The Battle of Hattin (1187): Saladin’s Greatest Victory
The Battle of Hattin, fought on 4 July 1187, was the most important military engagement of the Crusading movement in the 12th century. The battle, fought near the Horns of Hattin in Galilee, was a decisive victory for the Kurdish-Ayyubid sultan Saladin. The Crusader army, the principal fighting force of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, was destroyed. King Guy of Lusignan was captured. The True Cross, the most sacred relic of the Kingdom, fell into Muslim hands. The battle was followed by Saladin’s reconquest of nearly every important Crusader city, including Jerusalem itself on 2 October 1187. The fall of Jerusalem triggered the Third Crusade, the most famous expedition of the medieval period. The standard modern account of the battle, and the political crisis behind it, is now Malcolm Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson’s Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War (1982), with the older study by Steven Runciman still worth reading for the narrative.
For the broader story, see the main article on the Third Crusade, the Saladin pillar article, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The Lead-Up to Hattin
The decades before Hattin had been marked by a slow deterioration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The kingdom had been founded in 1100, in the aftermath of the First Crusade, and it had reached its maximum extent under King Baldwin III (r. 1143-1163). But under Baldwin IV, the Leper King, the kingdom was in a difficult position. Baldwin was a brilliant commander, but he suffered from leprosy, and the question of succession became increasingly pressing.
The situation was complicated by internal politics. The two most powerful barons of the kingdom, Raymond of Tripoli and Guy of Lusignan, were bitter rivals. Raymond was the regent of the kingdom and the most experienced political operator. Guy was the husband of Baldwin IV’s sister Sibylla, and he had the support of Baldwin’s other sister, the dowager queen mother Agnes of Courtenay. The rivalry between Raymond and Guy paralyzed the kingdom’s politics and prevented a coherent response to Saladin’s rise.
Saladin had been consolidating his power in the Muslim world since 1171, when he had overthrown the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. By 1186, he controlled Egypt, Syria, and much of the Jazira. In May 1187, he invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem and inflicted a sharp defeat on a Crusader force at the Springs of Cresson. The defeat at Cresson was a disaster for the kingdom: it removed several of its best commanders, including the master of the Knights Templar, Gérard de Ridefort, and it left the kingdom without an effective field army.
The March to Tiberias
On 2 July 1187, Saladin launched a major invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He crossed the Jordan River with a large army, perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 effective combatants, and marched on Tiberias, the capital of the Galilee. Tiberias was held by Raymond of Tripoli, whose wife Eschiva was the daughter of the lord of Tiberias. The city fell on 3 July, but the garrison withdrew to the citadel under the command of Raymond’s wife.
The fall of Tiberias was a major blow to the morale of the kingdom, and it placed Raymond in a difficult position. His wife was besieged in the citadel, and he urged the king to march to her relief. The other barons, especially Guy and the Knights Templar, argued against the march, on the grounds that the army would be marching into a trap. The decision was made by King Guy, who overruled Raymond and decided to march.
The decision to march was a fateful one. The Crusader army set out from Sephoria on the morning of 3 July 1187, in the heat of summer, with limited water supplies. The army numbered perhaps 15,000 to 20,000 effective combatants, plus a substantial non-combatant train. Among the Crusaders was the True Cross, the most sacred relic of the Kingdom, which was carried in the army’s baggage train.
The Battle
The Crusader army made slow progress, hampered by heat, thirst, and the constant harassment of Saladin’s forces. By the afternoon, the army was in desperate straits, suffering from heat and lack of water. Saladin’s forces, who had a plentiful supply of water and could easily retreat to their camps, were in a much better position.
Around noon, the Crusader army reached the Horns of Hattin, a volcanic hill near the Sea of Galilee. The Crusaders made camp on the hill, but they were surrounded by Saladin’s forces, who set fire to the dry grass and brush. The smoke added to the Crusaders’ suffering, and the army was in a desperate position by nightfall.
The next morning, 4 July, the Crusaders attempted to break out of the encirclement. The army formed up for battle, with the infantry in the center and the cavalry on the wings. The True Cross was placed in the center of the formation. Saladin’s forces, who had been harassing the Crusaders all night, attacked from all sides.
The battle was short and decisive. The Crusader army, exhausted and demoralized, was no match for Saladin’s fresh troops. The Crusader infantry was overwhelmed, and the True Cross fell into Muslim hands. King Guy and most of the other leaders were captured. Raymond of Tripoli, who had argued against the march, escaped with a small band of followers, but most of the army was killed or captured.
The Aftermath of Hattin
The defeat at Hattin was a catastrophe for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The army was destroyed. The principal leaders were captured. The True Cross was lost. Saladin followed up his victory by capturing nearly every important Crusader city, including Acre, Sidon, Beirut, and Jaffa. The fall of Jerusalem, on 2 October 1187, was the final blow: the Holy City, in Christian hands for nearly a century, was back in Muslim hands.
The fall of Jerusalem sent shock waves across the medieval world. The response in Europe was immediate. Pope Urban III died of shock upon hearing the news, and his successor Gregory VIII called the Third Crusade. The expedition that followed, led by the three most powerful rulers of the age, would come closer to recapturing Jerusalem than any subsequent expedition.
The defeat at Hattin also had a profound effect on the Muslim world. The battle is celebrated in the Muslim tradition as a great victory of jihad, and Saladin’s reputation as a chivalrous and merciful conqueror was established. The reconquest of Jerusalem, which had been under Christian rule for nearly a century, was a powerful symbol of Muslim resurgence.
The Long-Term Significance
The Battle of Hattin was the most important Crusader defeat of the 12th century, and it marked a turning point in the history of the Crusades. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was reduced to a strip of coastline, and the Latin East would never recover its former strength. The Crusader States would survive for another century, but they were under constant pressure, and they finally fell to the Mamluk Sultanate in 1291.
The battle also established Saladin’s reputation in the Western tradition. The Kurdish sultan became a figure of legend, celebrated for his military skill, his chivalrous conduct, and his magnanimity in victory. The relationship between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart is one of the most famous in medieval history, and it has been the subject of numerous works of literature, art, and film.
The battle has also been the subject of intense historical analysis. Modern historians have debated the decision to march on Tiberias, the conduct of the battle, and the role of Raymond of Tripoli, who has been variously portrayed as a traitor and as a wise counselor. The most important modern account is Malcolm Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson’s Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War (1982), which provides a detailed and balanced treatment of the battle and its context.