Saladin and the Crusader Kings

Century after century, military leaders have changed history and redefined the boundaries of countries around the world. Some are praised while others are scorned, but only a few are admired. One such leader arose out of the bickering Arab nations during the latter half of the twelfth century. Known for his compassion and sense of fair play, Saladin was a man admired—even by his enemies.

More than one hundred years before Saladin united the Islam nations, the Seljuk Turks were a powerful force claiming land from their original home in central Asia, all the way to southern Russia and northern Syria. Eventually, they took on the Byzantine Empire led by Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1048 - 1118). The Turks attacked Christians traveling to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Outraged and threatened, Comnenus described the violence in a letter to Robert, the Count of Flanders, who in turn gave it to Pope Urban II. In response, the Pope challenged all Christians to take back the Holy Lands (read his speech here). In 1096, he called for a "War of the Cross" launching the first of a series of conflicts known as the Crusades. For more than 200 years, the Crusaders battled the nations of Islam.

By the summer of 1183, Salah ad-Din Yusuf Ayyub, or as the Christians called him, Saladin (sal-uh-din) was the indisputable ruler of the Islamic lands (Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Palestine). Of Kurdish descent, he reigned over an empire that stretched from modern day Libya to Iraq and claimed Damascus as his capital. For the first time, the squabbling Islamic nations united. With his kingdom finally settled, Saladin's attention turned to ridding the Holy Lands of the unwelcome Christian Crusaders.

In September of 1183, Saladin took his great army across the Jordan River to face the Christian leader, Guy of Lusignan, and his men. Although, both sides were ready for action, blows were never exchanged. Guy, an indecisive leader, wavered when he should have ordered his men to fight. Eventually, with their food and supplies dwindling, the Christians retreated and a four-year truce was declared.

Three years later, the Crusaders, this time led by Reynald of Chatillon, broke that truce by attacking a Muslim caravan. Enraged, yet a man of his word, Saladin refused to fight back. Instead, he sent negotiators to obtain the prisoners' release. Reynald refused to even speak with Saladin's representatives so they traveled on to Jerusalem to meet with Guy who was now king. Surprisingly, Guy sided with Saladin and ordered Reynald to release the Muslims. Reynald, however, thinking himself above the king, ignored Guy's orders. War was inevitable.

Saladin gathered thirty thousand men on the east side of the Jordan while Guy's troops assembled to the west at Acre. On July 1, 1187, Saladin sent half of his troops to the city of Tiberias. The next day the Christian army made camp at Sephoria, about twenty miles away. Guy ordered his men into Tiberias at dawn-a fatal mistake as the hot sun beat upon the marching knights dressed in full armor. Saladin's men effectively blocked the path to the Sea of Galilee just above Tiberias. Desperate for water, the knights couldn't go on. They made camp for the night opting to sleep outside in the cool night air instead of pitching tents.

Cleverly, the Muslims set fire to the nearby dry brush. The smoke quickly made its way into the Christian camp. The knights could barely breathe. In the cover of darkness, Saladin's men stealthily surrounded the distracted Crusaders. Outnumbered by the Muslims and deprived of water for almost two days, the Christians fell. Guy and Reynald were taken to meet with Saladin. He invited the king to join him with an offer of fresh water. Reynald, however, was a different story. Enraged by his earlier breaking of the truce, Saladin picked up a sword and promptly cut off his head (read an account of this battle here).

In the following weeks, city after city (including Acre, Jaffa and Beirut) succumbed to Saladin, but what he really wanted was Jerusalem. He cautiously approached the Holy City and its Christian ruler, Balian of Ibelin. A sensible man, Balian met with Saladin and struck a deal. For 30,000 dinars, 7,000 of the 20,000 Christians living in the Holy City would be granted freedom. On October 2, 1187, Saladin jubilantly reclaimed Jerusalem for the Muslim nation after eighty-eight years of Christian occupation.

Touched by their plight and pitiful living conditions, Saladin graciously granted freedom to all aged Christians. He also released husbands and fathers of the freed Christian women. All buildings were left intact. He even permitted the Jews and Orthodox Christians already living in the Holy City to stay. When asked if the Christians' sacred places be returned to them, he agreed. Pleased with his peaceful accomplishments, Saladin sent half of his men home for a much-needed rest.

