ABSTRACT
I heard more than one of our teachers saying that the Muslims fell under the domination of the Franks in the regions of Hayt al-Maqdis and its provinces, working the land for them. They [the Franks] used to punish them [the Muslims], jail them and levy a fee which resembles jizya. The greatest of the Franks was Ahuman b. Barizan [Baldwin of Ibelin] – may God curse him. Under his rule were Jamma’il, the village of our teachers, Marda, Yasuf and other villages. It so happened that whereas the indels used to collect one dinar from everyone under their control, he – may God curse him – levied four dinars from each of them. He used to mutilate their legs. Among the indels there existed no one more evil or greater in violence than him – may God put a shame on him. So Ibn Barizan planned to kill Ahmad b. Qudama. One of his [Ibn Barizan’s] clerks, whose name was Ibn Tasir, informed the shaykh. The shaykh came to a decision to proceed to Damascus and he went there. Ibn Tasir was an ofcial of Baldwin and his assistant [wazir]. He believed in Muslim holy men and was benevolent towards them. This was told to me by Muhammad b. Abi’ Attaf. Another person said that of those who were under the subordination of the Franks, shaykh Ahmad was the rst to emigrate both out of fear for his life and because he was unable to practise his religion.
