ON THIS DAY ·
Saladin takes Jerusalem
2 Oct 1187 — Jerusalem surrenders to Saladin on terms. Ransomed inhabitants walk free, and he famously restrains his troops. The contrast with 1099 helps make his legend in both civilizations and shames Europe into a Third Crusade.
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The moment in context
Saladin arrived in Egypt as a subordinate of Nur al-Din. In 1171 he abolished the Shia Fatimid caliphate and restored Sunni allegiance, establishing himself as Egypt’s ruler. Nur al-Din died in 1174, and Saladin then spent years acquiring territory in Syria, often fighting fellow Muslims. By 1186 he controlled Egypt and much of Syria. The crusader states could no longer rely in the same way on the rivalry between rulers on either side of them.
From Saladin and the fall of Jerusalem, chapter 6 of The Crusades, 1095–1291 (1187).
The place: Saladin takes Jerusalem — map and full story →
Teach this in 5 minutes
- Why it happened — The union of Egypt and Syria. Saladin brought Egypt and much of Syria under his authority between 1171 and 1186. Earlier, the crusader states could seek help among competing…
- The turn — The Horns of Hattin, 4 July 1187. On 4 July 1187 at the Horns of Hattin, Guy’s army ran short of water and was surrounded and destroyed; the True Cross was captured. Most of the…
- What it changed — Outremer reduced to slivers. The map marks the kingdom’s lost territory with hatching. Tyre held out on the coast, and Tripoli and Antioch survived in the north. Even with those…
Then ask the room: Was Saladin’s reputation as a hero earned, or was it made by later storytellers? The argued answer is on the chapter page →
The atlas that shows it
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