On the evening of 4 July King Guy and Reynald of Châtillon were brought before Saladin, who was by then sitting in splendour in the porch of his royal tent. The sultan comforted the parched, defeated and terrified king and gave him a cup of iced julep (rose-water) to quench his thirst. This was both a kindness between rulers and a display of hospitality that in the Arab tradition implied that the king’s life was now safe under Saladin’s protection.
