Jaffa

=**The Battle of Jaffa**=

**Before the Battle/the Third Crusades**
The crusades were campaigns that lasted for many years, originally started by order of Pope Urban II in 1096 when Jerusalem was shut to Christian pilgrims. In 1187, after becoming the Sultan of Egypt, Saladin and his Ayyubid force advanced on the Holy City, Jerusalem. The forces met in a great battle and the Christians lost. Saladin took Jerusalem and most of the remaining Christian cities in the East were gone with it. The news of the capture of Jerusalem shocked the western world. Some reports say (although this is very unlikely) Pope Urban III died from grief! Another Crusade was called; the Frankish king, Phillip II, the Germanic Holy Roman Emperor, Barbarossa, and the English king, Richard the Lionheart, all answered the call. First to set off was Barbarossa. He travelled by land like the previous crusades and encountered many difficulties. Soon disaster struck; Barbarossa drowned in a stream in Asia Minor. Aside form the loss of the Germanic troops, Richard and Phillip could not decide who would lead the Crusade now. Once the two kings reached Acre they met with Guy of Jerusalem and eventually managed to take the city, which was the only lasting success of the Crusade.

**The Battle Itself**
The battle of Jaffa took place during the Third Crusades as part of the campaign between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. Most historians believe that the main objective of the Third Crusade (which began in 1189) was to reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims. The Battle of Jaffa was the last battle in the Third Crusade.

The battle of Jaffa was fought between the two forces led by King Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.It was the last battle of the third crusade as they were able to reach a truce afterwards.

These crusades took place because the Muslim forces led by Saladin and the Christian forces led by King Richard the Lionheart wanted to reclaim the city of Jerusalem as it was sacred to both Christianity and Islam.

Aftermath
After the Battle of Jaffa, Saladin and Richard managed to agree upon a truce and Richard left the Holy Land to protect England, which was under attack by King Phillip, who had left after the capture of Acre, rather than staying like Richard. On the way back many tragedies befell Richard; he was shipwrecked, held to ransom and finally, outside of a minor baron's castle in France, died from an infected wound from a crossbow bolt. Once news of Richard's death reached England his brother, John, was made to be king. Whilst the Third Crusade itself was not particularly world changing, what happened as a result of it was. John went on to rule England until near the end of his reign a significant event happened. Many Barons of England revolted against him and he was forced to sign the //Magna Carta.// The //Magna Carta// was a document that caused the birth of democracy as we know it today, lessening the power of kings and granting certain rights to all men.

Websites
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Books
"The Crusades" by J Child, N Kelly and M Whittock

Images
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