusalem, PPTS 8:91)

Al-Suyuti gives a slightly different explanation. Earthquakes, according to al-Suyuti, are a result of large movements of steam collected below the surface of the earth because of the heat produced by the sun. The trapped steam can not be turned into water or dissolved. Thus when the steam tries to break through the surface, the result is the shaking of the earth.17

17 Ghawanmeh, Y. Earthquake Effects on Belad el-Sham Settlement (Amman, 1990), 3; Jacques de Vitry's idea that earthquakes were caused by winds trapped in subterranean caverns was first proposed by Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. Berlin, Earthquakes, vol. 2:13.

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Earthquakes are caused by a sudden release of stored elastic energy in the lithosphere (the outer crust of the Earth measuring 100 km of hard rock).18 The Earth’s outermost crust is made of several large plates of solid rock that move horizontally. The point of contact and friction between the plates is where the massive and most prominent geological forces arise. The area of Greater Syria covers the north eastern tip of the Arabian plate, it is literally wedged between the African and the Eurasian plates (Map 6.2). Southern Turkey and Iraq are located on the Eurasian plate and Egypt on the north western corner of the African plate. The western edges of the Arabian plate are framed by a complex system of faults. The meizoseismal areas (places of most severe damage) are usually within a distance of a few tens of kilometres from the fault. Faults are defined as rock fractures along which movement has occurred. The most active area is the rift along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez. The other active branch is the Dead Sea Fault that runs from the Gulf of Aqaba up to the Dead Sea along the Jordan Valley, Lake Kineret, the Baqa’a Valley in Lebanon all the way through Syria and further north into Turkey. The Dead Sea Transform is a strike slip fault (Figure 6.1); it acts as a bound-

Map 6.2: Plate tectonics in the eastern Mediterranean 18 Skinner, B. J. and Porter S. C. The Dynamic Earth, 2nd edition (New York, 1992), 405, 551. 19 Shoval, S. Secrets of the Earth (Raanana, 2006), 102-3, 141.

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Figure 6.1: Strike slip fault

ary between the Sinai and the Arabian plates. Looking from Israel, TransJordan is moving left i.e. it is constantly shifting north; thus the Dead Sea Transform is defined as a left-lateral fault. The Arabian plate moves at a faster pace in comparison to that of the sub Sinai-Israel plate.19 The most damaging earthquakes are those caused by surface fault raptures. Those sudden movements along fault lines are the source of most earthquakes.20 Settlements along the fault line suffer most. The force of a strong earthquake shock along the main fault line may be distributed to sub faults that branch off it. Thus the faults along the Galilee are affected by movement along the Dead Sea Transform. Other large active faults in the region are the Carmel, Jordan gorge, Roum, Hula basin, Yemmouneh, Serghaya, Rachaya and the Missyaf faults (Map 6.3). The east west faults between the rift valley and the Mediterranean coast spread severe damage to settlements off the main fault as well as to inland towns and the main ports. The energy released by earthquakes creates two main types of waves: P wave, a fast primary wave that travels through solid rocks as well as liquid materials (water and volcanic magma); its motion pushes and pulls the rock. The slow waves that move through the bed-rock are the S waves, secondary waves whose speed depends on the property of the rocks and soils. Most of the damage to constructions is due to the S waves. The secondary seismic wave travels more slowly than the P wave, and consists of elastic vibrations transverse to the direction of travel. It cannot propagate in liquid.21 The ground movement can not be predicted, it moves randomly 20 Bolt, Earthquakes, 141; Skinner et al., Dynamic Earth, 406. 21 S and P waves: S waves are the secondary seismic waves, traveling more slowly than the P wave and consisting elastic vibrations transverse to the direction of travel. It can not

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Map 6.3: Major faults in the Levant

in all direction.22 The combination of Primary and Secondary waves close to the plane of the Earth creates two other types of surface waves: Raleigh waves and Love waves. While Raleigh waves contain compressional motion the Love waves do not; they travel at a much slower pace than P and S waves. Their amplitude, however, is larger because they travel close to the propagate in liquid. P waves are the primary or fastest waves traveling away from a seismic event through rock and consisting of a train of compressions and dilatations of the material. Bolt, Earthquake, 341,343. 22 Blume, J. A., Newmark, N. M. and Corning, L. H. Design of Multistory Reinforced Concrete Buildings for Earthquake Motions (Portland, U.S.A., 1961), 1.

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Earth’s surface rather than through the main body of the Earth. The ground will move horizontally in patterns similar to ocean waves, which move both horizontally and vertically;23 the closer to the surface the stronger the movement. In general, the larger the diameter of the epicentral, the greater the magnitude and the damage.24 The frequent seismic activity and the widespread damage, during the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries give a somewhat misleading picture. The seismic behavior of the northern section of the Dead Sea Transform is generally dominated by long calm periods, interrupted by infrequent large earthquakes.25 The Eastern Mediterranean is of relatively moderate seismic activity compared with the Aegean or the Zagros Mountains. Circa fifty earthquakes occurred over the course of 425 years (1033-1458). While the eleventh and fourteenth centuries were relatively quiet, records showing few destructive earthquakes, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were dominated by strong earthquakes ranging between 6.9 Ms (-/+ 0.3) and 7.2 (-/+ 0.3) Ms in force. The twelfth-century earthquakes struck vast regions, which stretched well beyond the Levant. It seems the earth never stood still for any length of time. Rulers, during this period, were put to the test, quick and sound decisions were called for. The dead had to be buried for fear of spreading diseases, pools and wells were often damaged or destroyed reducing the city’s water supply, thousands of people were made homeless and food became scarce causing prices to soar. Similar problems are witnesses even today, in modern times, when aid is relatively easier to obtain. Full recovery may take months and even years. In several cases earthquake damage triggered international military and security issues. Few chroniclers provide information on the economical damage that followed. While some rulers ignored or did little to help overcome the damage, others invested a great deal of thought and funding to ease the burden among their subjects, help markets recover and assist local as well as foreign merchants whose trade was vital to the economy. The following chapter will survey the most destructive earthquakes that struck the Levant and their impact on regional and international affairs. One of the subjects that will be carefully examined is the changes in mili23 Bolt, Earthquakes, 17-20; Gubbins, D. Seismology and Plate Tectonics (Cambridge, 1990), 4-5. 24 Ambraseys, Earthquakes, 823-6 25 Meghraoui, M. et al., “Evidence for 830 years of seismic quiescence from palaeoseismology, archaeoseismology and historical seismology along the Dead Sea fault in Syria,” Earth and Science Letters 210 (2003):51.

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tary architecture, which were partially triggered by the twelfth-century earthquakes. Table 6.1: Earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean basin 11th-14th centuries26 11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

1033 (3, IX-X) Ibn al-Jauzi 8:77; Bar Hebraeus 1:193-4

1108 (3) Abū Shāma 1:2412,244

1200 (3) al-Zahabi 22:220; Bar Hebrauos 1: 350-1

1303 (3) Nuwayrī 32:57-8; Ibn al-Dawādārī 9:100-2

1063 (3, IX) Ibn al-Jauzi 8:231; Ibn al-Athīr 10:30

1114 (3) Ibn al-Kathīr 12:220; ʿImād al-Dīn 319

1202 (3, X) Ibn al-Dawādārī 7:150; Ibn al-Athīr (r.) 3:61

1339 (2) al-Yafi'l IV:300; Ibn al-ʿImād 6:120

1068 (3, X) ʿImād al-Dīn al-Iṣfahānī 35

1115 (3) 1203 (2) Fulk of Chartres 214 Maqrīzī (1997)1:276; Ibn al-Dawādārī 7:157

1344 (3, IX) Maqrīzī Sulūk 2, pt. 3: 652; al-ʿAynī 24:1:70

1091 (3, VIII-IX) Ibn al-Qalānisī 120

1117 (2) Ibn al-Kathīr 12:220; Fulk 220

1208 (1) Ibn al-Athīr (R)3:140

1366 (1, V) ʿImād al-Dīn alHanbali 6:210

1094 (3) Ibn al-Dawādārī 8:135

1121 (3) Ibn al-Athīr 12:233

1212 (2, IX-X) Abū Shāma 78; Ibn al-Kathīr 13:62

1373 (1, IV) Ibn Hajar 1:60

1097 (2, VII-VIII ?) Ralf of Caen 64-67

1130 (2) Ibn al-Athīr 10:666

1225 (1) Ibn al-Athīr (R)3:266

1385 (1, III-IV) ʿAsqalānī 1:303

Total=6

1135 (3) 1226 (2) Ibn al-Athīr(R)1:323 Ibn al-Athīr (R) 3:282

1386 (1, III-IV) ʿAsqalānī 1:315

1138 (3) 1228 (1) Ibn al-Athīr 11:66, Maqrīzī, Ayyubid 71; Ibn al-Kathīr 12: Sultans 204 267

1399 (1, III-IV) ʿAsqalānī 2:92

26 Figures in brackets are an estimation of the severity according to the authors’ survey. Roman figures estimated maximum intensity according to Guidoboni et al., Catalogue of Earthquakes, 828-835. In general the author's estimation matches the geological scale. 1= I-III, 2=V-VIII, 3=VIII-X. However, in a number of cases the historical sources give a detailed description of the damaged that appeared stronger than the damage recorded by the geologist.

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Table 6.1: Continued 11th century

12th century

13th century

1140 (2) ʿImād al-Dīn 353; Ibn al-Dawādārī 6:335

Total=8 1259 (1) Maqrīzī, Sulūk I:420; al-ʿAynī 1:224

1149 (2) 1261 (2) Ibn al-Kathīr 12:281 Ibn al-Furāt (Lyons) 2:43; Qalqashandī, Maathir, 2:214 1151 (2, VIII) Ibn al-Qalānisī 317

1264 (1) Yūnīnī 1:553; Maqrīzī, Sulūk 1:508

1156 (2, VII-VIII) Ibn al-Athīr (R)1:323; ʿImād al-Dīn 374-5

1269 (3, X) Bar Hebraeus 2:526

1157 (3 VII-X) Ibn al-Kathīr 12: 294; Ibn al-Athīr (r.)2:87, 89

1275 (2) al-ʿAynī 2:150; Bar Hebrauos 2:532

1163 (3, IX-X) Epistola 3, 9, 12

1287 (2, VII-VIII) Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir Tashrif 151-2

1168 (3) Ibn al-Furāt 4, pt. 1:2

1293 (3, IX) Ibn Kathīr 13:392; Ibn al-Furāt 8:154

1170 (3, X) William of Tyre 2, 20: 370-371; Ibn al-Athīr (R) 2:185-6

1299 (1) al-Jazari, Jawahir, fol. 280v. in Guidoboni II:331-2

1191 (1) Maqrīzī, Ayyubid Sultans 95

Total=16

Total=17

14th century

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Chapter Six

Twelfth and early thirteenth century earthquakes and their impact on Crusader-Muslim affairs

I Feel the Earth Move under My Feet: Twelfth Century Earthquakes The strongest forces among the armies of medieval Levant could not match the damage caused by a sudden strong earthquake. The destruction of citadels and fortresses and the loss of garrisons are often mentioned by contemporary chroniclers. The fear that neighbouring enemies will take advantage of the poor state of the defenses and launch an attack was not entirely unfounded. The fall of defenses, over night, often led to a brief period of military instability and a rise of tension. The 1114 earthquake struck the city of Edessa, the county of Edessa (modern Ruha, southeast Turkey), and the principality of Antioch, the latter suffered severe damage and a high death toll. The damage spread as far as the Armenian town of Mamistra, near the Bay of Iskenderun. While the Crusader territories suffered severe damage, no damage is reported in the Muslim territories. Ibn al-Qalānisī, (d. 1160), a contemporary Muslim chronicler who lived in Damascus, wrote: In this year also a great earthquake occurred in Syria. The earth shook with it, and the people were anxious, but as the tremors ceased, their souls were restored from palpitation and distress to tranquility and their hearts were comforted after disquiet and fear. (Ibn al-Qalānisī, Damascus Chronicle, 149)

Walter the chancellor of Antioch describes the destruction in the principality of Antioch and its region: Then on the feast day of St. Laurence there was an earthquake. Moreover, in the following season, on the Ides of November, an earthquake at Mamistra overthrew part of the town. Another great and unbelievable earthquake struck places throughout the region of Antioch in such a way that it overthrew many towns either completely or partially, and brought to the ground both homes and defences, and in the ruins some of the people were suffocated and died. They say that the quake in Marash, a city which is sixty miles south of Antioch, I think, was so great that it completely destroyed homes and defences. (Walter the Chancellor, The Antiochene Wars, 173-4)

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Unlike similar crises in the second half of the twelfth-century, which were solved by short term treaties; the 1114 earthquake led to a surge of military activity. Large forces were gathered and a full-scale open field-battle was fought. The complex geopolitical situation and the destruction throughout the Frankish territories destabilized the regional balance of power, leaving little room for diplomatic maneuvers. The Seljuq ruler had ordered the amir Bursuq ibn Bursuq, ruler of the city of Hamadhan (to day in modern Iran) to “March into Frankish territory, wage war on them and harass their lands.”27 Many of the independent Muslim rulers in Syria felt threatened by the coming Seljuq campaign and decided to ally themselves with the Franks against Bursuq’s forces. The Franks had few options left. The prince, Roger of Antioch quickly ordered his men to repair his fortresses, which were badly damaged. He received further military support from King Baldwin of Jerusalem and Pons, the count of Tripoli. Seeing the size of the forces awaiting them, the Seljuqs retreated only to return when the Christian allied armies dispersed. Roger of Antioch was left to confront the Seljuq on his own. The armies met in mid September nearby Sarmin, where the Franks dealt the Seljuqs a crashing defeat.28 Prince Roger visited his own demolished buildings in his castles and elsewhere and, having carefully sought out necessary supplies, he hastened to repair and fortify those which he knew to be the most useful for the defence of his land and nearest to the enemy, even if he could not do it fully, nevertheless he would do it sufficiently for immediate protection. When this was accomplished, as the summer weather returned, as is custom of that region he made for the borderlands, where he would be able more swiftly to hear of the approach of the Persians and whence he might more swiftly meet the hordes of the enemy. So they came to the bridge on the river Far the iron bridge (10 km NE of Antioch), where he ordered in advance his army to meet him, and in that place he discussed with his men matters of common utility, and resolved to send scouts of different races into those regions belonging to the Persian. (Walter the Chancellor, Antiochene wars, 87, 175)

A quarter of a century later the region was struck by a series of strong earthquakes that began in October 1138 and continued until June 1139. Unlike the previous earthquake, both Muslim and Christian territories were struck: Aleppo and its surroundings and Edessa. Several fortresses collapsed; houses, towers and sections of the walls were destroyed in 27 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 1:172. 28 Smail, R. C. Crusading Warfare 1097-1193 (Cambridge, 1976), 142-7; Prawer, Latin Kingdom, 1:204-5.

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Aleppo. The defences of Biza’ah, a small town in northwest Syria were left in ruins. Tremors were felt in Damascus, Jerusalem and Iraq but no damage was reported. And in this year in Ṣafar (533 Ṣafar/October 1138) there were many terrible earth earthquakes in Syria, the Jazīra and many other lands. The strongest was in Syria, it lasted several consecutive nights. Every night there were ‫)د ف���ع�ا ت‬. Much of the land was ruined especially forceful tremors (dafaʿāt � in Aleppo. When the tremors became frequent, the people left their homes and went into the open country. In a single night they counted eighty tremors. In Syria they experienced earthquakes from 4 Ṣafar until 19 (11-26 October), accompanied by a roaring and terrible shocks. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, 11:71)

In 1136-7, Ibn al-Athīr described the Franks in northern Syria as “weak and impotent,”29 implying that they had lost much of their political and military strength. The Franks were wedged between the Seljuq ruler, ʿImād al-Dīn Zengi (d. 1146), and the Byzantine Emperor, John II Comnenus (r. 1118-1143), who was trying desperately to regain his hold over Antioch. ʿImād al-Dīn Zengi was the first Muslim ruler to consolidate the small independent Muslim entities in Syria and wage a holy war (jihad) against the Franks. He eventually captured the Crusader county of Edessa in 1144 and established his rule over Aleppo. His son, Nūr al-Dīn followed his father’s policy closely. Thus the balance of power in Northern Syria was gradually changing as the cities of central Syria were conquered and united under one Muslim rule. Zengi continued his campaign in Syria, conquering Baalbek and adding it to his growing realm. Damascus was besieged twice, but to no avail. The impact of the 1138 earthquake on the political affairs appears to have been negligible. The local Muslim population, on the other hand, not only suffered severe losses in human life and property, but was further burdened by a sharp rise in taxes ordered by the Sultan.30 The two strongest earthquakes in the second half of the twelfth-century occurred in 1157 and 1170, during the reign of Nūr al-Dīn in Syria (1118-1174). This period correlates with the reigns of two Frankish kings: Baldwin III (r. 1152-1163) and Aimery I (r. 1163-1174). The first earthquake caused severe destruction mainly in the Muslim territories (Map 6.4), disrupting the regional balance of power almost overnight. The damage caused in 1170 spread throughout the region affecting both Muslim and Crusader territories (Map 6.5). 29 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 1:327. 30 Ibn al-Kathīr, Nihāya fi’l-ta’rīkh, 12:267.

