Third Crusade

The Third Crusade
	Part of the Crusades
	; Siege of Acre
Date	11 May 1189 – 2 September 1192
Location	Mostly Levant and Anatolia
Result	Treaty of Jaffa Crusader military victory, resulting in a three-year truce.; Recognition of the territorial status quo at the end of active campaigning, including continued Muslim control of Jerusalem and the restoration of the Levantine Crusader States.; The safety of both Christian and Muslim unarmed pilgrims guaranteed throughout the Levant.;
Territorial; changes	The Crusade captures Cyprus and the Kingdom of Cyprus is established.; The Levantine coast from Tyre to Jaffa returned to Crusader control.; The Crusaders recapture Tiberias and some inland territories from the Muslims.;
Belligerents
Crusaders:Kingdom of England; Kingdom of France Duchy of Burgundy; County of Blois; County of Champagne; County of Flanders; Duchy of Brittany; ; Holy Roman Empire Duchy of Swabia; Republic of Genoa; Republic of Pisa; Judicate of Cagliari; Duchy of Austria; Duchy of Bohemia; Duchy of Thuringia; Margraviate of Brandenburg; Margraviate of Montferrat; Margraviate of Baden; County of Holland; County of Holstein; ; Kingdom of Hungary; Kingdom of Jerusalem County of Tripoli; Principality of Antioch; Military orders Knights Templar; Knights Hospitaller; Teutonic Order; Order of the Holy Sepulchre; Order of Saint Lazarus; Knights of Saint Thomas; ; Eastern Christian allies: Kingdom of Cilicia;	Sunni Muslim forces: Ayyubid Sultanate Sultanate of Egypt; Emirate of Damascus; Emirate of Hamah; Emirate of Mesopotamia; ; Sultanate of Rûm Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims: Nizari Ismaili state in Syria (the Assassins); Eastern Christian opponents: Byzantine Empire; Empire of Cyprus;
Commanders and leaders
Crusaders: Richard I of England; Philip II of France Hugh III of Burgundy †; Theobald V of Blois †; Henry II of Champagne; Philip I of Flanders †; ; Frederick I Barbarossa † Frederick VI of Swabia †; Leopold V of Austria; Conrad of Montferrat; Děpolt of Bohemia †; William I of Cagliari; ; Prince Géza of Hungary; Levantine Crusader states: Guy I of Jerusalem; Humphrey IV of Toron; Balian of Ibelin; Raymond III of Tripoli; Joscelin III of Edessa †; Military orders: Robert de Sablé; Garnier de Nablus; Master Sibrand; Eastern Christian allies: Leo I of Armenia;	Sunni Muslim forces: Saladin Taqi ad-Din; Saphadin; Al-Afdal; Gökböri; ; Kilij Arslan II; Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims: Rashid ad-Din Sinan; Eastern Christian opponents: Isaac II Angelos; Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus;
Strength
36,000-73,000 troops in total (estimate) 8,000-9,000 English/Normans/Welsh troops with Richard I, up to 17,000 including non-combatants and sailors; 7,000+ French with Phillip II (inc. 650 knights and 1,300 squires); 12,000–15,000 Germans with Frederick I (inc. 3-4,000 knights); 2,000 Hungarians with Géza; From 7,000 to 40,000 from the rest of Europe and Outremer;	Ayyubids:; 40,000 (Saladin's field army, 1189 - estimate); 5,000-20,000 (Acre's garrison, 1189); Seljuks:; 22,000+ (Qutb al-Din's field army only, 1190)

The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by the leaders of the three most powerful states of Western Christianity (England, France and the Holy Roman Empire) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. It was partially successful, recapturing the important cities of Acre and Jaffa, and reversing most of Saladin's conquests, but it failed to recapture Jerusalem, which was the major aim of the Crusade and its religious focus.

