

The Third Crusade

Bad News Travels Fast

Between the terrible loss at Hattin and the loss of the great cities, especially Jerusalem, the news electrified Europe. The news was brought by Genoese merchants to Rome in October, followed closely by the Archbishop of Tyre, come to plead for aid. King William II of Sicily was one of the first monarchs to hear the news and he immediately sent a fleet to the Holy Land. Its timely arrival helped save Tripoli and Tyre.

The archbishop went north, to gain the help of the English and French, who were at war at the time, but were in the midst of negotiating a truce (January 1188). Henry II and Philip II patched up their quarrel and made peace on the very battlefield, and a number of nobles took the cross on the spot. The two monarchs also agreed to levy a special tax to finance the crusade, a tax that became known as the Saladin Tithe.

Instead of marching off to save Jerusalem, however, the two nations became embroiled again in war. Henry's son, Richard of hPoitou, went to war with the Count of Toulouse. Both men appealed to their overlords, and then in a fit of anger Richard switched sides to the French and made war on his own father, Henry of England. On July 6, 1188, the old king died and Richard of Poitou was now Richard I of England (September 3).

The delays because of rebellion and war were widely and loudly condemned. Once Richard was made king, he had no further excuse for delay (for he had taken the crusading vow even before Henry had). In fact, Richard did not depart for the Holy Land until July 1190, almost three years after the fall of Jerusalem.

Papal Reaction

When the news arrived in October 1187, it was received, in a nice irony of names, by Pope Urban III. Already an old man, the chroniclers say that he died of grief. Within ten days, the new pope, Gregory VIII, had issued a crusading bull. The papacy, at least, was ready to spring into action immediately.

The new pope did not, however, try to have the Church lead the crusade. His appeal was to the lay rulers of Europe, and he had Archbishop Joscius of Tyre go directly to France to appeal to the kings. The magnitude of the disasters was such that it would take the combined might of Christendom to redress the balance.

But eloquent words and promises of indulgences were scarcely needed this time. The shock of the loss of Jerusalem was more than enough motivation to start armies in motion, or at least enough to make monarchs claim that they would go.

Frederick Barbarossa

William of Sicily was the first to respond, when he sent a fleet to Tripoli. But the first army actually to depart was led by the Emperor of the Romans, Frederick I, whom the Italians had nicknamed "Barbarossa" (Redbeard).

Frederick had been a monarch for three decades. He had fought and exiled his Welf rival, Henry the Lion, had won and lost in Italy, and had been crowned Emperor of the Romans. As a teen-aged boy, he had gone on the Second Crusade, but now he had a chance to lead one himself. With Germany quiet and Italy arranged as best he could manage, Frederick answered the crusading call eagerly.

Frederick took the cross publicly in March 1188. There was the usual long process of actually assembling an army and departing, so he did not set out until May 1189. His was probably the largest single crusading army ever to march. Medieval estimates are always exaggerated, but the force was certainly in the tens of thousands.

The army took the traditional overland route down the Danube River and across the Balkans to Constantinople. The passage was complicated by the fact that the Byzantine emperor, Isaac Angelus, had a secret arrangement with Saladin to delay Barbarossa. Saladin had heard wild stories about the German emperor who was supposedly marching with a million men. His own men were skittish at the threat and Saladin wished to delay the day of reckoning as long as possible.

Isaac Angelus did not slow up the Germans by much, but he did succeed in irritating Frederick to no end. There were squabble and skirmishes and even hostages taken. Frederick wintered at Edirne and in the spring of 1189 succeeded in obtaining a crossing into Asia Minor. The two emperors did not part on good terms. Over the entire two hundred years of crusading, this was the only occasion on which the Greek and Roman emperors ever met face to face.

Barbarossa's Death

The Germans continued to follow the traditional route, moving down through the interior of Asia Minor. They captured Konya (Iconium) on 18 May. Although it was still a difficult passage, the Turks were reluctant to engage so large a host, and except at Iconium no real battles were fought along the route.

The army moved into Cilicia at the end of May. They were in Christian (Armenian) territory now, and could travel in safety until Syria. On the 10th of June, 1190, Frederick attempted to swim the River Saleph. It was late afternoon; everyone was hot and tired. Perhaps Frederick was showing off a bit, perhaps he was merely being impetuous; perhaps being nearly seventy years old, he should have been more cautious. In any event, while crossing the river on his horse, Frederick I drowned there in a Cilician river.

