Franks Lordships In Syria's Diplomatic Landscape Essay

Franks Lordships In Syria's Diplomatic Landscape - Essay Example The most famous instances are to be found in Usama Ibn Mungidh’s, a Shayzar knight, memoirs. In detail, he describes the many pleasant encounters between the Frankish Lordships and the Muslims out of the battlefields, especially the templar order members. He betrays a sense of moral superiority and Islamic intellectual as instanced, by a polite refusal of an offer, to take Usama’s son to France for studies by a Frankish knight (Kohler, 2010: p76). However, the fact that this type of offer was developed in the first instance and the fact that Usama was not worried that the son would be converted is a telling item of evidence concerning the relationship texture. The Muslim natives, Usama included, knew the Frankish lordships well, visited major towns run by the crusaders, and entertained them often. Muslims of lower social classes, particularly the artisans and merchants, travelled to Frankish territories often for personal or professional reasons (Kohler, 2010: p79). Man y descriptions of Muslims from Frankish towns by the Muslim Arabs who visited them exist. While it is true that the first crusade was, in deed, an atrocious campaign, it was not very different to the usual permanent skirmishes that dominated Syria throughout the 11th century, continuing into the 12th century between the Muslims in Syria. Beyond the human, and quite friendly, relationships, the two groups maintained political alliances for long periods. The political alliance between the Frankish lordships of Antioch and Emirs Shayzar is the most celebrated of these alliances. The entente between the Latin kingdom in Jerusalem and the Atabeks in Damascus was important as... This paper stresses that As can be gleaned from the activities in the 12th century, better knowledge of others is not necessarily a beginning of sympathy; rather, it may breed contempt. It is not that the Muslim natives of this time were not aware of the crusade movement’s institutional aspect. Especially as the Pope’s role in its proclamation; indulgence that was promised to those who took part, recapturing Jerusalem as the main goal, and propaganda spread by monks and priests in Europe, as well as contributions made to maintain morale in the Syrian battles all pointed to this. However, all this is presented not to understand better the enemy but to create a religious zeal among the Muslim natives such as that which had been instilled in the crusaders. Therefore, Muslim leaders in Syria invoke the role of the Pope in many letters in this period asking for help in isolating the crusaders and the Frankish lordships in particular. This report makes a conclusion that the absence of any real dialogue between the Muslim natives and Frankish lordships was impressive; especially considering that there was continued disputes with Oriental Christians, which were held in public sometimes throughout the 12th century. The warfare climate that dominated relationships between Muslims and Franks was not conducive to any meaningful dialogue with the notion of superiority by the Franks also as much to blame as the same feelings harbored by Muslim natives. Indeed, at theological level, this diplomatic disconnect led to a lack of idea exchange.