City · Contested ground · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Jerusalem

Muslim since its surrender to Saladin on 2 October 1187.

The Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa are mosques again; St Anne's church is the Salahiyya law college, the patriarch's palace a Sufi convent, part of the Hospitallers' quarter a hospital; al-Afdal endowed the quarter of the North African Muslims by the Western Wall. The Holy Sepulchre is in the care of the Eastern clergy, with the two Latin priests and two deacons Saladin allowed in 1192 at Hubert Walter's request. Frankish pilgrims come unarmed under the truce.

Who holds it

Name
not pinned (Sarim al-Din Qutlugh, appointed in 1197)
Title
Lord (sahib) or governor (wali)
Since
see lord_1200
Born
not pinned
Family
not pinned
Confidence
low

See the lord's record.

Lord in 1200

An Ayyubid governor appointed from Cairo: al-Aziz gave Jerusalem to Sarim al-Din Qutlugh in 1197 after Sunqur al-Kabir died; the holder on 1 January 1200 is not pinned (Lord of Jerusalem). Drawn as contested between the Cairo regency and al-Adil.

How things stand that morning

Held for the Ayyubids by a governor of Egyptian appointment (1197); claimed by both camps; quiet under the truce.

Charter

None: an Islamic town has no communal charter; the prince's governor, the qadi and the market inspector (muhtasib) govern, and the notables (a'yan) and ulama speak for the townsmen.

Council

No council; notables and ulama.

Communities

Muslims (Arabs, Kurds, Turks, Maghribis); Eastern Christians (Melkites, Syrians, Armenians at St James, Georgians at the Monastery of the Cross, Copts, Jacobites); Jews, allowed back after the Frankish ban; Frankish pilgrims passing through.

Fairs and markets

No fairs in the European sense; trade runs through permanent markets (suqs) and caravan seasons.

Militia

Not recorded; the garrison is the prince's or the amir's.

Walls and castle

Walls rebuilt and strengthened by Saladin in 1191-1192 after the crusade threatened the city; the citadel (the Tower of David) by the Jaffa Gate. Standing in 1200; al-Mu'azzam repairs them from 1202 and pulls them down in 1219.

Trade and crafts

Pilgrims of three faiths; olive oil and soap; the endowments of the new colleges and convents; the hill villages.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1200 onwardsPasses into al-Adil's settlement; al-Mu'azzam's residence by 1204.Depends on: Al-Adil's victory. Stopped by: War among the princes.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The city's state after 1187 is well documented; the governor in 1199-1200 is not.

Sources and studies

  1. Abu'l-Fida, Annals (al-Mukhtasar), Arabic text with French translation in Recueil des historiens des croisades, Historiens orientaux I (1872), pp. 150-172 (years 589-615 AH), read through archive.org search-inside
  2. Al-Mu'azzam Isa (English Wikipedia)
  3. Ayyubid dynasty (English Wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.