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Map 6.4: The earthquake of 1157

Nūr al-Dīn seized Damascus in 1154 and made it his capital. Although his territorial ambitions stretched further south beyond Damascus, his forces and position at this point were hardly strong enough to confront the Frankish armies. Damascus therefore continued to pay tribute to the Cru-

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Map 6.5: The earthquake of 1170

sader kingdom and a peace treaty was signed between the king and the sultan in 1155. It was renewed for yet another year in 1156.31 The destruction of urban defenses and the repairs, which followed are described in detail for both 1157 and the 1170 earthquakes. Although the number of casualties was high and the damage to private property and 31 Prawer, Latin Kingdom, 1: 315.

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public buildings was considerable, the rulers’ main concern was the state of their fortifications and defenses. The earthquakes of the 9 August (2 Rajab) and the 7 September (1 Shʿabān) 552/1157 were part of a long sequence of earthquakes that began in the winter of 1156. The last earthquake in the 1150s was recorded in 29 May (9 Jumādā I) 554/1159. The intensity of the 1157 summer and fall earthquakes is estimated at VIII-IX MM in the region between Aleppo and Damascus. In Damascus and along the coast the force is estimated at V-VIII MM.32 Town walls, towers, citadels and fortress collapsed throughout Nūr al-Dīn's territories. There is sufficient evidence to show that in the neighbouring Crusader principality of Antioch and the county of Tripoli there was little damage. Table 6.2: 1157, distribution of earthquake damage according to Ibn al-Jawzi Muslim Sultanate of Nur al-Din

Crusader Principality of Antioch

Crusader County of Tripoli

Aleppo

Antioch

Crac des Chevaliers (Ḥiṣn al-Akrād)

Hama

Lattakia

Tripoli

Shayzar

ʿArqa

Aphamia Kafar-Tab Al-Maʿarra Hims Tall-Harān Damascus

The only repairs carried out by the Crusaders were at the fortress of Crac des Chevaliers owned by the Order of the Hospitallers. The grand master of the order, Raymond of Le Puy, received a generous donation from Wladislas II, king of Bohemia, to finance the reconstruction works.33 Strangely enough, our main Crusader source for this period, William of Tyre, does not mention the 1157 earthquake at all. 32 Guidoboni, et al., “destructive seismic crises,” 118-120; fig. 5, page 120. MM—the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. 33 Elisséeff, N., “Hisn al-Akrad,” EI2, 3:503-6.

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Table 6.3: 1170, distribution of earthquake damage according to William of Tyre and Ibn al-Athīr Muslim Sultanate of Nur al-Din

Crusader Principality of Antioch

Crusader County of Tripoli

Hama

Antioch

Tripoli

Shayzar

Lattakia

Tyre

Baalbek

Gabala

Hims Aleppo Beroea (Baʿrin) Damascus

The following is an extract from an account written by the Muslim chronicler, Ibn al-Athīr who spent most of his life in Mosul. In later years he moved to Aleppo. In Rajab this year (9 August-7 September 1157) there were many strong earthquakes in Syria, which destroyed much of the country and which caused the death of more people than could be counted. In one moment Hama, Shayzar, Kafar-Tāb, al-Maʿarra, Homs, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, ʿArqa, Lattakia, Tripoli and Antioch were ruined. All Syria suffered damage in most of its parts, even if the damage was not total. City walls and citadels were demolished. Nūr al-Dīn Muḥmūd dealt with this in an exemplary manner. He feared for the land since the city walls had been destroyed. He assembled the troops and camped on the frontiers of his land, carrying raids on Frankish territory, while working on the walls in the rest of his lands. He kept this up until he had completed all the city walls. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:87)

According to Ibn al-Athīr, while repairing the fortifications of the central Syrian cities, Nūr al-Dīn organized raiding contingents and ordered them to attack the neighboring Crusader territories. He was not aiming at long term political or territorial achievements, but rather it seems, he feared King Baldwin III (r. 1152-1163) might take advantage of the poor state of the defenses and launch an attack in order to destabilize his rule and conquer his newly acquired lands. These fears were not unfounded, for in fact the Crusader principalities had not suffered severe damage and the Crusader Kingdom lay outside the zone of the earthquake. Baldwin did not lose much time; a large army was assembled and joined by the forces of the

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prince of Antioch and the count of Tripoli. The count of Flanders, who was visiting the Holy Land joined the campaign with his own men. They attacked the Muslim fortress of Qalʿat Yahmur (Chastel Rouge, roughly 20 km northeast of Tripoli) but to no avail; the Muslim garrison held its ground.34 According to Ibn al-Qalānisī, Nūr al-Dīn was quick to act and recruited a Muslim army to assist the besieged fortress. Mention has already been made of the departure of al-Malik al-ʿAdil Nūr al-Dīn from Damascus with his troops towards the cities of Syria, on receipt of news that the factions of the Franks (God forsake them) were assembling together and proceeding against them, being emboldened to attack them by reason of the continuous earthquakes and shocks which afflicted them and of the destruction wrought amongst the castles, citadels and dwellings in their districts and marches. [Nūr al-Dīn therefore took measures] to protect and defend them and to bring solace to those of the men of Hims, Kafr Tab, Hamah and elsewhere who had escaped with their lives, whereupon there assembled to join him a great host and vast numbers of men from the fortresses and provincial cities and from the Turkmens. He encamped with them in exceeding force opposite the army of the Franks in the neighborhood of Antioch and encompassed them so that not one horseman of theirs could set out to make a raid. (Ibn al-Qalānisī, Damascus Chronicle, 340-41)

Soon after, the Muslim army dispersed due to the illness of Nūr al-Dīn. Many thought he was on his deathbed and left the field knowing there was no strong commander that was able to replace him. Once the siege around the Crusader army was broken, it resumed its march and launched an attack on the fortress of Shayzar. The fortress was saved thanks to a dispute that broke out among the Christian commanders, and the strong Ismāʿīlī force, which managed to defeat the Franks.35 The Crusader forces returned to their own lands empty-handed. While the 1157 earthquake led to a rise in tension between Muslim and Christians, driving the Franks to take advantage of the poor state of the Muslim defences, breach the peace treaties signed in 1155-1156 and attack Nūr al-Dīn’s lands; the 1170 earthquake had a remarkably different impact on the regional affairs. It reduced the tension and led to the signing of a short term peace treaty. It is important to emphasize that by 1170 the balance of power between the two sides underwent significant changes. During 1160s the struggle between Nūr al-Dīn and the Crusader kingdom shifted south. Egypt’s declining Fatimid dynasty (a Shīʿite dynasty) and the country’s wealth from international trade and agriculture made it an 34 William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 13:265. 35 Ibn al-Qalānisī, Damascus Chronicle, 342; William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 13:226-268.

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attractive prize. For almost a decade, Aimery I, ruler of the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem competed and fought against Nūr al-Dīn’s armies for the control of Cairo and the Nile Delta. The Crusader armies carried out five successive attacks; on one occasion they allied themselves with the Byzantine emperor in order to receive the assistance of his fleet. The Crusader campaigns failed, and Aimery eventually had no choice but to acknowledge defeat. Salah al-Dīn (Saladin), who was one of the leading officers in this campaign, became the governor of the newly conquered territory in Egypt. Officially he remained a dependent of Nūr al-Dīn. By 1170 Nūr al-Dīn’s rule over Syria was consolidated and Egypt came under his suzerainty. The earthquake of 1170 struck after a decade of intensive fighting in which large Muslim and Christian armies had marched back and forth from Syria or the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Nile Delta and Cairo. Lengthy sieges were conducted, and a number of open-field battles took place.36 The 1170 earthquake struck a vast region. The force of the earthquake varies considerably along the fault. Its strength is estimated at IX-X MM in northern Syria. South of Damascus it is estimated at VII-VIII MM. Still further south in Jerusalem it reached V-VI MM “The holy city of Jerusalem shook strongly, but did not collapse thanks to God’s goodness”37 In the large cities of Iraq its strength is estimated at IV MM, and in Mardin and Edessa it reached VI MM.38 In writing about the 1170 earthquake, both Muslim and Christian chroniclers emphasize the great damage to fortifications. They describe the deep concern of each ruler for the defense of his territories. The following is an extract from an account written by Ibn al-Athīr: When Nūr al-Dīn received the news, he went to Baalbek to repair the damage to its wall and citadel. When, however, the news from the rest of the towns came to him, news of the destruction of their walls and citadels and their abandonment by the inhabitants he placed men in Baalbek to repair, protect and guard it and went to Homs, where he did the same, and then to Hama and then to Baʿrin. He was extremely wary of the danger for the towns from the Franks. Then he came to Aleppo, where he saw effects of the earthquake greater than elsewhere, for it had destroyed it utterly and the survivors were totally terror stricken. They were unable to shelter in 36 Prawer, Latin Kingdom, vol. 1: 328-45; Runciman, Crusades, vol. 2: 299-316. 37 Chronicon quod dicitur Guillelmi Godelli, Robert of Auxerre, 1882, section 3.1, cited in Guidoboni et al., “June 1170.” 38 The strength of the earthquake along the fault is shown in Guidoboni et al., “June 1170,” table 3.

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The description conveys the fear and urgency of the ruler as he surveyed his fortifications. Nūr al-Dīn quickly organized garrisons to safeguard the towns where the defenses had been destroyed. In some towns the horrendous scale of destruction and the aftershocks drove the citizens away. Certain sites were, according to the chronicler, completely abandoned. Nūr al-Dīn then set out and personally supervised the construction of some of the main citadels in the towns along the frontier with the Crusaders. In contrast to the 1157 earthquake which William ignored, suggesting that the Crusader principalities were hardly damaged; in 1170 he describes the destruction in great detail. Strongly fortified cities dating from very early times were completely demolished …. The largest cities of our provinces and those of Syria and Phoenicia as well, cities famous throughout the ages for their noble antiquity were prostrated. In Coelesyria, Antioch, the metropolis of several provinces and once the head of many kingdoms, was utterly overwhelmed and its entire population destroyed. The massive walls and the immensely strong towers along their circuit fell in ruins. Churches and buildings of every kind were thrown down with such violence that even now, although much labor and expense have been devoted to their restoration, they are only partially repaired. Among other places destroyed in that same province were Gabala and Laodicea, famous cities on the coast. Of the cities further inland which were still held by the enemy there were destroyed Beroea, also known as Aleppo, Shayzar, Hama, Hims and others. The number of fortresses wrecked was beyond counting. … the great and populous city of Tripoli was suddenly shaken by a violent earthquake, and scarcely a person within the walls escaped. The entire city was reduced to a heap of stones and became a burial place and common sepulchre of the citizens who perished with it. At Tyre, the most famous city of the province, the earth movement was so violent that several massive towers were overthrown. There was, however, no loss of life here. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 20: 370-371)

William reassures his readers that his Muslim neighbours were facing similar troubles. It is evident that each side was aware of the fact that the neighbor’s fortifications were in a state of ruin. Nevertheless, one is left with a strong impression that each ruler suspected that his enemy might take advantage of the situation, and launch a surprise attack. This notion is clearly conveyed by Ibn al-Athīr.

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As for the Frankish territory, the earthquake tremors also had the same effect there. They were kept busy repairing their towns, fearful of Nūr al-Dīn for them. Each side was occupied with repair work for fear of the other. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:186)

Yet in order to ensure that no side would make a move against its foe a treaty of some definition was necessary. According to classical Islamic law a stage of hostility exists between the Muslims (Dār al-Islām) and those who are not Muslim (Dār al-ḥarb). No long and lasting agreement could be signed between the two sides.39 This law appears to have been incorporated in most diplomatic settlements throughout the medieval period. Each treaty that was signed had a clear clause stating when the treaty ended. If both sides agreed treaties could be lengthened, as was often the case. Decision makers in times of crisis are subject to both external and internal pressure, which may force them to make peace.40 Nūr al-Dīn is described as committed to the security of his lands and their inhabitants. William of Tyre presents the treaty as a decision that was made out of sheer fear: fear of Nūr al-Dīn and fear of God. Both in our territories and in those of the enemy were found half-ruined fortresses, open on every side and freely exposed to the violence and the wiles of the foe. But since each man feared that the wrath of the Stern Judge might descend upon him individually, none dared molest his fellow man. Each was engrossed in his own troubles and weighed down by the burden of his own affairs; hence none thought of injuring his neighbour. Peace brought about by the desire of all, ensued, albeit for a short interval, and a truce was arranged through fear of divine wrath. Each, while momentarily expecting the outpouring of righteous anger from heaven in punishment for his sins, refrained from acts of hostility and curbed his own evil impulses. (William of Tyre, vol. 2, Book 20: 371)

The Crusaders’ fear of Nūr al-Dīn can easily be explained after his recent conquest of Egypt that clearly displayed his military abilities. William’s Latin terminology is somewhat elusive. “Pax hominum studio procurata, et foedus compositum, divinorum iudiciorum timore conscriptum.” Pax may mean: a pact to end or avert hostilities; a pact granted by God; or a settlement; or simply peace. Foedus is a formal agreement between states 39 Holt P. M. Early Mamluk Diplomacy (1260-1290) (Leiden, New York and Köln, 1995), 3-4. 40 Randle, R. F. The Origins of Peace, A Study of Peacemaking and Structure of Peace Settlement (New York, 1973), 430.

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or peoples. Conscriptum may refer here to a charter. The frequent mentioning of divine wrath and anger may well signify that William of Tyre was referring to a pact granted by God. Thus on this reading, it is possible that there was no proper legal written document. William’s words and phrasing seem to indicate that this was a gentleman’s agreement, or a quiet mutual understanding, as suggested by Prawer.41 Ibn al-Athīr’s report, on the other hand, leaves no room for speculation concerning the nature of this truce, and whether there was a formal agreement rather than a loose understanding. According to Ibn al- Athīr a formal truce was indeed drawn up between Nūr al-Dīn, the principality of Antioch and the county of Tripoli. This is made clear in a detailed episode that took place not long after the truce was concluded. The term used by Ibn al-Athīr is hudna, meaning peace, truce or armistice.42 In the autumn of 1171 a Frankish force from Tripoli and Antioch seized two Muslim merchant ships. Nūr al-Dīn was furious and accused the Franks of violating the truce, demanding that the merchandise be returned. Between them [the Franks] and Nūr al-Dīn there was a truce which they treacherously broke. Nūr al-Dīn sent to them about the matter and about their restoring the merchants’ property they had taken. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:200)

The Franks ignored the sultan’s demand. Nūr al-Dīn did not hesitate to act. He sent a force to raid the cities of Tripoli and Antioch, and a number of smaller fortresses in the neighborhood were sacked. Frankish territory was set ablaze, plundered, and a number of people were killed. The Muslim force returned with a large amount of booty. Following this destructive raid, the Franks reviewed their situation and decided to renew the truce. The Franks made contact with him [Nūr al-Dīn] and offered to restore what they had taken from the two ships and to renew the truce. This was accepted. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:200)

The 1202 Earthquake—A Link in a Series of Peace Treaties The 1202 earthquake like the 1170 earthquake struck both Crusader and Muslim territories. By 1202 the Frankish territories were reduced to a narrow strip along the coast. The kingdom’s capital had moved to Acre follow41 Prawer, Latin Kingdom, vol. 1:246-7. 42 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, vol. 11, 373-4.

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ing the Muslim victory at the battle of Hattin (1187) and the conquest of Jerusalem in 1188. The Ayyubid Sultanate founded by Saladin was now organized in the form of a family federation. The sultan, al-ʿĀdil (r. 12011218) ruled from the citadel of Cairo, while various members of the family governed Syria and Trans-Jordan. Other than raids and counter raids, the frontier with the Franks was relatively quiet. Although the idea of eradicating the Frankish kingdom and states had not been abandoned, it had lost much of its impetus after Saladin’s death (d. 1193). The numerous campaigns against the Franks and Saladin’s war against Richard I, King of England (The Lion Heart) had exhausted the sultanate’s coffers. This dire financial situation may have partially restrained the Ayyubid forces.43 The 1202 earthquake struck Syria, the Crusader Kingdom, the kingdom of Lesser Armenia, Anatolia, Jezira, Iraq, northwest Iran, Qus (in southern Egypt), Cyprus and Sicily. Numerous aftershocks were recorded and a seismic sea wave followed in its wake. The estimated magnitude of this earthquake is 7.6 Ms.44 Many chroniclers describe this earthquake, the dates given are, however, somewhat confusing and range between 1201, 1202 and 1203. It is difficult to ascertain whether there was one earthquake or three consecutive earthquakes that stretched over a period of three years. Ibn al-Dawādāri, cited below, dates the earthquake to the summer of 1201. Because this earthquake has been studied in depth by several geologists and historians it will suffice to bring the conclusion reached by Ambraseys and Melville who analyzed much of the historical and seismological evidence. “Despite the conspicuous duality of accounts in almost all Muslim sources, probably reflecting protracted aftershock activity, there remains no evidence of more than one principal earthquake.”45 The main earthquake took place in May 1202. Although Ibn al-Dawādārī’s date is incorrect his description is one of the most detailed.46 And in this year there was a strong earthquake in the month of Ramadan (June 1201). And it struck the area of Ṣa’īd (‫)ا �ل���ص�عي���د‬. And it hit the entire world in one hour. It destroyed a building in Egypt and a great many [people] were lost under the ruins. It shifted to Syria and the coast, and destroyed

43 Humphreys, R. S. From Saladin to the Mongols (New York, 1977), 132-133. 44 Ambraseys et al., “May 1202,” 181. 45 Ambraseys et al., “May 1202,” 187. 46 The dates of the author’s birth and death are unknown. From the works he wrote it seems he lived in the late 13th century and the first decades of the 14th century. Lewis, B. “Ibn al-Dawādārī,” EI2 3: 744.

