became his brother-in-law, led a furious charge that drove back Saladin's left flank, and not until Saladin in person led a counter-charge was the danger over come. Seif ed-din barely escaped, and many of his most prominent officers were taken prisoners. The victory was even greater than it seemed, for Saladin was so generous in his treatment of the prisoners that these returned to their homes full of praise for him. Not a few of them had gifts to show, and many of the wounded owed their recovery to his tender care of them. When these recovered quite a few enlisted under his banner. It was a triumph of skilful publicity as well as diplomacy and the tidings were spread where they had the greatest effect. Nor were his own soldiers neglected. Seif ed-din had had no time to gather up his belongings and the spoils were large. All these were distributed among the officers and men. There followed the siege and capture of many cities and strongholds, including Membij and the Castle of Azaz, which he gave some time thereafter to a young daughter of Nur ed-din, in a generous impulse, of which more will be told later. Sieges were conducted practically in the same manner by both Saracen and Frank. The mangonel or trebuchet was a machine which threw missiles over the walls and sometimes had a battering ram attached. Usually a number of mangonels were employed at the same time in different places. Their efficiency can be judged from the fact that at one of the later sieges one