The connection of the monks and the Sultan attracted the attention of Arab writers to the convent. Edrizi (_c._ 1153), Ibn Zobeir (_c_. 1183), mentioned its existence in general terms. Benjamin of Tudela, the Jewish rabbi who acted for a time as vizier to Adid († 1171), the last of the Fatimite rulers, held that it was occupied by Syrian monks, who were subject to the Sultan. He also remarked that at the foot of the mountain lay Tur Sina, a large town, the inhabitants of which spoke the language of the Targum (_i.e._ Syriac). It was close to a small mountain and five days’ journey from Egypt.[245] The trade via Tur naturally brought the monks into contact with the Further East. Fretellus of Antioch (_c._ 1130) declared that the monks of Sinai, “from the confines of Ethiopia to the utmost bounds of the Persians, were venerated in every tongue, possessing their property freely and quietly among themselves. They had cells throughout Egypt and Persia, around the Red Sea and Arabia, from which all they required flowed most liberally.”[246] In addition to this, grants were made to them by the Crusaders in the lands which they conquered. The Pope, from the first, had favoured the Crusades as a means of extending the influence of Latin Christianity. When Jerusalem was conquered in 1099, the Greek patriarch happened to be absent. He was passed over and a Latin patriarch was appointed in his stead. The authority of this prelate was extended with the advance of the Crusaders. Godfrey was proclaimed king of Jerusalem in 1099. He was succeeded by Baldwin, who, in 1115, made an expedition to “Mount Oreb, commonly called Orel,” _i.e._ Mount Hor near Petra, the present Gebel Haroun. “Starting from here, Baldwin overcame the desert places and vast solitudes by conveying a quantity of food on mules, and reached Aila, which he found deserted, and of which he took possession. Here he heard of the monks, who dwelt in Sinai, and served God, and he desired to go to them across the mountain in order to pray. But he was prevented by a message from the monks who feared that their Moslim master might be annoyed by the king’s visit, so he gave up the idea.”[247] He turned back, and on his way to Syria he conquered Petra, near which he erected the fortress of Monreale. He then moved along the shores of the Mediterranean as far as Farma, where he died in 1117. According to Makrizi he burnt down the mosque and perished in its flames. Roger of Sicily in 1155 completed the work of destruction by a descent on Farma, which he set on fire and pillaged.