Battle of Hattin

The battles of Hattin or battles of Tibériade took place the July 4th 1187 with the Cornes of Hattin (or forks of Hattin) (Kouroun-Hattin) (near the lake of Tibériade in Galileo) between the armies of the Royaume of Jerusalem, directed by Guy de Lusignan, and of Saladin.

Context

After the death, with Acre, of the young king Baudouin V of Montferrat, 7 years old, the regent Raymond III of Tripoli is relieved, the throne of Jerusalem falls to Guy de Lusignan, new husband of Sybille, the sister of the king Baudouin IV the Leprous, deceased the March 16th 1185.

End 1186 or beginning of 1187, Renaud de Châtillon, lord of in addition to-Jordan and Montreal, into force breaks the trève since nearly 4 years, between Francs and Musulmans, while seizing a caravan, however under strong escort, which goes Cairo to Damas. He massacres the men-at-arms and imprisons of them the tradesmen and the caravaneers in his citadel of Kérak. Then it attacks other caravans of pilgrims going with Mecque, and even projects to destroy the crowned place of Islam.

Saladin ( Salâh AD-DIN ) tries to be patient and shown diplomacy, preferring to devote itself entirely to the management of its country. Its Empire is dilapidated by many years of civil war between Arab lords and against the Croisés. It has just completed the unification of the Moslems, and even the town of Mosul, which it besieged on several occasions, signed peace (in 1186). The trève, that it personally signed with Raymond of Tripoli, must enable him to prepare the Djihad, and it estimates that the moment to break it did not arrive yet. It thus sends emissary carrying messages of indignation to Renaud de Châtillon, but the nap to respect the truce, to slacken the prisoners and to restore the seized goods. Scorning, Renaud, advises to him to ask Mahomet to come to save them.

Not being able to leave this unpunished affront, Saladin joins together a little more 12 000 soldiers with Damas, then as of March besieges the citadel of Kérak then the citadel of Shaubak, before moving towards Banias close to Tibériade. The Moslem troops meet by chance a delegation of frank barons, whom they kill or make captive.

On their side, the Crusaders enlisent themselves in their internal quarrels. In March 1187, Raymond of Tripoli, extremely of truce the 4 years, signed with Saladin, and sure of its support, had refused to lend homage to the new king of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan. This one, eager to get rid of its rival, whom he accuses of kindness towards the Moslems, prepares to attack Tibériade, which belongs to the woman of the count de Tripoli. Alerted, this one concluded an alliance with Saladin which frees the city.

The April 30th 1187, in accordance with their alliance, Saladin request with Raymond of Tripoli, to let its scouts make a recognition on the side of the lake of Tibériade. The count, embarrassed, cannot refuse. It requires however that the Moslem soldiers leave his territory before the evening and are caught any neither with the goods, nor with the people. May 1st, 7 000 riders pass under the walls of the city. The evening even, whereas they make the way in opposite direction, they meet 150 knights Ordre of the Temple which attacked a column close to Séfourièh (Saffouriya, in the north of Nazareth). It is the massacre. Only three of them manage to flee, of which the Master about the Temple: Gerard de Ridefort.

Following this disaster Raymond repent themselves and places its forces at the disposal of Guy de Lusignan. The June 24th, the Francs are ready. They joined together an large army made up of 2 000 knights (of which 1 200 knights of the Order of the Temple and the Hospital ) and 13 000 infantrymen. They are supported by 40 000 mercenaries, in Moslems majority, of which 2 500 riders and 7 000 infantrymen paid and armed by the templiers. Opposite, new troops joined Saladin which lays out on the whole of more than 60 000 soldiers.

The beginning of the battle

In the neighborhoods of the town of Séfourièh, approximately 25 000 men, including 1/5 of cavalry, are gathered on the hill. They are safe from any attack and have there of vivres in quantity and, thanks to the fountains of the city, water at will.

To force the Francs to come to him, Saladin imagines an astute stratagem. It makes attack the city of Tibériade where always the wife of Raymond of Tripoli is. Its troops succeed in taking the low city, which is set fire to, and push the population to be taken refuge in the fortress, while letting pass from the messengers who join the francque army, to Séfourièh distant of Tibériade of approximately 27 kilometers. Saladin thus hopes to push the Francs with the confrontation before its own troops are not relaxed.

Initially, the Francs do not precipitate. Raymond of Tripoli thinks that the fortress can resist time to beat the troops of Saladin, moreover, it considers that such a company is perilous. The road was difficult and not very abundant water. Renaud de Châtillon shows Raymond of cowardice: “I do not doubt only one moment that you love the Moslems and that you seek to frighten us by their number” and the Master of the templiers, Gerard de Ridefort, ends up convincing the king de Jérusalem to set the army in motion.

The franque army, divided into three bodies, spends on July 1st on the way. The men suffer from heat and water reserves are quickly exhausted. Saladin had taken care to make fill the wells and to poison the water holes. Without never starting the combat, riders, badgered them on all sides of their arrows, and slow down walk. This tactic succeeds so well, that at the evening of the July 3rd, Guy de Lusignan proposes to join the village of Hattin where one of the rare water points is. But Saladin guesses the project and the road bars to him. At the fallen night, the Francs are obliged to bivouac among the extreme stones, on desiccated sand. Their goatskin bottles are empty. All the night, they are badgered, and must take care for the third consecutive night.

