THE 1170S: A STRATEGIC EQUILIBRIUM

The refortification of the frontier fortresses and construction of the new concentric castles did not prevent the rulers of Damascus and Egypt from besieging Frankish castles and storming the Frankish frontier. From the beginning of the 1170s onward, the Muslims launched a series of attacks, using the same tactics which characterised Muslim siege-fare since the beginning of the twelfth century, namely, undermining the walls and towers, and using well-trained archers who showered the besieged garrison with arrows. All this was done while light artillery bombarded the walls. Already in the last third of the twelfth century, Muslim armies began to introduce bigger pieces of artillery, realising that the old, lighter ones could do no harm to the newly built concentric castles. But the heavier mangonels, being more complex to assemble, obliged the Muslims to carry only a small number of them to the battlefield. Thus, for example, during the unsuccessful campaign against Karak in April 1170, Nur al-Din bombarded the city with only two pieces of artillery. However, fearing a direct encounter with the Frankish reinforcements, he dismantled these two engines and withdrew after only four days of siege. Nur al-Din was not the only Muslim leader who avoided direct clashes with fully equipped Frankish forces during the 1170s; with only one disastrous exception – the Battle of Montgisard in 1177 – Frankish supremacy in field battles was seemingly still acknowledged by the Muslims.