Friday, January 31, 2020

Conflict Management Essay Example for Free

Conflict Management Essay Conflict management refers to the long-term management of intractable conflicts. It is the label for the variety of ways by which people handle grievances — standing up for what they consider to be right and against what they consider to be wrong. Those ways include such diverse phenomena as gossip, ridicule, lynching, terrorism, warfare, feuding, genocide, law, mediation, and avoidance. Which forms of conflict management will be used in any given situation can be somewhat predicted and explained by the social structure — or social geometry — of the case. Conflict management is often considered to be distinct from conflict resolution. In order for actual conflict to occurr, there should be an expression of exclusive patterns, and tell why the conflict was expressed the way it was. Conflict is not just about simple inaptness, but is often connected to a previous issue. The latter refers to resolving the dispute to the approval of one or both parties, whereas the former concerns an ongoing process that may never have a resolution. Neither is it considered the same as conflict transformation, which seeks to reframe the positions of the conflict parties. Scientific studies Scientific study of conflict management (also known as social control) owes its foundations to Donald Black, who typologized its elementary forms and used his strategy of pure sociology to explain several aspects of its variation. Research and theory on conflict management has been further developed by Allan Horwitz, Calvin Morill, James Tucker, Mark Cooney, M.P. Baumgartner, Roberta Senechal de la Roche, Marian Borg, Ellis Godard, Scott Phillips, and Bradley Campbell. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach and avoiding semantic discussions, we could also state that the father of conflict management is Thomas C. Schelling, an American economist and Nobel Prize winner, who authored the Strategy of Conflict in 1960. Schelling’s main goal was to lay the foundation for a theory of conflict that would include the fields of economics, psychology, sociology and the law. Conflict is an omnipresent trait of human societies since it is almost impossible to find two parties with entirely overlapping interests, thus a general theory for bargaining and negotiation to address conflict is useful not only in the field of international politics or business management, but also at the personal and intimate level. Counseling When personal conflict leads to frustration and loss of efficiency, counseling may prove to be a helpful antidote. Although few organizations can afford the luxury of having professional counselors on the staff, given some training, managers may be able to perform this function. Nondirective counseling, or listening with understanding, is little more than being a good listener — something every manager should be. [1] Sometimes the simple process of being able to vent ones feelings — that is, to express them to a concerned and understanding listener, is enough to relieve frustration and make it possible for the frustrated individual to advance to a problem-solving frame of mind, better able to cope with a personal difficulty that is affecting his work adversely. The nondirective approach is one effective way for managers to deal with frustrated subordinates and co-workers.[2] There are other more direct and more diagnostic ways that might be used in appropriate circumstances. The great strength of the nondirective approach (nondirective counseling is based on the client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers), however, lies in its simplicity, its effectiveness, and the fact that it deliberately avoids the manager-counselors diagnosing and interpreting emotional problems, which would call for special psychological training. No one has ever been harmed by being listened to sympathetically and understandingly. On the contrary, this approach has helped many people to cope with problems that were interfering with their effectiveness on the job.[2] References 1. ^ Henry P Knowles; Bà ¶rje O Saxberg (1971). Personality and leadership behavior. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.. Chapter 8. OCLC 118832. 2. ^ a b Richard Arvid Johnson (1976). Management, systems, and society : an introduction. Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Goodyear Pub. Co.. pp. 148–142. ISBN 0876205406 9780876205402. OCLC 2299496. Kellett, Peter M. Conflict Dialogue. London: Sage Publications, 2007 External links †¢ Conflict Management Articles A collection of Conflict Management Articles †¢ Peace Forge -A wiki dedicated to best practices in peace and conflict resolution †¢ Search For Common Ground One of the worlds largest non-government organisations dedicated to conflict resolution †¢ CUNY Dispute Resolution Consortium- The Dispute Resolution Headquarters in New York City. See also †¢ Conflict resolution †¢ Conflict atlas †¢ Conflict style inventory You cant avoid conflict in your life, at home, at work, and even at play. Wherever people interact, there is a potential for conflict. Thats not bad news because good things can arise, and relationships can improve through conflict, provided conflict is managed with thought and attention. The bad news is that most of us are fairly limited in how we manage and resolve conflict situations, often throwing gasoline