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chapter six Nablus until there was not a wall left standing in it apart from the neighbor‫ُّ ة‬ hood of al-Sumarah, (�‫ )ا �ل��س���مر‬3000 people were buried under the rubble. The same occurred in ʿAkā, Tyre with its fortress on the coast. And it continued to Damascus where ‫ أ‬it destroyed a number of minarets in the mosque of the Bana Amiyah (‫ ب)��نى � �مي����ة‬and many lime kilns and the devils fire prevailed …. And the people fled to the miādīn. Sixteen balconies belonging to the mosque ‫ق �ن‬ fell and Qubbat al-Nasir )‫ )� ب����ة ا �ل���سر‬split in two. And it [the earthquake] continued to Banyas and Hūnīn. A group of people from Baalbek left and went on their way, the mountain collapsed upon them and they were buried beneath. Much of the fortress of Baalbek was destroyed. It [the earthquake] continued to Hims, Hama and Aleppo. It divided the sea of Cyprus and created a huge mountain (i.e. tidal wave ?) and it hit the boats along the coast. Several boats were ruined. It [the earthquake] continued to Ikhlat, Armenia, Azerbaijan and al-Jazira. And it went to the Gulf (‫)ا �ل�ع�� ج���م‬. The number of people dead in the country under the ruins was said to have reached a thousand thousands and one hundred thousand. And the strength of this earthquake was seen when its cost of reconstruction was relayed to the people. (Ibn al-Dawādāri, Kanz 7:150)

The grand master of the Hospitallers was concerned for the safety of the two fortresses under his command, Marqab and Crac des Chevaliers, both damaged by this earthquake. He was convinced, however, that if assaulted by the neighboring Muslim forces they would manage to hold their ground.47 None of the sources mention an immediate change in the political or military affairs. Both sides held their armies at bay and refrained from violent assaults. It is important to note that the earthquake struck while the truce of 1198 between al-ʿĀdil and King Aimery was still in effect. This truce ended in the spring of 1204, but was renewed almost immediately. The environment played a central role during this period. The severe three year famine (1199-1201) in Egypt due to the Nile’s extremely low levels, the drought that struck most of the Levant and the destruction caused by the 1202 earthquake, no doubt drove both sides to prolong the period of peace. An important and interesting point that can be seen in most of the earthquakes mentioned above is the fact that the number of Muslim sites damaged is always slightly higher than that in the Frankish territories. This uneven pattern of damage can be seen in 1157, 1170 and 1202 (Map 6.6). The reasons are purely geological and topographical; for the quality of the Muslim citadels and fortresses in Syria was equal to that of their Frankish neighbours. The eastern side of the fault was no more densely populated than the coast; in fact the coast with its natural harbours, trade and fertile 47 Ambraseys et al., “May 1202,” 191.

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Table 6.4: List of places damaged in the 1202 earthquake Damage in the Frankish territory

Damage in Muslim territory

Regions outside the Levant

Tortosa

Cairo

al-Jazira

Antioch

Alexandria

Gulf (‫? )ا �ل�ع�� ج���م‬

Tripoli

Damietta

Ikhlat

Tyre

Qus

Armenia

Beirut

Busra

Azerbaijan

Acre

Aleppo

Crac des Chevaliers

Hims

Marqab

Hama

Chastel Blank (Safitha)

Damascus

Arqa

Baalbek

Barin (Montferrand)

Hunin

Cyprus

Nablus

Sicily

Banyas Safad Samaria Tibnin

land was probably just as densely settled. When examining the distribution of damage and the force of the earthquakes in central Syria (which was under Muslim rule) the picture obtained, clearly shows that the eastern side of the fault fared worse than the western side (ruled by the Franks). A possible explanation may be found if these earthquakes are defined as supershear earthquakes. Supershear earthquakes are earthquakes where the rupture velocity is higher than the sheer wave velocity of the rocks through which they break. Potentially the damage caused by a supershear earthquake is different from a classical sub-shear event, a fact which is not considered even today in current building codes. The effect is similar to the shock wave created by an aircraft flying at a greater speed than sound. Interest in the subject has intensified, as a result of laboratory experiments and following the two large earthquakes in Kunlun (2001) and Denali (2002) that are now thought to have ruptured at supershear velocities. Long, straight, strike-slip faults

Map 6.6: Earthquake damage to fortresses in the twelfth century (white fortresses = Crusader, black fortresses = Muslim)

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such as those along the Dead Sea-Yamouneh faults are likely to host supershear rupture. During such rupture damage is not symmetrical across the fault. If the three earthquakes discussed above were supershear earthquakes, this may explain the more active and more destructive evidence on the Muslim side, which correlates to the east side of the fault.48 The impact of large-scale earthquake damage on the political and military affairs depends on the strength of the earthquake, the distribution of damage and the regional balance of power. Although damaged defences often tempted neighbouring enemies, Frankish and Muslim rulers tended to sign short-term treaties that enabled them to divert their efforts, and invest their time in reconstruction works, which required both peace of mind and large-scale funds. Domestic Architecture and Earthquakes There is an old saying among geologists and engineers that earthquakes don’t kill but buildings do. Shaking ground may make people fall down, but falls don’t kill. However, shaking ground can make buildings collapse, and collapsing buildings can definitely kill.49

Few if any structures were immune to earthquakes. Numerous factors determine whether a building will remain standing in a strong earthquake. It is not always possible to explain how or why certain buildings withstood damage while others turned into heaps of rubble. For significant damage to occur during shallow earthquakes (an earthquake reaching the depth of 30 km) a 5.5 Ms magnitude earthquake is needed.50 The nature of each earthquake and its impact on buildings vary from site to site. The damage largely depends on four main factors: the force of the earthquake, the type of soil, the building materials and the type of building. The following pages will examine the building materials available in the Levant and some aspects of rural and urban houses.

48 This idea was first suggested by Dr. Matthew Daron and discussed with Professor King; both from the Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France. I would like to thank them for their clear explanations and all their help. 49 Skinner, B. J. and Porter S. C. The Dynamic Earth, 2nd edition (1992, New York), 405. 50 Bolt, Earthquakes, 122.

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chapter six Raw Materials and Structural Behaviour

The description below shows the careful choice of materials and building methods in Kashmir India, a region that often suffers from sever earthquakes. The general construction in the city of Strinagar (Kashmir) is suitable for an earthquake country wood is freely used, and well jointed; clay is employed instead of mortar, and gives a somewhat elastic bonding to the bricks, which are often arranged in thick square pillars, with thinner filling in. If well built in this style the whole house, even if three or four stories high, sways together, where as more heavy rigid buildings would split and fall.51

Few buildings in the medieval Levant incorporate logs in their structure. Wood suitable for building is scarce and importing large logs was expensive. The most common building material is stone. Limestone of various types and strengths is found throughout the region. It is easy to quarry, dress and sculpture when more elaborate building stones are required. Basalt is found and used in the Golan, the Hawran, north- west Syria and central Syria. It takes longer to quarry and dress. Kurkar is widely used along the coast of the Mediterranean. It is generally quite a porous type of stone, but could and was used for every type of building. The strength of a structure partially depends on the flexibility of the building materials; if the material is of a high degree of stiffness, it will be overcome by the earthquake force. Structures built of stone blocks and bricks, which lack elasticity will crack and break; mortar joints will snap open. Although the mortar is usually quite weak and has no gluing properties once it hardens it will secure the stone blocks and reduce the flexibility of the structure.52 Variability in the strength of ground motion and duration of shaking is due to changes in the type and thickness of the bed rock and soils. In general, buildings constructed on rock suffer less damage,53 than those built on river banks, sandy soil and alluvial soils. Tremors and shakes that occur in soil that contain water, or are close to a source of water (lake, river, sea or underground water) may cause the ground to liquefy. During intense shaking the strength of the soil is lost and the sand and water flow.54 51 Langenbach, R. “Bricks, Mortar and earthquakes: Historic preservation vs earthquake safety,” Association for Preservation Technology Bulletin 21 3/4 (1989):36. 52 Gye, D. H. “Arches and domes in Iranian Islamic buildings: An engineer’s perspective,” Journal of Persian Studies 26 (1988):130-31. 53 Milne, Earthquakes, 40-1. 54 Bolt, Earthquakes, 164.

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The evidence concerning the damage to rural and urban houses derives from the contemporary sources that describe the large numbers of people who were buried beneath their own houses, and the terrified survivors who were unable to return and shelter in their houses for fear of after shocks.55 The structures described below represent a small selection of domestic medieval houses. There are no published archaeological excavations to date that record earthquake damage in twelfth-fifteenth century domestic buildings. Although house plans and building materials suited the climate, the flaws and weaknesses that led to their collapse are evident. The best examples of rural houses from the Crusader period are from al-Bira (Magna Mahumeria) and al-Qubeiba (Parva Mahumeria) in the vicinity of Jerusalem. The two planned villages have narrow small houses (4x10 m), some had two floors. They are arranged in a row along the street, each house shares its external walls with the neighbouring house.56 Many houses did not have a foundation trench, the first course of stones was laid directly on the bed rock.57 The ground floor often consists of a vault, built of small field stones, stone chips and mortar. The external walls that support the vaults are thick (2 m), constructed with field stones and large amounts of rubble.58 Walls were coated with a thick layer of plaster or mud that concealed the crude building methods and the poor building materials. Roofs in both villages and towns were generally flat, supported by coulombs, vaults or constructed with wooden beams covered in branches and then coated with plaster or mud. Tiles attesting to gabled roofs are seldom found.59 Stone and brick courtyard houses were built in both rural and urban settlements. The courtyard enclosed by the house performs an important function as a modifier of climate in hot arid regions. The insulation properties of the building materials and the plan of the courtyard house create a domestic micro-climate. It provides outdoor activities with the necessary protection from the wind, dust and sun and supplies the rooms around it with light and air. A stone courtyard house dating to the Abbasid-Fatimid 55 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:185-6 56 Bagatti, B. Emmaus-Qubeibeh. tran. Frankish, R. (Jerusalem 1993); Pringle, D. Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (Cambridge, 1997), 86-7; Benvenisti, Crusaders, 220, 225-6. Boas, Crusader Archaeology, 62-8. 57 Tchalenko, G. Villages Antiques de la Syrie du Nord, I (Paris, 1953), 9; Hirschfeld, Y. “The rural dwelling houses in the Hebron region -a case study of traditional type building in Eretz Israel,” Cathedra 24 (1982):85. 58 Boas, A. Domestic Settings (Leiden, 2010), 204. 59 Benvenisti, Crusaders, 373; Boas, Domestic Settings, 57.

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periods was excavated in Beth-Shean. It consisted of ten rooms built round a courtyard. The house was built above the debris of the 749 earthquake reusing some of the building materials. It continued to function during the Ayyubid-Mamluk periods. In Acre a house with barrel vaulted rooms was arranged round an open courtyard. In some cases a number of individual houses shared a courtyard. Cross vaults and barrel vaults were a common feature; their construction was somewhat complicated and expensive, but even where the construction is poor they appear to have weathered well.60 A number of courtyard houses dating to the ninth-early twelfth centuries were excavated in Fustat. Most of the houses have an asymmetrical inner plan. This is due to the intricate pattern of the street network that determined the line of the exterior walls of the houses. The dominant plan included: a courtyard set in front of a portico that led to an iwan with two side rooms. The thickness of the walls made of fired bricks is 70-80 cm. The houses were two storied and reached a height of 10-11 m. In general, the relation between the area of the house and the height differs from region to region and depends on the social-economic status of the owner.61 In Egypt and in Cairo in particular the most striking feature of medieval houses, according to Laila Ali Ibrahim, is their verticality: “Buildings are designed to emphasize their height.”62 Their height, the irregular plan and the use of clay mortar, which tended to give away even under moderate shaking,63 turned these buildings into highly vulnerable constructions. A number of Ayyubid houses were excavated in Jerusalem. The simple square rooms were built of roughly dressed stones against the city wall. It seems they only had one floor. Some of the houses have water cisterns curved into the bed rock below the ground floor.64 This arrangement of houses constructed against the city wall must have been a familiar site in many of the Levant's urban centers. In times of earthquakes entire neighborhoods were crashed and buried beneath the debris of the heavy defensive walls. 60 Guy, T. “Vernacular architecture: The house and society,” in Architecture of the Islamic World, ed. G. Michell (London, 1978), 199-201; Foester, G. and Tsafrir, Y. “City centere (north): the Abbasid and Fatimid periods (Stratum 3),” ESI 11 (1989-1991):19; Boas, Domestic Settings, 83, 22; Benvenisti, Crusaders, 99; Hirschfeld, “Rural dwelling,” 91. 61 Ostrasz, A. A. “The archaeological material for the study of the domestic architecture of Fustat,” Africana Bulletin 26 (1977):70-71, 82. 62 Ali-Ibrahim, L. “Residential architecture in Mamluk Cairo,” Muqarnas 2 (1984): 47, 55. 63 Ambraseys, Earthquakes, 37-8 64 Tushingham, A. D. Excavations in Jerusalem 1961-1967, Vol. 1. (Toronto, 1985), 108, 110.

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The wealthier population lived in substantially better houses. A large merchant house built from well dressed Kurkar stone still stands in the medieval city of Caesarea. The ground floor has a wide barrel vault (7.5 m) supported by transverse arches. The thickness of the external walls of this grand house is surprisingly small (0.50 -1.75 m). The upper floor served as living quarters and was reached via an external staircase.65 In many parts of the Levant domestic buildings remained much the same until the late nineteenth century and even later.66 A construction engineer who worked in the city council of Hebron in 1979 described the traditional local builders in the villages near by: The house was built with neither a plan on paper nor a plan on the ground. An expert builder arrived (Muʿallim banā), the family who ordered the building of the house and people from the village collected the building materials from the area and helped in the construction.67 It seems more than likely that many houses throughout the medieval Levant were built in a similar manner. Houses were clearly planned to suit the economy, culture and climate. They were built with local materials, and were designed to protect their dwellers from the harsh weather. The building materials' high degree of stiffness and the structures' lack of flexibility did not equip them with the necessary qualities to withstand earthquakes. Although the archaeological evidence is scarce, it seems there were no substantial changes in their plan or in the methods of construction of houses built throughout this period. The majority of the population was simply to poor to afford better building materials or employ better builders. Houses were repaired as best as one could, according to the owner’s means. But the vast majority of the population no doubt counted on God or fortune to guard their families and homes. Trial and Error—Some Archaeological Evidence Depicting Changes in Fortress Construction In contrast to domestic buildings, fortifications during this period in the Levant were the state of the art; complex stone buildings planned by talented architects and professional builders. The most important develop65 Boas, Domestic Settings, 87. 66 Fuchs, R. “The Palestinian Arab house reconstructed part 2: Dometic architecture in the 19th century,” Cathedra 90 (1998):53-4. 67 Hirschfeld, “Rural dwelling,” 83.

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ments in military architecture occurred in the mid twelfth-century;68 they were triggered first and foremost by advances in the field of seige warfare. Nevertheless, some fortifications in the Muslim sultanate of Syria and the Crusader principalities were designed to provide not only outstanding defenses against their enemies, but also sound and solid structures that could withstand the force of violent earthquakes. The two major building waves of both urban and rural fortifications were conducted during the reign of Nūr al-Dīn (d. 1174) and later during the reign of the Ayyubid sultan al-ʿĀdil (d. 1218).69 Both construction waves correlate with the devastating damage caused by the earthquakes that struck during the second half of the twelfth-century and the early thirteenth-century. In Nūr al-Dīn’s eulogy there is a passage dedicated to the sultan’s public works. He [Nūr al-Dīn] built the walls of the cities and castles of all Syria, for example Damascus, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, Shayzar, Baalbek and others. (Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:223)

All the sites, which received Nūr al-Dīn’s attention, were partially damaged by earthquakes. His Crusader neighbours, who at times raided and threatened his territories, were not the direct reason for the rebuilding of his fortifications. Nūr al-Dīn, may have never invested in his defenses if the fortresses were not damaged by the earthquakes. Al-ʿĀdil’s most formidable project was carried out in Damascus. Sections of the town walls were rebuilt, but the work focused on the citadel. The old structure was raised to the ground and a new citadel was built in its place. According to Abū Shāma (d. 1267) and Sibṭ al-Jawzī (d. 1256) construction work started in 599/1202-1203,70 shortly after the large earthquake. One of the fortresses badly damaged, in Frankish territories, was Crac des Chevaliers owned by the order of the Hospitallers. It was reconstructed after the 1157 earthquake and once again after the 1170 earthquake.71 It probably reached its final size 68 Kennedy, Castles, 98; Ellenblum, Modern Histories, 189; Chevedden, P. “Fortifications and the development of defensive planning during the Crusader period,” in The Circle of War in the Middle Ages, eds. D. J. Kagay and L. J. A. Villalon (Woodbridge, U.K. 1999), 34. 69 Humphreys, Saladin, 147. According to Gibb Many of the fortifications were strengthened in anticipation of the fifth Crusade in 614/1217. Gibb, H. A. R. “al-ʿĀdil” EI2 1:197-8. 70 Humphreys, Saladin, 147-48; Chevedden, P. E. The Citadel of Damascus. Ph.D. diss. University of Los Angeles, California, 1986. Unpublished. 56-9. 71 Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 2:87; Ibn al-Kathīr, Abū ‘l-Fidā ʿAbd allāh, Al-Bidāya wa’l -nihāya fi’l-ta’rīkh (Beirut, 1993),12:294.

