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Third Crusade
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Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. For this reason, the Third Crusade is also known as the Kings' Crusade.
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 (later 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 died whilst crossing 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 Ayyubid army 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. Following a major victory by the Crusaders at the Battle of Arsuf, most of the coastline of the Levant was returned to Christian control. On 2 September 1192 Richard and Saladin finalized the Treaty of Jaffa, which recognised 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 military successes of the Third Crusade allowed the Christians to maintain considerable states in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast, restoring the Kingdom of Jerusalem on a narrow strip from Tyre to Jaffa.
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.
The fall of Edessa, an important city held by the crusaders from 1098 to 1144, deeply shook Europe, which until then had observed the events unfolding in the Near East during the first half of the 12th century with relative passivity. The possession of Edessa was also considered crucial for maintaining control of Jerusalem, located further south and in crusader hands for several decades. The aggressive and astute policy adopted by the atābeg Zengi, the founder of the Zengid dynasty, had enabled the unification of the regions of Aleppo and Mosul under a single domain. Crusader expansion was halted, with the County of Tripoli suffering the most significant damage from Muslim attacks. Zengi’s immediate successor was his son Nur al-Din (Nūr ad-Din), who established himself in Aleppo and immediately focused on continuing the holy war against the Christians of Outremer.
It was on these premises and the intense preaching activity of several church figures, most notably Bernard of Clairvaux, that Pope Eugene III proclaimed the Second Crusade. Despite the involvement of the two most powerful European sovereigns of the first half of the 12th century, namely Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, a series of issues compromised the expedition's outcome. These included the lack of cohesion between Germans and French, the journey to the destination, during which a large number of soldiers died (most notably in the defeat at Dorylaeum on October 25, 1147), and the decision to attack Damascus, the only city that intended to maintain peaceful relations with the crusaders due to its fear of Nur al-Din’s expansionist tendencies in Syria. At the end of a brief five-day siege, the largest Frankish army ever to arrive in the Near East withdrew from Damascus without achieving any concrete results.
The defeat of the crusaders and disputes in the Christian world allowed Nur al-Din to unify Syria and reduce the Crusader states' size. By enlisting Turkmens and Kurds, he achieved victories like Inab in 1149, conquering the Orontes Valley, dissolving the County of Edessa (1151), securing Damascus (1154), and nearly destroying the Principality of Antioch. The crusaders, led by Baldwin III, captured Ascalon in 1153. Raids in 1156 were halted by an earthquake, and Nur al-Din's attacks on Baniyas in 1157 failed. After falling ill in 1157, crusader raids followed, but peace stabilized after Nur al-Din's defeat at Butaiha in 1158.
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Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. For this reason, the Third Crusade is also known as the Kings' Crusade.
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 (later 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 died whilst crossing 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 Ayyubid army 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. Following a major victory by the Crusaders at the Battle of Arsuf, most of the coastline of the Levant was returned to Christian control. On 2 September 1192 Richard and Saladin finalized the Treaty of Jaffa, which recognised 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 military successes of the Third Crusade allowed the Christians to maintain considerable states in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast, restoring the Kingdom of Jerusalem on a narrow strip from Tyre to Jaffa.
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.
The fall of Edessa, an important city held by the crusaders from 1098 to 1144, deeply shook Europe, which until then had observed the events unfolding in the Near East during the first half of the 12th century with relative passivity. The possession of Edessa was also considered crucial for maintaining control of Jerusalem, located further south and in crusader hands for several decades. The aggressive and astute policy adopted by the atābeg Zengi, the founder of the Zengid dynasty, had enabled the unification of the regions of Aleppo and Mosul under a single domain. Crusader expansion was halted, with the County of Tripoli suffering the most significant damage from Muslim attacks. Zengi’s immediate successor was his son Nur al-Din (Nūr ad-Din), who established himself in Aleppo and immediately focused on continuing the holy war against the Christians of Outremer.
It was on these premises and the intense preaching activity of several church figures, most notably Bernard of Clairvaux, that Pope Eugene III proclaimed the Second Crusade. Despite the involvement of the two most powerful European sovereigns of the first half of the 12th century, namely Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, a series of issues compromised the expedition's outcome. These included the lack of cohesion between Germans and French, the journey to the destination, during which a large number of soldiers died (most notably in the defeat at Dorylaeum on October 25, 1147), and the decision to attack Damascus, the only city that intended to maintain peaceful relations with the crusaders due to its fear of Nur al-Din’s expansionist tendencies in Syria. At the end of a brief five-day siege, the largest Frankish army ever to arrive in the Near East withdrew from Damascus without achieving any concrete results.
The defeat of the crusaders and disputes in the Christian world allowed Nur al-Din to unify Syria and reduce the Crusader states' size. By enlisting Turkmens and Kurds, he achieved victories like Inab in 1149, conquering the Orontes Valley, dissolving the County of Edessa (1151), securing Damascus (1154), and nearly destroying the Principality of Antioch. The crusaders, led by Baldwin III, captured Ascalon in 1153. Raids in 1156 were halted by an earthquake, and Nur al-Din's attacks on Baniyas in 1157 failed. After falling ill in 1157, crusader raids followed, but peace stabilized after Nur al-Din's defeat at Butaiha in 1158.
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