History of the Crusades/The Third Crusade

Background

The Muslim lands in Syria and Egypt were united by Saladin, and following the crippling crusader defeat in the battle of Hattin in 1187, Saladin's armies overran the Kingdom of Jerusalem, with only Tyre remaining in Christian hands. It is said that the pope died upon hearing the news of the disaster. The new pope, Gregory VIII issued the bull Audita tremendi, stating that the catastrophe was a result of God's anger toward the sins of the Christians^[1], followed by him calling for a new crusade to redeem Christendom. The three kings who departed on the crusade were Richard I of England, Philip II of France, and Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor.

Events of the Crusade

Frederick Barbarossa proceeded on the overland route, having negotiated passage to the Holy Land. However, he had to deal with duplicity from the Eastern Roman Emperor as well as Turkish raiders. While crossing the Seraph River, Frederick fell from his horse and drowned. Following the death of their leader, most of the Germans returned home.

Richard and Philip traveled to the Levant by sea, arriving at Acre. Acre was besieged by the remaining Christian forces in the region, but these besiegers were in turn being besieged by Saladin. After Richard's arrival, the crusaders were able to capture Acre and Saladin retreated. After the capture of Acre, disagreements between Richard and Philip caused the latter to return to France, leaving Richard in sole command of the crusade.^[2]

Following the capture of Acre, Richard marched to Jaffa, repelling Saladin at the battle of Arsuf. After establishing himself at Jaffa, Richard consolidated his control over the coast and the crusaders were kept resupplied by sea. The crusaders marched toward Jerusalem but turned back after Richard opposed an attack on the city, believing that they would not be able to hold onto the city. The crusaders were angered by this decision but had no choice but to return to the coast.^[3]

Saladin launched another attack, capturing Jaffa, but he was repulsed when Richard arrived with reinforcements. The war ended in a stalemate; Richard and Saladin made a treaty where Jerusalem would remain in Saladin's hands but Christians would be allowed to make pilgrimages there. The crusade did accomplish many things, but it was not able accomplish its primary goal to retake Jerusalem.

References

↑ Maier, Christoph T. (1997-10). "Crisis, Liturgy and the Crusade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 48 (4): 628–657. doi:10.1017/S0022046900013440. ISSN 0022-0469. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022046900013440/type/journal_article.
↑ Tyerman, Christopher (2005). The Crusades : a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-151750-1. OCLC 170424196. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/170424196.
↑ Madden, Thomas F. (2013). The concise history of the crusades (Third Student Edition ed.). Lanham, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-4422-1576-4. OCLC 861536788. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/861536788.

[1] Maier, Christoph T. (1997-10). "Crisis, Liturgy and the Crusade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 48 (4): 628–657. doi:10.1017/S0022046900013440. ISSN 0022-0469. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022046900013440/type/journal_article.

[2] Tyerman, Christopher (2005). The Crusades : a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-151750-1. OCLC 170424196. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/170424196.

[3] Madden, Thomas F. (2013). The concise history of the crusades (Third Student Edition ed.). Lanham, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-4422-1576-4. OCLC 861536788. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/861536788.

[1]

[2]

[3]