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and grandeur after the 1202 earthquake.72 The changes in the plan, building materials and construction methods can be followed through both the sources and the archaeological evidence. Archaeological evidence of anti-seismic construction in the Mediterranean region has been studied and discussed in relation to the Minoan architecture in Crete, ancient Greece and Islamic monuments in Iran in later medieval periods. The analysis presented in the following pages examines Frankish and Ayyubid fortifications that were rebuilt after they were damaged in one or all of the following earthquakes: 1157, 1170 and 1202. It also examines later thirteenth century fortifications built by the Mamluks. One of the methods of reducing damage is by designing a simple plan; equal stiffness throughout the building and sound structural connections are recommended as basic principles for safe building. Symmetrical plans are generally considered a better choice. Irregular shapes are especially vulnerable to torsion.73 Vaults, which were the most common roofing in many fortresses, are fairly durable structures. Round, horseshoe and polygonal towers are relatively stronger than square and rectangular shapes. Although many of the raw materials available and some of the traditional building techniques used in the Levant were hardly suitable, changes could be made to insure that structures were more resilient and safer. “The capacity of a structure to absorb energy within limits of deformation and without failure is one of the most desirable characteristics of earthquake resistant design.”74 It seems contemporary fortress builders only partially understood these requirements. Methods of construction and planning of fortifications were probably adjusted by a careful examination of the structures that survived the earthquakes, and by trial and error. The Ayyubid citadel of Damascus, the Frankish fortress of Vadum Jacob, the massive glacis and towers at Crac des Chevaliers, and the large Mamluk towers at Safad, al-Ṣubayba and Karak present some interesting developments in military architecture that were partially triggered by earthquake destruction.

72 Kennedy, Castles, 152. 73 Berlin, Earthquakes, vol. 2:76-7. 74 Berlin, Earthquakes, vol. 2:75.

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chapter six The Citadel of Damascus

The city of Damascus was struck by all three earthquakes (1157, 1170 and 1202). It is built on the lower slopes of Mt. Qasiyun that is part of the eastern slopes of the Anti Lebanon Massifs. The Barada River supplies the city with water and the oasis of the Ghuta provides rich agriculture land.75 It was during Nūr al-Dīn’s reign that the two earthquakes of 1157 and 1170 struck Syria, and it was he who assessed the damage and saw to the reconstruction of many of the fortifications. Damascus had been taken by Nūr al-Dīn only a few years earlier (1154), the city became his capital and main residence. After the 1157 earthquake, the citadel underwent considerable reconstruction, but after the second earthquake (1170), he clearly lost his faith in stone buildings. A wooden house was built opposite his living quarters within the Damascus citadel. He slept, prayed and eventually died in it.76 Nūr al-Dīn’s work on the Damascene fortifications was conducted during 560/1165 and 569/1174. Large semi-circular towers dominated the city’s fortifications. Semi-circular towers were probably costrcuted also in the citadel.77 The Damascus citadel underwent extensive building once again during the reign of al-ʿĀdil. Several inscriptions commemorating the sultan’s work confirm this date. Although assaulted several times by both Frankish forces and by rival Ayyubid princes, the project of rebuilding the citadel and the city defenses was due to earthquake damage along the northern wall. The expenditure was considerable, and the newly established sultan ordered the Ayyubid princes to sponsor the building of the towers. Work on the towers begun in 1203, they were completed a decade later. The scale of building was extraordinary. The work was of the highest quality, executed by different teams. The outer walls were built by a specialized group of workers.78 L-shaped towers were constructed in the corners and rectangular towers along the citadel walls. According to Chevedden, “The architect of the citadel relied on sheer bulk and massiveness of construction ….”79 The new citadel had thirteen rectangular towers (27×9 m).80 The length of

75 Elisseeff, N. “Dimashk,” EI2 2:277-290. 76 Chevedden, Citadel of Damascus, 45-6. 77 Ibid., 47. 78 Bessac, J. and Boqvist, M. “Les chantiers de construction de la citadelle de Damas: Méthodologie et résultats preliminares,” Arqueologie de la Arquitectura, 4 (2005): 237. 79 Chevedden, Citadel of Damascus, 174. 80 Ibid., 276.

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the wall between each tower measured 20-30 m. Long sections of curtain walls were reduced to the bear necessity, perhaps due to their structural weakness. Towers were clearly given preference (Figure 6.2). This arrangement not only reduced the dead space below the walls, it provided the entire outer defense circuit with greater stability. Large parts of al-ʿĀdil's work withstood not only enemy assaults, but also the future seventeenth and eighteenth century earthquakes that struck the city.81

Figure 6.2: Damascus, towers along the Ayyubid citadel

Crac des Chevaliers (Hisn al-Akrad) A building that has been standing for centuries generally demonstrates that it is structurally competent.82 Unlike many fortresses where much of the building is in ruins and visitors are required to use a great deal of imagination, Crac des Chevaliers is one of the few fortresses that still stands to its full height. The fortress as it stands today displays Frankish 81 Ghawanmeh, Earthquake, 18. 82 Gye, “Arches and domes,” 129.

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work carried out during the late twelfth and first half of the thirteenth centuries and Mamluk work carried out by Baybars in the early 1270s. The fortress was badly damaged by the 1157, 1170, 1202 earthquakes as well as the Mamluk siege of 1271. The masters of the order of the Hospitallers in charge of the fortress rebuilt and improved the construction after each earthquake, aiming to make it indestructible to both natural and human forces. It endured later violent earthquakes better than any other stronghold in the region. The fortress was first built in 1031 by the amir of the city of Hims, who constructed the fortress out of the local basalt. It was taken by the Franks in 1109 but was passed over to the order of the Hospitallers in 1142. Although the fortress was besieged a number of times, it was no doubt more susceptible to earthquake damage than to the Muslim supping units and siege machines. The site was assaulted by Nūr al-Dīn in 1163, besieged by Saladin in 1188, attacked by al-Malik al-ʿĀdil in 1207 and by the Ayyubid sultan alKamil in 1229. In 1252 it was attacked once again by the Türkmen army. The Frankish garrison managed to repel each and every assault until 1271 when the fortress eventually fell after the Mamluk siege.83 According to Ibn al-Athīr and Ibn al-Kathīr, Crac des Chevaliers was partially damaged by the 1157 earthquake.84 It was restored with a generous donation given by King Waldislas II of Bohemia.85 The fortress at this stage had one curtain wall strengthened by rectangular towers. Vaulted halls lined the inner face of the curtain wall. The renovations were carried out in basalt; the stones were small and roughly dressed. Abū Shāma gives a short account the 1170 earthquake damage: The fortress sunk in the sea [i.e. destroyed by the force/waves of the earthquake], nothing was left of its walls. (Abū Shāma, Rawḍatayn, vol. 1, pt. 2:468)

Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī gives a similar description.86 An extensive survey and study was conducted by a team headed by Thomas Biller. According to Biller, “The destruction of the castle by the 1170 earthquake was the reason and the starting point for the construction of a totally new fortress which was … very sophisticated.”87 One of the most interesting aspects is the 83 Elisséeff, N., “Hisn al-Akrad,” EI2, 3:504. 84 see note 71. 85 Kennedy, Castles, 146. 86 Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī, Mir’āt al-zamān fī ta’rīkh al-a‛yān (Hyderabad, 1952), vol. 8, pt. 1:280. 87 Biller, T. et al Der Crac des Chevaliers (Berlin, 2006), 372.

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change in building material. In contrast to the first fortress that was built out of basalt stones, after the 1170 earthquake the fortress was constructed with well dressed, large limestone blocks. Although the lime stone is softer it may well have more “flexible” building properties in comparison to the basalt. It was after the 1202 earthquake that the fortress was significantly enlarged. A new outer wall was constructed. As in other sites, large semicircular and horseshoe towers dominated this new building phase, their diameter ranging between 10 m, 15 m and 18 m. The masonry and construction were of higher quality. But it was their shape and dimensions that made them more resilient to earthquake forces. It seems the south and west sections of the inner curtain wall were severely damaged; the restoration work in this area was carried out on a grand and most forbidding scale. The general idea behind a glacis is to protect the foundations from sapping units; make scaling the walls with ladders or standing a siege-tower flash against the wall an impossible task. The southern and western glacis at Crac des Chevaliers appear to have been designed against an invasion of giants. The Massive glacis “chokes” the base of the towers and continues to run up against almost the full height of the wall between the towers (Figure 6.3; Figure 6.4). None of the armies in the region were equipped to tackle structures of this size and type. Further more these towers are located in the inner core of the fortress and were therefore not directly exposed to enemy fire, unless the first wall was breached. Marqab, owned by the Order of the Hospitallers, was treated in much the same way. The second phase, dated to the late twelfth-century (after the 1170 earthquake) or early thirteenth century (after the 1202 earthquake), saw the building of round towers, substantially larger than those of the previous phase. Although the southern towers are protected by a fairly steep slope, a large glacis was constructed to provide the foundations and walls with further support. It seems, as Kennedy had noted, that at Crac des Chevaliers the architect was aiming to build monuments that would withstand the wrath of God rather than the skills of the Muslim sapping units.88

88 Kennedy, Castles, 158.

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Figure 6.3: Crac des Chevaliers (Ḥiṣn al-Akrād), plan

Figure 6.4: Crac des Chevaliers, the high glacis arround the towers along the walls

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The Round Free Standing Tower at Safad The fortress at Safad was probably first built by the Crusaders in 1102-3.89 In 1168 King Aimery decided to hand it over to the order of the Templars.90 In 1188, a year after the battle of Hattin, Safad was taken by Saladin. The fortress suffered two severe disasters shortly afterwards. The first was from the 1202 earthquake.91 The second was due to the sultan, al-Muʿaẓẓam ʿIsā, who in 1219 demolished the fortress at Safad, in order to prevent the Franks from returning.92 Safad remained under Ayyubid rule until 1240.93 Its location on one of the Galilee’s highest peaks may have improved the site's security, but it did not add to the structure's stability.94 Following the treaty signed between Richard of Cornwall and al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Ismāʿīl ruler of Damascus (1241), the Templars returned to Safad.95 At this point the fortress was either completely in ruins or in very poor condition. Within two and a half years the Templars turned it into one of the largest fortress in the Latin East (Figure 6.5). Two formidable curtain walls were constructed. The inner wall reached the height of 44 m and was 3.5 m wide. The external wall measured half the height. Seven large round towers were built along the external wall, each rising to the height of 48 m and measuring 22 m in diameter; the thickness of the tower walls was 4.4 m. The total circumference of the fortress was 850 m.96 It seems that the Franks’ fear of their Muslim foe was equal to their fear of earthquakes, for the scale of construction surpassed the needs required for defenses. Although the archaeological remains are quite poor, the chroniclers give detailed measurements of both towers and walls. One of the most apparent flaws of this Crusader structure was the immense height of its inner curtain 89 Benvenisti, Crusaders, 202; Prawer does not rule out the possibility that it may have been built in 1142. Prawer, J. The Crusades: A Colonial Society, 2nd edition (Jerusalem, 1985), 366. [Hebrew] 90 Runciman, Crusades, vol. 2, 306. 91 Mayer, H. E. “Two unpublished Letters on the Syrian Earthquake of 1202,” in Medieval and Middle Eastern Studies in Honor of Aziz Suryal Atia, ed. S. A. Hanna (Leiden, 1972), 295310; Ellenblum, R., Marco, S., Agnon, A., Rockwell, T. and Boas, A. “Crusader castle torn apart by earthquake at dawn, 20 May 1202,” Geology 26 (1998):303-396. 92 Ibn Shaddād, Aʿlāq, vol. 2, pt. 2, 147; Ibn Shaddād, Ta’rīkh, 353. 93 Ibn Shaddād, Ta’rīkh, 382. 94 Guidoboni et al., “Crises in Syria,” 112. The remark here concerns the general idea that the topography i.e the location of fortresses in high places increases the earthquake damage. 95 Prawer, Crusades, 149; Runciman, Crusades, 183; Humphreys, Saladin, 266-7. 96 Kennedy, Castles, 195. Ellenblum, Modern Histories, 246-55.

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walls (44 m) and the height of the towers (48 m) in relation to their diameter (22 m). The Mamluk sultan, Baybars besieged Safad in 1266.97 He rebuilt the sections of the fortress, which were damaged during the siege and added a large round tower in the midst of the fortress, at the highest point. This tower was not incorporated in the fortress curtain walls. Towers of this type are rare. The best Frankish examples are Chastel Blanc (Ṣafitha) and Gilbert (Jubayl) dating to the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. The great round tower is mentioned by: Ibn Shaddād, al-Dimashqī and al-Ṣafadī. Though today it is largely in ruins, this immense structure still dominates the summit. Al-Ṣafadī writes: “He built in the fortress a huge tower that was very tall and rose to the height of eighty dirāʿ (54.4 m).98 The diameter, according to al-Dimashqī was 40.6 m.99 The sources are not unanimous concerning the height, figures run between 40.6 and 96.6 m. According to Ibn Shaddād, it was one hundred dirāʿ high (68 m), and from its top one could see whoever walked along the moat or around the fortress (Figure 6.6).100 There were probably three spacious floors. What remains today is the main entrance and the cistern carved out of the bedrock below it. The entrance is encased in a solid stone structure that served as the tower’s base. It is built of large triangular flat stones, unlike the neighboring fortresses and the construction technique known throughout the region where walls are built with a core of stone and mortar and faced with ashlar (Figure 6.7). The structure was further strengthened by a rather peculiar technique of slotting. The large stone blocks are not laid in straight courses one upon the other, each stone block slots in and fits the one next to it (Figure 6.8). According to both al-Ṣafadī and Ibn Shaddād the Mamluks rebuilt the curtain walls and the gate with Hirqilī stone.101 Hirqilī stones, meaning stones of great strength, characteristics attributed to Hercules.102 This term 97 Ibn Shaddād, Aʿlāq, vol. 2, pt. 2, 149; Baybars al-Manṣūrī, Kitāb al-tuḥfa al-mamlukiyya fī l’dawla al-turkiyya, ed. A. R. S. Hamdān (Cairo, 1987), 57; Ibn al-Furāt, Ta’rīkh (Lyons), 2, 95. Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, gives a different account. Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir Rawḍ, 260-1. ‫�ذ‬ 98 Ṣafadī, Wafayāt, vol. 10, 341. Dirāʿ (  ‫ ) ر ا‬in Syria = 0.68 m; in Egypt = 0.58 m in Wehr, ‫ع‬ Dictionary, 356. 99 Al-Dimashqī, Kitāb Nkhbh, 210. 100 Ibn Shaddād, Ta’rīkh, 353. 101 Ṣafadī, Wafayāt, vol. 10, 341. Ṣafadī probably borrowed the term “Hiraqlī” from Ibn Shaddād. 102 Sharoni interprets Hiraqlī as being of exceptional/unique strength. Sharoni, A. The comprehensive Arabic-Hebrew Dictionary (Tel-Aviv, 1987), 3:1375.

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is used once again by Ibn Shaddād in a description of the Aleppo fortifications built by the Ayyubid prince al-Malik al-Ẓāhīr Ghāzī in 611/1213. “He tore down the bāshūra that used to be in it and poured earth on the tall and rebuilt it with Hirqilī stones.”103 The tower at Safad partly survived into the late Ottoman period; a series of earthquakes in 1759 and again in 1837 submitted this massive construction to pressures it was not designed to withstand. Both the Crusader and the Mamluk experiments failed. Although the base was wide and solid, and the stones large and heavy, its immense height, the fact that is was perched on the highest point and above a large water cistern appears to have weakened the structure.

Figure 6.5: Safad, plan of Crusader fortress

Figure 6.6: Safad, reconstruction of the round tower

103 Ibn Shaddād, Aʿlāq, vol. 1, pt. 1, 82; Tabbaa explains bāshūra in this particular case as fortified gate. The paragraph from which this sentence is taken explains in detail the construction of the citadel gate complex. Tabbaa, Y. Constructions of Power and Piety in ‫ة‬ Medieval Aleppo (Pennsylvania Park, PA., 1997), 73. The bāshūra (� ‫ ب)��ا � �ش� و ر‬is a key word in many descriptions. It has several meanings. The word refers to a whole section of the outer fortifications; this may include any or all of the following structures: barbican, bastion, a gate or a fortified tower. In some cases the outer suburb that often grew up beside the fortress walls is also referred to as the bāshūra. Aleppo was also badly hit in the 1202 earthquake, and the construction work carried out by al-Ẓāhīr Ghāzī were probably repairs to the fortifications damaged by the earthquake.

