The Third Crusade

Raphael LP

Why did the Third Crusade take place ?

Why did I choose this subject ?

I chose the Third Crusade as subject because I wanted to deepen my knowledges on this topic but also because I studied this subject in Grade 4 and 5 and I thought it was really interesting. Moreover I watched the movie Kingdom of Heaven some weeks ago and this triggered my desire to learn more about Jerusalem and the Third Crusade.

Raphael LP - Why did the Third Crusade take place ?

The Third Crusade, known as the King’s Crusade, had been caused by a series of events. It took place between the years 1189 and 1194 in Jerusalem and the Middle East. Its purpose was to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin but if major cities as Acre and Jaffa were taken over from the infidels, it also ended with Muslims being granted control over Jerusalem, the Holy city, which had always been the ultimate goal of the Crusade.

Richard's army walking in the Middle East.

How did it start ?

Firstly, there was a massacre of a caravan of Muslims by the crusaders led by Guy de Lusignan. Thanks to the mediation of Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem, a first conflict was avoided. But Guy de Lusignan, who ordered the attack on the caravan, really was after war. When a messenger of Saladin arrived to check if the two sides were still at peace, Guy rose against Baldwin's authority and killed the messenger. He gave the severed head to the two horsemen who had escorted him and this led to war. Saladin started circling the city and got the surrender of Jerusalem the 2nd October of 1187. As the pope Gregor VIII wanted to regain Jerusalem, he asked for the help of Henry II the king of England, of Philip Augustus the king of France with whom Henry II was fighting and of Frederic Barberousse, a Roman Emperor. The English and French kings stopped fighting against each other to form an alliance against the infidels. Frederic was the first to head towards Jerusalem and, in order to cross the lands of the Byzantins, had to fight against the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos who had concluded a secret pact with Saladin. The soldiers in Frederic's army were plentiful and well organized. The Roman Emperor unfortunately drowned and his death caused the dispersion of his soldiers. Richard the Lion Heart revolted against his father and was crowned soon after. He arrived later in the Middle East by the sea. Meanwhile in the Holy Land, Baldwin died of leper and Guy took the power of Jerusalem. In the same time, Philip arrived at Tyr and concluded an alliance with Conrad of Montferrat who wanted also be the King of Jerusalem. The army of Saladin tried to repel Richard but in vain. With the help of the rest of the army of Frederic, Richard succeeded to win the war of Acre and did 3 thousands of Muslims captives.

The Siege of Acre Through the Eyes of a Foot Soldier

How did it finish ?

The 22 August, Richard executed the Muslims and understood that Saladin didn't respect the surrender of the city. Therefore, he decided to take the port of Jaffa which was a real tactic place (the real goal was to do an offensive on Jerusalem the quicker than he could because each day, Saladin fortified Jerusalem). Saladin tried to stopped him during the battle of Arsouf but Richard won brilliantly. In January 1192, Richard was ready to walk on Jerusalem but had to retreat twice due to Saladin's army which was bigger. Saladin tried thus to recapture Jaffa in July but was again bested by Richard. Finally, the 2nd September of 1192, Richard and Saladin concluded a peace treaty : Jerusalem would remain under Muslims control whereas Christians pilgrims will be accepted without weapons. However, Richard also obtained the bandwidth that he conquered from the port of Jaffa to a town call Haifa. Richard left the Holy ground, which ended the Third Crusade.

What happened because of the outcomes ?

After the crusade, Jerusalem was under the control of the Muslims but was also authorized to Christians pilgrims that did not carry any weapons. The two sides were at peace since Saladin and Richard concluded a peace treaty. But unfortunately, the failure of the Third Crusade caused the Fourth Crusade to be called by the Pope 6 years after the end of the last Crusade.

Important vocab:

Surrender : “stop resisting to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority”.

Sultan : “Muslim Sovereign”

Crusade : “each of a series of medieval military expeditions made by Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries”.

Historians : people who work on the history to discover and clarify our past.

Peace Treaty : "a written agreement between two or more countries, formally approved and signed by their leaders".

Massacre : "an act of killing people"

Bibliography :

www.alex-bernardini.fr/histoire/troisieme-croisade.php.

“Herodote.net.” Un Heros Pour Les Arabes - Herodote.net, 5 July 2014, www.herodote.net/Saladin_1137_1193_-synthese-241.php.

HistoireDuMonde.net. “Histoire Du Monde.net.” Histoiredumonde.net, www.histoiredumonde.net/Troisieme-croisade.html.

“Regain Translate English to French.” Cambridge Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-french/regain.tml.

The Third Crusade, www.lordsandladies.org/the-third-crusade.htm.

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