Third Crusade

Between 1189 and 1192 three of western Europe's most powerful rulers led armies east to recover Jerusalem, which Saladin had taken from the crusaders in 1187. The emperor Frederick Barbarossa died on the way, Philip II of France went home early, and Richard I of England fought Saladin to a standstill. The expedition, often called the Kings' Crusade, recovered Acre, Jaffa and much of the coast but not Jerusalem itself, and it ended in a negotiated truce.

Saladin had united Egypt and Syria under his rule, and in 1187 he destroyed the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Hattin and went on to take most of the kingdom, including the holy city after the siege of Jerusalem. By the end of the year little remained to the crusaders but Tyre. Pope Gregory VIII called for a new crusade, presenting the loss as punishment for sin. Henry II of England and Philip II of France made peace at Gisors in January 1188 and took the cross, raising a tax known as the Saladin tithe. Henry died in July 1189, and his son Richard took his place.

Frederick, then in his mid-sixties, led a carefully organised German army overland from Regensburg in 1189. Before leaving he placed the Jews of Germany under his protection, preventing a repeat of the attacks that had accompanied earlier crusades. His relations with the Byzantine emperor Isaac II broke down, and the crusaders fought and plundered their way through Byzantine territory. In Anatolia they defeated the Seljuk Turks and sacked their capital, Iconium, in May 1190. But on 10 June 1190 Frederick drowned while crossing the Saleph river. Many of his men went home, and only a remnant reached the Holy Land.

Meanwhile Guy of Lusignan, the king of Jerusalem, released by Saladin, had begun besieging the port of Acre in 1189, only to be hemmed in by Saladin's army. Disease swept the camp. Philip and Richard travelled by sea, wintering in Sicily, where they quarrelled. On the way east Richard's fleet was scattered by a storm, and after a dispute with the ruler of Cyprus he conquered the island. He reached Acre on 8 June 1191, and the city fell on 12 July. Richard offended Duke Leopold V of Austria by throwing down his banner, and in August Philip and Leopold left for home. When negotiations over prisoners stalled, Richard had some 2,700 Muslim captives executed on 20 August in sight of Saladin's army; Saladin responded by killing his own Christian prisoners.

Marching south along the coast, Richard defeated Saladin at Arsuf on 7 September 1191 and took Jaffa. Twice the crusaders advanced inland to within reach of Jerusalem, in the winter of 1191–1192 and again in June 1192, and twice they turned back, deterred by bad weather, fear of being trapped by a relief army, and disagreements among the leaders over whether to strike at Egypt instead. Conrad of Montferrat was elected king of Jerusalem in April 1192 but was murdered by Assassins before his coronation; some contemporaries suspected Richard's involvement.

In July 1192 Saladin captured Jaffa, but Richard retook it in a surprise landing and beat off Saladin's counter-attack. On 2 September 1192 the two agreed a three-year truce. Jerusalem stayed under Muslim rule, but unarmed Christian pilgrims and merchants could visit it, and the crusaders kept a coastal strip from Tyre to Jaffa. Richard left on 9 October.

Neither side was satisfied: many in the West regretted that Jerusalem had not been retaken, and many Muslims that the crusaders had not been driven out. On his way home Richard was seized by Leopold of Austria and held until a ransom of 150,000 marks was paid. Saladin died in 1193, and his heirs divided his empire. The failure to regain Jerusalem inspired the Fourth Crusade of 1202–1204, and Christians would hold the city again only briefly, from 1229.

Our 1200 map is the nearest to the crusade; it shows the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France from which two of its leaders came.