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Third crusade
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{{Crusade}}
The '''Third Crusade''' (
1189–
1192) was an attempt by
European leaders to reconquer the
Holy Land from
Saladin. It is sometimes referred to as the '''Kings' Crusade'''.
Background
After the failure of the
Second Crusade,
Nur ad-Din had control of
Damascus and a unified
Syria.
Muslim unification
Eager to expand his power, Nur ad-Din set his sights on the
Fatimid dynasty of
Egypt. In
1163, Nur ad-Din's most trusted general,
Shirkuh set out on a military expedition to the
Nile. Accompanying the general was his young nephew, Saladin.
With Shirkuh's troops camped outside of
Cairo, Egypt Cairo, Egypt's sultan,
Shawar called on King
Amalric I of Jerusalem Amalric I of
Kingdom of Jerusalem Jerusalem for assistance. In response, Amalric sent an army into Egypt and attacked Shirkuh's troops at
Bilbeis in
1164.
In an attempt to divert
Kingdom of Jerusalem Crusader attention from Egypt, Nur ad-Din attacked
Principality of Antioch Antioch, resulting in a massacre of
Christian soldiers and the capture of several Crusader leaders, including
Raynald of Chatillon Raynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch. Nur ad-Din sent the scalps of the Christian defenders to Egypt for Shirkuh to proudly display at Bilbeis for Amalric's soldiers to see. This action prompted both Amalric and Shirkuh to lead their armies out of Egypt.
In
1167, Nur ad-Din once again sent Shirkuh to conquer the Fatimids in Egypt. Shawar also opted to once again call upon Amalric for the defense of his territory. The combined Egyptian-Christian forces pursued Shirkuh until he retreated to
Alexandria.
Amalric then breached his alliance with Shawar by turning his forces on Egypt and besieging the city of Bilbeis. Shawar pleaded with his former enemy, Nur ad-Din to save him from Amalric's treachery. Lacking the resources to maintain a prolonged siege of Cairo against the combined forces of Nur ad-Din and Shawar, Amalric retreated. This new alliance gave Nur ad-Din rule over virtually the entire
Muslim world, from Syria to Egypt.
Image:Salah_ad-Din_Jusuf_ibn_Ajub.jpg right|thumb|200px|Saladin, from a 12th-century Arab codex
Saladin's conquests
Shawar was executed for his treacherous alliances with the Christian forces, and Shirkuh succeeded him as
vizier of Egypt. In
1169, Shirkuh died unexpectedly after only weeks of rule. Shirkuh's successor was his nephew, Salah ad-Din Yusuf, best known as Saladin. Nur ad-Din died in
1174, leaving the new empire to his 11-year old son,
As-Salih Ismail al-Malik As-Salih. It was decided that the only man competent enough to uphold the
jihad against the Crusaders was Saladin, who became sultan of both Egypt and Syria, and the founder of the
Ayyubid dynasty.
Amalric also died in 1174, leaving Jerusalem to his 13-year old son,
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Baldwin IV, who forged an agreement with Saladin to allow free trade between Muslim and Christian territories.
In
1176, Raynald of Châtillon was released from prison, and began raiding caravans throughout the region. He expanded his piracy to the
Dead Sea by sending galleys not only to raid ships, but to assault the city of
Mecca itself. These acts enraged the Muslim world, giving Raynald a reputation as the most hated man in the
Middle East.
Baldwin IV died in
1185 and the kingdom was left to the five-year old
Baldwin V, with
Raymond III of Tripoli serving as regent. The following year, Baldwin V died suddenly, and Princess
Sibylla of Jerusalem Sybilla, sister of Baldwin IV and mother of Baldwin V, crowned herself queen and her husband,
Guy of Lusignan, king.
It was at this time that Raynald, once again, raided a rich caravan and had its travellers thrown in his prison. Saladin demanded that the prisoners and their cargo be released. The newly crowned King Guy appealed to Raynald to give in to Saladin's demands, but Raynald refused to follow the king's orders.