He was perhaps the best hope of Outremer; certainly he brought the largest army. Saladin was deeply worried about the Emperor and counted it a miracle of Allah when he heard of the drowning. Without the strong hand of the emperor, the German army almost immediately began to break up: some returned to Europe on the spot, some took ship and sailed to Antioch, and some went overland to Antioch. Those who went through Syria suffered heavy losses from small battles and from the heat. There were more losses due to an epidemic in Antioch. By the time the Germans joined the siege at Acre, they were drastically reduced in numbers and even more reduced in spirit. Even more abandoned the siege after the death of Frederick's son, the Duke of Swabia, on 20 January 1191.

Effectively, Barbarossa's death spelled the end of a significant German presence on the Third Crusade. Leadership now fell to France and England. Those two kings made it to the Holy Land by sea, but they did not arrive as allies.

Two Kings

Richard Coeur-de-Lion (the Lion-Hearted) was one of the great knights of the Middle Ages, fulfilling every requirement. He was strong and courageous, physically well-suited for warfare. He rode well, fought well, and proved himself to be a good field commander. He was tall and handsome. He had a taste for poetry and song, and he generally lived up to the chivalric code. He had little patience with politics, however, or administration or the other routine chores of a king. He was thirty-three years old, newly-made King of England. While it may be true that he was a better knight than king, his contemporaries did not fault him for it.

Philip Augustus was Richard's match but was also his opposite. He was an excellent administrator, at home with diplomacy and court intrigue. He disliked glamor and romance, and disliked warfare even more. He was well-built, but not particularly handsome, and was blind in one eye. Although he was only twenty-five, he had been king for ten years already and had a firm grasp of the duties of royalty. Where Richard's court was splendid, Philip's was dull. Even so, Philip had proven himself a match for the old lion, Henry II, and was not unfraid to take on the young lion, either.

The French and English assembled in July 1190 at Vezelay, the starting-point for Louis' crusade almost fifty years earlier. They travelled together as far as Lyons, but there the French went to Genoa while the English went to Marseilles. Both kings arrived at Messina, Sicily, in September.


King William II of Sicily had offered to supply a fleet to accompany the Crusaders. But William had died in November 1189 and the succession was disputed. When the kings arrived, Sicily was held by Tancred of Lecce, who had placed Queen Joanna under a sort of courteous house arrest, had confiscated the treasure William had left to finance the Crusade, and was anxiously awaiting an expected invasion by the Germans, for his aunt Constance was now married to King Henry VI  of Germany and he was claiming the throne on behalf of his wife. Tancred, therefore, was looking for allies.

Richard managed to make enemies almost immediately. His English soldiers quarreled with the locals. He raided a small island and evicted the Greek monks there to make room for his soldiers. Tancred was so fearful of Richard that he made sure the English were housed outside Messina. When the citizens rioted against the English, Richard replied by building a fortress next to the city (October 1190).

Tancred anxiously patched things up with Richard. In a treaty signed by all three kings on October 8th, Richard received twenty thousand ounces of gold. At this same meeting, Richard and Philip agreed on terms regulating the progress of their Crusade, including the point that any conquests should be divided evenly between them.

They also discussed Richard's marriage plans. Philip's sister, Alice, was supposed to have been married to Richard. But he disliked the girl; his father was rumored to have slept with her, and his mother Eleanor had in any case picked out a different match. Always closest to his mother, Richard declared that Alice's reputation was such that he could not marry her. He would wait for the arrival of a princess of Navarre, Berengaria, who would be accompanied by Eleanor. This did not endear him to Philip.

The kings had delayed so long that the weather now prevented their leaving and they wintered at Messina. Relations were cordial enough. Richard still got into fights on occasion, but nothing that couldn't be smoothed over. Philip finally set sail on March 30, 1191. Richard left on April 10.


While Philip sailed directly to Tyre, Richard's fleet was plagued by storms. He himself stopped first at Crete and then at Rhodes. Three ships, one of which was carrying Queen Joanna of Sicily and Berengaria, Richard's bride-to-be. Two of the ships were wrecked off Cyprus, but the ship bearing the Queen and Berengaria made it safely to Limassol.

They were not well-received. The island was ruled by one Isaac Ducas Comnenus who had rebelled against Constantinople and was now independent. He hated all Franks, regardless of where they were really from, and he treated Joanna with rudeness. The Queen refused to come ashore, fearing she would be captured and held hostage, so her ship sat at anchor for a full week before Richard finally arrived on May 8.

