The Third Crusade (1189-1192)

The Third Crusade began in 1189 as an attempt to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin.

A few years earlier Saladin had just gained control of Syria and thus brought it under his reign along with Egypt. Control of both Egypt and Syria allowed Saladin to surround the Crusader kingdom; on July 4, 1187, Saladin won the Battle of Hattin, and on October 2 Jerusalem surrendered. Christian power was now restricted to Antioch, Tripoli, Tyre, and Margat.

The battle took place near Tiberias, in an area whose chief geographic feature is a double hill, in fact an extinct volcano, (the "Horns of Hattin") beside a pass through the northern mountains between Tiberias and the road from Acre to the west. Saladin had taken the town of Tiberias, to the east, on July 2, 1187 with only a small portion of his overall forces. Raymond III of Tripoli, whose wife Eschiva was besieged in the citadel at Tiberias, and King Guy of Jerusalem were at Acre with the bulk of the Crusader army, which consisted of 1200 knights, possibly as many as 20 000 foot soldiers, and a large number of mercenaries. King Guy ordered the army to march immediately against Saladin at Tiberias. This was what Saladin had planned, for he had calculated that he could only defeat the crusaders in a field battle, rather than by besieging their fortifications.

The Crusaders began their march from Sephoria on July 3, and were almost immediately under harassment from the Muslim skirmishers on horseback. By noon on that day Saladin had joined his forces at Cafarsett and sent his army to engage the exhausted, and depleted Crusaders. The Crusader army was divided into 3 divisions and the rearguard was forced to a halt by continuous attacks, thus halting the whole army. The Crusaders, after a day with no fresh water, were forced to make camp in the middle of the plain, surrounded by the Muslim army, and Saladin's forces started fires around the camp during the night to make the situation worse for King Guy's army.

On the morning of July 4, the Crusaders, thirsty and demoralised, broke camp and changed direction for the springs of Hattin, but their ragged approach was attacked by Saladin's army which blocked the route forward and any possible retreat. Count Raymond launched two charges in an attempt to break through. The second of these saw him cut off from the main army and forced to retreat. Most of the Crusader infantry had effectively deserted on to the Horns of Hattin. Without infantry protection the knight's horses were cut down by Muslim archers and they were forced to fight on foot and they, too, retreated on to the Horns. The Crusaders were surrounded and, despite 3 desperate charges on Saladin's position, were defeated. The Muslims captured the royal tent of King Guy, as well as the True Cross, a relic sacred to the Christian forces. Saladin took Guy prisoner, as well as Raynald of Chatillon, whom Saladin personally executed, fulfilling a threat he had made when Raynald had been harassing Muslim trade and pilgrimage routes earlier in the decade. Gerard de Ridefort, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller were also captured. Perhaps 3,000 Crusaders escaped. Of those captured, those with wealthy families were ransomed, the rest were enslaved and knights of military orders were executed.

By mid-September, Saladin had taken Acre, Nablus, Jaffa, Toron, Sidon, Beirut and Ascalon, and Jerusalem fell to the Muslim army on October 2, 1187, making the beginning of the end for the Christian presence in Outremer.

Three Kings responded to the call of Pope Gregory VIII for the third crusade. These were, Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, Richard of England and Philip of France. The germans were the first to depart in 1189. Frederick faced opposition from the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus, who had made a secret treaty with Saladin. Frederick passed through Byzantine land as quickly as possible, and captured the Seljuk capital of Iconium on May 18, 1189. Unfortunately for his crusade, the emperor drowned in the Saleph River on June 10, 1190.

Effectively, Barbarossa's death spelled the end of a significant German presence on the Third Crusade. Although he had a larger army than Saladin, without his leadership his troops immediately began to break up, and those who remained were quickly defeated in battle when they reached Syria.

Leadership now fell to France and England. Those two kings made it to the Holy Land by sea, but they did not arrive as allies.