on the fire. It doesnt have to be that way. Weve gathered together the best and most useful free online resources and tools to help you manage and cope with conflict more effectively. Whether you want to learn about conflict at work, between siblings, within the family, or any other context, youll be sure to find help on these pages. Originally created for our own research purposes, we decided to publish the directory so others could use it. New conflict material is added weekly, so make sure to subscribe to our update newsletter. Customer Service (75) new A major part of providing good customer service involves dealing effectively with angry, dissatisfied, or just plan difficult customers. Here youll find suggestions about how to deal with those tough customer service, and customer conflict situations. (Call Centers) (Suggested Books) Difficult People (53) new Difficult people can drive you nuts, and if youre difficult, you may be driving others nuts. Learn more about what makes difficult people tick, and how to deal with different kinds of difficult people behaviors. (Discussion Lists) (Suggested Books) Diversity and Multicultural Issues (73) Learn about diversity and culture, how to create diverse organizations, and increase your understanding of the links between diversity, culture and conflict. Practical suggestions about resolution of conflict that is linked to culture. (Suggested Books) (Doing Business Abroad) Emotional Intelligence (37) Free articles and papers related to Emotional Intelligence, Goleman, and others. Facilitation (21) new Articles about the faciliating process in groups and dyads and about facilitators Family Conflict Parents and Children (35) new Parents and children often come into conflict over large and small issues, regardless of age of the children. Learn more about dealing with conflicts between parents and children from these resources. Family Conflict Sibling Disagreements (20) new Conflict with brothers and sisters is a natural process, and occurs in every family. Learn more about conflict between siblings and sibling rivalry and how to deal with it. Fighting Fair (16) Sometimes its not whether you win or lose an argument but how you act during an argument that dictates a positive or negative outcome. Learn to fight fair during disagreements and conflict. Labor Law (23)

Monday, January 27, 2020

Geography of the Middle East

Geography of the Middle East Part 1: The top three issues that contributed significantly to learning in this course Following are the major issues that contributed to my learning because they provide distinctive advantage to the Arab world and help them promote their culture and civilization throughout the world: The first issue is related to the geographical or geo-strategic importance of Middle East studied in the course. This factor is of significant importance because Middle East is located at such a region that provides it with unique benefits. The geography consists of deserts, mountain ranges and rivers and within these, there are various cultural aspects. So, it can be said that the Middle Eastern geography is a blend of benefits that tend to increase the importance of this region in the world. Different types of crops and trees are located in the region. Dates are not found in such a large variety and number in any other area as in the Middle East. Similarly, there are three major mountain ranges and water regions. The geography contributes significantly to the learning because it is such a factor of civilization on which all other things depend. For instance: the political, economic and social systems of any region are directly related to it. Due to this reason, Middle East also forms the center of various geo-political activities. The water resources of this country are immense which have provided a reason for its huge importance. The water from River Nile had remained the center of attention of various countries and it also led to many conflicts. The management of this river has worldwide implications and the same is true for other water resources. So, basically, the reason why this factor has been chosen is that the geography is directly related to economic issues such as trade (imports and exports), political issues such as balance of power and so on. Moreover, another factor that provided excessive learning in the domain of civilization is the significance of oil and energy in the region and the reason as to how it is related to other issues. One can say that all the geo-politics of this region revolved around the distribution of oil. Due to this factor, this region always remained the focus of attention of great powers such as France, Britain and USA. OPEC which forms the basic unit of collaboration among the oil exporting countries contains the Middle Eastern countries. This issue is of significance because the entire petroleum industry of the world revolves around these countries because of existence of so many excessive resources. The non- OPEC countries collectively produce 277 billion barrels of oil whereas the OPEC countries produce 1200 billion barrels. This shows the sharp contrast and this is the reason why this region is powerful and strong as well as quite important in the eyes of the world. The reason why the energy and oil issues have contributed to the learning is that they occupy immense importance. History is witness that the power of this region is directly related