Why Richard Went East
In October 1187, Saladin’s army destroyed a Christian force at the Battle of Hattin, and within months Jerusalem was in Muslim hands. News of this reached western Europe and prompted calls for a new crusade. Richard, then still Count of Poitou and Duke of Aquitaine, took the cross very early. After his father Henry II died in 1189, he became king and spent months raising money and arranging government before leaving. Philip II of France and the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa also took part, but Frederick drowned in 1190 on the way, and his army largely fell apart.
Sicily and Cyprus
Richard sailed in 1190 and spent the winter in Sicily, where a quarrel over the inheritance of his sister Joan, the widow of the late king, led to fighting with the local population and eventually a settlement. In spring 1191, on the way to the Holy Land, some of his ships were wrecked off Cyprus, and its ruler, Isaac Komnenos, mistreated survivors. Richard conquered the island within weeks. Cyprus became a useful base for supplying the crusader states, and it stayed in Christian hands for centuries.
The Siege of Acre
Christian forces had been besieging Acre for about two years before Richard arrived in June 1191. The siege of Acre was a drawn-out struggle, with the crusaders themselves besieged by Saladin’s relief army. Richard’s arrival, with fresh troops, siege engines and money, helped force a surrender in July. Richard was reportedly ill for part of the siege, but he remained involved. Disagreements among the leaders were sharp. Philip left for France soon afterward, and Richard clashed with Duke Leopold V of Austria over the placing of banners on the captured walls, a quarrel that would matter later.
The surrender terms required Saladin to pay a ransom and return the relic of the True Cross. When payments were delayed, Richard ordered the execution of a large number of Muslim prisoners outside the city in August 1191. Chroniclers give differing figures, and the event is generally regarded as a stain on Richard’s reputation, though contemporary Christian writers mostly described it without protest.
The March and the Battle of Arsuf
Richard led the army south along the coast toward Jaffa, keeping the fleet close for supplies. Saladin’s forces harried the column constantly. The crusaders kept discipline under repeated attack, and at Arsuf in September 1191 they fought a pitched battle in which Richard’s charge helped win a notable victory. Saladin’s army was not destroyed, but his reputation for invincibility was damaged. The crusaders captured Jaffa and other coastal places.
Jerusalem Within Reach, but Out of It
In late 1191 and 1192 Richard twice advanced toward Jerusalem and twice turned back. His reasons were mainly practical. The city was hard to besiege, supplies of water were poor, the winter weather was harsh, and the crusader army was divided. Military leaders, including the Knights Templar and Hospitallers, advised that even if Jerusalem were taken, holding it would be difficult without control of the surrounding territory and the support of local lords. Richard’s decision was criticized then and since, but many historians think it was a realistic judgment.
Politics in the Kingdom of Jerusalem complicated matters. The claim to the crown was disputed between Guy of Lusignan and Conrad of Montferrat. Richard initially supported Guy, but in 1192 the barons elected Conrad. Conrad was murdered in April 1192, shortly before he could be crowned, and the responsibility has never been settled. Count Henry of Champagne, Richard’s nephew, married Conrad’s widow and took the crown. Richard compensated Guy with Cyprus.
Dealings with Saladin
Richard and Sultan Saladin never met in person. They negotiated through envoys, most notably Saladin’s brother al-Adil, with whom Richard had long conversations. Some of the proposals reported in the sources, such as a marriage alliance between Richard’s sister and al-Adil, appear to have been exploratory and went nowhere. Contemporaries on both sides wrote admiringly of each other’s courage, and stories exist of gifts, such as fruit or a horse, passing between camps. These stories may be embellished, but they reflect the way each leader saw the other as an honorable opponent.
In the summer of 1192 Saladin took Jaffa, and Richard retook it in a daring landing with a small force. Both armies were by then tired and short of supplies, and Richard became ill. In September 1192 they agreed to the Treaty of Ramla, a three-year truce. The coastal strip from Tyre to Jaffa stayed in crusader hands, Saladin kept Jerusalem, and unarmed Christian pilgrims were allowed to visit the holy places. Neither side got everything it wanted.
Richard left in October 1192. Saladin died in March 1193, and the Third Crusade is generally judged a partial success: it saved the crusader states from collapse and secured a coastline, but it did not reclaim Jerusalem.
Assessing Richard’s Crusade
Richard was a skilled battlefield commander and a determined leader, but also a king who left his lands at risk for years. His crusade is the main reason for his lasting fame, and the record shows a more modest result than legend suggests: real victories, a secured coastline, and a Jerusalem that stayed out of reach.