Some questions about primary sources and events/battles

[The Grand Master]

'Imad ad-Din notes that in the wake of the Battle of Hattin that Salah ad-Din imposed much harsher penalities on captured Templars and Hospitallers than on those who were not members of military orders. This is generally attributed to the combat efficacy of the Templars and due to their role as an inspiration for the crusading movement. Do the Muslim sources have more to say about the belief that the Templars and Hospitallers acted as the locus of crusading ideology? What other battles, besides that of Hattin, furnish substantial details about the differences in treatment of captured Templars and other knights?

Salah ad-Din's experience at Montgisard may have played a role in his views of the Order.

Other questions:

What is the source of the notion that the Nizari Ismailis/Assassins payed tribute to the Templars? It is mentioned frequently in books discussing the subject, even given a range for a possible date, and definitely sounds like it came from the works of William of Tyre. If so, which section takes notice of this tribute arrangement?

I am interested in finding out more about what other primary sources, either European or Middle Eastern, have to say about Templar interactions with the elements of Muslim society (particularly during the Third Crusade). From what I have read, it seems that the Templars were especially ardent supporters of crusading and, while more aware of the Levantine political and cultural evironment than many, their differences of views from other crusaders mainly seemed to hinge around strategy/tactics.

[Dashinvaine]

One Muslim source mentioning interaction with the Templars is Usamah Ibn Munqudh, where there is no evidence of implacable hatred of them. He seems to like them better than the newly-arrived Franks.

William of Tyre is the source of the idea that the Assassins paid a tribute to the Templars, mentioning two thousand gold pieces paid annually. The Assassins sent an envoy to Amalric of Jerusalem, seeking to be relieved of this tribute burden, in turn promising to convert to Christianity. The Templars ambushed and killed the envoy, leading to a rift between the Order and the king.

WoT, Chronique, ed. Huygens, 20.29, pp953-5.

[Sicard de la Roque]

I remember that Walter Map as well as Guy de Bazoches (in his Chronographia) also tell about the relationship between the Templars and the Assassins.

[The Grand Master]

Thanks to both of you for the sources and comments.

I noticed that William of Tyre and others who mentioned the incident with Assassin envoys being killed emphasize the alleged offer to convert to Christianity. It seems that some writers who disliked aspects of the Templar Order, or its hybrid religious-military structure, argued that the combat purpose of the Templars would disappear if Christianity became the predominant religion of the Middle East.

I see that John of Joinville claimed that the Assassins paid tribute to both the Templars and the Hospitallers. This account, despite some confusion over Nizari religious beliefs, appears to contain a significant amount of information on how the Crusaders reacted to the Nizaris and what sort of diplomacy the Nizari chief employed toward them.

The mention of the Templars by Usamah Ibn Munqudh, along with the Templar encounters with Muslims in Mallorca (utilizing certain Spanish labor systems) and other areas, reveal some interesting facets to the interactions.