Acre


 * ACRE **

Who was involved in the Battle? The siege of Acre occurred for three years from 1189 to 1191. At the time Acre was amongst the largest ports and most important cities of the Holy Land. For this reason it had great value and significance to the influence on the Third Crusade. Saladin had defeated many cities around Acre but did not have full control over the holy land. This was because the Muslims (Saracens) had control over the southernmost ports and the Christians (Franks) had the northernmost ports. Saladin had not yet taken 5 ports and needed to take them over for overall supremacy in the Holy land.

In 1187 Saladin the leader of the Saracen army took over the city of Acre from the possession from the French. He took over Acre the same time as the holy city Jerusalem. When other communities heard of this they were angered that he had this control over Jerusalem and was preventing pilgrims from visiting the holy site. Since Acre was such a crucial port to Saladin’s reign in Jerusalem war lords from around Europe came together to take back Acre. Then in 1189 a two year siege began against Saladin’s men in Acre.
 * The Battle **

The actual fighting occurred in Acre in 1191 when the Lord of Tyre began to encircle Acre with his allied and volunteer army from Europe. Saladin had some men in Acre but not his main forces and neither himself. This made it more desirable for enemies of Muslims such as King Philip of France and Richard the Lion Heart to come from Europe and team up against Saladin’s men couped up in Acre. King Philip and Richard the Lion Heart were two respected warlords of the time and many knights and other warriors looked up to them. Philip then attacked Saladin’s small army for six weeks by surrounding the small city and waiting for the men to come running out in surrender. Finally Richard arrived with extra forces; both Richard and Philip drove hard bargains to Saladin through messengers however Saladin refused stating that the terms were too harsh. Soon after that Philip and Richard together took hold of around 3000 Muslin soldiers and other townsmen who had been put up for ransom.

The Franks took back power in Acre but King Philip and Richard began to argue as Philip was very ill and wanted to go back to Europe. Richard also wanted to go back to England as his younger brother left in charge was creating tension. After several day of furious arguing Richard was forced to stay. However a few weeks after the siege, drowned with anger Richard order his knights to go out and kill all 3 000 Muslim ransoms in cold blood.



Above is a photo of the Franks sieging the walls of Acre and a map of the way the Franks surrounded the port city of Acre.

What were the background reasons for the conflict? The main reason why the battle of Acre was so significant at the time, was because whoever controlled the town had the power to oversee who entered and left Palastine. It was considered as the main gateway for trade in to the country. Acre was regarded as a last chance for the Saracens in the Third Crusade. The battle of Acre if lost from the Saracens would most consequently result in the loss of Jerusalem and this did occur.

What does this battle tell us about the style of fighting at the time? The Battle of Acre reveals that siege mentality was common at this time. The Battle was preceded by an extended siege, during which both sides seemed satisfied to settle down and wait out the enemy. The Crusaders used the time of the siege to assemble mass reinforcements from all across Western Europe. The weather also influenced the style of warfare, as fighting largely stalled over the winter. No large or small army could live off the land they were fighting in during these months.When the rallying armies were arriving from across Europe, a complicating issue emerged - that of disjointed leadership. This was a common problem of the time; so many different forces joined together with each wanting its leader to be the supreme commander, that there was often no single source of command and political quarrels dogged the campaigns. The strongest leader took over the Battle of Acre - Richard the Lionhearted (Richard Couer de Lion) - but even he was distracted by events from his homeland and did not press on to take Jerusalem.

Fighting was in the name of religion and was propelled by fear. The Papal promises were a strong influence on the Roman Catholics of the Crusades - they were told that the war was justified and that meant that sins would be forgiven and that fighting was a form of penance. Many performed acts of war that they would never have dreamt of doing away from the battlefield, but thought that because they were fighting Muslims that those acts were acceptable.

The style of warfare also reflected the type of weaponry available; because the Crusaders were led by knights who were generally of royal or noble origin, they had horses, armour and servants. They were heavy cavalry who could make solid charges through the enemy lines. Along with the knights came supporting commoners who made up the light cavalry using weapons such as javelins, bows or crossbows. These men may have had equal training to the knights but could not afford the upkeep associated with knighthood. The Saracens were by no means a match in weaponry to the English. Saladin’s army wore no protection making even a slight swing of a sword a deadly blow. Most Saracens rode on either horse or camel back holding spears. Having no heavy armor made the rider lighter allowing the horse or camel to move more freely and quickly. The foot soldiers held a wide range of equipment from, daggers which were the last resort for a weapon to long bows, maces, shields and a sword or scimitar. The Saracens held one advantage over the Richard which was the ability to harden steel. Their weapons were more durable making the care of them less demanding in a way that the Saracens did not have to constantly sharpen their swords.

What broader effects did the battle have? A fter defeating Saladin at Acre King Richard then travelled to Arsuf, here he defeated Saladin again. He then kept travelling and went to Jerusalem with the intensions of beating Saladin for a third time. Richard did not succeed in defeating Saladin but nor did Richard or his men get defeated. Through winning the battle of Acre Richard was enabled to go on and take over another port city. He also gained confidence while doing this and finally ended up at Jerusalem. Here Richard negotiated with Saladin and achieved 5 months peace in the holy land with all pilgrims being allowed into the city. This only lasted 5 months as Saladin then died. Acre can be seen as the first a stepping stone which ignited a large chain reaction which influenced the final result of the crusade.

Here is useful YouTube Videos explaining the siege of Acre: Note only the siege of Acre section is correct, other parts of the video are not correct. look at: 1:00-4:10 [] media type="youtube" key="M4ILS7gs84Q" height="315" width="420"