to the existence of oil. In the past, production, consumption and exports had been quite balanced and this is expected to increase by 2035. This shows that proper management of supply and demand of oil and gas reserves as well as the balance of exports and imports can prove to be an excessive advantage for the region in the long run. This shows that civilization is not just an isolated phenomenon rather it is a complex mixture which includes the geopolitical factors and all of these factors work together to improve their importance of any region. So, they must be properly utilized in order to make sure that these real assets of the Arabian civilization do not go wasted. The third issue that is of extreme importance and has contributed greatly is the cultural and religious aspect of the Arabian civilization. The reason why this issue is selected is that while geo-politics, economics and reserves are related to some wider problems, this is an internal issue and provides a distinctive advantage to the Middle Eastern countries over the rest of the world. This is so because the Arabian identity is associated with it. Culture and religion form the real essence of the civilization and all these factors work together to create better value for the people and as a result; they feel more strong bonding and association with their identity. The course materials explain the distinctive features of religion and culture for instance: Quran is the basic text that is the sole source of guidance for the Arabs. Their language is different which sets them apart from other nations of the world. Their attitudes and belief towards humanity, culture, non-Muslims and univer sality are such that they provide a superior advantage. The major learning associated with this issue is that the cultural aspects of Arab world must be polished and shaped, they must be promoted among the local populace in such a way that they form the real backbone of the Middle Eastern nations because this culture, ethnicity, language and religion is the motivating force that has the ability to lead us to great heights and act as a driver towards worldwide growth, progress and prosperity. Part 2: The top two examples that strongly stimulated your critical thinking about the region’s opportunities and problems The first example that forms a core strength or opportunity for the region is its oil and gas reserves. This is a great opportunity because it provides financial power to the region. Moreover, having such a huge amount of oil and gas reserves has made it one of the prominent regions in the world. It has a positive impact on trade; the exports and imports are increased and huge profits are acquired. However, there are certain problems associated with the opportunity too. The first one being that this God gifted region becomes the focus and center of attention of great powers which then use their different strategies to acquire hold of these reserves. Another example that is directly related to the regions opportunities and problems is the religion of Arab world. Islam is the strongest force which provides distinctive advantage and superiority to the Arabs over various other nations of the world. This is because of the better principles and rules taught by Islam. This religion is a huge opportunity for the Arab Muslim world because it provides the force of cohesion, unity and bonding to the people and thus provides a huge strength. This can be a great benefit in the sense that it can provide a power to the Arab people with which they can compete with rest of the world. Their ways of lives, their customs, their traditions as well as their norms and values are firmly rooted in the religion and thus, religion only is the biggest opportunity enjoyed by people of the Arab world. But at the same time, it can lead to certain problems having a global impact. While on the one hand religion forms a big opportunity by providing cohesion and solidarity among the people but at the same time, it divides the world along two lines i.e. the Muslims and the non-Muslims. This can prove to be a great threat as shown by the examples of various battles. Most of the regions fight either over economic or political issues and somewhere, these issues are also related to religion. The example of Iran war and the Israel-Palestine conflicts are good examples of this factor because directly or directly, they revolve around the issue of religion. Another factor that is closely related to religion is the concept of power and authority and it can also be a big problem and hindrance in maintaining smooth functioning of the society. Part 3: The single top finding that clearly influenced the worldview and vision about how to promote mutual understanding between the American people and the peoples of the Middle East. Based upon the subjects studied in the course, one single finding that can act as a stimulator to promote better understanding between the Middle East and the American people is the force of religion. This is so because all the other issues such as economics and geopolitics, the oil and energy reserves etc. are so complex that they become the center of political tensions. So, it is hard to adopt a middle approach in these cases and to promote better understanding among the two nations. So, the only factor that can prove to be beneficial in this case is the religion because it provides a clear cut explanation of all the