Fall of the Latin Kingdom
:''Full article:
Battle of Hattin;
Siege of Jerusalem (1187) Siege of Jerusalem''
Image:Ayyubid.png thumb|left|300px|The Middle East, c. 1190. Saladin's empire and its vassals shown in red; territory taken from the Crusader states 1187-1189 shown in pink. Light green indicates Crusader territories surviving Saladin's death.
It was this final act of outrage by Raynald that prompted Saladin to attack the city of
Tiberias in
1187. Raymond advised patience, but King Guy, acting on advice from Raynald, marched his army to the
Hittin Horns of Hattin outside of Tiberias.
The Crusader army, thirsty and demoralized, was slaughtered in the ensuing battle. King Guy and Raynald were brought to Saladin's tent, where Guy was offered a goblet of water. Guy took a drink but was forbidden to pass the goblet to Raynald, because the Muslim rule of hospitality states that one who receives food or drink is under the protection of the host. Saladin would not be forced to protect the treacherous Raynald by allowing him to drink. Raynald, who had not had a drop of water in days, grabbed the goblet out of Guy's hands. Upon seeing Raynald's disrespect for Arab custom, Saladin beheaded Raynald for past betrayals. Saladin honored tradition with King Guy; Guy was sent to Damascus and eventually ransomed to his people, one of the few captive crusaders to avoid execution.
By the end of the year, Saladin had taken
Akko Acre and
Jerusalem. Pope
Urban III is said to have collapsed and later died upon hearing the news.
Preparations
The new pope,
Gregory VIII proclaimed that the capture of Jerusalem was punishment for the sins of Christians across Europe. The cry went up for a new crusade to the Holy Land.
Henry II of England and
Philip II of France ended their war with each other, and both imposed a "
Saladin tithe" on their citizens to finance the venture. In Britain,
Baldwin of Exeter, the
archbishop of Canterbury, made a tour through Wales, convincing 3000 men-at-arms to take up the cross, recorded in the ''Itinerary'' of
Giraldus Cambrensis.
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Barbarossa's crusade
The elderly
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa responded to the call immediately. He took up the Cross at
Mainz Cathedral on
March 27,
1188 and was the first to set out for the Holy Land in May of 1189. Frederick had raised an army so massive that it could not be transported across the
Mediterranean Sea, but instead had to cross
Asia Minor on foot.
The
Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus made a secret alliance with Saladin to impede Frederick's progress in exchange for his empire's safety. On
May 18,
1190, the
German people German army captured
Konya, the capital of the
Sultanate of Rüm. However, on
June 10,
1190, Frederick was thrown from his horse in the crossing of the
Saleph River and drowned. His son
Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia Frederick VI led the army to
Antioch where his body was interred in the Church of St. Peter. In Antioch, most of what remained of the German army died of
Bubonic plague plague.
Richard's departure
Henry II died on
July 6,
1189 following a defeat by his son
Richard I of England Richard I and Philip II. Richard inherited the crown and immediately began raising funds for the crusade. In July of 1190, Richard set out from
Marseille Marseille, France for the island of
Sicily.
William II of Sicily had died the previous year, and was replaced by
Tancred of Sicily Tancred, who placed
Joan Plantagenet Joan — William's wife and Richard's sister — in prison. Richard captured the capital city of
Messina on
October 4,
1190 and Joan was released.
Shortly after setting sail from Sicily, Richard's armada was struck by a violent storm. Several ships were lost, including one holding Joan, his new fiancée
Berengaria of Navarre Berengaria, and a large amount of treasure that had been amassed for the crusade. It was soon discovered that Emperor
Isaac Dukas Comnenus of
Cyprus had seized the treasure. Richard entered
Limassol on
May 6,
1191 and met with Isaac, who agreed to return Richard's belongings and send 500 of his soldiers to the Holy Land. Once back at his fortress of
Famagusta, Isaac broke his oath of hospitality and began issuing orders for Richard to leave the island. Isaac's arrogance prompted Richard to conquer the island within days.
Battle of Acre
:''Full article:
Battle of Acre''
King Guy was released from prison by Saladin in 1189. He attempted to take command of the Christian forces at
Tyre, but
Conrad of Montferrat held power there after his successful defense of the city from Muslim attacks. Guy turned his attention to the wealthy port of Acre. He amassed an army to besiege the city and received aid from Philip's newly-arrived
France French army, however it was still not enough to counter Saladin's force.
