Battle of Jaffa (1192)

Philomelion - Iconium - Acre - Arsuf - Jaffa

The Battle of Jaffa took place in early August 1192, takes place during the Third Crusade. At that time, the English King Richard the Lionheart smote the host Sultan Saladin back outside Jaffa, and thus secured the city for the Crusaders. The battle was the last battle of the Third Crusade, which resulted in Saladin and Richard received negotiations on a ceasefire.

Prehistory

On September 7, 1191 the army of the Third Crusade led by Richard at the Battle of Arsuf was the army of Saladin put to flight and the port city of Jaffa occupied without a fight the next day and its fortifications, which had previously destroyed Saladin restored. Jaffa Jerusalem was the closest Mediterranean port and should serve the Crusaders as a supply base for the further expansion to capture Jerusalem. Until December 1191 achieved the Crusaders but no decisive progress in securing the supply routes, so that Richard himself first gave up the attack on Jerusalem to the surrounding areas of Jerusalem and sporadic negotiations with Saladin recorded without this would have led to a conclusion. In January 1192 Richard's crusade army occupied the city of Ashkelon and let their fortifications, which Saladin had in the meantime also can destroy, rebuild. Spring 1192 passed under further negotiations and skirmishes between the warring parties. Maybe Richard was planning a campaign against Saladin's heartland Egypt. Also at this time Richard was the first time a message from his home, where his brother John tore the royal power itself and the French King Philip II Augustus Richards feud attack in western France. By the summer of 1192 it became clear that Richard had to urgently return home to defend his interests. Saladin the problems Richards was aware but had its own problems. Its population was tired of war and the morale of his troops, he was true only with difficulty.

Siege of Jaffa

As of July 5, 1192 Richard began to withdraw his army from the Holy Land. In the understanding that in the event of a rapid conquest he could hardly defend Jerusalem, he drew his main army from the disputed territories back. Soon after the withdrawal of the main army of the Crusaders, Saladin marched with his troops against the now denuded regions before and started on July 27 for the Crusaders strategically important city of Jaffa to besiege.

Saladin's troops undermined the walls and siege engines fired on them with large stones. The garrison of Jaffa fought bravely dug countermines and returned the fire. When at last a breach was beaten, joined the Defenders this, where they formed up behind a massive shield wall. The troops fought Saladin, however half-hearted and only the prospect of booty kept her upright motivation to fight. On Friday, July 30, 1192, the defenders finally offered to negotiate their surrender. Saladin accepted a ransom, free withdrawal should get together with their movable property against all Christians in the city. However, Saladin could not hold back when it invaded agreement illegal in the city of his troops. The defenders fled to the citadel of the city, where they entrenched themselves, while the Turkish and Kurdish Saladin quotas sacked the city. The indignant Sultan was then the city gates seal off of his Mamluk guard and the looters off their prey.

Richard was with his main army at Acre, when he received news of the attack Saladin at Jaffa on 29 July. He immediately asked a relatively small force together with whom he boarded the galleys available to him and hastily embarked to Jaffa. His main army, under the command of Count Henry II of Champagne, followed by land.

Battle of Jaffa

When Richard arrived off the coast of Jaffa, he saw Muslim banner blow to the city walls and falsely believed that the city was like. Only one defender who swam out to Richard's ships, informed him that the citadel of Jaffa was still held. With his typical insouciance, Richard was as close as possible to bring to shore, where he jumped into the water and his men waded to the shore to provide Saladin's troops at the beach for battle. Supported by a failure of the defenders of the citadel of Saladin drove the troops from the city, which suffered significant losses.

Richard now began hastily to repair the city walls, which had priority before the removal of the bodies from the city. In the city of Da were still many corpses covered Richard and his men in front of it, and pitch their camp on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile Henry of Champagne had arrived with a few men on the sea, he had preceded the main army, which was encountered in Caesarea on a Muslim army and prevented from rapid march. Apart from these men, he had only the troops with him, with which he had embarked - maybe 50 knight ( with standard Infanteriegefolge ) and a few hundred crossbowmen. As the knights had carried no horses, they fought all as foot soldiers.

When Saladin learned of the circumstances, he decided to risk a surprise attack to capture Richard. On August 4, 1192 after dark, grabbed a division of Saladin's cavalry to the camp Richards. My foray but had been noticed in time and Richard had erected his little troop in battle formation. Next to each second dismounted knights or foot soldiers a crossbow shooter was positioned. When Saladin's troops once again saw the closed battle formation Richards, they lost all courage to fight. The Mamluk Guard led from a few attacks on the Crusaders and suffered severe losses due to crossbow fire. The rest of the troops refused to attack simply having regard to the withholding of his booty from the sack of Jaffa. Saladin eventually had to withdraw.

Follow

The Battle of Jaffa was the last significant battle of the Third Crusade, in consequence of Saladin and Richard received constructive negotiations on a ceasefire. On September 2, 1192 they entered into a ceasefire agreement over three years, bringing the Third Crusade was over. This Ashkelon was ceded to Saladin, the coastal strip from Jaffa to Tyre remained in the possession of the Crusaders.

Trivia

Later legends sent by Saladin when he saw Richard fight on foot, so that it could fight befitting him two horses from his stables. This gesture was understood as a special sign of mutual respect and chivalry.

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