He had been through multiple storms, had suffered from sea-sickness, and now his sister and his future bride were being kept from dry land by some arrogant Greek. Richard Lion-heart had gone to war for more trivial causes than this, and he invaded immediately.   Isaac fled Limassol, but took up a position nearby.  On May 11, the two men parleyed. On the same day, a great number of knights arrived from Palestine, including King Guy, Geoffrey of Lusignan (one of Richard's more important vassals), Bohemond of Antioch, and a number of Templars. They arrived to seek Richard's help, for Philip of France had immediately taken the side of Conrad in their quarrel over the Kingdom of Jerusalem. With these unexpected reinforcements, Richard now decided he would conquer Cyprus for himself.

The next day, May 12, Richard married Berengaria at Limassol. The rest of the English fleet arrived on the 13th, and Richard began his conquest. The people of Cyprus didn't much care for Isaac; he lost a couple of brief battles, and by the end of May he had surrendered.  Richard  made some quick arrangements, made a great haul of booty, and set out with the English fleet on June 5.

Cyprus had more or less fallen into Richard's lap. He gave it away again soon enough, but its wealth helped finance his Crusade, and Cyprus now became part of Latin Outremer and would remain Latin long after Syria and Palestine had been lost.

The Kings at Acre

Before Richard ever arrived on Cyprus, King Philip had landed at Tyre, where he was met by Conrad of Montferrat, who was now calling himself King of Jerusalem. The two men were cousins, so it was natural that Philip should support Conrad in his dispute with Guy. The two went together on April 20 to the siege at Acre.

Philip ordered the building of some siege towers, and otherwise took general control of the effort, but nothing else was done. It was agreed that they should wait for the English before attempting to storm the city. Richard arrived on June 8, so Philip did not have to wait very long.

Almost from the moment of his arrival, Richard took command of the siege. Although technically both kings merely commanded their own troops, it was Richard who was clearly the more energetic. For example, when both kings fell ill, even though Richard was much more sick, he was back in action more quickly than was Philip, and was visiting the lines almost as soon as he could stand. This was the sort of dynamic leadership that the besiegers needed.

Even so, little progress was made at first, for Saladin was still near by with his army. Whenever the besiegers pressed the city too closely, Saladin would attack the Christian camps. He was not strong enough to risk a pitched battle against so large a Frankish army, but he was strong enough to keep them from being able to concentrate solely on Acre.

And so the city held out for a little longer, but as June wore on, it became plain that Saladin was not going to be able to rescue the city. The walls were breached early in July, and on the 11th the garrison offered terms. They agreed to surrender the city, to give over two thousand prisoners, to pay two hundred thousand gold pieces, and to return the True Cross.  The Latins accepted, and the garrison sent a swimmer to carry the news to Saladin.

The city itself could not fulfill the terms. It did not have the prisoners, Saladin did. It did not have the True Cross.  And it did not have the money.  Unfortunately, neither did Saladin.

Aftermath of the Siege

Saladin could not possibly agree to the terms, but the garrison had made the agreement in his name and he was bound by honor to accept it. The garrison left Acre on the 12th of July, 1191 and the Crusaders moved in immediately. As they occupied the city, quarrels broke out, including one that would have consequences later. Duke Leopold of Austria was now the commander of the German contingent. He set up his banners on an equal footing with the two kings, for he was representing the German king (now Henry VI). The English took offense at this and threw the German banner into a ditch. Duke Leopold would have occasion to remember this insult.

After the city was secured, the leaders met and decided formally that Guy was indeed the King of Jerusalem, but that after he died, Conrad and Isabella would succeed, and that their heirs would inherit. King Philip now declared his intention to go home. He was chronically ill and pleaded health. He returned to Tyre with Conrad on July 31st, and sailed for France on August 2nd, though he did leave a large portion of his army behind.

Richard was now in sole command of the Third Crusade. One of his first acts was something that has earned him condemnation from modern historians. He was still holding a large number of Muslim prisoners as hostage against Saladin's fulfillment of the terms of capitulation. When Saladin sent the first installment, he did not free all the prisoners that had been agreed to.

A week later, Richard ordered the execution of his Muslim prisoners, declaring that Saladin had broken the terms of the agreement. Two thousand seven hundred prisoners were killed--men, women and children. They were executed outside the city walls; Saladin's soldiers could see the butchery, which took all day, and tried to rescue them. Even as the prisoners were being slaughtered, a battle was fought, but the Muslims were driven back and all the prisoners died.

