Is Trump the modern King Guy?

The King Who Lost His Throne for A Vassal

 

History works in funny ways. Sometimes, you get the feeling that you are watching a story 800-year-old unfolding in front of you – the cast is different, but the plot is the same.

As the Iran war gyrates between truce and fight over the last few weeks, I read up the story of Saladin, the great Islamic king who united the Arabs and saved Islam from Christian crusaders in the twelfth century.

The short 270-page John Man book titled Saladin is a fascinating read. The story of Raynald of Châtillon and King Guy in Chapter 8 reads like a perfect replica of the story of Netanyahu and President Trump.

Over the last 2 months, Trump has been caught between the US national interest to end the war it has already lost and the Israeli interest to continue the fight.

Whenever there seems a chance of a settlement, Israel would launch an attack, often in Lebanon, to scuttle it.

Despite his 38 documented announcements that “a deal is close”, Trump is repeatedly drawn back by his vassal, or his master as many would argue, to the battlefield.

Judging by the news headlines as of today (June 11), the war is back on for good.

Here lies the parallel between Netanyahu/Trump and Raynald/King Guy.

Raynald of Châtillon (c. 1124 – July 4, 1187) was a French knight who became one of the most infamous leaders of the Crusades.

Raynald was born to a noble family in France. He travelled east during the Second Crusade in 1147 and stayed on as a mercenary soldier.

He grew rich and powerful by marrying Princess Constance of Antioch in 1153, which made him the ruler of the massive northern Crusader state.

Always low on money because of gambling and prostitution, Raynald allied with an Armenian ruler and launched a brutal three-week plunder of the Christian Byzantine island of Cyprus in 1156.

He forced the islanders to pay huge ransoms and took wealthy hostages. From that “success”, Raynald developed a taste for piracy and looted Christians and Muslims alike.

In 1160, Muslim forces captured him during a raid. He was locked away in a prison in Aleppo for 17 years until he was finally ransomed in 1176.

Once freed, Raynald married again and became the Lord of Oultrejordain (Transjordan). His art of seduction was matched only by his thirst for money.

He took control of fortresses near the Dead Sea. These castles sat directly on the vital trade and pilgrim paths between Egypt and Syria.

In 1180, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem negotiated a two-year truce with Saladin to secure peace and trade.

During the Crusades, these truces were formal treaties that halted fighting, guaranteed safe passage for trade caravans, and protected pilgrims traveling to holy sites.

Raynald broke it in 1181 and 1182 by attacking Muslim caravans. His most egregious breach happened in 1183, when he launched warships into the Red Sea.

These ships raided peaceful trading ports and explicitly targeted pilgrims traveling to Mecca, violating the core spirit of the peace treaty.

Saladin organized his army and fought with Raynald and the crusader armies.

Following years of conflict, a new four-year peace treaty was signed in 1185 between Saladin and Raymond III of Tripoli, who was acting as regent for the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Raynald broke this treaty again in late 1186 by attacking a massive, wealthy Muslim caravan traveling from Egypt to Syria. He captured all the merchants, stole their goods, and threw them in his dungeons.

When the reigning King of Jerusalem, Guy of Lusignan, ordered Raynald to return the stolen property and follow the peace treaty, Raynald refused.

He claimed that as the independent Lord of Oultrejordain, he was the master of his own land. He argued that the treaty was signed by the King of Jerusalem, and therefore, it was not binding on his personal territory.

This flagrant breach of the treaty gave Saladin the casus belli needed to declare a holy war. Again, King Guy came to Raynald’s defense in the name of their shared identity.

On July 4, 1187, the Crusader army was completely surrounded and destroyed at the Battle of Hattin. Both King Guy and Raynald of Châtillon were captured alive and brought to Saladin’s tent.

Saladin offered a cup of ice water to King Guy as a traditional gesture of mercy. When King Guy passed the cup to a thirsty Raynald, Saladin stopped him, stating he had not offered the water to Raynald and would not spare his life.

Saladin denounced Raynald of Châtillon for his constant oath-breaking and personally beheaded him on the spot.

