The March to Jerusalem
[10.36.1] Discessimus igitur ā castrō, et pervēnimus Tripolim in sextā fēriā, XIIImō diē intrante Māiō, ibique fuimus per trēs diēs. Tandem concordātus est rēx Tripolis cum seniōribus, illīsque continuō dissolvit plūs quam trecentōs peregrīnōs quī illīc captī erant; deditque illīs quīndecim mīlia bisantēōs, et quīndecim equōs magnī pretiī. Dēdit etiam nōbīs magnum mercātum equōrum, asinōrum, omniumque bonōrum, unde nimis dītāta est omnis Chrīstī mīlitia. Pactus est vērō cum illīs quia sī bellum, quod eīs ammiralius Babilōniae parābat, possent dēvincere, et Hierusalem apprehendere, ille Chrīstiānus efficerētur, terramque ab eīs recognōsceret; atque tālī modō factum est placitum.
notes
(May 1099) The crusaders abandon the siege of Archae and come to Tripoli, whose leader (quadi) is generous to them, and agrees to convert to Christianity if the crusaders take Jerusalem.
ā castrō: Archae (Arqua).
in sextā fēriā, XIIImō diē intrante Māiō: Friday, May 13, 1099.
ammiralius Babilōniae: i.e., the Fatimid calif in Cairo, Al-Afdal. Our author sees Cairo as a center of paganism, so refers to it as the Biblical "Babylon." The Fatimids had taken Jerusalem from the Turks in July 1098, so they were a threat to the quadi of Tripoli.
terramque ab eīs recognōsceret: “would recognize (that he held his) land (as a grant) from them.”
atque tālī modo factum est placitum = atque (hoc) placitum factum est tālī modō.
vocabulary
dissolvō dissolvere dissolvī dissolūtum: to release
bisanteus –ī, m.: bezant (a Byzantine coin)
dītō (1): to enrich
placitum –ī, n.: an opinion, settlement
