On 7 September 1191, the Battle of Arsuf was fought between the Crusaders under Richard the Lionheart and the Ayyubids under Saladin during the Third Crusade.
Why did it happen?
Following the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the Christians set up four Crusader kingdoms: the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa. These kingdoms experienced an uneasy existence with the Muslim states that bordered their territories. In 1187, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was decisively defeated at the Battle of Hattin by the Ayyubid ruler Saladin. In response, Pope Clement III declared a Third Crusade, with Frederick Barbarossa, Richard the Lionheart, and Philip Augustus responding to the call to liberate Jerusalem from Saladin. Although Frederick died on the way, Richard and Philip arrived at Acre in April 1191 and relieved the city three months later. On 22 August, Richard marched south from Acre towards Jaffa, shadowed by Saladin’s army. The Crusaders were ordered to advance slowly and keep a disciplined formation on the march, but on 7 September, Richard decided to engage Saladin’s army in battle.
Who was involved?
The Crusader army at Arsuf numbered 10,000 infantry, 1,200 cavalry, and 2,000 crossbowmen. The Crusader army was arrayed in a hollow square with infantry and crossbowmen covering the landward flank and Templar and Hospitaller knights leading the front and rear, respectively. They were supported by a baggage train and supply ships along the coast. Richard ordered his knights to keep a strict formation, whatever the provocations from Muslim hit-and-run attacks. The Ayyubid army at Arsuf numbered 10,000 cavalry and 15,000 archers. The cavalry was arrayed in the rear in three divisions under Saladin himself, while the archers, both mounted and dismounted, were arrayed around the Crusader formation.
What happened?
Saladin’s mounted archers launched hit-and-run attacks on the Crusader army, hoping to break their formation. Richard ordered his army not to counterattack without his order to do so. Saladin’s heavy cavalry, including his bodyguard, then launched a major assault on the Crusader rear guard. Richard’s Knights Hospitaller continued to suffer casualties from Ayyubid arrow fire until, unable to sustain casualties any longer, they charged Saladin’s mounted archers without Richard’s orders. The Hospitallers caught many of the Ayyubid archers dismounted. In conjunction with the Knights Templar on the Crusader right wing, Richard charged the Ayyubid army, cutting down many of Saladin’s soldiers in the thick of the fighting. Shaken by the ferocity and discipline of the Crusader knights, Saladin ordered his army to withdraw. Casualties numbered 700 Crusaders and 7,000 Ayyubids.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Arsuf was a Crusader victory. In the immediate aftermath of the battle, Richard ordered his army to continue its march towards Jaffa, which they reached two days later. Although Saladin never confronted Richard in open battle again, the Crusaders failed to capture Jerusalem, and the Third Crusade ended in 1192 with a peace treaty between Richard and Saladin. Saladin died the following year, and Richard was captured by the Duke of Austria while travelling back to England. He eventually paid a ransom to be freed but died in 1199 while besieging a castle in France. Between 1201 and 1270, five more Crusades would be called before the last Crusader stronghold at Acre was conquered by the Mamelukes in 1291.
Bibliography
Asadi, Aaron. All About History Book of Kings & Queens. London, Imagine Publishing, 2014.
Boas, Adrian J. The Crusader World. Abingdon, Routledge, 2016.
Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Webb, Jonathan. “Battle of Arsuf, 1191.” The Art of Battle. Last revised 2009. http://www.theartofbattle.com/battle-of-arsuf-1191/
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