On the way, Richard stopped at Cyprus, where he took offense at his treatment by the independent Byzantine ruler of the island. By the end of May, he had conquered the whole island, and later sold it to Guy of Lusignan, the nominal King of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Philip had arrived at Tyre and allied himself with Conrad of Montferrat, who also claimed the kingship of Jerusalem. The two besieged Acre in April, 1191, with help from the remnants of Frederick's army, and Richard arrived to take charge of the siege in June. Saladin's army attempted to break the siege, but were turned away, and the city was taken on July 12. The three Christian commanders fought for power amongs themselves; Leopold V of Austria, the German commander, wanted to be recognized equally with Richard and Philip, but Richard removed Leopold's banner from the city. Philip, also frustrated with Richard, left the Holy Land in August.

Richard was now in sole command of the Third Crusade. One of his first acts was something that has earned him condemnation from modern historians. He was still holding a large number of Muslim prisoners as hostage against Saladin's fulfillment of the terms of capitulation. When Saladin sent the first installment, he did not free all the prisoners that had been agreed to.

A week later, Richard ordered the execution of his Muslim prisoners, declaring that Saladin had broken the terms of the agreement. Two thousand seven hundred prisoners were killed?men, women and children. They were executed outside the city walls; Saladin's soldiers could see the butchery, which took all day, and tried to rescue them. Even as the prisoners were being slaughtered, a battle was fought, but the Muslims were driven back and all the prisoners died.

The next day, August 22, Richard led his army out of Acre. Richard's objective was to recover Jerusalem and naturally Saladin understood this. The Sultan's main goal, therefore, was to keep Richard away from the city. Saladin had his own problems, however. His army consisted of many emirs that bound to him by varying degrees of loyalty. Some of them had been on campaign now for four years; they were glutted with victory and were tired. Already they had shown themselves unwilling to risk enough to save Acre; he could not afford to be too agressive with Richard. Besides, the English king's reputation as a warrior was well known to Saladin. A foolish mistake in the field, and the Latins might regain all that they had lost.

His strategy, therefore, was to follow Richard closely, to harass him at every opportunity, and to hope that the King might be goaded into a mistake. For his part, Richard understood the situation as well as Saladin. His first order of business was to avoid the trap Saladin hoped to spring.

So, the Crusaders marched south under very strict orders. Richard kept them right next to the sea, with the infantry and supplies marching along the beaches and the cavalry protecting it on the flank. The fleet kept pace with the army, protecting it from the seaward side and keeping it supplied. Despite skirmishing, the Crusaders avoided being provoked into battle or being drawn away from the main body of the army. During the last few days of the march, there was fighting every day, but still Saladin could not force the army to break.

At last, Saladin had to risk a pitched battle. On September 7, 1191, Saladin attacked near Arsuf. He tried the classic Turkish tactic of attacking with light cavalry, trying to lure the Frankish cavalry into a rash attack, but Richard refused to rise to the bait. Eventually, despite Richard's orders, his men charged. Within moments, the entire line of the knights moved to the attack. Richard charged after them and took the lead.

The fury of the knights charge was too much for the emirs. One after another, they broke and ran. Saladin himself went into the battle and was able to save his camp, at least, and to keep the retreat from turning into a rout.

Richard now needed some sort of base from which to launch his attack on Jerusalem, so the next few months were spent fortifying Jaffa. It was during these months that Richard sold the island of Cyprus to the Templars. His representatives there had been plagued by revolts. He had drained the island of money and it was of no further interest to him. Templar gold, however, was of immediate interest.

In November, Saladin disbanded about half his army and retired to winter quarters. Richard tried to take advantage of this and moved his army forward. The weather, however, was terrible. He got as close as twelve miles from the city early in January 1192, but then had to pull back. Not only was Saladin in the field against him, but a second army had come up from Egypt, and the city itself had been fortified.

The next few months went without any major incident. But, soon the crusaders were mired by infighting. Many of the French knights left Richard and went to Acre or back to France, mainly because Philip had left them little money and Richard was no longer able to pay them. Conrad was still openly defiant of Richard and was supported in this by many of the Palestinian barons who refused to accept Guy as their king. The Pisans and Genoese at Acre quarreled so badly that Richard had to go to Acre in person to settle it.

Worse yet, the King was receiving bad news from home. His brother, John, was usurping power shamelessly. And Philip seemed on the verge of breaking his oath not to attack any of Richard's lands while he was still on Crusade. The King became convinced that he would have to make some sort of treaty with Saladin and return home as soon as possible.