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Figure 6.7: Safad, section across the tower

Figure 6.8: Safad, the tower wall

The Mamluk Octagonal Towers at al-Ṣubayba and Karak The fortress of al-Ṣubayba was first built by the Ayyubid governor of Damascus. It is constructed on a long spur at the foot of Mt. Hermon from the hard local lime stone. The site is never mentioned in the lists that record earthquake damage. Nevertheless there is sufficient evidence of earthquake damage, the shifting of keystones as well as gaps and cracks along the main secret passage. The last phase of construction that took place in the early Mamluk period (1260-1275) saw radical changes in the method of construction, the size and quality of the dressed stones and the basic forms of the towers. The Mamluks inserted new towers along the southern curtain wall where the slope was moderate and was in need of further reinforcement. Unlike the earlier phase built by the Ayyubids, the towers were polygonal with a large central pillar that provided extra support to the dome. The northeastern square tower portrays a new scale of building using huge stone blocks almost unknown in the architecture of this period; the largest weighing 37 tons.104 As in Safad these new towers provided ample defense against mining teams and siege machines. 104 Hartal, M. The Al-Ṣubayba (Nimrod) Fortress, Towers 11 and 9 (Jerusalem, 2001), 33.

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The Mamluk construction at Karak, described below, has similar features to the tower built at al-Ṣubayba and Safad. Ibn al-Furāt (d. 1405) and Qalqashandī (d. 1418), both mention the 1261/660 earthquake that struck Egypt, Syria and the Crusader Kingdom. Among the sites that were badly damaged Qalqashandī names Safad, Karak and Shawbak.105 The citadel of Karak had been damaged in the previous earthquake of 1212. Repairs may have been conducted by its Ayyubid governor al-Mughīth ʿUmar. But it seems most of the construction work was carried out after Karak was handed over to Baybars in 1263. The town was turned into an administrative center (mamlaka) and the citadel into a military granary. The garrison was reinforced and the southern section of the fortress was rebuilt. As in Safad and al-Ṣubayba the scale of the Mamluk work exceeded that of the previous owners of Karak, the Franks and the Ayyubids. A large Mamluk keep was built on the basis of two Frankish towers. The remains of the Frankish towers with their black stones can still be seen. The Mamluk tower has an unusual shape due to the restricted space available at the edge of the spur. It is a long and narrow rectangle that has had its corners cut (length 37 m, width 16 m). Its outer walls, measure 6 m, almost two and a half times the thickness of the original Frankish curtain walls. It has three floors and large cistern below. A band inscription along the top of the tower, it mentions Baybars and two of his titles, al-Ṣālīḥ and al-Ẓāhir. The date at the end of the inscription is 673/1277-8, the year the Sultan died. It was built out of the local limestone, as apposed to the dark hard flint of the Meishash formation that was used by the Franks. The quality of the masonry is slightly inferior to that at al-Ṣubayba and Safad. The southern Mamluk keep at Karak still stands to its full height; unlike Safad it withstood later earthquakes (1293, 1303, and 1453) successfully.106 It seems it was its polygonal shape rather than its sheer mass that gave this structure stability. It is somewhat surprising that polygonal towers can not be found in other sites or in later fortifications (Figures 6.9, 6.10, 6.11).

105 Aḥmad Ben Abdellah al-Qalqashandī, Maāthir al-Inafa fee Maālim al-Khilapha, ed. A. S. A. Ferraj (Kuwait, 1964), 2:214; Ibn al-Furāt, Ta’rīkh (Lyons), 2:43. 106 The 1212 earthquake described by Ibn al-Katīr, Bidāya, 13:62; the 1293 Earthquake is mentioned by Ibn al-Furāt, Ta’rīkh 8:145; the 1303 earthquake Baybars al-Manṣūī, Kitāb al-tuḥfa, 379; the 1458 earthquake mentioned by Ibn Taghrī Birdī, Nujūm, 16:127.

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Figure 6.9: al-Ṣubayba, plan of the fortress

Figure 6.10: al-Ṣubayba, the large stones at Bilik’s tower (11)

Figure 6.11: al-Ṣubayba, key stone (tower 16)

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The Active Fault below the Crusader Fortress of Vadum Jacob Vadum Jacob was to be the finest and largest concentric fortress in the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The fate of the fortress, however, was doomed from the very beginning. Even if its garrison would have managed to withstand Saladin’s assault, and its construction would have been completed, its collapse due to the force of the 1202 earthquake was inevitable. The fortress is constructed directly above an active fault line (Map 6.7, Figure 6.13), on a small mound on the west bank of the Jordan River close to a shallow ford. Located at a strategic point, a day and a half ride from Damascus, it was a convenient location from which the Franks could launch raids into Muslim territory. The building of the fortress was initiated by King Baldwin IV, work began in October 1178. After Saladin had learnt of the king’s plans, he initiated diplomatic negotiations. Saladin offered to buy the site and compensate the Franks for all their expenses. The king refused to abandon the project. Saladin conquered Vadum Jacob in August 1179 and destroyed large sections of it before he left. Because the mound is made of fine river silt; the foundations were laid deep down on the bed rock. In order to strengthen the curtain wall and prevent the soil from being washed away a retaining wall was built in the south. The curtain wall is impressive and exceptionally well built, using both the basalt and lime stone that were quarried near by. The core of the walls was built of basalt field stones mixed with a generous amount of mortar. It was faced with large well dressed lime stone blocks. The width of the curtain wall measured 4.30 m. In August 1179 the only parts completed were the curtain wall, the main gate at the south, one tower at the south west corner and a long vaulted hall that run along the eastern curtain wall. Had the site been completed and occupied, it would have been shaken to its very foundations and probably completely destroyed. The earthquake of 1202 cut along the length of the fortress tearing it in two. An offset of 1.6 meters can clearly be seen at the main gate in the south and along the northern curtain wall.107 The eastern side of the fortress shifted north while the western side remained in its place. The wide gap in the northern wall reveals the force of the earthquake and one can almost hear the loud rumble of destruction that chroniclers often describe in their accounts. 107 Ellenblum, et al., “Crusader castle,” 303-6. The accumulated offset is 2.1 meters. The 0.5 meter is attributed to either the 1759 or 1837 earthquakes.

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Vadum Jacob

Map 6.7: Figure 6.12: Fault systems in the region of the Crusader fortress Plan of the Crusader fortress Vadum of Vadum Jacob Jacob and the fault below

The frequency and strength of earthquakes had no apparent long term impact on the political and military affairs in the region. The wide spread damage caused tension and suspicion between Franks and Muslims, but it seldom led to military action. Short-term peace treaties were signed in order to allow recovery and insure security along the frontiers. These treaties were not only short, but also had a somewhat narrow minded air about them. Unlike crisis caused by droughts, there is no evidence of further cooperation once a treaty was signed. In contrast to modern accounts of earthquakes that show a rise of internal violence and conflict due to lack of food, water and housing,108 if there was a significant raise in domestic violence none is reported by contemporary medieval chroniclers. The seismic damage to fortifications chalenged military architects and engineers. It was a period of trial and error. Taking into account the limited 108 Brancati, D. “Political Aftershocks: the impact of earthquakes on interstate conflict,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 51, 5 (2005):716.

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Figure 6.13: Vadum Jacob, the rupture along the northern wall

understanding of seismic forces one may say they fared well. Although few strongholds remain standing to their full original height, many Crusader and Muslim fortresses can still be seen throughout the Levant.

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Part three

Small and destructive enemies

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the curse of insects and rodents

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Chapter Seven

The curse of insects and rodents on an agricultural based economy The ability of most insects to fly enables them to escape or avoid enemies, find breeding partners and food with greater ease. There are few types of food insects do not eat. Most types breed in huge numbers within a relatively short space of time. The vast numbers (1018), their diversification, and capacity to live in many different climates and environments has turned this group into the biologically most successful among animal life.1 Even in modern times, with complex agricultural technology, engineering of high yielding crops, the use of fertilizers, pesticides and specialized irrigation systems, about 30 percent of the yields are damaged by insects before they are harvested. In the United States, farmers use over 100,000 tons of pesticides. This reduces insect damage by almost 13 percent. In Asia, insects are responsible for the loss of 20.7 percent of the crops. It is estimated that in natural ecological systems 10 percent of the plants are consumed by insects, while farmers that do not use pesticides loose between 10-100 percent of the crops.2 Agriculture in the Levant until the mid twentieth-century was threatened by various insects that damaged and at times completely demolished entire crops. From the moment mankind began farming and growing one type of plant in one field, the breeding grounds of some insects and the risk of losing the entire harvest grew profoundly.3 “By providing them with large amounts of food and placing it before them in the most inviting way … [we] begged them to do their worst.”4 This chapter will examine the frequency and destructiveness of locusts and rodents. Although plagues of rodents are less frequent they are no less destructive.

1 Costa, M. The Insects, ed. V. Stroker, 2nd edition (Raanana, 2006), 306-7. 2 Ibid., 290. 3 Costa, Insects, 14; Howard, L. O. The Insect Menace (London, 1937), 137; Lamb, Weather, 172. 4 Howard, Insect, 142.

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َ َ The word for locust in Arabic is jarād (‫) ج�را د‬. Jarada ( ‫ ) ج�َرد‬literally means to strip, to be bare, or to peel. According to Lane the insect received its ُ name because of its ability to strip the ground.5 ajrad (‫ )ا ج�رد‬and jurd (‫) ج�رد‬ mean: desolate, bleak, without vegetation or bald.6 The root is similar to the Hebrew word Gered (‫ )גרד‬to scratch or to scrape. The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is the most common species mentioned in the ancient world and still known today (Figure 7.1).

Figure 7.1: Desert locust

It belongs to the family of grasshoppers (Acrididae). They are cold blooded, their body temperature is determined by the surrounding temperatures. If the sky is overcast, or the nights cold with a high percentage of dew their activity will slow down. A saying in Palestinian-Arabic relates to this trait of theirs “cold as a locust during dew” refers to a man who is indifferent.7 The desert locust is found in the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Pakistan and Northeast India. In Africa it lives between latitude 15-30 degrees north of the equator. The northern Sudanese region is the most common habitat of the locust in its solitary phase (phasis solitaria). Early winter rains, a rise in rainfall, temperatures of 25-27 degrees Celsius or development of rich pasture will cause the physical change from solitary phase to gregarious phase (phasis gregaria). If the above conditions remain the locust may reproduce two or even three times a year.8 The optimal condition for the hatching of the eggs is 30 degrees Celsius and 100 percent humidity (rela5 Lane, E. W. Arabic-English Lexicon (New York,1865), Book I, pt. 2:407. 6 Wehr, H. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, ed. J. M. Cowan, 4th edition (Wiesbaden, 1994), 119. 7 Amar, Z. The Locust in Jewish Tradition (Jerusalem, 2004), 16. 8 Bodenheimer, F. S. On Locust (Tel Aviv, 1952), 20-1.

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tive humidity).9 The temperature of the soil is more important than that of the air. A mature locust requires a temperature that will guarantee a body heat of 40 degrees Celsius during 8-12 hours a day, and a certain level of dampness. Small changes in quantity or timing of the rains will have an immediate impact on the development of Locust.10 If eggs are laid in moist and soft earth, in optimal humidity and temperature, the larva will hatch within three weeks. The eggs may remain in the soil for a long time before hatching. ʿImād al-Dīn (d. 1202) describes such case in the mid twelfthcentury: And in this year (547/1152-1153) there was locust in Mosul, al-Jaziraْ and َ ‫ق‬ � ) in � Damascus and it remained seven years and there was a famine ( ‫ح��ط‬ Diyār Bakr. (ʿImād al-Dīn, al-Bustān al-jāmiʿa, 369)11

The eggs must come in contact with water at least once before they hatch. The larvae eat whatever lays in their way. The period of growth lasts 40-50 days and a mature locust lives 198 days.12 Severe heat or cold weather will prevent the females from laying eggs, and destroy the eggs if they have already been laid. Swarms will number millions and even billions. An average size locust cloud covers ten square kilometers. But locust clouds that cover 250 square kilometers have been known. The wind force determines the direction of flight as well as the distance; swarms are known to have flown 5-130 km or more a day. The winds during the migration season move the locust clouds from East Africa to the northeast regions of the Red Sea and further north to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq. They will usually arrive in Israel and Syria in winter or spring just before the wheat and barley are harvested. On Friday 5th a strong wind blew in Cairo and its surroundings. Many date palms fell and a number of houses were swept away. Many ships sank. A group of people were killed below the rubble and it was a terrifying night. In this month [Shawal-May 770/1369] the Mudar (‫ )�م�د ر‬locust entered Syria. And a great number of mice were to be found in the granaries. And the plague spread. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 3, pt. 1:171-2) 9 Ibid., 28. 10 Ibid., 33. َ ْ‫ق‬ � )-may also mean � 11 Also mentioned by Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz, vol. 6:560. qaḥṭ ( ‫ح��ط‬ drought. 12 Amar, Locust, 14-20.

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The only forces able to slow or stop locust are low temperatures and slow winds. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. The winter of 1316 is noted as exceptionally cold by a number of chroniclers, and yet a swarm of locust arrived in Diyār Bakr (southeast Turkey). The density of the population and the need for food are the main cause for migration. Locusts eat almost every type of plant and can devour huge crops in short periods of time, causing agricultural catastrophes. They feed at a rate of four bites per second when feeding continuously.13 In Libya (1944), 7 million vines were destroyed; Sudan (1954), 55 thousand tons of grain were destroyed. In Ethiopia (1958) 167 thousand tons of grain, enough to feed about one million people, vanished. A cloud of locust numbering between 40-80 million will consume 80-240 tons of plants in one day.14 A swarm will consume over-night an amount of vegetation equal to the weight of the entire swarm (the weight of a locust = 1-2 gr).15 They are insatiable eaters of vegetation throughout their young and adult life.16 The damage to cereals is irreversible. Orchards may take years to recover (Figure 7.2).17 In ancient and early modern times farmers fought locust with noise, fire or smoke, plowing the land in order to expose the eggs to sunshine or digging trenches driving the locust into them and burying them.18 But there was little one could do, and in most cases the locust won. When a region was “attacked” by three swarms of locusts in less than five months, farms were left in complete ruin. During the spring and early summer of 1401 the area between Ghaza to the Euphrates was struck by locusts three times. On the second Sha’ban 803 (March 1401) many locusts arrived in Damascus and remained for days. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 3, pt. 3: 1056) Flour became expensive [in Damascus]. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 3:1058) On Monday 23 Shawwal 803 [May 1401] locusts came to Damascus. There were so many that the sun could not be seen. They destroyed much of the plants in the whole of Syria until no green was to be found neither tree nor anything else. From Ghaza to the Euphrates. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 3, pt. 3: 1064) In Dhū al-Qaʿda [June 1401] came to Damascus a different [type] a wandering (‫ )رح�ل‬locusts. And trouble became greater. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk 3, pt. 3: 1065) 13 Chapman, R. F. The Insects, Structure and Function, 4th edition (Cambridge, 1998), 20. 14 Amar, Locust, 22. 15 Costa, M. Insects Anti Man (Tel Aviv, 1978), 26; Amar, Locust, 22. 16 Richards, O. W. Imms’ General Textbook of Entomology, 10th edition (New York, 1977), vol. 2:551. 17 Amar, Locust, 24. 18 Ibid., 29.

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Figure 7.2: Members of Kibbutz Saad swipingat swarms of locust with sheets

An interesting case of fighting locust by using an early form of biological pest control is described by Maqrīzī: And in 25 Dhū al-Qaʿda (July 1365) the barid (pony express) arrived at Damascus from the eastern district and in his water bottle there was water from ‘Ain Hnak. What is special was that he [the post rider] was followed by birds named samrmar ... and …. they ate the locusts .... and the locusts had spread through the region of Damascus and caused damage to the fields. ‫ن‬ ‫��ل � غ���ا ا � �ش‬ The amir Mankalī Bghā al-Shamsī ( ‫ل�����م��سى‬ ‫ )�م�� ك�ى ب‬governor of Syria sent to have some of this water brought over. When it arrived there came with it to Damascus many samrmar and they destroyed what there was of the locusts, until none were left. They left the water bottle hanging in that place. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 1:101)

Although the existence of mature locust and the development of the larvae depend on favorable weather conditions, they arrived in cold wet weather, during years of drought and during years of plenty (Map 7.1 and Figure 7.1). Locusts were no doubt one of the greatest hazards to the medieval agricultural world. They are great destroyers in their very own right, but what seems to have made many of these locust plagues worse is the fact that in several cases they were accompanied by other various disasters (see below), which intensified the already existing agricultural crisis, turning food shortage into famine.

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Locusts, Mice and Plague In the same year, 1120 of the incarnation of the Lord, the kingdom of Jerusalem, because of our sins, was afflicted with many troubles. In addition to the injury caused by the enemy (the battle with Il-Ghazi), swarms of locusts fell upon the land, and a scourge of devouring mice, for four successive years, so completely destroyed the crops that it seemed as if the whole world would lack bread. (William of Tyre, 1, Book 11: 535).

