Usama ibn Munqidh: “A Muslim View of the Crusaders”

About the Author

Usama ibn Munqidh was born on July 4, 1095, in his family’s Shayzar castle, which was located about fifteen miles west of Hamah, Syria. This castle was an ancient city, known in Latin as Caesarea ad Orontem, and was home to about one hundred residents. Although he is sometimes referred to as the ruler of Shayzar, Usama had no actual claim to the title because his father had refused the position, which then passed to Usama’s uncle Sultan. Because Sultan initially had no heir, he took Usama under his tutelage, educating his nephew in literature, religion, and warfare. Shayzar was located on the front line of Byzantium and the arriving crusaders, so Usama had many battles in which to develop his military abilities. Such remote outposts were the primary line of defense for the general Arab population, as neither the Abbasids (750–1258) nor the Seljuks (1037–1194) focused on fighting the crusaders, instead being occupied by internal politics and territorial expansion, respectively.

Tensions arose as Usama was displaced by Sultan’s sons, and in 1131 Usama decided to leave Shayzar to join Zangi, the Turkic atabeg (regent) in Mosul. Usama enjoyed several years of service with Zangi’s troops, but he abandoned his position in 1137, when his hometown came under attack by the Byzantine emperor John Comnenus and a group of crusaders. Along with his brothers, Usama helped his uncle Sultan defend the castle, but appreciation was not forthcoming. Possibly threatened by the military ability shown by Usama, Sultan banished his nephews from Shayzar. Unable to return to Zangi’s service, Usama moved to Damascus and entered into service at the Burid court. Between 1140 and 1143 Usama and Muin al-Din, a Burid vizier, made several trips to Jerusalem and other crusader states to foster relations in the event that a combined Burid-crusader force would be needed to halt Zangi’s expansion.

It was during this period that Usama made many of the observations and witnessed the anecdotes of the Franks that he relates in his memoir. By 1144 Usama had become loosely involved with internal politics, making his life in Damascus difficult, so he relocated to Cairo, Egypt. He enjoyed several years of service within the Fatimid court and, in 1150, was even an envoy to Nureddin, the son of Zangi and sultan of Syria and Egypt, but once again he became embroiled in political upheavals. Usama was associated with a conspiracy against the caliph al-Zafir and could no longer remain in Egypt. While Usama was in Egypt, Damascus had changed greatly. Nureddin had conquered the city, and he welcomed Usama to his court in 1154; for the next decade Usama served Nureddin. In 1164 he moved to Hisn Kayfa, where he served Qara Arslan, an associate of Nureddin. While residing in Hisn Kayfa, Usama turned his attention to literature. One of Usama’s sons, Murhaf, became a close ally of Saladin, the rising power in the Middle East. In 1174 Saladin invited Usama to Damascus to join the court. There he spent the remainder of his life, enjoying a position of respect, and he had the time to continue his pursuits in literature.

Usama was much respected by fellow Muslims, both for his literary skills and for his noble nature as a warrior. Contemporary texts indicate that he was much better known for his writings than for his political career. His other compositions include literary anthologies, Kitab al-asa (Book of the Staff), Kitab al-badia (Book of Figures of Speech), Kitab al-manazil wa al-diyar (Book of Dwellings and Places), and Lubab al-adab (Anthology of Literature).