issues that form the basis of misunderstanding between the Eastern and the Western world. Another reason to select this finding is that it is always difficult to convince people in the domain of economics or politics but it is relatively easier to convince them in the domain of religion because religion includes within itself emotional attachments and bonding of people to some higher forces. It is based upon certain concepts that form the base of all human activities. So, misunderstanding can be resolved by changing the wrong conceptions of people as well as their misperceptions about the Muslims as terrorists. This can be done by explaining to them the clear interpretation of Quranic texts which show that Islam is a liberal religion which allows us to follow utmost standards of humanity in all domains of life. Islam does not promote terrorism or unnecessary harsh behavior with any nation of the world. It asks human beings to believe in the higher authority of Almighty Allah as well as the belief that He is the only one and he has no son or father. So, the right explanati on of religious texts in the Arabic literature to the Western world can be a source of motivation and can help in removing the misconception that Muslims are fundamentalists, terrorists and religious fanatics. Although there are economic and political factors associated with every problem but I believe that the major source or reason of misunderstanding between the Western and Eastern world is the religious factor which created deep differences. These differences can be resolved only through better understanding and communication whereby the Muslims are able to portray their true image to the Americans and the Americans in turn are ready to accept this image as the real one and change their stigmatized labels about terrorism that are wrongly associated with the Muslim world. Resolution of such process take lots of time yet nothing is impossible. If proper efforts are given to this issue from both sides, it can help in better understanding of each other’s position in the world in terms of religion, culture, economic as well as politics and hence; this can be a real positive step towards the promotion of mutual understanding between the Eastern and the Western world. Conclusion Therefore, it can be concluded that while the Arab world is one of the strongest regions of the world because of its economic power, the oil and gas reserves, the huge development as well as the force of Islamic religion. Despite of various political battles and conflicts and religious issues in the region, most of the countries have still managed to thrive and prove themselves as strong nations as compared to the rest of the world. In order to remove various misunderstandings between the Arab and the Western world, a religious approach can be the best tool but at the same time, this religious approach needs to be assimilated with all other relevant factors in order to ensure progress and development in the long run.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

William Harrison :: essays research papers fc

William Henry Harrison William Harrison was our 9th president. He had many accomplishments before he was president. He gave the longest inaugural speech. In 1809 William Harrison negotiated the Treaty of Fort Wayne. The treaty was an agreement between the United States and many Native American tribes. In 1811 Harrison led soldiers in the battle of Tippecanoe against a Shawnee Tribe. The Americans won the battle and he was a hero after the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was also in charge of the committee on military affairs. In 1816 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1819 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate. In 1825 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He then was named minister of a South American country called Columbia. Later he became governor of Indian Lands. In 1836 he lost the election for president to Martin Van Buren. Then he won the next election in 1840.William Harrison had a lot of accomplishment before he was president. William Harrison was born in Virginia. He had to over come some obstacles in his life. One was he grew up during the American Revolution. He and His father disagreed about the job Harrison would have. His father wanted him to be a doctor but when he died Harrison stopped studying medicine and joined the army. He also fought in a lot of difficult battles against the British and the Native Americans. Six out of ten of William Harrison’s children died at an early age. He overcame all of these obstacles. William Harrison only was in office for one month. This was because he caught pneumonia and died.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Beware of the Long Load Time Problem when You Buy a Website Essays

