page_title: Siege of Acre (1189–1191)
section_title: The kings at Acre
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Acre (1189–1191) / The kings at Acre
caption_attribution_description: English: Detail of a miniature of Philip Augustus arriving in Palestine.Français&#160;: Détail d'une miniature de Philippe Auguste qui arrive en Palestine. Troisième croisade.
context_page_description: The Siege of Acre was the first significant counterattack by King Guy of Jerusalem against Saladin, leader of the Muslims in Syria and Egypt. This pivotal siege formed part of what later became known as the Third Crusade. The siege lasted from August 1189 until July 1191, in which time the city's coastal position meant the attacking Latin force were unable to fully invest the city and Saladin was unable to fully relieve it with both sides receiving supplies and resources by sea. Finally, it was a key victory for the Crusaders and a serious setback for Saladin's ambition to destroy the Crusader States.
context_section_description: King Philip arrived on 20 April, and King Richard on 8 June, after he had used the opportunity to conquer Cyprus along the way. Richard arrived with an English fleet of 100 ships (which carried 8,000 men) while Philip II arrived with a Genoese fleet under Simone Doria. Philip had used the time before Richard's arrival to build siege engines like the trebuchet, and now that stronger leadership from Europe had arrived, it was the city and not the Christian camp that was besieged. When Richard arrived, he sought a meeting with Saladin, and an armistice of three days was agreed upon so that the meeting could take place. However, both Richard and Philip fell ill, and the meeting did not take place.
  King Philip was eager to launch a siege on Acre, but King Richard was not ready to go along with the plan because he was still ill and some of his men had not arrived yet due to adverse winds. They hoped that the latter would arrive with the next fleet of ships and would bring material for building siege machinery. Philip continued the project by himself, and on 17 June, fired an attack on Acre with ballistas and engines. The defending army made diverse ways to make noise and send up smoke from the fires to let Saladin and the outer army know that, as arranged, they were supposed to come to the help of the town.
  The siege machines broke holes into the walls of Acre, but every new breach led to an attack from Saladin's army, giving the garrison of Acre an opportunity to repair the damage while the Christians were distracted. On 1 June, Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders and Vermandois and one of the king's most important men, died in the camp.  This caused a major crisis for the French king, since Philip had no heirs and settling his inheritance was an urgent matter, yet a very difficult one so far away from France.
  On 2 July, Richard deployed his own siege engines, including two enormous mangonels named God's Own Catapult and Bad Neighbour. On 3 July, a sufficiently large breach was again created in the walls, but the Christian attack was repelled. On 4 July, the city offered its surrender, but Richard rejected the conditions. This time Saladin did not make a large-scale attack on the Christian camp. On 7 July, the city sent an embassy to Saladin asking for assistance one last time, and threatened to surrender if he did not help. On 11 July, there was one final battle, and on 12 July, the city once more offered terms of surrender to the Crusaders, who found their offer acceptable this time. Conrad of Montferrat, who had returned to Tyre because of Richard's support for Guy of Lusignan as king of Jerusalem, was recalled to act as negotiator, at Saladin's request. Saladin was not personally involved in the negotiations, but accepted the surrender. The Christians entered the city and the Muslim garrison was taken into captivity. Conrad raised the banners of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and of France, England and the Duchy of Austria over the city.
  Leopold of Austria left shortly after the capture of the city, after quarrelling with Richard: as the surviving leader of the German Imperial contingent, he had demanded the same position as Philip and Richard, but had been rejected and his flag torn down from the ramparts of Acre. On 31 July, Philip also returned home, to settle the succession in Vermandois and Flanders, and Richard was left solely in charge of the Christian expeditionary forces.
caption: Detail of a miniature of Philip II of France arriving in the Eastern Mediterranean (mid-14th century)
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