While locust eat whatever is growing in the fields, orchards and grazing areas, mice will also make their way into domestic and central granaries. Thus the combination of the two could demolish the population’s entire food supplies. Locust and Drought This year (621/1224-1225) the rains were sparse in the lands. None came until February (Subāṭ). Then they came at scattered times over a short period but not sufficient to irrigate the crops. The crops grew sparsely and then they were attacked by locusts. There was not enough [natural] vegetation in the country to keep the locust busy, so they consumed all but little of the crops. They were numerous, more than could possibly be counted. Prices rose in Iraq, Mosul and in the rest of the Jazīra and Diyār Bakr and elsewhere. Foodstuffs were in short supply, although the scarcity was worse in Mosul and the Jazīra. (Ibn al-Athīr, (Richards) Kāmil, 3:250)

Locusts, Drought and Hailstones This year (1226) no rain fell in Mosul and most of the Jazīra from the 5 Shubāṭ [February] until 12 Nīsān [April]. Nothing occurred according to custom but a little rain then fell in some of the villages and the crops were sparse. Then many locusts appeared and people’s hardships increased. Prices had moderated a little but because of the great number of locusts they rose again. Further more, in most villages large hailstones fell which ruined and destroyed what people had sown …. Nevertheless the hail killed many animals and at the close of the year the famine still continued, most severely in Mosul. (Ibn al-Athīr, (Richards) Kāmil, 3:281)

Two Swarms of Locust and a Severe Heat Wave The two swarms of locusts coincided with an extraordinary heat wave. They arrived just as the summer fruits were ripening. The wheat and barley

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fields may have been saved as harvest takes place in June. The damage was mainly to fruit trees. Locusts hit Syria: in this year (1301) God released locusts upon Syria. In some areas, the great number of locusts were devastating. They ruined fruits, trees, grapes, and figs. This occurred in Buṣrā, Zur, and the suburbs of Damascus. There were many reports of damage in Shawwāl (June 1302). The heat was so intense that the trees lost their leaves. [Then the locusts] came back in Dhū al-Qaʿda (July 1302) to hit the Ghūṭa area in the suburb of Damascus. There is no power and no strength save God! (Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo) vol.1: 207)

Locust and a Severe Cold Winter The following description given by Nuwayrī (d. 1332), is of the horrendous famine that struck the regions of south east Turkey and large parts of Iraq in 716/1316; the causes of this famine were the severe cold winter, strong winds and floods that caused incredible damage to agriculture and property. The previous winter and the following winter were just as extreme.19 Wheat and barley harvests must have suffered severely hence the high prices throughout the region. In Diyār Bakr, Mosul, Mardin, al-Jazira …. prices rose, the people left and the land was laid waste. Children were sold. In Mardin many died and the prices rose. In the Jazira the price of children fell from 50 dirham to 10 ... In the Jazira and Mayyāfārīqīn the streets were empty … The dead were being eaten, there was a smell of death, stray dogs and empty houses. In Sangar and Baghdad the situation was not as acute. The reason for the rise in prices was the severe winter that destroyed many of the date palms and the arrival of locusts in Diyār Bakr. (Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, 32:284)

Palm trees were an important part of the diet and the agriculture economy throughout the region. The loss of palm trees described above was due to the cold temperature that destroy the terminal bud at the top part of the tree. If the bud freezes the tree, in most cases, will die. The swarm of locust that descended on Diyār Bakr was clearly not the cause of this famine, it merely worsened the already difficult situation. Matters in the early twentieth century were much the same and methods of dealing with a swarm of locust hardly changed or improved. Probably the worst locust wave in the region occurred during the First World 19 For the winter of 714-5/1315 see Nuwayrī, Nihāyat 32:231. For the winter of 1316 see also Ṣafadī Muḥammad, Nuzhat al-Malik, 231-4. For the winter of 717/1317-18 see Abū’l-Fidā’, Syrian Prince, 73 and Maqrīzī, Sulūk, vol. 2, pt 1:171.

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War, it lasted eight months (March to October 1915). The vast cloud of locust was so dense some said it blotted the sun in mid afternoon. Luckily both wheat and barley were harvested before the locust arrived. Food in Palestine were already in short supply due to the war, the swarm of locust brought matters to an extreme. The population was panic stricken. The vegetation throughout the region was destroyed. Vines, citrus and olive groves were demolished; even Eucalyptus trees were stripped bare. Rabbis in Jerusalem conducted special prayers to try and remove the swarm, and ordered the community to fast. The Turkish governor, Djemal Pasha ordered each man between the age of 15 and 60 to collect 20 kg each of locust eggs. Those who did not obey were fined. It was an impossible task. A few weeks later the eggs hatched and the region was covered with a thick layer of larvae. A year later (1916) the country was struck once again by swarms of Red Locust.20 Today international organizations such as “Desert Locust Control Organization for East Africa” and the “United Nation Food and Agriculture Organization” have survey teams that warn farmers across East Africa and the Middle East. Although locust outbreaks are quite rare, some regions have seen the return of locusts in recent years (1986 East Africa). The last large scale locust plague in the Levant occurred in 1959. Small swarms arrived in southern Israel in 2004, but caused no damage.21 Table 7.1: Waves of locust in the 12th-15th centuries Year and weather conditions

Geographical region

Source

1

1114 (April, May)

Locusts came from the region Walter the Chancellor’s, The of Arabia, flying into the land of Antiochene Wars, 173-4 Jerusalem

2

1120

Kingdom of Jerusalem

William of Tyre, 1, Book 11:535

4

1146/7

Iraq

Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil, 11:118

5

1147 (May)

Salkhad, Bosra

William of Tyre, 2, Book 16:150-1

6

1152-3 drought in Diyār Bakr

Mosul, Jazira and Damascus. It remained 7 years. Famine in Diyār Bakr

ʿImād al-Dīn, al Bustan al-jamia, 369; Ibn al-Dawādārī, Kanz, 6:560

20 Gariyevski, P.B. The Locust in Israel 1838-1919 (Jerusalem, 1928), 6-10. 21 Amar, Locust, 33-36.

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Table 7.1: Continued Year and weather conditions

Geographical region

Source

7

1174-5 drought

In the east

Ibn al-Dawādāri, Kanz, 7, 57

8

1223-4

Iraq, Jazira, Diyār Bakr and Syria

Maqrīzī, sulūk (Beirut, 1997), 1, 334; Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:245

9

1224-5 drought

Iraq, Jazira, Diyār Bakr and Syria

Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:250

10 1226 drought

Mosul and most of the Jazīra

Ibn al-Athīr, Kāmil (Richards), 3:281

11 1274

Baghdad

Bar Hebrauos, 1:450

12 1280

Armenia and Cyprus

Tomas Rymer, Foedera I 188-9. In Prawer, A History of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, vol. 2:5067, note 59 [Hebrew]

13 1302 (June) intense heat

Syria, Buṣrā and Zur

Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo) vol.1:207

14 1302 (July)

Damascus (Ghūṭa)

Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo) vol.1:207

15 1316 cold winter

Diyār Bakr

Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, 32:284

16 1363-4

Syria, Damascus

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 1:92

17 1369

Syria, Damascus

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 1:171

18 1401 (March) Syria Damascus

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 3:1056

19 1401 (May)

Ghaza to the Euphrates

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 3:1064

20 1401 (June)

Damascus

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 3, pt. 3:1065

21 1437

Egypt

Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 4, pt. 2:1046

Table summary: Syria (11). Iraq, Mosul and Baghdad (7); The Jazira (4) Diyār Bakr (4). There is a very slight difference in the number of locust waves in each century. The twelfth century had five waves of locusts recorded. Both the thirteenth and the fourteenth had six each while the fifteenth century had four. The fourteenth century saw less of these locust swarms because

Map 7.1: Waves of locusts in the medieval Levant

i-Iraq b-Basra m- Mosul d-Dyiar Bakir j-Jazira da-Damascus s-Syria bo-Bosra ty-Tyre jr-Jerusalem e-Egypt sh-Sharqiyya ae-K. Armenians c-Cyprus

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of the rise in rainfall, colder winters and springs, or possibly a change in the pattern of the winds responsible for depositing many of these swarms in the Levant. The only consolation that came with this hazard was that they were turned into a high protein dish, and as they arrived in huge numbers there was never any shortage. Both nomadic and sedentary communities, Jews, Christians and Muslims had incorporated them into their cuisine in times of food shortages. Their food values are remarkable and are an important addition to people with poor diets. The protein values vary—56.7 percent in male and 42.3 percent in female. Their fat contents is 2.6-3.3 percent depending on the stage reached in their life cycle. Desert locusts are rich in calcium, sulphur and iron. They also have a reasonably high number of mineral salts that are important to populations that are under nourished.22 Locusts have been part of the diet in the Middle East since antiquity; and were served at banquets in the palaces of the great kings of Assyria. Skewers of locusts are depicted in relief on the walls of the palace of Sennacherib (704-681 Bc) at Ninveh. Although the local nomadic tribes and farming population may have supplemented their diet with locust in times of food shortage, the taste buds of the medieval rulers seems to have changed and this grasshopper was no longer served as a delicacy in banquets of sultans or Frankish kings. The strict diet laws of Judaism and Islam list them as kosher-khalal. According to ḥadīth (oral traditions, which are attributed to the Prophet) collected by Ibn Majah (b. 825) The Prophet said: “Two types of dead meat and two types of blood have been made lawful for your consumption: fish and locust, liver and spleen”.23 Other traditions reveal that the Prophet ate them while on military expeditions. One way of preserving them was by drying and salting them, which allowed households to store them for a considerable length of time. But they were also boiled in salt water, roasted, toasted, smoked and fried. The travelers who frequented the Levant and Egypt in the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries still described locusts as part of the local diet.24

22 Bodenheimer, S. Insects as Human Food (The Hague, 1951), 33-4. 23 Bodenheimer, S. Problems of Vole Populations in the Middle East, Report on the Population Dynamics of the Levant Vole (Jerusalem, 1949), 6; Robson, J. “The transmission of Ibn Majah’s ‘Sunan’,” Journal of Semitic Studies 3 (1958):129-132. 24 Bodenheimer, Insects, 213-14. Bodenheimer quotes a large number of travel diaries that reveal the different methods of preparing locusts.

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As much as 35 percent of world crops today are damaged by rodents.25 Rodent outbreaks are sudden and irregular. This phenomenon remains one of the greatest enigmas in the field of animal ecology.26 Although several explanations for these occurrences are known, outbreaks cannot be predicted and the rise and fall in rodent populations cannot always be explained. Fluctuations in the quantity and availability of food will influence the size of the population and may well lead to outbreaks. The existence and number of predators is an important factor. A break in the food chain and the disappearance of the main predator can have a substantial impact; a good example is given below. And after one year (1077) a great war broke out in Syria between the troops of the Turkmans and the Egyptians, and famine and pestilence clung close to the operation, especially in Damascus, for with the exception of an exceedingly small number, all its inhabitants perished. Only three thousand souls remained in it, whereas formerly the population had been three hundred thousand. There were only two bakers whereas formerly there had been two hundred and forty … And there was very little food, and the mice (or, rats) increased over men because of the lack of weasels which had already been eaten up. (Bar Hebraeus, Chronography, vol. 1:225-6)

Genetic changes in a species and extreme changes in the weather are also known to influence the number of rodents. In Europe, during medieval and early modern times there were on average three outbreaks per century. Elton, one of the most prominent scholars on the subject of rodent dynamics, suggested that the biggest outbreaks coincided with other environmental disasters.27 Population densities in times of outbreaks can, at their peaks, become 1000 times higher than at the lows of the cycles.28 Other than the outbreak of 1077, the ten waves of mice that are recorded during the period under discussion are concerned with damage to crops and granaries.

25 Aram, I. “The dynamics of rodent populations in agricultural regions,” MA thesis The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1999), 2. 26 Łomnicki, A. “Why do populations of small rodents cycle? A new hypothesis with numerical model,” Evolutionary Ecology 9 (1995):64. 27 Elton, C. Voles, Mice and Lemmings, Problems in Population Dynamics (Oxford, 1942), 1; Krebs, C. J. and Myers, J. H. “Population cycles in small mammals,” Advances in ecological research 8 (1974): 269-71; Aram, “Dynamics of rodents,” 5. 28 Łomnicki, “A new hypothesis,” 64.

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Wheat growing regions are a natural habitat for rodents. The Levant vole (Microtus guentheri) and its subspecies are responsible for most of the agriculture damage (Figure 7.3).

Figure 7.3: Levant Vole

Detailed descriptions of mice outbreaks are already mentioned in the Old Testament (Samuel, I, 4). The Greek philosopher, Aristotle obviously thought the vole an interesting enough creature and dedicated a detailed description of their habits and life cycle.29 The Levant vole breeds at an extraordinary rate turning it, from the farmers’ point of view, into an almost unbeatable enemy. Voles may have four or three litters per year, during spring and early summer, each litter numbering from 1-12 young.30 The other rodent mentioned in contemporary sources is the rat. The most common among the Levant rats is Rattus rattus which is also found in many different climates round the world due to its omnivorous habits. It will give birth to a litter of 8-12 young, four or five times a year. It is one of the most widespread agricultural pests. A vivid account of a wave of rats that infested the city of Dujayl (near by Baghdad) is given by Ibn al-Athīr: This year (614/1217-1218) there were many rats in the town of Dujayl in the district of Baghdad. A man was not able to sit down without having a stick to keep the rats away. Great numbers of them were clearly to be seen, following one another. This year the Tigris rose greatly in a way that had never been witnessed in olden days. Baghdad was on the brink of inundation. The vizier, the emirs and all the notables rode out and gathered a great crowd of the common people and others to work on the dykes around the city. The people were anxious and very disturbed. Looking destruction in the face. They made ready boats to save themselves. The caliph made a public appearance and urged on the work. One of the things he said to them was, “If what I see could be bought off with money or anything else, I would do 29 Bodenheimer, F. S. “Aristotle the father of animal ecology,” in Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Barcelona, 1954), vol. 1:177-8. 30 Bodenheimer, Problems of Vole, 9.

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chapter seven it, but God’s decree is not to be averted.” The water rose up from drains and wells on the east side and much of it was flooded. (Ibn al-Athīr (Richards), Kāmil, 3:182)

In most cases cereals suffered greater damage than other crops, but sugar cane and dates were occasionally given preference especially by mice. Date groves give little shelter exposing rodents to animals and birds of prey; wheat and barley fields, on the other hand, provide cover and protection.31 During the 1931 outbreak in the Jesrael valley, losses reached 50 percent in wheat fields. The only way to save the crop was to harvest it as early as possible, and turn over the earth with a deep plow that will destroy their burrows.32 During the 1985 outbreak of mice (microtus socialis guentheri) in the Golan, the population reached 1000 mice per dunam! The average regular numbers of mice per dunam is between 100-200.33 Both the Golan and the Horan were badly plagued by mice in 1261. The Horan was well known as one of the most important grain growing regions. Syria, which at the time, was gradually being incorporated into the Mamluk sultanate, was caught with low grain supplies. And in this year (659/1261) a multitude of mice set against the crops in the Horan the Jolan and its surrounding region and what they consumed was estimated at a total of 300,000 sacks (ghirara) of flour other than barley, and the price of a ghirara of flour rose to 400 dirham in Damascus.... And the Franks imported grain and brought it to the Muslim regions. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 139-140)

The Franks’ cooperation with the Mamluk sultan, in this particular case, was a clear sign of weakness. The shortage of grain in the Muslim territories in Syria was an opportunity to make a profit and offer help—a quite acknowledgment of the new political and military regional power. When the sultan went towards Syria, Sir John de Ibelin, the count of Jaffa, sent a messenger offering submission and bringing provisions. The sultan and some of the amirs had sent a huge amount of barley and flour by sea from Damietta to Jaffa. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 135)

31 Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 1, pt.1:45-6. In an experiment conducted by Eithan Aram, mice (Mus musculus) population was highest in wheat fields. Date palms came second and corn fields had the lowest population count. “Dynamics of rodents,” 18, 23-4, 44. 32 Bodenheimer, Problems of vole, 60-64, 68. 33 Alon, A. Ed. Plants and animals of the land of Israel (Tel Aviv, 1987), vol 7, Mammals: 99-101. Dunam = 1000x1000 meter approximately a quarter of an acre.

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The imported grain was quickly transferred and sold in Muslim lands. The potential profit to be made by the Franks was no doubt high. In later years, once the Mamluk régime was established it became better organized; grain was controlled and stored by the sultans.34 The situation required further diplomatic steps to secure grain imports and their safe transfer by land and sea to regions in Syria. At the same time prices rose in Syria, because most of the imports used to come from Frankish territories. So peace was concluded on the same terms that had existed up to the end of the reign of al-Malik al-Nāṣir,35 and providing that prisoners taken since that time until the time of the treaty should be set free. The Frankish ambassadors set out with them to receive the term of the treaty for themselves, and in the same way a treaty was fixed with the Count of Jaffa and the governor of Beirut …. The roads became safe and imports increased. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 135)

The diplomatic cooperation between the sultan and the Franks ended soon after Syria recovered from the plague of mice and the swarm of locust. During the mid 1260s, Baybars resumed the aggressive policy against the Franks and conquered several of the Crusader towns along the Palestinian littoral. Frequent summer showers encourage breeding conditions, the moist soil allowing mice to burrow with ease; food is in abundance as cereals are ready to be harvested. Such conditions may be the cause of a sudden and considerable rise in the number of mice. The results will be apparent 3-5 months after the rain. The population of mice may remain high for as long as 18 months.36 In 1120 when both locust and mice devoured the crops throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to William of Tyre, the mice stayed for four consecutive years. Long droughts will usually curb the breeding of mice and rats, while heavy continuous rains or floods that prolong the growth of grasses will cause outbreaks. Their numbers will decline gradually once the rains stop and the grasses slowly disappear.37

34 See chapter on Famines and Droughts. 35 al-Malik al Nāṣir Yūsuf, (d. 1259) previous Ayyubid ruler of Aleppo and Damascus. 36 Newsome, A. E. and Corbett, L. K. “Outbreaks of rodents in semi-arid and arid Australia: Causes, preventions and evolutionary considerations,” in Rodents in Desert Environments (The Hague, 1975), 131. Although the research was conducted in Australia it partly took place in regions that are defined as having a Mediterranean climate (dry summers, wet winters). 37 Newsome and Corbett, “Outbreaks of rodents,” 137-40.