Buying a Website? Beware of the Long Load Time Problem Numerous studies have show that, while most web designers use fast internet connections, the majority of their audience still use comparatively slower connections. Because of this, many designers create web pages that may load quickly enough on their own computers, but take excessively long to load on their audiences' computers. Many web designers have not dealt with this issue on their websites, resulting in the loss of a valuable audience, even though numerous ways of dealing with the long load time problem exist. The largest cause of long page load times is the graphical content of the webpage. While text generally does not take too long to load over most connections, images can adversely affect even the fastest connection speeds when used incorrectly. Because websites use images more than almost any other media, this problem affects web designing decisions for practically every website created. Many web designers use large, full-quality graphics on their websites, which often take up much of the page. These images, while very attractive, do not justify the long time they require to load. In addition, many designers use full screen graphical interfaces for their sites. Even when text is the main component of these pages, the graphical interface slows the load time to a crawl. This forces viewers interested only in the text to wait unjustifiably long for the graphical interface to load first. For websites created for image viewing, there are often numerous, large, high-quality images placed on a single page in a giant column. Even if a viewer wants to observe just one of these images, they must wait for the other unwanted images to load as well. All of these problems caus... ...o a different page. Many thumbnails can be placed on a single page, and their small size and high compression do not lengthen load times significantly. A thumbnail also gives viewers a preview of what the larger, full-quality image will look like if they click on a thumbnail, allowing them to decide beforehand if it is worth their time. In summary, too many webpage designers are misusing images in ways that cause websites to load far too slowly. They should instead take advantage the many solutions available for solving this problem when designing and implementing their sites. By not doing so, designers frustrate viewers and lose a valuable audience. Utilizing techniques for decreasing webpage load time will help web designers to expand their audiences and viewers to enjoy websites more fully, proving beneficial to those on both sides of the long load time problem.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Movie Critique of Mean Girls

Developmental Psychology Film Critique Number Two I believe the main character in the film to be Cady Heron who is played by Lindsay Lohan and is a sixteen year old girl. She was homeschooled her entire life until now. I would place Cady in the Adolescence stage of Erikson’s theory of development. It is described that the basic conflict in this stage is identity vs. role confusion. In this stage teens need to develop a personal sense of self and personal identity. If one is able to succeed it will lead them with the ability to stay true to their self.Failure to do so leads the individual to role confusion and a weak sense of self. In the beginning of the film it shows Cady as a nice young shy and naive girl who is tries her best to fit in. She is nice to everyone around her and has a hard time finding someone who will accept her. She ends up meeting two other people who are like minded as herself. She is dared by one of her new friends to change in order to get back at a girl who she wants to get revenge on from the 8th grade.Cady does such a good job at changing who she is that she begins to lose her sense of self and her personal identity. She realizes one day that she ditched her real friends for her new fake ones and it reminds her that she has developed a weak sense of self. At the end of the movie she is able to regain her true self and become friends with her original friends again. Yes the character named Cady did experience changes in the social role they occupied over the course of the film. When she first came to the school she wasn’t really accepted and nobody paid any attention or respect to her.Once she sold out and joined the fake group of girls called the plastics she was only then able to gain popularity and respect from her classmates. When she became part of the plastics she lost her first and only true friends as well. Like I said earlier she did leave the plastics and became friends with her first friends again. I would place Cady in level 2: conventional mortality. Views of other people matter to the individual at this level. People at this level also try to avoid blame and seek approval.I would also put Cady at stage 3 of this level. In this stage people have good intentions. They want to behave in a way that is considered â€Å"good behavior†. Cady definitely cares about how other people view her and it really matters to her. She changes a lot in this film just so people accept her. She joins a group of people that gets attention. People really don’t like the group of girls she joins but they continue to look up and respect them. She lies to her old friends to avoid blame several times throughout the film.She also tries to get approval from her original friends for her to join the plastics but they do not approve. She leaves the group because she doesn’t have good intentions of being in it. The only reason why she joined the group was to help her friend get the inside on her in or der to get revenge. I would say that the easiest indication of identity issues within the main character comes from her level of self –esteem. She feels bad at first that she can’t find friends. She comes home from school on the first day and doesn’t even speak to her parents because she got picked on so bad.She also joined the plastics and became so popular but she