The next day, August 22, Richard led his army out of Acre. He killed the prisoners mainly because he could not possible take nearly three thousand prisoners with him, and they no longer were useful in negotiating with Saladin. He could have freed them, but Richard was rarely generous in that way.  It is significant that the Christian chroniclers all relate this story with great satisfaction, viewing it as vengeance for the losses suffered at Acre. Moreover, Saladin himself continued to treat cordially with Richard. Muslim chroniclers at the time talk about those killed as martyrs for the faith.

Richard Moves South

Richard's objective was to recover Jerusalem and naturally Saladin understood this. The Sultan's main goal, therefore, was to keep Richard away from the city. Saladin had his own problems, however. His army consisted of many emirs that bound to him by varying degrees of loyalty. Some of them had been on campaign now for four years; they were glutted with victory and were tired. Already they had shown themselves unwilling to risk enough to save Acre; he could not afford to be too agressive with Richard. Besides, the English king's reputation as a warrior was well known to Saladin. A foolish mistake in the field, and the Latins might regain all that they had lost.

His strategy, therefore, was to follow Richard closely, to harass him at every opportunity, and to hope that the King might be goaded into a mistake. For his part, Richard understood the situation as well as Saladin. His first order of business was to avoid the trap Saladin hoped to spring.

So, the Crusaders marched south under very strict orders. Richard kept them right next to the sea, with the infantry and supplies marching along the beaches and the cavalry protecting it on the flank. The fleet kept pace with the army, protecting it from the seaward side and keeping it supplied. Despite skirmishing, the Crusaders avoided being provoked into battle or being drawn away from the main body of the army.

In this manner, the army marched southward. This is usually regarded as Richard's finest moment, as he led the army through the August heat under terrible circumstances, keeping discipline through the sheer force of his personality and tactical abilities. During the last few days of the march, there was fighting every day, but still Saladin could not force the army to break.

At last, Saladin had to risk a pitched battle. On September 7, 1191, Saladin attacked near Arsuf. He tried the classic Turkish tactic of attacking with light cavalry, trying to lure the Frankish cavalry into a rash attack, but Richard refused to rise to the bait. Eventually, despite Richard's orders, two Templars charged out against the enemy. Their comrades followed. Within moments, the entire line of the knights moved to the attack. Richard charged after them and took the lead.

The fury of the Christian charge was too much for the emirs. One after another, they broke and ran. Saladin himself went into the battle and was able to save his camp, at least, and to keep the retreat from turning into a rout. But the Christians had won the field of battle and on the next day continued their journey south. It was plain that Saladin could not stop them.

Richard Marches on Jerusalem

The army was tired and needed rest, and Richard needed some sort of base from which to launch his attack on Jerusalem, so the next few months were spent fortifying Jaffa. It was during these months that Richard sold the island of Cyprus to the Templars. His representatives there had been plagued by revolts. He had drained the island of money and it was of no further interest to him. Templar gold, however, was of immediate interest.

In November, Saladin disbanded about half his army and retired to winter quarters. Richard tried to take advantage of this and moved his army forward. The weather, however, was terrible. He got as close as twelve miles from the city early in January 1192, but then had to pull back. Not only was Saladin in the field against him, but a second army had come up from Egypt, and the city itself had been fortified.

Richard then moved down to Ascalon. Saladin had torn down the fortifications there, so the English set about rebuilding them and Richard spent the next four months there. During this time, disputes that had been festering among the Crusaders came into the open. Many of the French knights left Richard and went to Acre or back to France, mainly because Philip had left them little money and Richard was no longer able to pay them. Conrad was still openly defiant of Richard and was supported in this by many of the Palestinian barons who refused to accept Guy as their king. The Pisans and Genoese at Acre quarreled so badly that Richard had to go to Acre in person to settle it.

Worse yet, the King was receiving bad news from home. His brother, John, was usurping power shamelessly. And Philip seemed on the verge of breaking his oath not to attack any of Richard's lands while he was still on Crusade. The King became convinced that he would have to make some sort of treaty with Saladin and return home as soon as possible.

King Conrad

With so many troubles besetting him, Richard knew that he would have to settle the dispute over the Kingdom once and for all. He went back to Acre in April of 1192, summoned the barons of the kingdom, and asked for advice. All the barons now spoke for Conrad; only Guy's own kin would side with him. Given the precarious situation, Richard now reversed his support and agreed that Conrad should be made king. Not least in Richard's calculations must have been the knowledge that once Conrad was king, he would bring his forces and join in the Crusade.

