Templars acknowledged no earthly superior except the pope; and that to the holy pontiff alone belonged the cognizance of the offence. He declared, however, that the crime should meet with due punishment: that he had caused the criminal to be arrested and put in irons, and would forthwith send him to Rome, but till judgment was given in his case, he forbade all persons of whatsoever degree to meddle with him.[23] The Templars were now destined to meet with a more formidable opponent than any they had hitherto encountered in the field, one who was again to cause the _crescent_ to triumph over the CROSS, and to plant the standard of the prophet upon the walls of the holy city. When the Fatimite caliph had received intelligence of king Amalric’s invasion of Egypt, (ante p. 36) he sent the hair of his women, one of the greatest tokens of distress known in the East, to the pious Noureddin, who immediately despatched a body of troops to his assistance, headed by Sheerkoh, and his nephew, _Youseef-Ben-Acoub-Ben-Schadi_ the famous Saladin. Sheerkoh died immediately after his arrival, and Youseef succeeded to his command, and was appointed vizier of the caliph. He had passed his youth in pleasure and debauchery, sloth and indolence, but as soon as he grasped the power of the sword, and obtained the command of armies, he renounced the pleasures of the world, and assumed the character of a saint. His dress was a coarse-woollen garment; water was his only drink; and he carefully abstained from everything disapproved of by the Mussulman religion. Five times each day he prostrated himself in public prayer, surrounded by his friends and followers, and his demeanour became grave, serious, and thoughtful. His nights were often spent in watching and meditation, he was diligent in fasting and in the study of the Koran, and his admiring brethren gave him the name of _Salah-ed-deen_, “Integrity of Religion,” vulgarly called Saladin. Having aroused the religious enthusiasm of the Moslems he proceeded to take vengeance upon the Christians for their perfidious invasion of Egypt. He assembled an army of forty thousand horse and foot, crossed the desert and besieged the fortified city of Gaza, which belonged to the Knights Templars, and was considered to be the key of Palestine towards Egypt. The luxuriant gardens, the palm and olive groves of this city of the wilderness were destroyed by the wild cavalry of the desert, and the innumerable tents of the Arab host were thickly clustered on the neighbouring sand-hills. The warlike monks of the Temple in their turn fasted and prayed, and invoked the aid of the God of battles; they made a desperate defence, and in an unexpected sally upon the enemy’s camp, they performed such prodigies of valour, that Saladin, despairing of being able to take the place, abandoned the siege, and retired into Egypt.[24]