Philip K. Hitti (1886 – 1978) added to his work in his publication "An Arab-Syrian Gentlemen in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah ibn-Munqidh", with the latest edition published in 2000 by Columbia University Press.
Usamah's autobiography is part of the literary genre known as adab which aims at "pleasing, diverting and titilating" its readers, as well as instructing them.
According to him, It gives us a glimpse into Syrian methods of warfare, hawking and medication, and ushers us into the intimacies of Moslem court life as well as private home life..[2] It also offers an insight into the mindset of Arabic knights as they interacted with the crusaders as friends, fought against them as enemies and on matters of religion and politics.
It provides an idea of the internal political structure as Usama served under the Fatimid court in Egypt and under Nur al-Din.
When Usama moves to Egypt in 1144 the caliph provided him with a place to reside, which he describes:[3] (the caliph) had me invested with a robe of honour in his presence, bestowed on me a full wardrobe together with one hundred dinars, authorized me to use his baths and assigned for my residence one of the mansions of al-Afdal, son of the Amir-al-Juyush, which was extremely magnificent, fully equipped with carpets, furniture and a complete outfit of brass utensils.The autobiography gives evidence of textiles and clothing: He [Al-Malik al-'Adil] put at my disposal six thousand Egyptian dinars, a camel load of Dabiqi clothes, of ciclatoum, of squirrel-furred gowns, of Dimyati brocade, and of turbans.
Usama describes the things that were plundered from his home when he had to flee from it: From the hall of my home they carried away forty huge camel bags all sewn up and containing great quantities of silver, gold and clothing, and from my stable they marched away thirty-six horses and female saddle mules Usama describes another time when his possessions were stolen when his family are returning from Egypt.
On their journey, the King of Jerusalem took all their valuable possessions: ...jewellery, which had been entrusted to the women, clothes, gems, swords, weapons and gold and silver amounting to about thirty thousand dinars.
[7] After getting into trouble with his uncle who ruled Shayzar, Usama was exiled, traveling to Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Mosul and Mecca.
By the end of his life, however, Syria and Egypt were united under Saladin and had re-conquered most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the crusaders.
He concerted with a group of young men from his special bodyguard, together with others whom he won over to the scheme by distributing money among them, that they attack al-Adil in his home and put him to death.
Usama gives the example of when the caliph tried to persuade Ibn Abbas to kill his father so that he would succeed to become vizier.
As soon as the caliph was seated, the band rushed upon him and killed him[11] The autobiography gives us details of Muslim attitudes towards the Christian crusaders who went to the Middle East.
He gives a couple of examples; The first is a description of a duel to settle a dispute and the second is a man being dropped into a cask of water.
For example, when a Frankish knight offers to take his son to his country to educate him in wisdom and chivalry, he refuses: Thus there fell upon my ears words which would never come out of the head of a sensible man; for even if my son were to be taken captive, his captivity could not bring him a worse misfortune than carrying him into the lands of the Franks.
The Franks who have lived there a while have got used to the customs of Islamic society while the newcomers are more hostile: Everyone who is a fresh emigrant from the Frankish lands is ruder in character than those who have become acclimatized and have held long associations with the Muslims[16] Usama gives us details of medical practices by mentioning medical cures he has witnessed.
Thabit describes his method of treatment: "They brought before me a knight in whose leg an abscess had grown; and a woman afflicted with imbecility .To the knight I applied a small poultice until the abscess opened and became well; and the woman I put on a diet and made her humour wet.
He describes the treatment given to a knight by a Frankish physician: A horse kicked him in the leg, which was subsequently infected and which opened in fourteen different places.
By this treatment all the cuts were healed and the man became well again[21] He gives another example of a boy whose neck was affected with scrofula.
Also, death following an amputation due to an abscess is the same treatment, and fate, suffered by the Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub in 1249, miles from any Frankish physician.
One of the main themes of the book is that the outcome of warfare is pre-determined: 'Victory in warfare is from Allah...and is not due to organisation and planning nor to the number of troops and supporters.,[23] He describes how discipline was maintained while marching through enemy territory: ...making our stops at the call of the bugle and starting again at the call of the bugle.
Usama also describes a system of hunting using sakers: At first should be sent the leader which, striking a gazelle, binds on its ear.
[29] Usama's autobiography can show a lot about various aspects of Islamic society during the 12th century, and the material culture as well as the political and religious customs of the time.