Conrad was at Tyre when the news was brought to him and there was general celebration, for Guy was still widely blamed for the disaster at Hattin. He announced he would leave for Acre in a few days.

On April 28, Conrad decided to go dine with the Bishop of Beauvais. On his way back home again, two men approached him. One handed him a letter to read. When he took it, the other man pulled out a knife and stabbed Conrad to death. One murderer was killed on the spot. The other confessed that he had been sent by the Old Man of the Mountain. The Assassins had struck again.

Isabella was fearful of her safety and shut herself up in her castle. Henry of Champagne, Richard's nephew, hurried up to Tyre. The people of the city at once declared that he should marry Isabella and be made the new king. He was young, handsome, courageous, and widely popular. It was obvious that Guy could not be chosen and equally obvious that the kingdom could not be without a king in the face of Saladin. Henry was hesitant, for he wanted to return to Champagne, but he felt it was his duty to agree.

So, only two days after Conrad's assassination, Henry and Isabella were betrothed. They went down to Acre where Richard gave his approval, and within a week they were married. Henry of Champagne was now King of Jerusalem.

And what of Guy of Lusignan? Richard made an excellent arrangement. The Templars had had no more success in governing Cyprus than had the English, and they now wanted Richard to take it back. Instead, he proposed that Guy buy the island from the Templars. This suited everyone and Cyprus was taken over by the Lusignans, who would rule it for almost two hundred years.

Consequences and Delays

Richard was now anxious to go home, but again events conspired to delay him. Rebellion had broken out in Saladin's family and he was busy dealing with that. In May, then, Richard went south to Daron and easily captured it. The Crusaders had now re-captured every coastal fortification that had been lost. The time seemed right to make another attempt on Jerusalem.

So, on June 7, 1192, Richard again set out to free the Holy City. He again drew close, within a few miles, but Saladin was there waiting for him. The two armies skirmished occasionally throughout the month, but no serious fighting developed. Richard could not risk a siege, for his army was not large enough. For his part, Saladin did not want to risk a pitched battle; all he had to do was defend Jerusalem and eventually the English king would have to retire.

It worked. On July 4, Richard ordered a retreat. Many in his army were deeply disappointed, but the experienced commander was convinced that to attack Jerusalem would be to risk the entire army. He returned to Jaffa and again entered into negotiations with Saladin for a truce. While negotiations were proceeding, Richard moved up to Acre, to be ready to sail as soon as the treaty was signed.

On July 27, Saladin took advantage of Richard's absence to make a sudden assault on Jaffa. The city fought for three days, but was badly outnumbered. Saladin's troops plundered and slaughtered, and the garrison retreated to the city's fortress. The Muslims were glutting themselves on the town's supplies and it took Saladin some time to bring them back to order.


As soon as Richard heard about the attack on Jaffa, he sent his army to save the city. He knew, however, that it might take too many days for it to march to Jaffa, so he gathered eighty knights, four hundred bowmen, and about two thousand Italian soldiers, and headed to the rescue.

He arrived on July 31, barely in time. Representatives from the garrison were actually in Saladin's tent to sign for the surrender. Richard hesitated to land, not knowing the situation, but as soon as the garrison saw the sails, they sallied out to attack. A priest swam out to the flotilla to beg Richard to attack immediately. The King landed straightaway and charged into the city. The Muslims were completely dispersed, thinking the city safe, and were taken by surprise. Richard secured the city at once. Saladin's troops were in full panic and were miles away from Jaffa before he could bring them to order again.

For a couple of days, the two sides parleyed, for neither really wanted to continue the war, but both sides were still demanding too much.The action at Jaffa had thrown everything out of balance again. Saladin attacked again on August 5, trying to destroy Richard's tiny force before his main army, already past Caesarea, should arrive. He attacked at dawn and nearly caught the English by surprise; they had enough time to form up, but not enough time to equip themselves fully.

For this second battle, Richard had only fifty-four knights still fit to fight and only fifteen horses among them, so most fought on foot. He drew up his knights and his two thousand foot soldiers in a line outside the city. He set a field of tent stakes out front, to try to break up the cavalry charge. Behind that he had his men plant their shields in the ground to act as a make-shift wall. They also drove their lances into the ground, points outward. He placed an archer between every two men.

The Muslims attacked in seven waves of a thousand men each. They charged again and again, but were driven back each time. In the afternoon, Richard felt strong enough to order a counter-charge. Saladin was amazed to see so few mounted knights attack so many. When Richard's horse was killed out from under him, Saladin sent two to replace it, saying that it was not fit for so gallant a foe not to have a mount.

