The Battle of Hattin from a Muslim source

Masalik al-absar fi mamalik was written by Sihab al-Din b. Fadl Allah al-'Umari in the
fourteenth century. It is an encyclopedia, made of twenty-seven volumes, that last of which is
a history of the Arabs from 1146 to 1343. His history is often based on the works of earlier
writers, and he is a valuable source for the Muslim viewpoint in their conflict with
Crusaders. In the following text, the battle of Hattin is recounted. In 1186 Prince Reynald,
lord of Kerak castle, broke a truce between Christians and Muslims, by attacking a caravan
made up of Muslim pilgrims. Saladin retaliated by gathering his forces and beginning a
campaign that led to this famous battle.

In the year eighty-three [583 AH / 1187 AD] Saladin's campaign and conquests began. This
year the sultan gathered the army and set out with a division of soldiers to lay siege to Kerak,
because he feared that the lord of Kerak should attack pilgrims. He sent another division with
his son Malik al-Afdal to raid the region of Acre, and they took a lot of things as booty. The
sultan then went to Tiberias, took up his quarters there, laid siege to the town and occupied it
by force of arms. But the citadel resisted. Tiberias belonged to the count, lord of Tripoli,
who had exchanged gifts with the sultan and had accepted obedience to him. The Franks sent
priests and the patriarch to the count to keep him from his agreement with the sultan. They
rebuked him, and he was brought along with them.

The Franks gathered to meet the sultan, and the battle of Hattin took place. With this
very important battle Allah gave dominion over the coast and the holy city [Jerusalem].

When the sultan occupied Tiberias the Franks brought together their cavalry and their
infantry, and they marched against the sultan who rode from Tiberias to meet them on the
Sabbath-day, five days from the end of Rabia II. The two armies met and the fighting
between them was very hard.

When the count saw how serious the situation was, he attacked the Muslims who were
in front of him. There was Taqi al-Din 'Umar, lord of Hama, and he opened his ranks to the
count and let him pass, but then he closed up behind from the battlefield and arrived at
Tripoli. He lived there for some time and died of this deceit.

And Allah helped the Muslims to be victorious, they surrounded the Franks on all
sides and destroyed them, killing and capturing them. The group of prisoners included the
great king of the Franks, the prince Reynald, lord of Kerak, the lord of Jubail, Humphrey, the
son of the Humphrey, the grand master of the Temple and a lot of Hospitallers. From that
time the Franks never managed to invade Syria.

When the battle had come to an end the sultan sat down in a tent. The king of the
Franks was brought in, and the sultan asked him to sit down at his side. The king was very
hot and thirsty, and the sultan gave him snow-covered water to drink, and the king of the
Franks gave some of it to the prince Reynald, lord of Kerak. But the sultan said to him; "This
damned man did not drink water with my permission, if it had been so he would be safe."

The sultan then spoke to the prince and rebuked and scolded him for his breach of
faith and his attempted attack against the two sacred famous cities. The sultan himself rose