Ch. XVIII THE RISE OF SALADIN 579 
 
 A truce with Bohemond of Antioch having been arranged on condition of the
liberation of Moslem prisoners, Saladin was now in a position to retaliate
against the Franks of Jerusalem for their raiding expeditions during his
absence in Mesopotamia, and more especially on Reginald of Kerak for his
forays in Arabia and on the Red Sea. Announcing to the diwan at Baghdad his
decision to prosecute the jihad, now that the main obstacles had been removed,
he set out with the regular troops of Aleppo and the J azira, together with
the Turkoman cavalry and a large force of volunteers and auxiliaries. After
a brief halt at Damascus he crossed the Jordan to Baisan on September 29,
but failed to bring the main forces of the kingdom to battle.8 Returning
to Damascus, he summoned al~cAdil to join him before Kerak with a body of
the Egyptian troops, and laid siege to the castle in November. The Moslems
were so confident of success that the failure of their mangonels to effect
a breach produced a corresponding discouragement, and when news was received
of the arrival of a relieving force at Wãlã, they found excuses
for putting off the attack, and Saladin withdrew to rest and refit his armies.

 During this interval another attempt was made to solve the problem of Mosul
by negotiation. The initiative came from ~Izzad-Din, whose nephew Sanjar-Shãh
at Jazirat~Ibn~cUmar, with Gökböri's brother at Irbil and the governors
of Takrit and Uadithah, had thrown themselves on the protection of Saladin
and obtained from him a guarantee of support. dIzz~ad~Din appealed to the
caliph to send the shaikh ash-shuyükh once more to mediate with Saladin,
"knowing," as Saladin's secretary wrote, "that our policy was one of strict
obedience to the caliph's commands." An agreement was reached with the shaikh
on the basis that cIzz_ad. DIn's rights in Mosul should be respected and
that his former vassals should be left free to choose between Saladin and
him, but it was rejected by the envoy from Mosul, and so matters remained
as they were, or rather worse than they had been. 
 For his fresh assault on Kerak (August—September 1184) Saladin assembled
the most powerful army that had yet operated in Syria, comprising the forces
of Damascus, Aleppo, the Jazira and Sinjar, Hisn Kaifã and Mardin,
and a contingent from Egypt. Again it failed, and the armies were dismissed
after a raiding expedition through Samaria. Back at Damascus, he found the
shaikh awaiting him with the caliph's patents for his new provinces. This
was followed by graver news. clzz.ad.DIn of Mosul 
8 Cf. below, chapter XIX, pp. 599—600.