Richard was now anxious to go home, but again events conspired to delay him. Rebellion had broken out in Saladin's family and he was busy dealing with that. In May, then, Richard went south to Daron and easily captured it. The Crusaders had now re-captured every coastal fortification that had been lost. The time seemed right to make another attempt on Jerusalem.

So, on June 7, 1192, Richard again set out to free the Holy City. He again drew close, within a few miles, but Saladin was there waiting for him. The two armies skirmished occasionally throughout the month, but no serious fighting developed. Richard could not risk a siege, for his army was not large enough. For his part, Saladin did not want to risk a pitched battle; all he had to do was defend Jerusalem and eventually the English king would have to retire.

It worked. On July 4, Richard ordered a retreat. Many in his army were deeply disappointed, but the experienced commander was convinced that to attack Jerusalem would be to risk the entire army. He returned to Jaffa and again entered into negotiations with Saladin for a truce. While negotiations were proceeding, Richard moved up to Acre, to be ready to sail as soon as the treaty was signed.

On July 27, Saladin took advantage of Richard's absence to make a sudden assault on Jaffa. The city fought for three days, but was badly outnumbered. Saladin's troops plundered and slaughtered, and the garrison retreated to the city's fortress. His troops were glutting themselves on the town's supplies and it took Saladin some time to bring them back to order.

As soon as Richard heard about the attack on Jaffa, he sent his army to save the city. He arrived on July 31 and charged into the city. Saladin?s men were completely dispersed, thinking the city safe, and were taken by surprise. After a few days of fighting the Crusaders were able to regain Jaffa and Saladin retreated to Jerusalem.

The final treaty was signed on September 2, 1192. By its terms, Jerusalem would remain in Muslim hands, but Christian pilgrims were to be allowed to visit it, and all the holy places, freely and safely. The towns along the coast that the Christians had recovered would remain in their hands, except for Ascalon. It was to be returned to Saladin, but with all its fortifications demolished. There would be peace in Palestine for five years.

It was not what had been hoped for, when the three greatest European monarchs had set out, three years previously. But the loss of Barbarossa had been a grievous blow, and Philip's disinterest had allowed the French to withdraw at every convenient excuse. The English alone were not enough to win back the City on the Hill.


The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), originally designed to conquer Egypt, instead, in 1204, conquered the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Children's Crusade (1212)

The Children's Crusade (1212) is the name given to a possibly fictional and curious attempt to 'free' the Holy Land inspired by the 12-year old French boy Stephen de Cloyes. Several conflicting accounts of this event exist, and the facts of the situation continue to be a subject of debate among historians.

One story of the Children's Crusade contends that Stephen de Cloyes began preaching at Saint-Denis, claiming that he had been visited by Jesus and told to lead the next Crusade. Through a series of supposed portents and miracles he gained a considerable following, possibly as many as 20,000 children joined him. He led his followers southwards towards Marseille, it is said he believed that the sea would part when he would arrive, so that he and his followers could march to Jerusalem, which did not happen. At Marseille two merchants gave passage on seven boats to as many of the children as would fit. The children were taken to Tunisia and sold into slavery.

The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221)

The Fifth Crusade was an attempt to take back Jerusalem by first conquering the powerful Muslim state in Egypt.

The immediate objective was Damietta, a town in the Nile delta that guarded the main route up river to Cairo, the ultimate objective. Alexandria was the other great city of Egypt, but it would bend to whatever wind blew strongest. Cairo was where the Sultan lived; capture his capital and the rest of Egypt would fall. Damietta was the first, crucial step.

In June of 1218 the crusaders began their siege of Damietta, and despite resistance from the unprepared sultan al-Adil, the tower outside the city was taken on August 25. They could not gain Damietta itself, and in the ensuing months diseases killed many of the crusaders. The Egyptian sultan Al-Adil also died and was succeeded by Al-Kamil. Meanwhile, Honorius III sent Pelagius of Albano to lead the crusade in 1219.

Al-Kamil tried to negotiate a peace with the crusaders - The Sultan offered to return all of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Christians, with the exception of two castles, plus a thirty year truce. In return for this, the Christians should evacuate Egypt immediately and agree not to attack it again for the same period of time. It was a generous offer, but Pelagius would not accept these offers.