The following spring, Saladin once again gathered his troops and continued his siege on the weakening Christians. He marched into Jabala and Lattakieh, the coastal cities between Tyre and Antioch. From there, he captured castle after castle from Baghras in the north to Safed in the south. Before long, Saladin claimed all of the land on both sides of the Jordan River, but he had yet to meet his match-the English king Richard The Lionheart.

On July 4, 1190, two Christian contingents, the English led by Richard, and the French led by Philip of France, left Europe for the Holy Lands intending to relieve their failing comrades. Taking different routes, they met at Messina in Sicily. Ill-tempered from his long and difficult journey, Richard overtook the city allowing his men to ravage the place and burn the Sicilian fleet. Before nightfall, he completely controlled Messina where the new wave of Crusaders waited out the winter.

That spring, Philip and the French platoons sailed for Acre where they arrived without incident. Ten days later, Richard followed with his Englishmen, but was blown off course to Cyprus. In a spontaneous attack, his men took over the thirty five hundred square mile island. It was a major win. Cyprus was strategically located just west of the Holy Land. Richard left Cyprus in Christian hands taking his desperately needed troops to Acre.

Richard joined forces with Philip on June 8th and it was none too soon. By then, both Christians and Muslims had made several failed attacks on the walled city. The Crusaders found themselves caught between Saladin's army and the Muslim defense force holed up inside Acre. The two sides reached a stalemate, as starvation began claiming the civilians.

By mid-July, and with no hope for rescue by Saladin, the emirs still inside Acre wanted to surrender, but on their own terms. Without consulting their leader, the emirs offered Richard 200,000 pieces of gold, as well as everything inside the city and their cargo-filled ships. They also offered to release 1500 Christian prisoners allowing the Crusaders to name one hundred knights individually. In return, the Christians would free 2,700 Muslims and their families. Saladin would never have agreed to such terms, but before he had a chance to protest, Richard and Philip claimed the city. The siege was over.

Impatient to get home, Philip departed for France on July 31st leaving Richard to carry out the negotiated terms with Saladin. A man of honor, Saladin did his best to keep his part of the bargain whether he approved of the agreement or not. After all, the safety of the Muslim prisoners was at stake. Two days later, Richard established a schedule of payment, and advised Saladin that the Christian prisoners should be returned at the rate of 500 each month for the next three months. Once the first cash payment was received along with the first set of prisoners, Richard would free all of the Muslims, but even the best laid plans sometimes go awry.

On August 11th, Saladin made the first payment and released the first 500 prisoners. Unfortunately, none of the identified knights was among them. Saladin explained that they could be anywhere from Syria to Egypt and it would take time to find them. He then ordered Richard to release the Muslims. Richard refused. Furious and firmly believing that Saladin intentionally violated their agreement, Richard forced the Muslims out of Acre. While Saladin's troops looked on, the men, women and children they had tried so desperately to save were brutally butchered.

Beha ed-Din, Saladin's scribe, tried to make sense of Richard's brutality: "Various motives have been assigned for this massacre. According to some, the prisoners were killed to avenge the death of those slain previously by the Muslims. Others say the king of England, having made up his mind to try to take Ascalon, did not think it prudent to leave so many prisoners behind in Acre. God knows what his reason really was." Only one thing was certain-Richard was now ready to march on Jerusalem.

With his losses behind him, Saladin positioned his men just north of the coastal town Arsuf while Richard turned his troops inland. Choosing to stay on the defensive, Richard simply held his ground against the Muslim assaults. His knights were frustrated as they warded off each Muslim attack without launching a counterattack of their own. Reaching their limit, but without direct orders from Richard, the knights struck back. The Muslims ran. Lucky they did—it was the only thing that saved them. Pretending to retreat was a well-known Muslim strategy. If the Crusaders gave chase, they would be trapped. This time, however, was different. As the Muslims anxiously withdrew in order to save their lives, the Christians didn't pursue them. While Saladin got lucky, Richard was hailed as a hero.