knew it wasn’t her and she still had low self-esteem. It wasn’t until she left the plastics became friends again with her original ones was she able to gain her self-esteem back. She learned to accept everyone for who they were. I would say that in the end of the movie it does show that Cady experiences a sense of life satisfaction. She is able to find out who she truly is and is able to help others do the same as well. She destroys the prom queen tiara that she receives at the beginning of the school’s prom dance.She breaks it into pieces and gives it to all of the students tell ing them that they are all special. I think that this part of the movie really shows best the sense of life satisfaction of Cady and also her classmates. I believe that this film is more of a chick flick but it does have an impression that can be perceived by anyone who watches it. It shows real life events that go on everyday throughout the high schools across the world. Students are at a time in life where they need to decide who they are and what they want to become.I believe that it does portray the adolescence stage of Erikson’s very well in a positive way. I think it shines light on what it is really like for both the group of classmates who gets picked on and also the people who are doing the picking. It shows that people who used to not get along can learn how they can accept each other and live much happier lives. I think that the overall message the film sends about adolescence is that it isn’t an easy road to travel down and that it may take several attempts at trying new things to help someone truly find out who they really are.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Singnifcane of Role of Media

Using materials from Item C and elsewhere, assess the view that the mass media represent young people as a problem group? (18 Marks) Youth are often portrayed as a ‘problem group’ in society, and as a major source of anti – social behaviour, particularly young working class, and especially African Caribbean, males. The Mass Media often generate this excitement by creating stereotypes of young people as troublemakers, layabouts and vandals, and by exaggerating the occasional deviant behaviour by a few young people out of the proportion to its real significance in society.Media strongly affects youth culture. The media executives are quick to defend their role in youth violence and bullying while selling millions of dollars in ads focused on youth. TV producers, network executives, motion picture companies and others in the media deny any impact of their programs on the attitudes and actions of youth. This essay using materials from Item C asses the view the mass me dia represent young people as a problem group. Some Sociologist argues that the mass media represent young people as a problem group.This has been argued by Cohen. He argues that young people are relatively powerless and an easily identifiable group to blame for society’s problems and therefore the mass media are able to represent young people as a problem group. In his study he found that African Caribbean males are often used as scapegoats by the media to create a sense of unity through the creation of moral panic. Where they generated moral panics based on stereotypes means that all young people from a specific group get labelled as troublemakers and an antisocial problem group.A recent event that backs up Cohen study is the protest of the Rising in tuition fees to ? 9000, where young people were see a bad and making the situation even worse by causing trouble. Thus, showing that the media represent young people as a problem group. However, Signorelli’s (1989) conte nt analysis of over 14,000 American television characters and found that not only young characters were represent as bad but also older characters were also represented as troublemakers. Which therefore show that the media equally represent different age groups as a problem.However, Jewkes (2004) points out that young people are the usual targets of moral panics, their behaves regarded as a barometer to test the usual target of moral panics, Young people are the usual target of moral panics, their behaviour is ‘regarded as a barometer to test the health or sickness of as society’ Furthermore, Pearson (1983) argues that contemporary images usually categorise young people as a problem. He argued that during the â€Å"golden age† media had represented young people with low rates of crime and the youth had respected the police.Pearson believes that the media are in a permanent panic about whatever manifestation of ‘youth as a problem’ is current: the Hoo ligans of Victorian Times, the Teds of the 1950s or the Travellers of today. A recent event that backs up Pearson’s theory is the London Summer 2010 Riots where young people were represented in the media as trouble makers and cause of the whole disturbance, although after research had been conducted more adults were found to be looting and rioting than young people.As well as, the media did not show much of the Young people gathering together to clean the streets of London. Therefore this shows that the media represents young people as problem groups. However Pearson theory has been criticised†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In addition, Wayne et al. (2008) had conducted a content analysis of 2130 news items across all the main television channels during May 2006. They found that young people were mainly represented as a violent threat to society. They found that it was very rare for news items to feature a young pers on’s perspective or opinion.They note that the media only delivers a one-dimensional picture of youth, one that encourages fear and condemnation rather than understanding. Moreover, they argue that it distracts from the real problems that young people face in the modern world such as homelessness, not being able to get onto the housing ladder, unemployment or mental health and that these might be caused by society’s, or the government’s, failure to take the problems of youth seriously. Thus, showing the media represent young people as a problem group. Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Friday, January 3, 2020