Because the Christian army was destroyed at this battle, the city of Jerusalem lost its primary defenders. Just a few months later, Saladin marched on the holy city and captured it, ending 88 years of Christian rule.

Historians today describe Raynald of Châtillon as a deeply aggressive, power-hungry crusader driven by religious hatred and greed.

Raynald was a religious extremist who saw the conflict as a total, holy war. He had zero interest in living peacefully with Muslims.

He routinely insulted Islam, attacked Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca, and even built a fleet of ships to sail down the Red Sea in an attempt to attack and destroy the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Raynald believed that peace treaties were a trap. He wanted to launch a pre-emptive strike to disrupt Saladin’s supply lines and split his empire apart.

Raynald was a pirate in his heart. He ruled from the massive desert castle of Karak, located in modern-day Jordan, which sat directly next to the wealthy trade routes connecting Egypt and Syria.

He was always in debt and desperately needed money. When peace was declared, he was banned from robbing the rich Muslim merchants and travellers passing by his castle.

Raynald hated the peace because it ruined his primary source of income: raiding caravans and taking prisoners for ransom.

Raynald did not respect anyone’s authority, not even the Christian King of Jerusalem.

When King Guy ordered him to stop attacking Muslims and respect the truce, Raynald proudly declared that he was the master of his own lands and that the King’s treaty did not apply to him.

He preferred the freedom of war over the restrictions of a peace treaty.

Raynald didn’t just attack Muslims. Earlier in his career, he launched a brutal pirate raid against the Christian island of Cyprus.

He beat up local priests, robbed monasteries, and destroyed the island.

Because he was willing to hurt other Christians for money, many crusaders viewed him as a greedy criminal rather than a holy warrior.

Raynald was a deeply divisive figure, and most of his fellow Christian leaders absolutely detested him.

Famous Christian historians from that time, like William of Tyre, wrote that Raynald was a brutal, arrogant thug who cared only about himself.

Even though Saladin kept King Guy alive, his life after the Battle of Hattin was filled with loss, embarrassment, and a desperate struggle to regain his power.

Saladin kept King Guy as a prisoner of war for about a year. In 1188, Saladin finally let Guy go on one major condition: Guy had to promise to cross the sea and leave the Middle East forever.

King Guy immediately broke his promise. He took an oath from a priest that said his promise to a Muslim leader did not count.

Guy marched straight to the city of Tyre, which was the only major Christian stronghold left. However, the Christian nobles there locked the gates and refused to let him in! They called him a failed leader who lost Jerusalem.

Desperate to prove himself, Guy gathered a tiny force and attacked the Muslim-held city of Acre. This daring move kicked off a massive two-year battle that set the stage for the arrival of European armies.

In the end, he lost his throne but was given control of the island of Cyprus, where he ruled until he died.

I could stop telling the story here but what happened next is interesting and contrasts starkly with the lack of honor during warfare by today’s superpower and its lackey.

The news that Jerusalem had fallen shocked all of Europe. According to legend, the Pope died of a heart attack when he heard the terrible news.

The new Pope immediately ordered a brand-new holy war, which became known as the Third Crusade.

The three most powerful kings in Europe answered the call: the King of France, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the legendary King Richard I of England (also known as Richard the Lionheart).

King Richard arrived in the Holy Land in 1191. He was a brilliant military leader and a ferocious fighter. He quickly took over the Christian war effort, captured the city of Acre, and won a massive victory against Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf.

Despite their rivalry, Richard and Saladin developed a deep, respectful relationship. When Richard fell sick with a fever, Saladin sent him fresh fruit and ice from the mountains to help him heal.

When Richard’s horse was killed in battle, Saladin sent him two new horses because he believed such a great warrior should not fight on foot.

Today, Trump and Netanyahu had no puncture to assassinate an 86-year opponent under the false pretence of negotiations. They even boasted about it. There is zero respect for treaties or their enemies.

Well, I guess the passage of 800 years is not quite enough to civilize some barbarians.

 

Source: https://huabinoliver.substack.com/p/the-king-who-lost-his-throne-for