Egypt –1167
The old general was right. Three years later, Yusuf, now twentynine, was marching beside his uncle at the head of the Syrian army. ‘Why aren’t we taking the same road to Egypt as last time, General?’ asked Yusuf. ‘Shawar and the Franks know that we’re coming. We must travel quickly and secretly. My hope is to surprise them by taking the road down to the Dead Sea, and then travelling through the Sinai Desert. We’ll get into the country by the back door while our enemies are looking for us through their front windows!’ ‘But, Uncle, won’t it be terrible for the men?’ ‘Yes, but my soldiers are brave, and they want to win against Shawar and his Frankish friends. They’ll do it!’ They crossed the hot dry land and near Suez, there was a deadly desert storm that very nearly killed them all. Men and horses were ill or died, but Yusuf spoke to the soldiers to help them go on bravely: ‘Nuradin needs you to teach Shawar that he can’t break his promises to Syrians and stay out of danger! Under Shirkuh we’ll have a great victory in Egypt and then he’ll give rich presents for the bravest!’ Finally, they arrived. The men were very weak, and Shirkuh decided that they weren’t ready to fight against the large armies of Vizier Shawar and King Amalric. He stopped his soldiers at Giza, on the other side of the river from Cairo.
‘We’ll wait and see what they do. I know that Shawar’s in trouble. Most Egyptians don’t like it that he’s friendly with the Franks. Everyone hates it when he gives Egyptian money to Amalric because they know that he uses it to keep the Franks fighting in the Holy Land. No Muslim wants this! Before long, all the Egyptians will fight for us.’ At last, early one spring morning, Yusuf ran to his uncle. ‘Sir, the enemy’s coming!’ The old general looked at his nephew. ‘Today, I want you to do some real fighting, Yusuf. Take the group of soldiers in the middle of my army. Make the Frankish knights think that you and your men are weak and afraid. Turn and run. They’ll follow with the hope of killing many of you, but I’ll take the rest of our army around them. Then you’ll surprise them when you turn round and fight!’ Yusuf was worried, ‘Will I do well? Will the men follow me and do what I ask?’ But there were no problems. The plan worked! King Amalric was lucky to get away safely, but Syrian swords and arrows killed many of his knights. It was a great victory for Nuradin’s men, but Shirkuh knew that he was not safe. ‘Yusuf, you’re a good soldier, and one day I know you’ll be a great general. But we can’t stop now. Take the men to Alexandria where we have friends. I’ll get the country people to help me make trouble for Shawar and the Franks here. I’ll come and help you when I’ve finished.’ It was a long time before Yusuf and his men saw the general again. For months Yusuf and his small army fought to keep Alexandria safe from the Franks. The enemy came by land and by sea. No food or help could come into the town from outside and siege engines sent stones and dead animals over the city walls. This made life terrible for the people and the soldiers inside the city. Many were ill, all were hungry, and many died. But Yusuf kept his men fighting, while he worked as hard as possible to make the lives of the people of Alexandria easier.