In August, Francis of Assisi, then a subordinate of Pelagius, tried to open negotiations with al-Kamil and Pelagius, but had no success. By November, the crusaders had worn out the sultan's forces, and were finally able to occupy the port.

Soon thereafter the christians started squabbling amongst themselves. These squabbles probably saved Cairo. Al-Kamil's army was demoralized after the loss of the city, and much of Egypt was starving. The Sultan spent the winter only a few miles up river, waiting for the christians to advance, prepared for a final battle. But the christians did not come, and slowly he was able to strengthen his hand.

Finally, the crusader army began preparations on July 4 and set out on July 17 (1221). It was one of the largest Crusader armies, with an estimated five thousand knights and forty thousand foot soldiers, plus arches and a large number of unarmed pilgrims. The Egyptians had advanced to meet the Christians, but retreated from their forward position at Sharimshah when they saw the size of the army. Pelagius moved out in pursuit.

The Egyptians took up a position behind the river Bahr as-Saghir, which runs from Lake Manzalah to the Nile. The Christians marched in right after them and set up camp. With much of the Muslim strength in the field, it was here that the battle for Egypt would be decided.

The christians were walking into a trap. The Egyptians flooded the Nile and cutting the Christians off from retreat and from being re-supplied from Damietta. The crusader fleet was trapped, the army was trapped, and there was food enough for only twenty days.

Many in the army urged immediate retreat, before their situation grew worse. At last awakening to the peril, Pelagius agreed. On the night of August 26, without ever having fought a battle, the great army began its retreat.

Water flooded the very ground into which the christians were retreating and the soldiers quickly found themselves wading through mud or falling into gullies now filled with water. Under these conditions, the Egyptians attacked. It was a massacre.

The christians opened negotiations with al-Kamil two days later, on August 28. By the 30th, the terms were settled. In September al-Kamil retook Damietta, and the crusaders left for home, having failed to accomplish anything of importance in their three years in Egypt.

The Sixth Crusade (1228-1229)

The German Emperor, Frederick II, who had failed to take part in the 5th Crusade, had been excommunicated by the pope due to his repeated delays in answering the call of the church ? for holy war. With the local barons fearful and recalcitrant, the Military Orders (except for the Teutonic Knights) openly uncooperative, and his own followers reluctant, Frederick found that he had arrived in the Holy Land without the power to accomplish much. There would be no grand battles, no epic struggle, no fight to the death with the infidel.

In truth, the prospect of diplomacy without battle did not bother Frederick very much. He had been in contact with the Sultan al-Kamil before he ever left Italy and the two men had a certain measure of respect for one another. Al-Kamil had let it be known that he might be willing to yield Jerusalem if the terms were right.

But when Frederick arrived, he caught al-Kamil at an awkward time, for he was otherwise occupied. One of his brothers had been ruling in Damascus and had died in late 1227. His son was still a child. After some quick maneuvering, al-Kamil was now engaged in laying siege to the city with every prospect of conquering it. Damascus was a highly desirable prize for the ruler of Cairo. Upon Frederick's arrival, the Sultan sent ambassadors to Acre with instructions to string out the negotiations for as long as possible. Ideally, either Damascus would fall or Frederick would go home.

There followed months of elaborate fencing, as neither man was bargaining from a position of strength. Both had to appear to their faithful as if they had won some signal victory, for both sides really expected their leaders to seek a decision on the field of battle.

Frederick tried one military expedition, in November 1228, trying to draw al-Kamil into battle, but the Sultan stayed put and the Emperor had to retire. Next, he took advantage of the situation to fortify Jaffa. Damascus continued to hold out, and al-Kamil began to be anxious for a settlement with the Crusaders. In February, Sultan and Emperor came to terms.

By the terms of the treaty, Jerusalem was returned to the Christians. In addition, the Muslims returned Bethlehem, Nazareth, the castles of Montfort and Toron, and a corridor running from Jerusalem to Jaffa. Frederick himself was granted the right to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem if he so chose. In return, the Muslims were to retain possession of the Dome of the Rock and the Mosque al-Aqsa, and were to be allowed free access to and within the city. Al-Kamil got a ten-year truce out of the deal, which meant freedom to concentrate on re-uniting Syria with Egypt. All prisoners on both sides were freed.

