The Third Crusade Notes

The Third Crusade: King’s Crusade

Introduction and General Notes:

• 1189-1192

• Attempt to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin

• Largely successful; however did not achieve the ultimate goal of the recapture of Jerusalem from Muslim forces

• After the failure of the second crusade, the Zengid dynasty controlled a unified Syria and went to war with the Fatimid rulers of Egypt, resulting in the unification of Egyptian and Syrian forces under Saladin

• Saladin greatly reduced the Christian states power in the East and conquered Jerusalem in 1187

• England and France declared peace in order to wage a crusade after the fall of the country of Edessa, and these were led by King Richard I of England (the Lionheart) and Phillip II of France

• The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa also led a massive army across Anatolia, but drowned before he reached the Holy Land and his army turned and headed back to their homeland

• Saladin failed to defeat Richard I in any military engagements and Richard’s conquests secured several key coastal cities

• On September 2, 1192 Richard finalised a treaty with Saladin which dictated that Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control but also allow unarmed Christian pilgrims and merchants into the city

• Richard’s successes allowed the Crusaders to maintain a considerable kingdom based around the Syrian coast, however the failure to recapture Jerusalem led to the Fourth Crusade

Muslim unification:

• One of the things that assisted the cause of the first crusade was the lack of coherence amongst the Muslim world. With the unification of Muslim forces under Saladin, the recapture of Jerusalem and much of the holy land threatened the Crusader states set up at the end of the first crusade

• Saladin conquered Acre and Jerusalem in 1187

Barbarossa’s Crusade:

• Army of 100,000 men including 20,000 knights

• Frederick sacked Iconium after consistent raiding from Eastern forces

• On June 10, 1190 Frederick drowned in a river

• Most of his army returned to Germany in anticipation of the upcoming Imperial election

Arrival of Richard and Phillip:

• Richard arrived at Acre on June 8, 1191 and began building siege equipment; the city was captured on July 12

• A dispute arose over the kingship of Jerusalem, with Richard supporting Guy while Phillip supported Conrad. It was decided Guy would reign, but the crown passed to Conrad upon his death

• Phillip and Leopold left the Holy Land due to poor health and frustration with Richard respectively; however Phillip left 10,000 Crusaders and 5000 silver marks

• Saladin tried to negotiate the release of captured Muslims from Richard, but instead they were decapitated in view of Saladin’s army, who retaliated by killing his Christian prisoners

Battle of Arsuf:

• After capturing Acre,...

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