Military History Saladins Siege of Jerusalem

The Siege of Jerusalem was part of the Crusades in the Holy Land. Dates Balians defense of the city lasted from September 18 to October 2, 1187. Commanders Jerusalem Balian of IbelinHeraclius of Jerusalem Ayyubids Saladin Siege of Jerusalem Summary In the wake of his victory at the Battle of Hattin in July 1187, Saladin conducted a successful campaign in the Christian territories of the Holy Land. Among those Christian nobles who managed to escape from Hattin was Balian of Ibelin who first fled to Tyre. A short time later, Balian approached Saladin to ask permission to pass through the lines to retrieve his wife, Maria Comnena, and their family from Jerusalem. Saladin granted this request in exchange for an oath that Balian would not take up arms against him and would only remain in the city for one day. Traveling to Jerusalem, Balian was immediately summoned by Queen Sibylla and Patriarch Heraclius and asked to lead the defense of the city. Concerned about his oath to Saladin, he was ultimately convinced by Patriarch Heraclius who offered to absolve him of his responsibilities to the Muslim leader. To alert Saladin to his change of heart, Balian dispatched a deputation of burgesses to Ascalon. Arriving, they were asked to open negotiations for the surrender of the city. Refusing, they told Saladin of Balians choice and departed. Though angered by Balians choice, Saladin did allow Maria and the family safe passage to travel to Tripoli. Within Jerusalem, Balian faced a bleak situation. In addition to laying in food, stores, and money, he created sixty new knights to reinforce its weak defenses. On September 20, 1187, Saladin arrived outside of the city with his army. Not wishing further bloodshed, Saladin immediately opened negotiations for a peaceful surrender. With Eastern Orthodox clergyman Yusuf Batit serving as a go-between, these talks proved fruitless. With the talks ended, Saladin commenced a siege of the city. His initial attacks focused on the Tower of David and the Damascus Gate. Assaulting the walls over several days with a variety of siege engines, his men were repeatedly beaten back by Balians forces. After six days of failed attacks, Saladin shifted his focus to a stretch of the citys wall near the Mount of Olives. This area lacked a gate and prevented Balians men from sortieing against the attackers. For three days the wall was relentlessly pounded by mangonels and catapults. On September 29, it was mined and a section collapsed. Attacking into the breach Saladins men met fierce resistance from the Christian defenders. While Balian was able to prevent the Muslims from entering the city, he lacked the manpower to drive them from the breach. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Balian rode out with an embassy to meet with Saladin. Talking with his adversary, Balian stated that he was willing to accept the negotiated surrender that Saladin had initially offered. Saladin refused as his men were in the middle of an assault. When this attack was repulsed, Saladin relented and agreed to a peaceful transition of power in the city. Aftermath With the fighting concluded, the two leaders began haggling over details such as ransoms. After extended discussions, Saladin stated that the ransom for Jerusalems citizens would be set at ten bezants for men, five for women, and one for children. Those that could not pay would be sold into slavery. Lacking money, Balian argued that this rate was too high. Saladin then offered a rate of 100,000 bezants for the entire population. Negotiations continued and finally, Saladin agreed to ransom 7,000 people for 30,000 bezants. On October 2, 1187, Balian presented Saladin with the keys to the Tower of David completing the surrender. In an act of mercy, Saladin and many of his commanders freed many of those destined for slavery. Balian and the other Christian nobles ransomed several others from their personal funds. The defeated Christians left the city in three columns, with the first two led by the Knights Templars and Hospitallers and the third by Balian and Patriarch Heraclius. Balian ultimately rejoined his family in Tripoli. Taking control of the city, Saladin elected to permit the Christians to retain control of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and allowed Christian pilgrimages. Unaware of the citys fall, Pope Gregory VIII issued a call for the Third Crusade on October 29. The focus of this crusade soon became the recapture of the city. Getting underway in 1189, this effort was led by King Richard of England, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.