Frederick II entered Jerusalem on March 17, 1229 and crowned himself King. Jerusalem had been recovered. The papacy became increasingly preoccupied with Frederick II, so two of the most important promoters of the Crusades were otherwise engaged. The Italians had good relations with the Muslims and were not interested in the risks of war. The great wave of crusading fervor was past. It would not return.


The Seventh Crusade (1248-1254)

The Seventh shares with the Sixth Crusade the attribute of being under the control of a particular monarch. Taken together, they show plainly that the papacy had lost control of the crusading movement and, equally, that the movement was no longer able to stir interest throughout Europe. The crusades were close to becoming the instrument of national policy.

Like all the other crusades except the First, this one ended in failure. And, like the others, it had unintended consequences in Outremer and almost no effect back home.

At the end of the 10 year truce of the 6th crusade. The Egyptians retook Jerusalem.

The Crusade of St. Louis (Louis IX, King of France) - The King and Queen sailed to Cyprus, where they held a council and there it was agreed to aim for Egypt. Both in the Latin West and in Outremer it was understood that Jerusalem could never be secure so long as Egypt was hostile.
He arrived off the coast of Egypt on June 4. The Egyptians knew Louis was coming and had despatched a strong force to oppose him. His advisors all told Louis to wait until the rest of the army should come up, but he refused. On the morning of the 5th, the King landed, leading his troops personally. A fierce battle developed on the beach, but the Egyptian commander, Fakhr ad-Din, withdrew under cover of darkness back to Damietta.

During the night, Fakhr ad-Din found that the city lacked the resolve to fight. He made the tactical decision to abandon the city and to retreat up river. Most of the Muslim population, already in a panic over the prospect of a terrible siege, left with the Egyptian troops.

In the morning, some Christians from the city came to the French camp to tell them that the city was undefended. Louis marched triumphantly into Damietta on June 6, 1249. The last time Damietta had fallen to the Christians, the Sultan had offered Jerusalem in exchange. Hopes among the Crusaders ran very high.

Having won Damietta, the Crusaders now stopped. The Nile would begin to flood in another month, and everyone remembered the fate of the Fifth Crusade. Moreover, the greater part of the army had not yet arrived. Louis decided to wait out the flood season before considering a further advance up the Nile.

In Cairo, the political temperature rose rapidly. The Sultan, Ayub, was dying and everyone knew it. He had relied on his slave warriors, known as the Mamluks, for the defense of Damietta and they were now disgraced. They were advocating a palace revolution to restore their position, but Fakhr ad-Din would not lead them.

Ayub did what he could. Al-Kamil had constructed a small town on the site of his victory over the Fifth Crusade, naming it al-Mansourah: the Victorious. Ayub had himself brought in a litter to Mansourah and turned the place into an armed camp. He sent Bedouin raiders out to harry any Christians who dared to venture beyond Damietta and the army camp set up outside it.

September came and went, then October. The floodwaters receded and the way to Cairo opened. Louis received reinforcements from France, commanded by his brother Alfonso of Poitou. After some discussion, it was agreed to advance up the Nile toward Cairo, and the army set out on November 20, 1249. The King left his Queen behind in Damietta, along with the Patriarch of Jerusalem and a strong garrison.

Sultan Ayub died on November 23 at Mansourah. With the Mamluks and other troops already restless, the Sultana managed to hide the fact of her husbands death long enough to recall her son, Turan-shah, from Syria and to make sure that she and Fakhr ad-Din were securely in power. She managed all this even as Louis and his army were advancing up the Nile toward her.

Fakhr ad-Din kept most of his forces at Mansourah, securely protected by the joining of the Bahr as-Saghir with the Nile?exactly the same position occupied by al-Kamil about thirty years previously. The Crusaders arrived on the banks of the Bahr as-Saghir on December 21, and the two armies dug in.

The rivers protected the Christians as much as they did the Muslims. Fakhr ad-Din tried several times to find a way to attack the French, but each attempt was thwarted. For their part, the Christians were engaged in trying to build a dyke to bridge the river, but the Egyptians managed to thwart that in their turn. January 1250 passed in these activities.
Then, at the beginning of February, the Crusaders got a break. A Coptic Christian offered to show them a ford across the river. They set out on February 8.