After the failure of the Second Crusade of 1147–1149, the Zengid dynasty controlled a unified Syria and engaged in a conflict with the Fatimid rulers of Egypt. Saladin ultimately brought both the Egyptian and Syrian forces under his own control, and employed them to reduce the Crusader states and to recapture Jerusalem in 1187. Spurred by religious zeal, King Henry II of England and King Philip II of France (known as "Philip Augustus") ended their conflict with each other to lead a new crusade. The death of Henry (6 July 1189), however, meant the English contingent came under the command of his successor, King Richard I of England. The elderly German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa also responded to the call to arms, leading a massive army across the Balkans and Anatolia. He achieved some victories against the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm, but he drowned in a river on 10 June 1190 before reaching the Holy Land. His death caused tremendous grief among the German Crusaders, and most of his troops returned home.

After the Crusaders had driven the Muslims from Acre, Philip—in company with Frederick's successor in command of the German crusaders, Leopold V, Duke of Austria—left the Holy Land in August 1191. On 2 September 1192 Richard and Saladin finalized the Treaty of Jaffa, which granted Muslim control over Jerusalem but allowed unarmed Christian pilgrims and merchants to visit the city. Richard departed the Holy Land on 9 October 1192. The successes of the Third Crusade allowed Westerners to maintain considerable states in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast.

The failure to re-capture Jerusalem inspired the subsequent Fourth Crusade of 1202–1204, but Europeans would only regain the city—and only briefly—in the Sixth Crusade in 1229.

Background

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem died in 1185, and the kingdom was left to his nephew Baldwin V, whom he had crowned as co-king in 1183. Raymond III of Tripoli again served as regent. The following year, Baldwin V died before his ninth birthday, and his mother Princess Sybilla, sister of Baldwin IV, crowned herself queen and her husband, Guy of Lusignan, king. Raynald again raided a rich caravan and had its travelers thrown in prison. Saladin demanded that the prisoners and their cargo be released. The newly crowned King Guy appealed to Raynald to give in to Saladin's demands, but Raynald refused to follow the king's orders.

This final act of outrage by Raynald gave Saladin the opportunity he needed to take the offensive against the kingdom, and in 1187 he laid siege to the city of Tiberias. Raymond advised patience, but King Guy, acting on advice from Raynald, marched his army to the Horns of Hattin outside of Tiberias. The Frankish army, thirsty and demoralized, was destroyed in the ensuing battle, and the city would not be held again by Christians until 1229.^[12]

King Guy and Raynald were brought to Saladin's tent, where Guy was offered a goblet of water because of his great thirst. Guy took a drink and then passed the goblet to Raynald. Raynald's having received the goblet from King Guy rather than Saladin meant that Saladin would not be forced to offer protection to the treacherous Raynald (it was custom that if you were personally offered a drink by the host, your life was safe). When Raynald accepted the drink from King Guy's hands, Saladin told his interpreter, "say to the King: 'it is you who have given him to drink'".^[13] Afterwards, Saladin beheaded Raynald for past betrayals. Saladin honored tradition with King Guy, who was sent to Damascus and eventually ransomed to his people, one of the few captive Crusaders to avoid execution.

By the end of the year, Saladin had taken Acre and Jerusalem. Pope Urban III is said to have collapsed and died upon hearing the news of the battle of Hattin.^[14]

The new pope, Gregory VIII, in the bull Audita tremendi, proclaimed that the capture of Jerusalem was punishment for the sins of Christians across Europe and called for a new crusade to the Holy Land.

Other Languages

العربية: الحملة الصليبية الثالثة

aragonés: Tercera cruzata

asturianu: Tercer cruzada

azərbaycanca: Üçüncü Səlib yürüşü

تۆرکجه: اۆچونجو صلیبی ساواشی

বাংলা: তৃতীয় ক্রুসেড

беларуская: Трэці крыжовы паход

беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎: Трэці крыжовы паход

български: Трети кръстоносен поход

bosanski: Treći krstaški rat

brezhoneg: Trede Kroaziadeg