WHAT IF...RICHARD THE LIONHEART HAD RECAPTURED JERUSALEM?

Nige Tassell and Professor Rebecca Rist consider the consequences for history had the Third Crusade returned the Holy City to Christian control

- Nige Tassell and Professor Rebecca Rist

In January 1192, Richard the Lionheart - aka Richard I of England advanced with his men towards Jerusalem, the holy city taken by Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, nearly five years earlier. Richard was by now the de facto leader of the Third Crusade, during which he had already enjoyed significant success, taking the strategically important cities of Acre and Jaffa the previous year.

He and his forces reached the village of Bayt Nuba, just a dozen miles from Jerusalem's city walls. With Muslim morale low, re-establishing Christian control could have been within his grasp, but instead Richard retreated to spend the rest of the winter on the coast at the port of Ascalon. In the short term, he was cautious about both the poor weather conditions and the strength of his men, while also being in two minds about his long-term ability to hold on to Jerusalem. Instead, Richard opted for a settlement. The Treaty of Jaffa was signed with Saladin the following autumn, keeping the city under Muslim control but allowing access for Christian traders and pilgrims.

A TAXING SITUATION

Had Richard chosen to recapture Jerusalem, he would surely have faced a renewed campaign from Saladin to recapture it for himself, as Rebecca Rist, professor of medieval history at the University of Reading, observes. "Losing the holy city of Jerusalem to the crusaders would have undoubtedly tarnished Saladin's renowned reputation in the Muslim world, but he still had great military might, despite the significant losses at Acre and Jaffa, whereas much of Richard's army had dissipated and gone back to Acre by October 1191.