Battle of Inab The Battle of Inab , also called Battle of Ard al - Hâtim or Fons Muratus , was fought on 29 June 1149 , during the Second Crusade . The Syrian army of Atabeg Nur ad - Din Zangi destroyed the combined army of Prince Raymond of Antioch and the Hashshashin of Ali ibn - Wafa . The Principality of Antioch was subsequently pillaged and reduced in size as its eastern border was pushed west . Background . After the death of Nur ad - Din ' s father Zengi in 1146 , Raymond of Antioch invaded the vulnerable province of Aleppo ( part of the Seljuq Empire ) , which was threatened by hostile powers on all sides . After establishing his own authority in Aleppo and successfully defending Damascus in 1147 , Nur ad - Din invaded Antioch in late 1148 and besieged Afamiya . Raymond beat him off and captured his baggage train . When he returned a few months later to attack Yaghra , Raymond , at the head of a small force , forced him to retire to Aleppo . In June 1149 , Nur ad - Din invaded Antioch and besieged the fortress of Inab , with aid from Unur of Damascus and a force of Turcoman s . Nur ad - Din had about 6 , 000 troops , mostly cavalry , at his disposal . Raymond and his Christian neighbor , Count Joscelin II of Edessa , had been enemies since Raymond had refused to send a relief army to Edessa in 1146 . Joscelin even made a treaty of alliance with Nur ad - Din against Raymond . For their part , Raymond II of Tripoli and the regent , Melisende of Jerusalem refused to aid the Prince of Antioch . Feeling confident because he had twice defeated Nur ad - Din previously , Prince Raymond struck out on his own with an army of 400 knights and 1 , 000 foot soldiers . Battle . Prince Raymond allied himself with Ali ibn - Wafa , leader of the Hashshashin and an enemy of Nur ad - Din . Before he had collected all his available forces , Raymond and his ally mounted a relief expedition . Amazed at the weakness of Prince Raymond ' s army , the atabeg at first suspected that it was only an advance guard and that the main Frankish army must be lurking nearby . Upon the approach of the combined force , Nur ad - Din raised the siege of Inab and withdrew . Rather than staying close to the stronghold , Raymond and ibn - Wafa camped with their forces in open country . After Nur ad - Din ' s scouts noted that the allies camped in an exposed location and did not receive reinforcements , the atabeg swiftly surrounded the enemy camp during the night . On June 29 , Nur ad - Din attacked and destroyed the army of Antioch . Presented with an opportunity to escape , the Prince of Antioch refused to abandon his soldiers . Raymond was a man of " immense stature " and fought back , " cutting down all who came near him " . Nevertheless , both Raymond and ibn - Wafa were killed , along with Reynald of Marash . A few Franks escaped the disaster . Much of the territory of Antioch was now open to Nur ad - Din , the most important of which was a route to the Mediterranean . Nur ad - Din rode out to the coast and bathed in the sea as a symbol of his conquest . The contemporary historian William of Tyre blamed the Antiochenes ' defeat on Raymond ' s rashness . One modern historian says the Crusader defeat at Inab was " as disastrous at that of the Ager Sanguinis " a generation earlier . Yet another remarks that it " was not part of a watershed moment , and should not be seen in the context of the Second Crusade " . Aftermath . After his victory , Nur ad - Din went on to capture the fortresses of Artah , Harim and ‘ Imm , which defended the approach to Antioch itself . Harim was not recovered until 1157 , then lost permanently in 1164 . He sent the main party of his army to besiege Afamiya . After plundering the region , he besieged Antioch , which was virtually defenceless because of the loss of its prince and its army . The city was divided between a surrender party and a resistance party . The latter , led by Raymond ' s widow , Constance , and the Patriarch , Aimery of Limoges , prevailed , and Nur ad - Din was bought off , with some of the treasure coming from the Patriarch ' s own possessions . A small force was left behind to prevent reinforcements from entering the city , while Nur ad - Din went down to the sea to bathe in it as a sign of victory . He plundered the lands around Saint Simeon ' s Monastery and then rejoined his forces to capture Afamiya . Upon receiving news that King Baldwin III of Jerusalem was marching north with some Templars to relieve the siege , Nur ad - Din opened negotiations . The border between Antioch and Aleppo was re - drawn to Nur ad - Din ' s gain and the armies went home . Joscelin now found that his enemy Raymond ' s defeat and death placed his own possessions in extreme peril . Joscelin would soon be captured by Nur ed - Din ( 1150 ) and what remained of his County of Edessa evacuated by its Latin inhabitants . After the victory at Inab , Nur ad - Din became a hero throughout the Islamic world . His goal became the destruction of the Crusader state s , and the strengthening of Islam through " jihad " ; he had already set up religious schools and new mosques in Aleppo , and expelled those he considered heretics from his territory , especially Shiites . " Jihad " was influenced by the presence of the Christian Crusader states as it could be used as an excuse for maintenance of a permanent state of war . Nur ad - Din went on to capture the remnants of the County of Edessa , and brought Damascus under his rule in 1154 , further weakening the Crusader states .