Richard arrived at Acre on
June 8,
1191 and immediately began supervising the construction of siege weapons to assault the city. The city was captured on
July 12.
Richard, Philip, and
Leopold V of Austria (Babenberg) Leopold V (commanding the remnants of Barbarossa's army) began squabbling over the spoils of their victory. Leopold felt that he deserved equal recognition for his efforts in the battle, but Richard cast down the German standard from the city. Meanwhile, Richard and Philip argued over the rightful heir to the throne of Jerusalem. Richard held that the king was Guy, while Philip argued that Conrad deserved the crown. It was decided that Guy would continue to rule, but that Conrad would receive the crown upon his death.
Frustrated with Richard, Philip and Leopold took their armies and left the Holy Land in August.
When it became apparent that Saladin was not willing to pay the terms of the treaty at Acre, Richard had more than 3,000 Muslim prisoners executed on
August 20 outside of Acre in full view of Saladin's camp.
Battle of Arsuf
:''Full article:
Battle of Arsuf''
After the capture of Acre, Richard decided to march to the city of
Jaffa, where he could launch an attack on Jerusalem. On
September 7,
1191, at
Arsuf, 30 miles north of Jaffa, Saladin attacked Richard's army.
Saladin attempted to lure Richard's forces out to be easily picked off, but Richard maintained his formation until the
Hospitallers rushed in to take Saladin's right flank, while the
Knights Templar (military order) Templars took the left. Richard won the battle and crushed the myth of Saladin's invincibility.
Crusade's end
Image:Punch1917-richardIandallenby.jpg Punch magazine.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|200px|Richard overlooking Jerusalem, from [[Punch magazine,
1917..html" title="Meaning of right|200px|Richard overlooking Jerusalem, from [[Punch magazine">thumb|right|200px|Richard overlooking Jerusalem, from [[Punch magazine,
1917.">right|200px|Richard overlooking Jerusalem, from [[Punch magazine">thumb|right|200px|Richard overlooking Jerusalem, from [[Punch magazine,
1917.
Following his victory, Richard took Jaffa and established his new headquarters there. He offered to begin negotiations with Saladin, who sent his brother,
Saphadin to meet with Richard. Negotiations failed, and Richard marched to
Ascalon.
Richard called on Conrad who refused, citing Richard's alliance with King Guy. Conrad was later assassinated in the streets of Tyre, reportedly on instructions from Richard. King Guy was given rule of Cyprus, and
Henry II of Champagne became king of Jerusalem.
In July of
1192, Saladin suddenly attacked and captured Jaffa with thousands of men, but the city was re-captured by Richard and a much smaller force of 55 men on
July 31. A final battle was fought on
August 5 in which Richard once again emerged triumphant.
On
September 2,
1192, Richard and Saladin finalized a treaty by which Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control, but which also allowed unarmed Christian
pilgrims to visit the city. Richard departed the Holy Land on
October 9.
Aftermath
Richard was captured by Duke Leopold, whose pride had been wounded when Richard tore his standard from the walls of Acre. It took a ransom of one hundred fifty thousand marks for Richard to be released. Richard returned to England in
1194 and died of an arrow wound in
1199 at the age of 42.
Shortly after Richard's departure, Saladin died, leaving behind only one piece of gold and forty-seven pieces of silver; he had given the rest away to his poor subjects.
The failure of the Third Crusade would lead to the call for a
Fourth Crusade six years later.
Accounts of events surrounding the Third Crusade were written by
Ambrose the poet and
Giraldus Cambrensis.
Sources
*Reston, James Jr. ''Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade.'' Anchor, 2001.
*Williams, Paul L. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades.'' Alpha, 2002.
External links
-
Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade
Category:Crusades
Category:12th century
Category:Medieval warfare
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cs:TÅ™età křÞová výprava
de:Dritter Kreuzzug
el:Γ' ΣταυÏ?οφοÏ?ία
es:Tercera Cruzada
fr:Troisième croisade
hr:Treći križarski rat
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nl:Derde kruistocht
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Third_Crusade
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