Prepare for a timed 16 mark question on the reasons for the failure of the Third Crusade Flashcards
Strength of Saladin
-Afterbattle of Acre-
Negotiations took longer than expected and Saladin not prepared to pay ransom money
Rumours spread about Saladin’s treatment of prisoners - it is thought that Saldin had murdered them
-First attempt to take Jerusalem October 1191-
Heavy rains fell in the 6 weeks they stayed at Ramla, making the road worse. Richard ordered the men to Beit Nuba, only 12 miles away from Jerusalem, but the rain and violent hailstorms meant that mud was everywhere. Crusaders’ food became rotten, their clothes wet through and their weapons and armour beginning to rust, with Saladin - who had retreated to Jerusalem fearing an attack - continuing to send out raiding parties to ambush the crusaders and attack their supply lines
Second attempt to take Jerusalem 1192
In May, Richard attacked the fortress of Darum, and the other crusader leaders met, deciding to attack Jerusalem for a second time
Fearing an attempt to take Jerusalem, Saladin ordered all wells around the city to be poisoned, and prepared to leave the city
On the 27th July, Saladin launched a surprise attack on Jaffa, bringing down a large section of the defensive wall. Richard arrived just in time, launching a surprise counter attack and winning despite being outnumberedRichard’s victory in Jaffa demonstrated skill and bravery, and showed Saladin that negotiation was the only option, unable to drive the crusaders out of the holy land
In late August, Saladin proposed peace terms in the form of the treaty of Jaffa stating that: Saladin was to retain control of Jerusalem; the crusaders were allowed to keep their conquests of Acre and Jffa and the coastal strip between the two towns; Muslims and Christians were granted free passage through each other’s lands; and Christian pilgrims were allowed access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
HOWEVER Richard did not end up going to Jerusalem, and set sail for home on the 9th of October 1192, marking the end of the crusades.
Bad luck
-Unaware of Saladin’s weakness-
Richard unware of Saldins finacial weakness and that he was at his knees
-Death of Frederick-
June10th 1190 RIP
Frederick decided to travel by foot
He had some early victories against the Seljuk Turks when he captured their capital city of Iconium
However, whilst attempting to reach Armenia, Frederick drowned crossing a river.
As a result, many soldiers of the German army left the crusade. This severely weakened the crusader army.
-First attempt to take Jerusalem-
Heavy rains fell in the 6 weeks they stayed at Ramla, making the road worse. Richard ordered the men to Beit Nuba, only 12 miles away from Jerusalem, but the rain and violent hailstorms meant that mud was everywhere. Crusaders’ food became rotten, their clothes wet through and their weapons and armour beginning to rust, with Saladin - who had retreated to Jerusalem fearing an attack - continuing to send out raiding parties to ambush the crusaders and attack their supply lines
Richard’s poor leadership
-Angering Philip-
September 1190 richard entered messina with lots of displays and trumpets philip had arrived quietly the week before
- The crusaders and mostly greek population to a dislike to each other and fighting broke out in the october
-Richard settled this by force and seized the city
-Philip refused to help and was angered by richards displays of banners all over the city walls, he eventually took them down
- He gave philip one thired of the money he had made from a peace deal with tancred ruler of sicily
- Richard and philip quarelled in Acre-
Increase in competitive relationship due to Richard outbidding Philip for knights instead of sharing e.g. Philip offered 3 gold coins and Richard offered 4
Supported different King’s of Jerusalem, further adding to the fragility of their relationship e.g. Philip supported Conrad of Montferrat while Richard supported Guy of Lusignan
Philip considered leaving crusade because he was jealous of Richard’s victory in Sicily and Cyprus
Philip wanted to leave crusade anyway because the Count of Flanders died in Acre and he controlled Artois - Philip saw this as an opportunity to increase his power and gain more territory in France
Philip made unrealistic demands to Richard in order to stay on crusade e.g. Richard had to give Phillip half of Cyprus. Richard argued that their agreement was only to share gains within the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Philip left crusade in August 1191: Duke Hugh of Burgundy becomes commander of the French forces
Weaknesses within the Crusading army
Richard didn’t want to launch the first attack on Jerusalem because he believed that they didn’t have enough troops to lay siege to Jerusalem and protect their supply line, and he also didn’t think that they had enough resources, people or money to defend both Jerusalem if they did manage to take it and the coastal towns they had taken
Richard didn’t want to launch the first attack on Jerusalem because he believed that they didn’t have enough troops to lay siege to Jerusalem and protect their supply line, and he also didn’t think that they had enough resources, people or money to defend both Jerusalem if they did manage to take it and the coastal towns they had taken
Richard wanted to go straight to Ascalon, but most other crusaders wanted to stay and refortify Jaffa, so he stayed to appease them
The crusaders moved from Jaffa to destroyed fortresses in Yasur, rebuilding them in two weeks, After repairing the fortresses, he moved on to Ramla, stockpiling resources
Heavy rains fell in the 6 weeks they stayed at Ramla, making the road worse. Richard ordered the men to Beit Nuba, only 12 miles away from Jerusalem, but the rain and violent hailstorms meant that mud was everywhere. Crusaders’ food became rotten, their clothes wet through and their weapons and armour beginning to rust, with Saladin - who had retreated to Jerusalem fearing an attack - continuing to send out raiding parties to ambush the crusaders and attack their supply lines
The crusading army’s best chance was to take and rebuild Ascalon, but at Ramla, the army had begun to break up, with some French soldiers returning to Jaffa and Acre, leaving Richard with a significantly smaller army. Ascalon was in ruins, but Richard’s forces worked to rebuild and refortify it, making it a base for attacks and the strongest fortress on the coast of Palestine
