The Prince of Antioch was dead. Raymond of Poitiers had refused to abandon his army when the battle of the Fountain of Murad had turned against him. The Muslim general, Nur ed-Din, took advantage of the headless state of the Crusader domain and pushed as far as Antioch, only abandoning its siege on the approach of the armies of the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin III.
The government of Antioch was thrust into the hands of Raymond's young widow, Constance, who acted as regent for her infant son, Bohemond II. Baldwin had no intention of wasting his time or forces in protecting territories that were not, properly speaking, a part of his kingdom. Hence he was anxious to marry off Constance to some powerful baron. Constance, on the other hand, was not in a hurry to remarry. A pretty young widow she had been married, while still a child, to a middle aged man. Now she rejected the succession of suitors the king proposed to her and decided that she would marry for love.
After several weeks of searching she made her choice. Impatient, Baldwin gave his consent as soon as heard the Princess had selected a husband without even inquiring as to who the man was. He should have. The selection would eventually antagonize Constantinople, inflame all of Islam and set loose a vengeful Saladin -- bringing about the destruction of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the worst military disaster of the Crusader era.
A Fateful Choice
Constance's choice was an utterly obscure knight, Reynald des Chatillon. The penniless younger son of an Angevin family of the minor nobility, he had only recently arrived in Antioch with plans to enter the service of some wealthy baron. A warrior of unbridled ferocity, he possessed nothing but youth, courage and good looks.
Reynald was also crude, thickheaded and stubborn. Deaf to considerations of prudence, principle or expediency he would be a most reluctant vassal. And he was quick to take offense. Hearing that Aimery of Limoges, the Patriarch of Antioch, had made several snide remarks about his background, he seized the prelate. Not content with flinging him into prison Reynald had Aimery flogged until he bled and then exposed on a tower in full sunlight, smeared with honey to attract wasps and flies. Baldwin demanded Reynald release the Patriarch and restore him to power. Aimery was set free, but fled Antioch, taking refuge in Jerusalem.
In 1156 Reynald launched an expedition against Cyprus, a Byzantine possession, while the Emperor Manuel Comnenus was engaged in battle along the Danube. Quickly overcoming its defenses, Reynald treated the Cypriots to an example of his charity. The entire island was ravaged. Towns were burned, churches sacked, women raped, monks and nuns mutilated and men who tried to defend themselves slain without mercy. Cyprus' devastation was so complete that it has never recovered from his visitation. Reynald returned to Antioch with enough booty to enrich the city for decades -- then squandered it all away in a month. A year later Manuel marched on Antioch, intent on avenging Cyprus. Terrified the heretofore unrepentant Reynald begged for mercy. Appearing as a supplicant, barefoot and bare armed he prostrated himself in the dust at Manuel's feet. At the urging of his Patriarch, Manuel forgave the Prince.
Reynald then contented himself with plundering the countryside outside his borders and basically making life miserable for the peasants under Nur ed-Din's suzerainty. A year after his humiliating conference with Manuel, the Prince of Antioch was taken prisoner by Nur ed-Din. Reynald had been caught rustling cattle, the rightful owners of which were Christians. He was taken to Aleppo and tossed in prison where he languished for sixteen years. Neither Baldwin nor Constance made a single move to free him.
The Last Lord of Kerak
In 1177 Humphrey of Toron, the Lord of Kerak died. Kerak was the capital of Oultre Jordain, the area east of the Jordan River. The imposing, formidable castle dominated the main north-south road, the King's Highway (the old Via Trajani) connecting Jerusalem to Aqaba as well as the principal pilgrimage and trade routes between Egypt, Damascus and the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Baldwin IV placed considerable pressure on Humphrey's widow, Etienette (Stephanie) de Milly to wed his newest favorite, the former Prince of Antioch, Reynald des Chatillon. After his release Reynald attached himself to the court of the King of Jerusalem. Constance's death in 1163 had left him without any claim to Antioch though he still insisted on being referred to as Prince. Reynald fought at Baldwin's side and the leper king, who was impressed with Reynald's military prowess, briefly contemplated placing Reynald in command of an invasion of Egypt. When Etienette became a widow, Baldwin saw a way to both reward Reynald for his services and secure the southern part of his kingdom. Neither time nor confinement had mellowed Reynald. Still stubborn, proud , independent and arrogant he ruled from Kerak like a bandit chief.
Reynald spent the first year forging alliances with the local Bedouins. Together the knights and nomads raided the caravans passing near his castle. But in 1181 Baldwin concluded a truce with Saladin, suspending the low level hostilities between the Muslim and Christian territories. Reynald, Baldwin's vassal, was expected to respect the king's sworn truce.
Reynald responded to the peace by penetrating Arabia with a mixed force of knights and Bedouins. Along the Darb Al-Hajj they fell on a caravan bound for Mecca from Damascus. The booty was enormous. Reynald returned to Kerak richer than he had left and smugly satisfied.
Saladin sent emissaries to Baldwin demanding the return of the stolen property and reproaching him for violating the truce. Worried by the possible repercussions, Baldwin instructed Reynald to comply. The Lord of Kerak was not about to cooperate and told the king's envoys that "he would not give up the caravan no matter what the king might do."
Raging inwardly, Baldwin had to tell Saladin that he could not control his vassal. Whether he believed Baldwin or not, the refusal enraged Saladin. He responded by marching towards Kerak but the Crusader field army, despite its numerical inferiority, was able to defeat the Saracens near Tiberias. Saladin conducted a short siege of Beirut then withdrew into Syria.
Seeing his unpunished refusal as a great victory, Reynald grew bolder, organizing more attacks on Muslim territory. In 1183 he assembled a fleet that sailed south from the Gulf of Aqaba into the Red Sea, pillaging and terrorizing the coastal cities. At the same time he announced plans for a massive offensive deep into the Arabian peninsula.
To anyone who would listen he announced his intention to march on Mecca and "destroy the Kaa'ba then seize Medina and overthrow the tomb of that insignificant swineherd."
That his actions were foolhardy is an understatement. Not even the most powerful Frankish kings considered such a bold undertaking. Now, when the kingdom's existence was hanging by a mere thread, a vassal of the king, a man whose strength lay only in his boldness and a few hundred knights lit the fuse that sent terror and shock through all Islam. If Reynald had been Saladin's paid agent he could not have found create an atmosphere of jihad better. The Islamic world rumbled. Saladin reacted with disbelief, then indignation, as the ripples of Reynald's boasts spread throughout Syria. It changed him. In the past he had been a cool politician willing to live with the Franks, now he became a paladin of jihad. Saladin commanded his brother to set sail from Egypt and the Muslim ships destroyed Reynald's pirates in a lightning campaign. Reynald's forces were met on the road to Mecca by a party of Turks and routed. Against all odds the Reynald made his way back to the impregnability of Kerak. The approach of winter meant that for the time he was safe from anything Saladin, then in northeastern Syria, might do.
In November Reynald and Etienette celebrated the wedding of her son Humphrey to the Princess Isabella of Jerusalem. Guests and merrymakers from throughout the Crusader states filled the castle. Music echoed in its hallways. Lookouts in the tower must have rubbed their eyes in astonishment when, as the party reached a crescendo, the banners of Saladin's army appeared in the town below, heralding his arrival.
Saladin achieved complete surprise. The town fell on the first assault, its inhabitants fleeing across the bridge over the ravine into the castle. The gate would have been taken were it not for a single knight, Iven, who held it against the attackers while workmen behind him hurried to saw through the wooden bridge. As it fell into the ditch, Saladin set up six siege engines in the town and two on the mountain behind it. The castle rocked under the constant bombardment.
In one of the more celebrated instances of chivalry in action, Etienette sent food from the wedding feast to Saladin along with a message reminding him of how the Sultan, when a prisoner in the castle, had once held her in his arms when she was a child. Saladin inquired as to which tower the wedding party was in and ordered his men not to fire on it, but merrily continued to attack the rest of the Kerak.
As December began little progress had been made in reducing the fortress. Word reached Kerak that the King of Jerusalem was heading south at the head of an army. Saladin broke off the siege and withdrew. He was back again the following July. The first assault failed because the defenders had spent the winter building their own artillery and used these to keep the Muslim's at a distance. Saladin then concentrated on filling in the ditch between the castle and the town and building elaborate shelters to protect his men. Once again the impending arrival of a relief force forced him to break off after four weeks.
A four year truce between the Crusader states and Saladin was negotiated later that year by Raymond III, Count of Tripoli. The treaty specified that both sides would respect the territory and possessions of the other. Someone forgot to tell Reynald. Again he ignored the truce and attacked a large caravan traveling from Damascus to Cairo. Among the travelers was Saladin's sister. Reynald gathered up the treasure booty and threw the hostages in the dungeon demanding a ransom for their release. Saladin asked Guy of Lusignan, the King of Jerusalem for the return of the caravan and the prisoners. Guy, like Baldwin IV, found Reynald unrepentant, recalcitrant and as unruly. Reynald rebuffed him, explaining that he "was master on his land like the king was on his."
The Fruits of Arrogance
The second truce broken, Saladin was now intent on finishing off the Franks. Mobilizing the armies of Damascus, Aleppo, Egypt and northern Syria he marched across Galilee. In the words of the Arab chronicler al-Imad, the sight of the army "made men think of the Last Judgment." Guy marshaled his forces. On July 4, 1187 the two armies clashed near Lake Tiberias at the battle of Hattin. When the day was over, Saladin had destroyed the Crusader army. Among the 15,000 prisoners were the King of Jerusalem, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and Reynald des Chatillon. It must have seemed like a gift from heaven.
Ordering the prisoners to his tent, Saladin offered Guy water, indicating his life would be spared. When Guy passed the cup to Reynald, Saladin reminded his adversary that it was the king, not he, Saladin, who had given him to drink. Saladin then offered Reynald the choice between converting to Islam or being executed. The 60 year old Lord of Kerak spat. Saladin swung his sword and executed him on the spot. Saladin reassured the terrified Guy. "A king does not kill another king but that man's perfidy knew no bounds." Guy, along with 15,000 other Franks was taken in chains to Damascus. The destruction of most of the Crusader field army was crushing. Fortresses, bereft of hope of an early relief, panicked. Saladin marched south reducing fortress after fortress. Saone and Tiberias fell in a day. Acre surrendered without a fight. Jaffa, Caesarea and Ascalon followed in rapid succession. Then Jerusalem was forced to yield. Europe was galvanized into assembling the Third Crusade but it's arrival was still two years away.
Saladin marched on Kerak again and began his third siege of it in March 1188. After an eight month siege in which the starving garrison was reduced to eating cats and dogs, the castle finally capitulated in November. With the fall of Montreal a few months later the Frankish domination of Oultre Jordain was over, the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was expunged and the remaining Crusader states were demoralized; all due in a large part to a broken truce, an ambushed caravan and a reluctant vassal.
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© Copyright 1996 by David W. Tschanz.
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