Chapter 94: The Prince
Chapter 94: The Prince
On a high ground, a eunuch, dressed in brocade robes, his chin impeccably smooth without a single strand of beard, advised in a low voice, "Prince Zahir, this is a well-trained Frankish army. We are already deep within enemy territory. Should we not consider retreating?"
"Retreat?" Prince az-Zahir Ghazi, Saladin’s third son, nominal lord of Aleppo and Governor of North Syria, who was the leader of this Saracen cavalry troop, sneered. "Hari, has the sight of these Frankish barbarians charging scared you witless? Losing ’that thing’ has indeed made you lose all your courage!"
The eunuch, possessing a long, pointed face and an unnaturally fair complexion, said calmly, "Prince Zahir, His Majesty the King ordered me to look after you. This is my duty!"
Zahir glanced contemptuously at the eunuch. "Enough, Hari! Plundering a single village can hardly extinguish the raging flames in my heart! I want to take the head of this Frankish cavalry leader and demand Aleppo, which rightfully belongs to me, back from al-Adil!"
When mentioning his uncle, Sayf al-Din (al-Adil), the Governor of Syria, Zahir used his name directly, showing no respect. A considerable part of the territory al-Adil ruled should have been his. It was only because Zahir had suffered a defeat in a battle while suppressing Armenian mountaineers when he governed there that the territory was put under Sayf al-Din’s trusteeship.
"I will prove that I am still the son most worthy of my father’s favor!"
Zahir drew his sword and cried out, "Holy Fire Burns Forever! My most elite Mamluks, bring fire and death to these Frankish barbarians!"
"Holy Fire Burns Forever!" The Saracen cavalrymen let out strange cries and charged forth like a black hurricane.
These elite cavalrymen, selected from the best of the Ghilman slaves, equipped with fine scale armor, chainmail, and lamellar armor, and riding Marwari warhorses purchased from India, were far superior to the Ghilman cavalry of old who were so often routed by Crusader knights.
They had practiced martial arts since childhood and were the most elite unit under Zahir’s command. He believed that this personal guard of his slave soldiers, even if not comparable to his father’s Mamluk personal guard, was second to none among his brothers’ forces, and certainly not something this Frankish cavalry of unknown origin could match.