Crusader knights strolled through the streets of Damascus in small groups, carrying the haughty air of conquerors while retaining the unease of country bumpkins arriving in a great city.
Bang—
Several armed monks raised their iron picks and smashed the relief carvings above the Sacred Fire Temple's gate. They hung a massive wooden cross they had brought with them above the temple, drawing cheers from the Crusaders.
The monks of the Saint Lazarus Order immediately sealed off Damascus's library.
There, they discovered tens of thousands of precious books: parchment manuscripts, papyrus manuscripts, and Eastern paper manuscripts. They spanned the ages from Greece's successor states to the Ancient Empire, the Eastern Empire, and the various Saracen dynasties. Many of these rare texts could not even be found in Constantinople's library, renowned for its vast collection.
"Your Majesty, wonderful news!"
Bishop Uldin, the rigid little old man, displayed such open delight for the first time. "You would never guess what I found in the library: a copy of the Elements of Geometry, and Avicenna's Medical Canon. The entire essence of Saracen civilization is here."
Lothar clearly understood the value represented by this knowledge better than those crude Crusader lords. Medical books could cure illness and drive away plagues; craftsmen's manuals could improve farming tools and irrigation works. There were also books on various crafts, astronomy, geometry, and even ancient alchemy, all of them immensely useful.
Take the astronomical texts, for instance. The Saracens could not have developed such a thriving maritime trade without astronomy's aid.
"How does it compare to Cairo's collection?"
"It is even richer. Cairo's collection contains too many theological books. Many are annotations left behind by masters of Zoroastrianism or records of theological debates, making it exceedingly difficult to distinguish useful knowledge from the rest."
Seeing Uldin so excited,