312 THE HISTORY OE THE ORDER OF [book I.

for twelve years, paying them a tribute of tenthousand gold pieces a-year; Saladin also declaringthere was a secret article to make war on him inSyria, Egypt, everywhere. So having threatenedthe Tigris, and taken Damascus and Aleppo, he wasmaster of the most of Syria, Egypt, Arabia, andMesopotamia. All he had to do, was to conquerPalestine . 1

Yet if the Moslems were divided a little, greatlymore so were the Christians. The sons of Belial (inthe chronicler’s words), the true workers of ruin,hates, jealousies, mistrusts, embittered and tried toprofit by the royal infirmities. No consolation forweak Baldwin! Little of this time is worth re-counting, except an expedition made by Renaudde Chatillon from Petra against the shores of theRed Sea; for he built some ships at Petra, and hadthem carried on the backs of camels to Suez, wherelaunching them, he devastated many places alongthe coast. As Christians had never appeared therebefore, the Turks were taken by surprise; and hemade a large booty, advancing to the vicinity ofMecca and Medina. But here he was stopped byforces from Egypt. The Christians on the east

1 Arab. Chron., 185.