The decisive battle

In the morning of the July 4th, the day is announced even hotter than the day before. Moreover Francs are under the wind. Saladin positions its troops in order to block any attempt at exit, and makes put fire at the undergrowth. The wind pushes smoke and fire towards the Crusaders. Without water to refresh itself, the Francs choke under their imposing armours. With the energy of despair, they carry out heroic combat however to try to bore the enemy lines and to gain banks of the Lac of Tibériade.

Little by little, the Francs are pushed back and constrained to gather on a rise called the Cornes in Hattin , a basaltic piton dominating the close plain. Raymond of Tripoli succeeds in creating an exit towards Séfourièh while taking along with him the son of prince d' Antioche, his knights and some barons Syrian. Some detachments also succeed in fleeing towards Tyr.

The remainder of the forces ardently defend their position raised on the Cornes of Hattin . According to the accounts of the chroniclers the battle is terrible, there are many deaths, as well side cross as Moslem side. That and there fail thousands of casualties tangled up in the corpses of the horses. The fall of the royal tent symbolizes the francque defeat, whereas the king and his large barons manage to find refuge in the fortress of Tibériade.

Victory of Saladin

The following day, July 5th, without hope of help, they leave the fortress and go. Among the prisoners of mark: The king of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan and his two brothers, the constable Amaury II of Lusignan and Geoffroy de Lusignan, the lord Renaud de Châtillon, person in charge of the defeat, Gerard de Ridefort, Master of the Order of the Temple, Onfroy IV of Strand, the marquis Guillaume de Montferrat and much of others.

All the knights Hospital templiers and surviving, about 300, are immediately put at the variation and decapitated in Damas on the public place, because considered as the most frightening enemies of Islam. The other frank knights, are made prisoners, but their lives are saved.
the soldiers Turkish and Moslems with the service of the Frank , the turcopoles, considered as traitors and renegades, are massacred without pity.
the other combatants Francs are made prisoners and reduced in slavery.
Renaud de Châtillon is decapitated for perjury.
the king of Jerusalem is led to Damas, with the other noble ones captured to be used as ransom.

Consequences of this battle

A little more 30 000 soldiers (frank and Moslem), in one day, leave the life at the time of the battle of Hattin. The fine flower of the francque knighthood is destroyed. The Moslems inflict with the Croisés, a hard psychological defeat, because they lost the Relique Vraie Cross, emblem of Christendom.

The Palestine passes under the influence of Saladin. At the time of only July, it takes the citadel of Tibériade (the July 6th), the cities of Saint-Jean-in Acre, Jaffa (the city resists longer the army of Al-Adel, come from Egypt. It ends up falling and its inhabitants are sold in slavery), Césarée and Sidon. The August 6th it is the turn of Beirut, before Ascalon the September 4th, and Gaza the 5. The 20, Saladin begins the head office of Jerusalem, which is defended more only by 6 000 soldiers (raised hastens some among the inhabitants because only 4 knights had been left on the spot at the time of the entry in shift; it is the fact of having engaged all the military potential of the kingdom which made the defeat so disastrous) directed by Balian d' Ibelin. The Holy City falls the October 2nd 1187.

The city is not plundered, the inhabitants who have the means of them are released against from the modest sums. The others will finish slaves. The templiers negotiate their exit. Saladin concludes a market with in particular Balian d' Ibelin which promised to destroy the places saint Moslems if the city and its inhabitants were not saved. Saladin will have however held its promise and will thus have avoided unnecessarily pouring blood. Just as Saladin had allowed to the knights Acre and of Ascalon to exile itself with Tyr, those of Jerusalem join also Tyr, which strong of all these reinforcements becomes impregnable.

Saladin in November begins the seat of Tyr defended by the baron Conrad de Montferrat, brother of late the Guillaume de Montferrat (the 1st husband of Sybille, the sister of Baudouin IV the Leprous and the mother of late the Baudouin V of Montferrat, which had then married Guy de Lusignan). The Francs succeed in burning part of the Moslem fleet, and Saladin ends up giving up the seat, its important army was to be demobilized at the entry of the winter. On the way of the return, it still seizes the towns of Lattaquié, Tartous, and Safed in Syrian territory.

This franque defeat, marks the beginning of the collapse of the Latin States of the East. Only resists until in 1189 - 1190 the powerful frontier citadels that the Francs did not dismantle, and that Saladin neglects initially.

End 1187, the Francs have nothing any more but the cities of Tyr, Antioche and Tripoli (in current Lebanon), to which the three isolated fortresses are added. Wise the Raymond III of Tripoli dies at the 48 years age of the continuations of a pleurisy.

This battle puts a term at the Second crusade, but does not put a term at the wars between Moslems and crossed, who will still continue during nearly one century. It modifies considerably the balance of the forces to the detriment of the Christians. However, this defeat of the crusaders, once known in Occident, will cause a vigorous start of the principal sovereigns of Christendom: the emperor Frederic Barberousse, the king of France Philippe Auguste and the king of England Richard Lion-hearted, the only one which will obtain some results. Considerable reinforcements will start to flow. The Third crusade starts shortly after.

Characters

Catalog of films

Kingdom off Heaven, of Ridley Scott (2005)

Sources

History of Saladin, sulthan of Egypt and Syria - By François-Louis-Claude Marin - 1758

Random links: