But we are more worthy
to have possession of it than you are; neither will we leave besieging
it till God delivers it up to us, as he hath done other places before
it." At last the patriarch consented that the city should be surrendered
upon condition that the inhabitants received the articles of their
security and protection from the Caliph's own hands, and not by proxy.
Accordingly, Abu Obeidah wrote to Omar to come, whereupon he advised
with his friends. Othman, who afterward succeeded him in the government,
dissuaded him from going, in order that the Ierosolymites might see that
they were despised and beneath his notice. Ali was of a very different
opinion, urging that the Mussulmans had endured great hardship in so
long a siege, and suffered much from the extremity of the cold; that the
presence of the Caliph would be a great refreshment and encouragement to
them, and adding that the great respect which the Christians had for
Jerusalem, as being the place to which they went on pilgrimage, ought to
be considered; that it ought not to be supposed that they would easily
part with it, but that it would soon be reinforced with fresh supplies.
Pages:
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538