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Although Bodenheimer found it difficult to pin point the exact metrological factors that lead to outbreaks, he was convinced that the cause for these outbreaks is related to changes in the weather. Low temperatures (below 3 Celsius) will reduce their activity.38 Severe winters will usually lead to high mortality. It is important to note that while outbreaks develop gradually, their decline occurs in a relatively short period.39 Most regions along the Nile suffered from a high number of rodents. The white bellied mouse (Mus musculus gentilis) makes its home in towns and villages along the Nile Valley. It depends on human habitation for its survival. The Nile Rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) is limited to the Nile Valley and irrigated farms which are situated near the river. They can also be found in relatively dry areas where the tall grass provides good cover.40 Manfalūṭ, located on the central section of the Nile, was robbed of its crops in 738/1337. In Manfalūṭ, a plague of mice destroyed both crops and seeds and food supplies in storage. The sultan in this particular case lost 60,000 irdab. The Nile floods were late and came with great force causing severe damage to grain storage. (Maqrīzī, Sulūk, 2: 454-6)

In most cases both insects and rodents won the battle leaving behind them bare fields. On many occasions the vast scale of the disaster was such that rulers could do very little to assist the population. In some cases aid was shipped from one region to another but mostly farmers were left to fend for themselves. The crisis of 1120, described by William of Tyre, was caused by a combined wave of locust and mice, which swept through the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. William clearly conveys the magnitude of this event. In the same year, 1120 of the incarnation of the Lord, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, because of our sins, was afflicted with many troubles. In addition to the injury caused by the enemy (the battle with Il-Ghazi), swarms of locusts fell upon the land, and a scourge of devouring mice, for four successive years, so completely destroyed the crops that it seemed as if the whole world would lack bread. (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 11: 535)

William does not appear to be exaggerating; his fear is not displayed in order to dramatize the event; both crops in the field and the cereal in storage were lost. The first person to take action was the patriarch of Jerusalem. 38 Aram, “Dynamics of rodents”, 63. 39 Bodenheimer, Problems of Vole, 56-7. 40 Happold, D. C. D. “The Ecology of rodents in the Northern Sudan,” in Rodents in Desert Environment, ed. I. Prakash and P. K. Ghosh (The Hague, 1975), 31.

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Gormond, the patriarch of Jerusalem, a devout and religious man, went to Nablus, a city of Samaria, where he was joined by King Baldwin, the prelates of the church, and the nobles of the realm. A public meeting and general assembly was called at which Gormond preached an admonitory sermon to the people. (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 11: 535-536)

Baldwin II chose a more practical line of action. The king obviously, had little or no grain to distribute or sell in order to ease the food shortage; he thus did his best by relieving the burden on traders and merchants who dealt in foodstuff. This edict he ordered confirmed by a document sealed with the royal seal, that it might be valid forever. Thereafter, no Latin who entered or left the city, whether he brought in or carried out goods, should be compelled to pay anything under any pretext whatever, but was to have the privilege of buying and selling without tax. Moreover to the Syrians, Greeks, Armenians, and all men of whatever nation, even the Saracens, he gave the free privilege of carrying into the Holy City without tax wheat, barley, and any kind of pulse. He even remitted the customary tax on weights and measures. By this action, he conciliated the people and gained the good will of the populace. For in kingly fashion and with praiseworthy affection, he seems to have provided for the good of the citizens in two respects. First, he caused the city to be more bountifully supplied with provisions by arranging that they could be brought in from outside without tax; secondly, following the example of his predecessor, he made every effort to increase the population of the city beloved of God. (William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 11: 537-8)

Though small and quiet, locust and rodents were periodically a real threat, leaving vast sections of the population with little or no food, and on the verge of famine. In recent decades many orchards throughout the Galilee, the Low Land and the Jordan Valley have been guarded by barn owls (Tyto alba)—a nocturnal predator that feeds on a variety of rodents. Nesting boxes are built and maintained by farmers in order to keep the number of rodents under control and reduce the quantity of pesticides.41 Although today there are many different solutions to control and protect fields and orchards, it took centuries for farmers to secure their crops and harvest most of what they had planted and sowed.

41 Barn owls will hunt over 2000 rodents during the nesting season, which stretches over approximately three months. Bahat, O. and Leshem, Y. Owls in Israel (Tel-Aviv, 1991), 71-3, 87-93; Meyrom, K., Motro, Y., Leshem, Y., Aviel, S., Izhaki, I., Argyle, F. and Charter, M. “Nest-box use by the Barn Owl Tyto alba in a biological pest control program in the Beit She’an valley, Israel,” Ardea 4 (2009):433-467.

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Part four

Dearth, crisis and violence

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climate, political stability and military strength

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Chapter Eight

Climatic fluctuations, political stability and military strength Each environmental disaster presents an almost independent case study. There is no clear pattern of behavior or policy that rulers followed. In some cases a regional crisis triggered an intense period of raiding, but none led to large-scale wars. In a number of cases, when long droughts and severe earthquakes threatened the entire region or even part of it, quick diplomatic solutions were negotiated. Although the information is limited, the severe food shortage in 1120 described by William of Tyre, gives a clear picture of how matters developed, whether in the Crusader Kingdom or the Muslim Sultanate. The wave of rodents and swarms of locust that prayed upon the crops and granaries of the Crusader Kingdom in 1120 display the ruler’s weakness, and the general vulnerability of life throughout the medieval Levant. William of Tyre reveals the despair and fear of the local population “it seemed as if the whole world would lack bread.”1 He does not inform his readers how matters developed and one can only assume that many people starved. King Baldwin II maintained his crown and the kingdom’s affairs were neither disturbed nor influenced by this food crisis. While most rulers did little or nothing at all to secure their people’s existence, some distributed food and reduced taxes in order to hasten their country’s recovery. As pointed out by Post, it seems that a measure of public welfare and charity organized by the ruler and the elite was enough to dampen protest in the large cities.2 Few rulers appear to have been able to provide shelter and food for their subjects in times of severe crisis. In many, if not most environmental disasters, the thousands of people that suffered from famine or lost their homes were simply left to fend for themselves. When it came to finding a solution for a fast developing crisis, there were rulers who chose diplomacy. This included signing emergency treaties that allowed them to purchase grain from neighboring regions, plead1 William of Tyre, vol. 1, Book 11: 535. 2 Post, J. D. The Last Great Subsistence Crisis in the Western World (Baltimore and London, 1977), 75.

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ing with the enemy not to destroy the meagre crops, which characterized years of low rainfall, or negotiating with the enemy to permit them to sow new crops. In this month (Ṣafar 662/December 1263) the Franks asked the deputies of the sultan for permission to put the lands (of Syria) under cultivation and sow them with a large quantity of grain. A treaty was concluded with them lasting up to the harvest time. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 203)

In 664/1266 Mamluk-Armenian negotiations took place after two years (1262-1264) of Armenian raids into northern Syria. By 1266 the Mamluks had strengthened their control over this region. Following the gradual change in the balance of power, the Armenian king, Hetʿum sued for peace. He offered to surrender and pay tribute to the Mamluk sultanate. In return Baybars agreed to open the trade routes between Syria and Cilicia and make safe the transport of food supplies to the Armenian Kingdom.3 Long-term planning and sound decisive diplomatic moves could, if not prevent the crisis, lessen the damage and reduce the suffering and death toll. It is interesting to note that even in years where there were no signs of food shortage, rulers inserted clauses in treaties demanding grain be delivered as part of the agreement. These clauses appear alongside territorial demands, the exchange of prisoners and negotiation over tax payments. During Aimery’s campaigns in Egypt, while Cairo was besieged, Shawar the Fatimid vizier, offered payment to the Franks in return for a peaceful solution. Aimery set hard terms. 400,000 dinars, 25 percent to be delivered forthwith, the balance in yearly installments involving a 10 percent surcharge, plus 10,000 irdab of grain to be furnished without delay. This treaty was never completed; the Syrian Muslim forces took Cairo, Shawar was executed and Shirkuh, Saladin’s uncle replaced the Fatimid vizier.4 Burning crops and orchards was often carried out in siege warfare and raids conducted by both Frankish and Muslim armies; and yet there seems to have been some sense of awareness, which differentiates the behaviour of armies in times of crisis caused by droughts, agriculture pests or strong earthquakes. Severe crisis and scarcity of food moved or forced the regional 3 Bar Hebraeus, Chronography, 445. Although no drought as such is reported during the early 1260s there are several reports that suggest that the entire Levant was suffering from food shortage. Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 123, 135, 139-140, 181; Prawer, Latin Kingdom, vol. 2: 443. 4 Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafā’ MS. AS 3013 Istanbul Top Kapu Sarayi fol. 159 v., cited in Ehrenkreutz, Saladin, 53, note 74.

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political entities into a relatively calmer period until the crisis was over. It would be naïve to assume that good will and humanitarian consideration led rulers to seek more peaceful ways to solve immediate evils caused by natural disasters—the fury of God. As in most cases it was usually a question of economic, security and political interests. Food shortage, lack of water and disputes over grazing did not destabilize régimes, nor did they substantially increase the tension between Muslims and Franks. The short-term peace treaties that were signed after environmental disasters did not change the nature of the conflict between the Crusaders and the Muslims; they simply allowed each state the ‘peace of mind’ needed in order to cope with disaster. Similar agreements were signed in modern times; as in the medieval period they too did not change long term policies, but rather helped to reduce the tension for a short period of time. A good example is that of president Nixon’s government. In 1972-1973 The Soviet Union suffered from poor grain harvests due to a harsh winter followed by a dry summer. In the summer of 1972 the American’s sold 25 percent of their grain to the Soviet government (it is important to note that in 1971, America had a bumper crop).5 A three year American-Soviet maritime agreement was signed opening an increasing number of ports to ships from both nations. There were numerous critics but “Nixon’s administration officials hailed the sale as providing markets for U.S. farmers and reducing U.S.-Soviet tensions…”6 Although the 1290s in Cairo saw the rise and fall of five sultans,7 tension in the court and numerous intrigues, none according to Holt, were related to the famine conditions in Egypt or Syria, but rather to the inability of the Mamluks to organize the transmission of rule after the death of a sultan. Or as Holt clearly phrased it “What was lacking in the Mamluk state was effective constitutional machinery.”8 This line of thought is further supported by Gurr who examined conflicts all across the world in the twentieth century, his conclusions were: “Power transition within states have been the principal immediate condition of civil communal warfare past 5 Sobel, L. A. ed. World Food Crisis (New York, 1975), 39-47; Brada, J. C. “The SovietAmerican grain agreement and the national interest,” American Journal of Agriculture Economics, 65, 4 (November 1983):651-6. 6 Sobel, Food Crisis, 41. 7 Al-Ashraf Khalīl 1290-93; al-Nāṣir Muḥamed 1293-1294 (first reign); al-ʿĀdil Ketbugha 1294-1296; al-Manṣūr Lāchīn 1296-1299. 8 Holt, P. M. “The Sultanate of al-Manṣūr Lāchīn (696-8/1296-9),” BSOAS 36 (1973): 532.

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and present.”9 Nevertheless famine conditions no doubt aggravated the situation. Subjects, court officials and the army will show less support for their ruler in times of food shortages. Ibn Taghrī Birdī, writing from a distance of a hundred and eighty two years is the only chronicler that links the two—hunger and political disorder. The deposing of a sultan could only be carried out by a determined group of high ranking Mamluk officers; the local population was seldom involved. During periods of severe food shortages, which were followed by hunger, famine and pestilence, Muslim rulers bid their time and reduced their military activity. None of the large campaigns or battles between the Crusaders and the Ayyubids and later between the Mamluks and the Franks, the Mamluks and Armenians or the Mamluks and the Mongol-Īlkhānid armies took place in years of drought or other severe environmental disasters. The sixty years of Īlkhānid-Mamluk hostility ended in a peace treaty that was signed during a lengthy drought that struck large parts of Syria. The conquest of the Crusader fortress of Vadum Iacob by Saladin in 1179 is one of the few exceptions. In times of drought, maneuvering infantry, cavalry, finding water, food and fodder to maintain large forces meant risking numerous soldiers, horses and pack animals. Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir gives the cost and the amount of grain the sultan needed per unum to maintain his private military force that numbered four thousand men.10 The sultan needs every year, for the exclusive use of himself and his Mamluks, twenty thousand irdabs of grain for the use of the bakery and one thousand irdabs of fodder for his horses. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 107) This year (662/1263-1264), the fodder eaten by the royal horses and camels of the stables was valued, and found to amount to fifty thousand dinars. (Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, Rawḍ (Sadeque), 203)

The use of diplomacy to ease a crisis was seldom applied in the early Mamluk period. It seems the Mamluks could, in most years, grow sufficient grain or purchase it to supplement their needs. The catastrophic hydrological

9 Gurr, T. R. “Peoples against states: ethnopolitical conflict and changing world system,” International Studies Quarterly 38, 3 (September 1993):364. 10 Amitai-Preiss, Mongols, 71-73; Ayalon, “Auxiliary Forces,” 13-37, Ayalon, D. “Studies on the Structure of the Mamluk Army-I The Army Stationed in Egypt”, BSOAS 15 (1953): 204; Ayalon, D. “Studies on the Structure of the Mamluk Army-II, The Ḥalḳa”, BSOAR 16 (1954): 448-466; Ayalon, D. “The Wafidiya in the Mamluk Kingdom,” in Islamic Culture, 25 (1951): 90. [Rpt. in Studies on the Mamluks of Egypt (1250-1517), London, Variorum, 1977, no. II].

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drought that struck Syria, Palestine, the Hijaz and Yemen during 1296-98 was one of the worst the Early Mamluk sultanate experienced: In this year (697/1297-1298) spring wells and rivers in Damascus all dried up. The Thawara River was merely two shibrs, knee deep while the Baradā river ceased to reach the Jisrin. Most farms in Damascus and the country side and grain farms suffered damage. In the Ghuta area most trees died prices of flour soared. (Yūnīnī, Dhayl (Guo) 1:104-105) The rain was late in Damascus and Horan, Nablus, Jerusalem and the villages in most of Syria due to the fact that winter came in Ṣafar 695 (December 1296) and ended in Kanun I (end of December). People [suffered] great shortage and pain. Prices rose to the maximum especially in the Horan, Jerusalem and Nablus. The water dried up ‫ �ق‬in the land of Syria. The seeds � were empty and dry. Drought/hunger (‫ح��ط‬ ) speared in Syria there was little grass and pasture. (Ibn Furāt, Tā’rīkh 8: 210-211)

Large quantities of grain were bought and shipped from Sicily and Constantinople to Egypt. And again the rich were ordered to provide for the poor.11 From all the régimes that ruled in the Levant during the Medieval Warm Period, the early Mamluk sultanate was best organized to cope with droughts. They did not always succeed in preventing famine and combating it, but their efforts were by far greater than those of previous rulers. The increase in arable land, led to larger crop yields. Storage sites located within fortresses were added and grain could be distributed within the sultanate on its safe and well controlled roads. Although the military administration acting on behalf of the sultan both initiated and executed this strategy, and the army had priority to use these stocks on their long-distance campaigns, these stocks of grain were delivered to the urban centers in times of scarcity. Unlike Saladin’s reign in which the army, as well as large section of the population were forced to migrate to Egypt in times of drought in Syria, large waves of migration were rarely witnessed in the Mamluk period. The only migrations reported were from the villages to the large towns and cities where food was distributed. In all fairness one must remember that the climate was more favorable towards farmers in the early Mamluk period. There were altogether fewer droughts. Historical sources, archaeological excavations, and pollen studies indicate agriculture in Europe during the 1100-1300 prospered. Vineyards were cultivated in England and central and northern Europe, attesting to a rise in temperatures. Oats and barley were grown in Greenland and Iceland. 11 Baybars al-Manṣūī, Kitāb al-tuḥfa, 305-6.

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Settlements in Scotland and Scandinavia spread further north into higher altitude regions that had not been settled in pervious centuries.12 While Europe benefited from this rise in temperatures, the Levant experienced a higher number of droughts. When agricultural settlements and the density of population from the eleventh up to the early fourteenth centuries are compared to that of the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods (third to fifth centuries A.D.) in Palestine and Syria the latter appears more prosperous.13 And yet, although the Crusader and later Muslim populations in the Levant may have been smaller, the archaeological remains, contemporary sources and tax records suggest that much of the arable land was cultivated and the kingdom and its principalities were reasonably prosperous.14 When one examines the development of the Crusader kingdom in relation to the climatic fluctuations an interesting picture emerges. The Latin East went through two major territorial changes. The Crusader settlement at its height consisted of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, which included southern Jordan, the region of Karak and Shawbak south east of the Dead Sea. To the north lay the county of Tripoli and the principality of Antioch; north east of the Euphrates lay the county of Edessa. The second phase came after the victory of Saladin at the battle of Hattin (1187). The Crusader kingdom lost Jerusalem and was reduced to a narrow strip along the Palestinian coastal plane. Some of the worst droughts occurred during the first half of the Crusader period when the Latin kingdom was at its height (10991187). The balance of power tilted in favour of the Franks until the last quarter of the twelfth century. The relatively long periods of peace, Frankish military superiority and security enabled villages to farm without being harassed by nomadic tribes or full-scale enemy attacks.15 Due to the kingdom’s acute shortage of man power, it received both military and financial support from European monarchs, the papal court and the wealthy military orders. The latter held large areas of agricultural land in the Levant. The strong links and ties with Europe meant that in times of crop failure and food shortages southern Europe and the Mediterranean islands could be relied upon to ship sufficient supplies of cereals. European funding also 12 Lopaz, R. S. The Birth of Europe, tr. M. Mevorakh, ed. A. Shpitzer (Tel Aviv, 1990), 138. [Hebrew] 13 Benvenisti,Crusaders, 213. 14 Ellenblum, R. Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Cambridge, 1998), 36-8. 15 Benvenisti, Crusaders, 213.

