Crusades - Prelude to the Third Crusade

Background to the Late Crusader Period (1150–1190) Introduction The period from 1150 to 1190 was a critical turning point for the Crusader states in the Eastern Mediterranean. At its beginning, the Latin Christian kingdoms controlled significant territories and appeared to be consolidating their power. By its end, they faced a unified Muslim adversary led by a brilliant military commander named Saladin, who would eventually prove catastrophic to their survival. This transformation occurred not through the inevitable rise of a superior power, but through a series of succession crises, political missteps, and internal divisions within the Crusader world—particularly within the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Understanding this period requires tracking how two powers rose and fell in rapid succession, and how the Crusaders' political instability left them vulnerable. The Kingdom of Jerusalem and Egypt as a Battleground (1163–1174) When Baldwin III died in February 1163, his brother Amalric inherited the Kingdom of Jerusalem. At this moment, the main strategic prize in the Eastern Mediterranean was not the traditional Crusader heartland, but Egypt. Though the Fatimid caliphate that ruled Egypt was wealthy, it was internally divided and weakened. Amalric saw Egypt as the key to expanding Crusader power and wealth, and he pursued a series of campaigns to control or annex Egyptian territory. However, Amalric was not alone in this ambition. To the north, a powerful Turkish warlord named Nur al-Din also coveted Egypt. Nur al-Din ruled a state that stretched across much of Syria, and he understood that controlling Egypt would give him dominance over the entire Eastern Mediterranean. Throughout the 1160s, Amalric and Nur al-Din engaged in a competition for Egyptian influence, with the Crusaders and Muslim forces increasingly interfering in Egyptian politics. The Rise of Saladin The turning point came in 1169, when Nur al-Din appointed one of his most capable military commanders, a Kurdish general named Shirkuh, as vizier of Egypt. Shirkuh held this powerful position for only a few months before his death. What happened next proved transformative: his nephew, a young Kurdish officer named Saladin, succeeded him as vizier. Saladin's early career was marked by his consolidation of power. In September 1171, he took the decisive step of abolishing the Fatimid caliphate entirely, ending over two centuries of Fatimid rule. By doing so, Saladin brought Egypt firmly under his control and severed it from the old political order that had been fragmenting Islamic politics in the region. However, Saladin's ambitions extended beyond Egypt. After his initial consolidation of power, he began to clash with his former patron, Nur al-Din, over control of Syrian territories. Over the next few years, through careful diplomacy and military campaigns, Saladin managed to seize control of Syria as well, eventually uniting both Egypt and Syria under his rule—something neither the Crusaders nor any previous Muslim ruler had achieved in recent memory. <extrainfo> Historical Context: Saladin's background as a Kurdish general serving a Turkish ruler is worth noting, as it illustrates the multicultural nature of medieval Islamic leadership. His rise was not inevitable but resulted from his own military skills, political intelligence, and the weakness of his rivals. </extrainfo> The Crisis of Succession in 1174 Just as Saladin was consolidating power in the Muslim world, the Crusader states experienced their own succession crisis. In 1174, both Nur al-Din and King Amalric died within months of each other. This simultaneous removal of two major powers created chaos in both worlds. On the Muslim side, Nur al-Din's death left his territory in the hands of his young son as-Salih, who was still a minor. This weakness allowed Saladin to move against Nur al-Din's heirs and incorporate their Syrian territories into his own growing empire. On the Crusader side, the situation was even more dire. Amalric's heir was his young son Baldwin IV, who would become one of the most tragic figures in Crusader history—he was a leper. Medieval leprosy was poorly understood; although not immediately fatal, it was a degenerative disease that would progressively impair Baldwin's ability to rule. The disease carried profound religious and social stigma in medieval Christian culture. Nevertheless, Baldwin was crowned and ruled as best he could, his authority always complicated by his physical condition and the question of succession. Internal Instability and the Succession of Guy of Lusignan Because Baldwin IV's physical condition made him an uncertain long-term ruler, the question of succession dominated Crusader politics throughout his reign. His sister Sibylla became crucial to the political future of the kingdom. Sibylla first married William of Montferrat, a powerful nobleman, who died in 1177, leaving her a widow with a young son, Baldwin (the future Baldwin V). Later, Sibylla married again, this time to Guy of Lusignan, a controversial and ambitious nobleman. Guy lacked deep roots in the Crusader elite and was widely viewed as an outsider. However, he allied himself with one of the kingdom's most ruthless military commanders, Raynald of Châtillon, who controlled the strategically important fortress of Kerak and had a reputation for aggressive, sometimes reckless military action against Muslim territories. In 1186, using his marriage to Sibylla as justification, Guy seized power. This was a critical moment: Guy's accession marked a shift toward military aggression and toward policies that would isolate other important Crusader nobles. Notably, Raymond III of Tripoli, a senior nobleman who might have challenged Guy's authority, responded by entering into direct negotiations with Saladin. In what would prove to be a devastating mistake for the Crusaders, Raymond granted Saladin's army free passage through Galilee—essentially opening the door to Muslim invasion of the kingdom's heartland. This internal division, born from a contested succession and the rise of an unpopular ruler, left the Crusader state fatally weakened just as Saladin was reaching the height of his power. <extrainfo> The image below shows a medieval manuscript illustration of crusading-era warfare, which helps visualize the military context of this period, though it doesn't depict specific events from the 1150–1190 period. </extrainfo>