During the years after the Second Crusade, Islam reunited under Nur al-din. When he died in 1174, his empire included Aleppo, Cairo, Damascus and Mosul. This empire enclosed Outremer and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Upon Nur al-din’s death, the Atabeg of Cairo, Salah ad-din (or Saladin as he was known to the Franks) gradually rose to power as the new leader of Nur al-din’s empire. He would devote the rest of his life to driving the Westerners out.

In 1187 Saladin destroyed the small Crusader army at Hattin on the shore of Lake Tiberias. The Franks, tired from marching a great distance, found Saladin’s army between them and the water of the lake. The fanatical leaders wanted to fight. Saladin fired the grassy plain as the Franks advanced, choking the soldiers. Though they fought well, the Crusaders, outnumbered and exhausted, were almost totally destroyed. The King of Jerusalem and the True Cross were among those captured. This loss ruined the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The country was drained of their garrisons and left defenseless. By late 1187, only Tripoli, Antioch, and Tyre held on. Unlike the Franks, Saladin showed mercy and compassion to most of the captured population.

Saladin laid siege to the impregnable stronghold of Tyre. The fortress was defended by a new arrival, Conrad of Montferrat. He organized Tyre’s defense and by November, Saladin broke off and left to reorganize his new holdings in Outremer. During this time, support from the west began to arrive at Tyre by sea.

The loss of Jerusalem forced the Archbishop of Tyre to request aid from Pope Gregory VIII. It was four years in coming. Meanwhile, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, who swore an oath to Saladin to leave Outremer. Guy had a priest free him of this vow. In Tyre he found supporters, though not in Conrad, and in 1189 he left Tyre to regain his kingdom. With the aid of Danish, Frisian and Pisan fleets he laid siege to the city, holding off Saladin’s efforts to break the siege.

In 1187 at the urging of Pope Gregory VIII, King Henry II of England and King Philip Augustus of France declared a truce from a war between them. They took up the Cross and, though with great mistrust of one another, organized an army. The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa, now 70 years old, also took up the Cross and marched east much sooner than the others. Chroniclers estimated his army of upwards of 150,000 men. Though certainly an exaggeration, it must have been a very large force.

Frederick took the same overland route as the previous Crusaders had. In June 1190, after forcing his way through Anatolia, and at the brink of arriving, Barbarossa died crossing a river in Cilicia. His distraught army, held together by his will alone, disbanded and marched home. This Crusade never reached the Holy Land, but its threat forced Saladin to divert valuable forces away from breaking Guy’s ongoing siege of Acre.

Back in Europe, King Henry II died, and Richard I “Lionheart” was crowned king of the Plantagenet Empire in 1189. This included both England and a great deal of France. Philip Augustus, king of France, and Richard were archenemies. In 1190, both leaders left by sea for the Holy Land. Richard delayed his arrival in order to conquer the island of Cyprus. Finally, in 1191 they arrived separately to besiege Acre.

Richard Lionheart represented the flower of Western knighthood. By the time he arrived at Acre, Philip Augustus had erected massive siege equipment and the final attack was imminent. He was however in bad health and reluctantly let Richard direct the Crusade. Saladin, unable to break the siege, harassed them. Being supplied by sea, they held despite Saladin’s best efforts.

In July 1191, Acre surrendered. Richard, the flower of Chivalry, then had the entire population taken out of the city and slaughtered. Philip and Richard argued; Philip (being ill) wanted to return home leaving his cousin, Conrad of Montferrat, as the King of Jerusalem. Richard supported the contender, Guy of Lusignan. Richard gave in and supported Conrad, allowing Philip to leave.

Richard was determined to retake Jerusalem. He headed south along the coast for Jaffa. Saladin followed, probing Richard’s flanks and rear. Saladin’s army fought the Crusaders at Arsuf, near Caesarea. This was the first field battle of the Crusade. Richard was victorious at Arsuf, but the victory was not decisive. Saladin regrouped as Richard retook Jaffa in what would become the last success of this Crusade.

Richard continued his attempts on Jerusalem, but was stalled every time by Saladin. Richard began negotiations for peace, since events in England had heated up in his absence. Richard signed a five-year truce in September 1192. Before Richard left, Conrad of Montferrat was murdered. Richard replaced him with a noble long in Richard’s household, Henry of Champagne. Richard sold Guy the island of Cyprus to appease his loss of the Kingdom.

Richard left Palestine forever in March 1193. Saladin died six months later. Enroute home, Richard was captured and held for ransom by the Duke of Austria. In England, Richard’s brother Prince John did not move very quickly to ransom him; the English folk tales of Robin Hood come from this incident. At the end of the Third Crusade, the Franks held a narrow strip of coastline, from Antioch to Jaffa. Though far from a success, the Third Crusade rebuilt the Kingdom of Acre for another 100 years.

More History of the Crusades

Introduction
First Crusade
Second Crusade
Third Crusade
Fourth and Fifth Crusades