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helped in rebuilding earthquake damage. Although no population estimates are available, one may safely assume that since the Latin East was a fairly small entity, Europe was able to provide the required assistance. If one had an outside supplier of grain, or funding one could safely rely on, a small kingdom could endure periods of environmental disasters. This was true also in the case of Muslim Syria. Once Syria and Egypt were united under Muslim rule, Syria often relied on Egyptian wheat in times of food shortage. The second half of the Crusader period depicts a very different political picture. Although during the period of the Kingdom of Acre (1188-1292) the region saw a significant drop in the number of droughts, matters became considerably more difficult. After the battle of Hattin and the conquest of Jerusalem the capital was shifted to the port of Acre. Most of the region of the Judean hills, the area round Samaria, Nablus and southern Jordan came under Muslim control. For a short while the Franks regained part of their territorial losses through diplomatic negotiations, but by 1247 the kingdom returned to its confined narrow coastal strip.16 Their dependence on imported cereals grew, due to the loss of large tracts of cultivated lands. Political disputes and rivalry within the court, among the barons and the military orders weakened the kingdom’s political, economical and military strength.17 The unification of the Muslim forces began to pose a threat after the battle of Hattin. However under Saladin’s successors the Muslim Levant resembled a loose family federation and the aggressive policy against the Franks, pursued by Saladin was only resumed after 1260 when the Mamluks regime was established.18 The European military aid and financial support, which the kingdom received during the second half of the thirteenth-century hardly matched that of the first hundred years of the kingdom’s existence. The Latin East still received financial aid from the papal court, but the ideology and the faith of people and monarchs in the Crusader kingdom had subsided.19 Thus, although the weather was more favourable in the second half of the thirteenth century the kingdom fared worse. Environmental crisis can be avoided, damage and suffering can be reduced if the political entity is stable and if a reliable outside ally can be found. 16 Prawer, Latin East, vol. 2: 302. 17 Prawer, Latin East, vol. 2: 211- 212, 241-242; Marshal, C. J. Warfare in the Latin East, 1192-1291 (Cambridge, 1996), 19. 18 Marshal, Warfare, 257-261. 19 Prawer, Latin East, vol. 2: 380-381; Marshall, Warfare, 26-28; Housely, N. ed. and tr. Documents on the later Crusades, 1274-1580 (London, 1996), 15-20.

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The Medieval Warm Period that corresponds with some of the strongest seismic activity in the Levant did not lead to dramatic changes in the political, economic or social spheres. It did not cause mass migration, nor is there any evidence of desertion of villages and towns. Periods of crisis sharpened the abilities of rulers to focus on their immediate interests and troubles and strive to reach quick solutions; long debates, arguments, lists of terms and the never ending run of diplomatic embassies appear to have been saved for times of plenty, when buildings stood firm and bellies were full.

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Glossary amīr al-ʿarab-(Arabic) commander of the beduin in the Mamluk army. dhirā’- (Arabic) equals 58 cm. Note that the precise length depended upon the region of the Islamic world. Drought-a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently long to cause serious damage to agriculture and other activities in the affected area. Dry farming-cultivated crops that are not irrigated. Epicenters - the site on the ground surface above the point from which the waves originate, usually many kilometres below the earth’s surface. Famine - A protracted shortage of total food in a restricted geographical area, causing widespread disease and death from starvation Franks- refers to Europeans who settled in the Levant after the first Crusade. Ghirara- (Arabic) a sack of wheat weighing 69.6 kg. iqṭāʿ- pl. iqṭāʿat (Arabic) - Land allocated by the sultan or high ranking amir to soldiers in return for military service. Irdab- (Arabic) 1 Irdab equals 2.500 pounds. Istisqa- (Arabic) rain prayer Marj-a term referring to pasture land or meadow, a wide open tract of land abounding in herbage. Rain-fed agriculture- cultivated crops that depend solely on rain. Seismic waves Earthquake surface waves - seismic waves that follow the earth’s surface only. S and P waves-S waves are the secondary seismic waves, traveling more slowly than the P wave and consisting elastic vibrations transverse to the direction of travel. It can not propagate in liquid. P waves are the primary or fastest waves traveling away from a seismic event through rock and consisting of a train of compressions and dilatations of the material. Raleigh waves contain compressional motion Love waves do not have a compressional motion; they travel at a much slower pace than P and S waves. Their amplitude, however, is larger because they travel close to the Earth’s surface rather than through the main body of the Earth. Soil Salination- caused as water evaporates from the soil, leaving a high percentage of salt and sodium, which are harmful to crops and soil texture. In arid regions sodium ions cause a breakdown of the soil reducing the drainage. ʿurbān or ʿarab -(Arabic) the term used in contemporary medieval sources for nomads of Arab origin.

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209

INDEX Abū’l-Fidā’ 91 Acre 35, 39, 77n13, 86, 118, 138, 146, 193 al-ʿAdil 62, 63, 65, 85, 86, 134, 139, 140, 148, 150-152 Africa (north) 5, 15, 42, 53, 76, 82, 93, 120 Aimery I 129, 135, 140, 155, 188 Aimery II 85, 86 Aleppo 13, 15, 30, 43, 46, 52, 62, 63, 86, 92, 97, 98, 101, 107, 128, 132, 136, 140 Alexandria 15, 39 Algeria 15 Anatolia 118, 139 Antioch 32, 43, 73, 87, 107, 127, 128, 129, 132, 133-134, 136, 138, 192 Armenia 39, 89, 90, 94 ʿArqa 133 Ascalon 35, 61 Al-Ashraf Khalīl 52, 89, 90, 94 Ayyubid 56, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 74, 75, 76, 80, 83, 139, 146, 148, 149, 150, 155, 190 Azerbaijan 140, 5n17 Baalbek 35, 49, 86, 101, 102, 129, 135, 140, 148 Baghdad 5, 14, 39, 49, 109, 108, 173, 175, 179 Baldwin II 29, 183, 187 Baldwin III 129, 133 Baldwin IV 17, 77, 78, 79, 80, 161 Banyas 35, 77, 78, 79, 86, 140 Baqa‘a Valley 35, 114n3, 120 Bar Hebraeus 71, 88, 91 Barley 14, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 41, 46, 58, 60, 61, 71, 76, 92, 100, 169, 172, 173 Baybars 37, 39, 51, 52, 63, 64, 88, 89, 152, 156, 159, 181, 188 Baybars al-Mansūrī 64 Beaufort 37 Beduin 31, 45, 46, 50, 52, 67, 80 Beirut 80, 85, 181 Beit Shan 33 Black wind 41, 42, 43, 97 Cairo 5, 15, 21, 31, 42, 60, 63, 64, 66n42, 70, 85, 90, 91, 92, 94, 97-9, 117, 135, 139, 146, 169, 188, 189 Camels 44, 47, 48, 49, 52, 62 Cannibalism 27, 69, 71, 72, 83, 87, 91, 105

Carrion 69, 71, 76, 85, 88, 91, 96 Cats (eating of) 71, 88, 91, 105 Cereals 81, 82, 98, 99, 170, 180, 181, 182, 192, 193 Cilicia (sea also Armenia) 118, 188 Coast (of Crusader Kingdom) 5, 30, 32, 37, 38, 39, 51, 61, 77, 84, 86, 87, 138, 139, 140, 192-3 Coast (of N. Africa) 15, 82 Coast (of Syria) 5, 16, 17, 51n94, 132, 136 Coast (under Mamluk rule) 64, 85, 87, 90, 97 Cold Spells 9, 55, 66, 87, 88, 90, 96, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 Cotton 69, 80, 94, 190 Crac des Chevaliers (See also Ḥisn al Akrād) 86, 132, 140, 148, 149, 151-153 Crusader Army 134 Crusader (kingdom) 4n15, 5, 10, 25, 30, 33, 35, 37, 51, 56, 61, 74, 75-75, 83, 84, 99, 118, 133, 135, 139, 159, 161, 182, 187, 192, 193 Cyprus (Kingdom) 37, 39, 40, 61, 86, 139, 140 Damascus 13, 15, 30, 31, 33, 42, 64, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 86, 90, 92, 96, 97, 99, 103, 108, 110, 127, 129, 130, 132, 134, 135, 140, 148, 149, 150, 169, 170, 173, 178, 180, 191 Dead Sea 11, 18, 32, 101, 103, 118 Dead Sea Transform (fault) 118, 120, 121, 123, 143 Diyar-Bakr 25, 26 Dog (eating of) 71, 88, 91, 105, 173 Drought 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 13, 15, 18- 21, 25-27, 31-33, 39, 41-43, 45, 46, 48 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, 62, 64, 66-70, 73-77, 78-87, 88, 90, 91-4, 95-100, 104, 105, 107, 140, 162, 171, 181, 187, 188, 190-2, 193 Dry farming 15, 29 Dust (storms and devils) 41, 43, 92, 107, 140 Earthquake 1114 127 Earthquake 1156 132 Earthquake 1170 129, 131, 134, 135, 136, 149, 150, 152 Earthquake 1202 86, 138, 139, 140, 148, 149, 150, 152, 153, 155, 161

210

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Edessa (Crusader County) 25, 29, 32, 127, 129, 135, 192, 135, 192 Egypt 4, 5, 13, 15, 21, 25, 31, 35, 40, 41, 42, 45, 52, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 71, 75, 76, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91-2, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98-100, 103, 105, 139, 140, 146, 159, 169, 178, 188, 189, 191, 193 Epidemics 50, 66, 84, 85, 90, 95, 105 Euphrates 4, 5, 14, 15, 29, 88, 101, 102, 108, 170 Famine 2, 21, 25, 26, 27, 29, 42, 46, 49, 55, 56, 61, 62, 64-5, 66, 67, 68, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93, 94, 97, 100, 105, 140, 169, 171, 172, 173, 178, 191 Famine foods 71, 177 Flood 9, 14, 55, 85, 93, 96, 101, 102, 104 Food shortage 26, 40, 43, 46, 51, 52, 53, 56, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 71, 74-75, 80, 82, 83, 87, 88, 89, 92, 95, 99-100, 105, 171, 183, 187, 190, 191, 192, 193 Frogs 108 Fustāt 35, 64, 146 Gabala 136, 183, 187, 188, 189, 19, 191, 193 66, 67, 68, 74, 75, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 88, 89, 91, 94, 97, 98, 99, 170, 180, 181, 182 Galilee 11, 35, 37 Germin 17 Ghab Depression 118 Ghaza 39, 170 Ghazan 98 Ghūta 49, 150, 173, 191 Goats 39, 44, 47, 52, 58-60, 69, 75, 94, 110, 159 Grain 13, 21, 31, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 Granary 39, 52, 58-60, 75, 159 Greece 35, 66, 149 Gulf of Aqaba 118, 120 Gulf of Iskenderun 118 Gulf of Suez 120 Haboob 208 Hailstones 9, 55, 56, 88, 96, 106, 108, 110, 172 al-Hakim 60 Hama 14, 30, 46, 86, 91, 110, 134, 135, 136, 140, 148 Hawran 30, 31, 35, 49, 144 Hebron 35, 39, 147 Herds 29, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 68, 77, 78, 81, 90, 94, 96 Hims 13, 15, 46, 86, 110, 134, 136, 140, 148, 152

Hisn al-Akrad 110, 133 (see also Crac des Chevaliers) Horses 46-7, 49, 52, 78, 94, 95, 149, 190, 208 Hudna 38, 89 Hulla Valley 33, 121 Hunger 27, 66, 73, 84, 85, 92, 190, 191 Hunin 37 Ifrīqiya 25, 82, 83 Ighāthah 21 ‘Imād al-Dīn Zengi 129 Iraq 39, 41, 49, 50, 76, 81, 87, 96, 107, 108, 109, 118, 120, 129, 135, 139, 169, 172, 173 Jaffa 37, 85, 86, 180, 181 Jazira 13, 14, 25, 26, 41, 42, 76, 81, 96, 118, 140, 169, 173, 175 Jericho 33 Jerusalem 37, 39, 61, 62, 83, 84, 85, 87, 92, 93, 119, 128, 129, 135, 139, 145, 146, 161, 172, 174, 182-3, 191, 192, 193 Jezreel Valley 4, 35 John II Comnenus 129 John de Iblin 180 Kafar Tab 133 Karak 31, 32, 46, 51, 52, 64, 92, 99, 149, 159, 192 Khamsin 42, 43 Khilat 25 Lamb, H. H. 9, 40 Latakia 13, 39, 97 Libya 92, 93, 170 Locust 55, 56, 87, 88, 96, 167, 168-172, 173, 174, 175, 177, 181, 182, 183, 197 al-Mansūr Lajin 94 Mamluk 4, 5, 31, 32, 33, 35, 37, 50, 56, 58, 63, 64, 66, 67, 74, 75, 87-91, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 104, 105, 106, 117, 149, 152m1, 56m157, 158, 159, 180, 181, 188-191, 193 Mamluk army 47, 51, 193 Manfalūṭ 35, 182 Maqrizi, Taqī al-Dīn 21 Marj 47, 49 Marqab 140, 153 Mega droughts 90-95 Mice 9, 169, 172, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182 Mongols 4, 5, 47, 50, 98, 103 Mosul 14, 25, 26, 39, 41, 45, 46, 71, 74, 76, 87, 96, 108, 169, 172, 173, 175

index Nablus 92, 140, 183, 191, 193 Nāser-e Khosraw 26, 35 al-Nāṣir Muḥammad 90, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99-100, 105 Nile 82, 85, 91, 93, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 105, 135, 140, 182 Nile Valley 33, 42, 60, 62, 81 Nilometer 81, 93, 98 Nūr al-Dīn 129-130, 132, 135, 148, 150 Plague 26, 31, 47, 83, 85, 100, 100n18, 101, 105, 106, 169 Plain of Sharon 35 Pools 18, 49, 123 Qalāwūn 39, 89 Qus 139 Raids 4, 29, 51, 53, 78, 79, 80, 81, 86, 133, 139, 161, 188 Rain 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 52, 53, 56, 75, 76, 77, 80, 83, 85, 87, 92, 93, 97, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 168, 169, 172, 181, 188, 191 Rain failure 32-33, 47-48, 76, 49, 51, 83, 88, 93, 96172 Rain prayer 69, 70, 74, 95-96 Ramla 86 Rats 9, 179, 181, 182 Raymond of Tripoli 62, 78, 83, 84 Red fish 106-107, 108, 109 Red locust 174 Red rain 109 Red Tower 34-35 Red year 96 Safad 37, 61, 64, 86, 149, 155-9, 208 Sahel 43, 53 Saladin 4, 37, 45, 60, 62, 76, 77, 78-81, 83, 84, 99, 135, 139, 152, 155, 161, 188, 190, 191, 192, 193

211

Salination 33, 39, 41, 83 Samria 86 Scorpions 106, 108, 110 Shayzar 78, 133, 134, 136, 148 Sheep 29, 44, 46, 47, 69, 78, 80, 90, 94, 95 Sicily 5, 40, 61, 65, 82-83, 84, 139, 191 Silwan (spring) 83, 85, 93 Simoon 42 Snow 14, 30, 77, 92, 104 Soil erosion 40-41 Steppe 44, 52, 95 Subayba 149, 158-159 Sugar 32-33, 92, 99, 101, 180 Supershear 141, 143 Syria 4, 5, 9, 10, 13, 15, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 40, 41, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 62, 64, 66, 67, 75, 76, 77, 79, 8182, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 102, 105, 118, 120, 127, 129, 133, 135, 136, 139, 140, 141, 148, 150, 159, 169, 171, 173, 178, 181, 189, 191, 192, 193 Tigris 13, 14, 15, 29, 39, 101, 102, 109, 179 Tower of David 61 Trans-Jordan 31, 32, 37, 121, 139 Tripoli 13, 15, 32, 35, 39, 62, 76, 81, 84, 87, 97, 132, 133, 136, 138 Tyre 35, 39, 86, 136, 140 Vadum Jacob 78, 79, 81, 149, 161-162, 190 Vole 179 Wheat 14, 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 40, 44, 46, 58, 60, 61, 63, 66, 71, 76, 88, 89, 92, 94, 99, 100, 101, 169, 172, 173, 174, 179, 180, 183, 193 William of Tyre 10 Wind 9, 41, 42, 92, 97, 107, 109, 145, 169 Yemen 85, 90, 92, 93, 109, 191 Zilzāl (Arabic earthquake) 113-114

212

index