We now come to one of the most remarkable sieges of this extraordinary
city. In the eleventh century, after a lapse of four hundred years,
during which it had passed from the hands of the Saracens to those of
the Seldjouc Turks, Jerusalem, a Mahometan city, was beleaguered by
the great band of Christian adventurers who had left Europe for the
express purpose of delivering it. This is not the place to dilate upon
the subject of the Crusades; it is our business to describe some of the
sieges to which they gave rise.
Most readers are acquainted with the calamities of various kinds which
the Christians had to endure before they could set an army down beneath
the walls of this great object of their enterprise. We shall take our
account of this awful struggle from the pages of a highly-accredited
historian, satisfied that no effort of our own could make it more
interesting or instructive.
With the earliest dawn, on the 10th of June, 1099, the Crusaders
ascended the heights of Emmaus. All at once the Holy City lay before
them. We can compare the cry of the Crusaders, at this sight, to
nothing but that of “Land! land!” uttered by the companions of Columbus
when they completed their great discovery. “Jerusalem! Jerusalem!” was
shouted from every lip, but was soon repeated with bated breath and
bended knee, when all that belonged to that city recurred to the minds
of the brave adventurers. The rear ranks rushed through those that
preceded them, to behold the long-desired object, and their war-cry,
“God wills it! God wills it!” re-echoed from the Hill of Sion to the
Mount of Olives. The horsemen alighted humbly from their steeds, and
walked barefoot. Some cast themselves upon their knees, whilst others
kissed the earth rendered sacred by the presence of the Saviour. In
their transports they passed from joy to sorrow, from sorrow to joy. At
one moment they congratulated each other at approaching the great end
of their labours; in the next they wept over their sins, over the death
of Christ, and over his profaned tomb; but all united in repeating
the oath they had so many times made, of delivering the city from the
sacrilegious yoke of the Mussulmans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account