In fact, Jerusalem was taken from the north on the morning of July 15, 1099. The population was put to the sword by the Franks, who pillaged the area for a week. A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of Savid [Tower of David) and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives in return for surrendering. The Franks honored their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon (a city on the coast]. In the Masjid al- Aqsa (the Temple of Solomon] the Franks slaughtered more than 70,000 people, among them a large number of Imams and Muslim scholars, devout and ascetic men who had left their homelands to live lives of pious seclusion in the Holy Place. Background information: This account of the fall of Jerusalem in 1099 was written in 1231 by a Muslim historian who traveled with Saladin's army. The author of this account is a V Muslim defender As a result, his account is likely to be V more sympathetic v towards the Muslims who lost their lives. His account is likely V less reliable because he was not a witness to the event.
