 The siege was carried out with great energy and as the Christian forces managed to dig a small hole in the great walls of the castle, the Muslim garrison feared a fate like that of Maarat al-Numaan which was still fresh in the memory of Syrians, and offered to surrender.Despite the mild objections of the ruler of Tebnine (Husam El-Din Beshara), representatives of the families of Tebnine came down the hilly side of the castle to the Frankish camp and asked for safety ("Al-Aman") in exchange for the liberation of 500 Christian slaves.Ibn-Athir, the famous Arab historian, winks that a lot of the rumors circulating in Tebnine about what the crusaders would do if the castle was taken by assault, came from none other than other Frankish lords who were not very happy to see a successful campaign led by king Amalric II of Jerusalem, added to the fact that most of them had forged alliances with the sultan Al-Kamil of Egypt and were in no hurry to see it obliterated over some revolting massacres committed in Tebnine.