By the end of the day, the Crusaders still held Jaffa, and the fight was gone out of Saladin's army. The Sultan retreated to Jerusalem. Richard was unable to follow up his victory, remarkable as it was. His force was too small; moreover, he immediately fell ill again with a fever. Saladin sent him snow from the mountains, and fresh fruit, but he would not budge in his terms for peace.

Final Arrangements

The final treaty was signed on September 2, 1192. By its terms, Jerusalem would remain in Muslim hands, but Christian pilgrims were to be allowed to visit it, and all the holy places, freely and safely. The towns along the coast that the Christians had recovered would remain in their hands, except for Ascalon. It was to be returned to Saladin, but with all its fortifications demolished. There would be peace in Palestine for five years.

It was not what had been hoped for, when the three greatest European monarchs had set out, three years previously. But the loss of Barbarossa had been a grievous blow, and Philip's disinterest had allowed the French to withdraw at every convenient excuse. The English alone were not enough to win back the City on the Hill.

Richard Goes Home

Richard recovered from his fever and he quickly returned to Acre. His sister and his wife left the city on September 29, and Richard followed on October 9.

It's generally believed that Richard suffered from sea-sickness. The Mediterranean certainly didn't agree with him, for once again he was plagued by storms. He had to put in at Corfu. There, he donned the disguise of a Templar knight, for his was now in waters controlled by the Emperor of Byzantium, an enemy. He then sailed up the Adriatic and was shipwrecked near Aquilaea.

That was enough sea travel for Richard. Keeping his disguise, he and four companions went over the Alps and into Germany, trying to sneak into Saxony, which was ruled by his brother-in-law. On December 11, though, at an inn near Vienna, he was recognized and taken prisoner.

He was in the lands of Duke Leopold of Austria--the same man whose standard Richard's troops had thrown into the mud at Acre. Leopold was delighted to have Richard as a prisoner, and he only reluctantly yielded the king up to Emperor Henry VI.  The Emperor, for his part, was glad to keep Richard a prisoner, for the English king was friend to some of the Emperor's worst enemies.

Richard Lionheart was finally ransomed in March 1194 for a huge amount of money. He arrived in England in April and soon brought his wayward brother to heel. This is the famous return of Richard that figures so largely in the legends of Robin Hood and the story of Ivanhoe.

Results of the Third Crusade

The Third Crusade failed in its main objective: Jerusalem remained in Muslim hands. That it was regarded as a failure can be seen in the actions of Europeans: Henry VI was soon planning a new Crusade set for 1196.  Henry died on the very eve of his crusade and Germany fell into civil war, but the leadership was taken up almost immediately by the new pope, Innocent III.

The English and the French were too preoccupied with their struggle against one another to try again right away, so there was no new efforts from that quarter, either. Yet, the Third Crusade did succeed in a very important way: it preserved Outremer. The valiant defense of Tyre by Conrad of Montferrat could not have been kept without reinforcements from the West. And Guy's mad assault on Acre would never have succeeded without those same armies. Because of the Third Crusade, Outremer still clung to a narrow strip of cities along the coast of Lebanon and Palestine, and those cities could serve as the basis for future efforts to reclaim Jerusalem. Moreover, the victories had served as a significant counter-balance to Saladin's early victories, and he emerged from the Third Crusade not quite as invincible as he had at first appeared.

The Third Crusade also led to the acquisition of Cyprus by the Latins. This was a major addition to Outremer and one that outlasted the mainland. Its acquisition was important not only because it created a new crusader state, but also because it had been taken away from the Greeks. With Cyprus in Latin hands, the Byzantine Empire could no longer threaten Antioch from the sea.

The Third Crusade also gave birth to the Teutonic Knights. This military order was formed at Acre by survivors of the German Crusade. They were never as important in the Holy Land as either the Templars or the Hospitallers, but they always maintained a contingent and were there at the end in 1291. The Teutonic Knights played an extremely important role, however, in the conquest of the Baltic Slavs and the history of Poland, Livonia, and Lithuania.

Finally, in failing to regain Jerusalem, the Third Crusade marks the beginning of forty years of almost continuous crusading from Europe. None enjoyed very great success, and certainly none could claim even the modest victories on the field of battle that Richard had won.


Copyright 1999, Ellis L. Knox This file may be copied on the condition that the entire contents, including the header and this copyright notice, remain intact.