The Egyptians were just going about their morning business, unaware that the Christians had crossed the river, so the French were able to burst into the camp almost unopposed. The Egyptians were not formed up, many weren't even armored. Many fled immediately for Mansourah; those who stood and fought, including the Egyptian commander Fakhr ad-Din, were slaughtered.

The Egyptian camp was now in Crusader hands, a very great triumph, but Robert of Artois wanted more. He wanted to pursue the fleeing Egyptians and to capture Mansourah; if that city fell, Cairo could not stand. With Cairo, so fell all of Egypt, and the future of the Holy Land would be assured. It was a crucial moment. But the Crusader forces were badly dispersed in and around the Egyptian camp, and in any case the superiority of the Latin cavalry would be lost in the narrow streets of a city. Both the Grand Master of the Temple, William of Sonnac, and the commander of the English contingent, the Earl of Salisbury, advised Robert to wait for the main Crusader force under King Louis. The Duke dismissed the others as cowards and urged his French forces forward. The Templars and the English reluctantly followed, knowing that Artois would be killed if he went on alone.
King Louis and the bulk of the French army were still crossing the Bahr as-Saghir, unaware of what was happening.

In Mansourah, the fleeing Mamluks were re-grouped under a new leader, Rukn ad-Din Baibars. He stationed his men around the city and allowed the Crusaders to charge into the city without opposition. Once they were all deep within the town, Baibars ordered the counter-attack. Even the people of the town took part, casting down stones and pulling riders from their horses.
The Crusaders could not defend themselves; many, indeed, found themselves in alleys so narrow they could not even turn their horses around. Disaster fell on them. Two hundred and ninety Templar knights rode into Mansourah; five escaped.
The few that escaped informed the King of the disaster. The Egyptians soon tried to capitalize on their victory, attacking three days after the Battle of Mansourah. The battle was inconclusive and there followed a stalemate that lasted for several weeks, but always to the detriment of the Christians.

The Egyptians soon implemented a successful blockade of the Nile and at the end of the month, a whole fleet of thirty-two ships were seized. Famine and disease stalked the Christian camp, and King Louis realized that he must retreat or risk losing everything. He first tried to offer an exchange: Damietta for Jerusalem; but the Egyptians would have none of it.

The Latin army set out under cover of darkness early on April 5, 1250. The next day the Egyptians closed in and the entire crusading army along with the King of France surrendered.

The Egyptians had captured such a large army, they lacked enough men even to guard it. Every day, for the next seven days in succession, three hundred of the weakest were taken aside and decapitated. By these measures the number of Christian captives was reduced to a manageable size.

King Louis was take to Mansourah, both for better security and for better medical care, for his was very sick. Even so, he was kept in chains, even while he was being nursed back to health. The King's health was very important to the Sultan, for he was the biggest bargaining chip.

Meanwhile, extraordinary events were transpiring at Fariskur, where the Sultan and the main Egyptian army were encamped. On May 2, Turanshah gave a great banquet. At the end of the feast, a faction of Mamluk soldiers rushed in and tried to kill him. These soldiers had been offended by Turanshah's treatment of them and, led by Baibars, decided to exact vengeance. The Sultan was wounded but managed to escape to a tower next to the Nile River.

The Mamluks pursued him and set the tower on fire. Turanshah leaped into the river. His pursuers stood on the banks and shot at him with arrows, even as he begged for his life, offering to abdicate. Unable to kill him from the shore, Baibars himself waded out into the water and hacked the Sultan to death. A puppet Sultan was chosen, but he lasted only a few years. In reality, from that bloody night forward, Baibars Bundukdari was the ruler of Egypt. The Mamluks would rule here for almost three hundred years as the slave-sultans.

On May 6, Damietta was surrendered to the Egyptians, and King Louis was brought there and released the same day. He was required to pay half the ransom (now reduced to 400,000 pounds) immediately. With the reluctant help of the Templars, he managed to do this and to set sail the same day for Acre. A great many wounded soldiers had been left behind at Damietta; as soon as the Crusaders were gone, the Mamluks slaughtered all these. The seventh crusade was over.