For weeks, the two leaders attempted peaceful negotiations, but as winter set in, Saladin once again sent half of his men home. For Richard, this seemed like a perfect time to attack, but in reality, it couldn't have been worse. By mid-November when the Crusaders marched toward Jerusalem, the weather worsened. They waited six weeks as heavy rains and fierce winds pelted the countryside. Then on December 28th, Richard ordered his men forward. Marching in the heavy mud was next to impossible and the violent wind kept them from pitching tents and taking shelter. Richard admitted defeat and retreated.

Negotiations resumed until Richard got word that his brother, John, was trying to take over England. Anxious to get home, Richard quickly accepted the terms proposed by Saladin's brother, al-Adil. The Christians could have all of the land and cities they had overtaken-even Beirut. The Muslims would keep the Holy City, but allow the Christians to practice their religion and make pilgrimages to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It sounded good, but the treaty was short-lived.

It ended when Saladin was forced into Mesopotamia (Iraq) to stop a renegade uprising orchestrated by one of his nephews. Displeased with this turn of events, Richard took over the walled city of Daron, located on the border of Egypt and Palestine. While celebrating victory, the Christians got carried away, gleefully tossing their Muslim prisoners from the top of a high wall to their deaths.

With their treaty officially broken, Richard and his men marched toward Jerusalem on June 7, 1192 determined to recapture the Holy City. Saladin was waiting for them. Lacking food and water, the Christians were at a distinct disadvantage while a caravan was bringing supplies from Egypt and Syria to the Muslims. Worried that the Crusaders might attack the caravan, Saladin ordered them to travel by night changing their route through the desert. Foolishly, they ignored him. Now an easy target, Richard, overtook them while they slept.

With all of the food and military supplies they needed, the Crusaders were ready for battle. Saladin had to think fast. He ordered his men to block or contaminate every well between the Christians and the Holy City. Without water, the Christians couldn't survive no matter what else they had. Forced back, Richard, once again, wanted to negotiate. Saladin, however, had other ideas and marched into Jaffa.

Saladin easily took back Jaffa advising the Christian garrison still inside the citadel to stay put until he could personally rescue them. When word of the siege reached Richard, he sent some of his soldiers to Jaffa by land while he traveled there by sea. When the men still inside the citadel realized that help had arrived, they valiantly began to fight. Between Richard's men on the outside and the Christians still on the inside, the surprise attack forced the Muslims out. For the moment, Saladin retreated, but ordered an attack at dawn.

As luck would have it, one of Richard's men, out for an early stroll, saw the morning light reflected off the Muslims' weapons in the far distance. Richard immediately roused his men and prepared for combat. Although they were outnumbered three to one, Richard was ready. He had his men stick each of their lances in the ground to form a 'wall' of sorts. From behind this 'wall', men with crossbows fired relentlessly upon the Muslims. During the ensuing battle, Saladin quietly watched from a distance while Richard courageously fought alongside his men. So impressed was he by his enemy's valor, that when Richard's horse fell, Saladin sent him two new horses and then recalled his troops, leaving Jaffa to Richard.

Negotiations started anew. Only this time, both leaders were ill and their men exhausted. Richard, in particular, was anxious to get home. On September 2, 1192, Saladin signed an official treaty of peace. The Christians retained power over all the coastal cities they captured, except for Ascalon-an important spot on the route to Egypt. Ascalon was to be demolished so neither Christian nor Muslim could have it. Saladin kept the inland cities, as well as Jerusalem, but allowed the Christians access to the Holy City. With Richard reluctantly agreeing, the Third Crusade ended.

Within six months, the ailing Saladin died. A trusted leader, he united his people and became the first Sultan of Egypt. A man of integrity, he gained the respect of the Christian Crusaders who firmly believed the Holy Land was theirs.

Saladin was a military icon whose high standards set him apart from those who claimed to be his equals. His compassionate nature and honest character have kept his legend alive, with the result that, almost one thousand years later, he is still renowned as a leader who not only inspired his own people, but also showed his enemies that leadership with honor and mercy could be more effective than authority imposed by sheer strength and brutality. In a time of virulent hatred between peoples of different beliefs, Saladin was admired by both Muslim and Christian chroniclers alike and has come down to the present day as a paragon of that uniquely Mediaeval virtue—chivalry.