Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin ( also known as " The Horns of Hattin " because of a nearby extinct volcano of the same name ) took place on Saturday , July 4 , 1187 , between the Crusade r Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty . The Muslim armies under Saladin captured or killed the vast majority of the Crusader forces , removing their capability to wage war . As a direct result of the battle , Islamic forces once again became the eminent military power in the Holy Land , re - conquering Jerusalem and several other Crusader - held cities . These Christian defeats prompted the Third Crusade , which began two years after the Battle of Hattin . Location . The battle took place near Tiberias in present day Israel . The battlefield , near the town of Hittin , had as its chief geographic feature a double hill ( the " Horns of Hattin " ) beside a pass through the northern mountains between Tiberias and the road from Acre to the west . The Darb al - Hawarnah road , built by the Romans , served as the main east - west passage between the Jordan fords , the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean coast . Background . Guy of Lusignan became king of Jerusalem in 1186 , in right of his wife Sibylla , after the death of Sibylla ' s son Baldwin V . The Kingdom of Jerusalem was at this time divided between the " court faction " of Guy , Sibylla , and relative newcomers to the kingdom such as Raynald of Châtillon , as well as Gerard of Ridefort and the Knights Templar ; and the " nobles ’ faction " , led by Raymond III of Tripoli , who had been regent for the child - king Baldwin V and had opposed the succession of Guy . Disgusted , Raymond of Tripoli watched as his fellow poulain barons hastened to Jerusalem to make obeisance to King Guy and Queen Sibylla . The great lord of Tripoli rode in the opposite direction , up the Jordan River Valley to Tiberias . The situation was so tense that there was almost open warfare between Raymond and Guy , who wanted to besiege Tiberias , a fortress held by Raymond through his wife Eschiva , Princess of Galilee . War was avoided through the mediation of Raymond ' s supporter Balian of Ibelin . Meanwhile , the Muslim states surrounding the kingdom had been united during the 1170s and 1180s by Saladin . Saladin had been appointed vizier of Egypt in 1169 and soon came to rule the country as sultan . In 1174 , he imposed his rule over Damascus ; his authority extended to Aleppo by 1176 and Mosul by 1183 . For the first time , the Kingdom of Jerusalem was encircled by Muslim territory united under one ruler . The crusaders defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177 , and in the early 1180s there was an uneasy truce between the two sides , which was broken by the raids of Raynald on Muslim caravans passing through his fief of Oultrejordain . Raynald also threatened to attack Mecca itself . In April 1187 , Raymond agreed a treaty with Saladin . As part of their agreement , Raymond allowed the sultan to send a reconnaissance force to Galilee . At the same time a group led by Balian of Ibelin on Guy ' s behalf was journeying through the area . Raymond advised Balian to remain in the castle of Afula until the Muslim forces had moved on , however his suggestion was ignored . This embassy was defeated at the Battle of Cresson on May 1 , by a small force under the command of Al - Afdal . Raymond , wracked with guilt , reconciled with Guy , who assembled the entire army of the kingdom and marched north to meet Saladin . Siege of Tiberias . In late May Saladin assembled the largest army he had ever commanded , around some 30 , 000 men including about 12 , 000 regular cavalry . He inspected his forces at Tell - Ashtara before crossing the River Jordan on June 30 . The opposing Crusader army amassed at Zippori ; it consisted of around 20 , 000 men , including 1 , 200 knights from Jerusalem and Tripoli and 50 from Antioch . Though the army was smaller than Saladin ' s it was still larger than those usually mustered by the Crusaders . After reconciling , Raymond and Guy met at Acre with the bulk of the crusader army . According to the claims of some European sources , aside from the knights there was a greater number of lighter cavalry , and perhaps 10 , 000 foot soldiers , supplemented by crossbowmen from the Italian merchant fleet , and a large number of mercenaries ( including Turcopoles ) hired with money donated to the kingdom by Henry II of England . Also with the army was the relic of the True Cross , carried by the Bishop of Acre , who was there in place of the ailing Patriarch Heraclius . On July 2 , Saladin , who wanted to lure Guy into moving his army away from the springs at Saffuriya , personally led a siege of Raymond ' s fortress of Tiberias while the main Muslim army remained at Kafr Sabt . The garrison at Tiberias tried to pay Saladin off , but he refused , later stating that " when the people realized they had an opponent who could not be tricked and would not be contented with tribute , they were afraid lest war might eat them up and they asked for quarter . . . but the servant gave the sword dominion over them . " The fortress fell the same day . A tower was mined and , when it fell , Saladin ' s troops stormed the breach killing the opposing forces and taking prisoners . Holding out , Raymond ' s wife Eschiva was besieged in the citadel . As the mining was begun on that structure , news was received by Saladin that Guy was moving the Frank army east . The Crusaders had taken the bait . Guy ' s decision to leave the safety of his defenses was the result of a Crusader war council held the night of July 2 . Though reports of what happened at this meeting are biased due to personal feuds among the Franks , it seems Raymond argued that a march from Acre to Tiberias was exactly what Saladin wanted while Sephoria was a strong position for the Crusaders to defend . Furthermore , Guy shouldn ' t worry about Tiberias , which Raymond held personally and was willing to give up for the safety of the kingdom . In response to this argument , and despite their reconciliation ( internal court politics remaining strong ) , Raymond was accused of cowardice by Gerard and Raynald . The latter influenced Guy to attack immediately . Guy thus ordered the army to march against Saladin at Tiberias , which is indeed just what Saladin had planned , for he had calculated that he could defeat the crusaders only in a field battle rather than by besieging their fortifications . Saladin had also unexpectedly gained the alliance of the Druze community based in Sarahmul led by Jamal ad - Din Hajji , whose father Karama was an age old ally of Nur ad - Din Zangi . The city of Sarahmul had been sacked by the crusaders on various occasions and according to Jamal ad - Din Hajji the crusaders even manipulated the Assassin s to kill his three elder brothers . The battle . The crusaders began their march from Sephoria on July 3 . Guy would command the center , with Raymond in the vanguard and Balian , Raynald , and the military orders made up the rearguard . The crusaders were almost immediately under harassment from the Muslim skirmishers on horseback . By noon on that day , the Frankish army had reached a spring at the village of Tur ' an some six miles ( 10 km ) from Sephoria . Here , according to Saladin , " The hawks of the Frankish infantry and the eagle of their cavalry hovered around the water . " It was still nine miles ( 14 km ) to Tiberias . Therefore , with only a half day of marching time remaining , any attempt to leave this sure water source to seek that objective the same day , all while under the constant attack of Saladin ' s army , would be foolhardy . ( In 1182 the Frankish army had only advanced in a full day in face of the enemy and in 1183 Guy had managed but six miles ( 10 km ) in a similar situation , taking a full day . ) But , as Saladin wrote , " Satan incited Guy to do what ran counter to his purpose . " That is , for unknown reasons , Guy set out that very afternoon , marching his army forward , seeming to head for Tiberias . When Saladin arrived from the taking of Tiberias , and after the Frankish army left Tur ' an , the Muslims began their attack in earnest . Saladin sent the two wings of his army around the Frankish force and seized the spring at Tur ' an , thus blocking the Frankish line of retreat . This maneuver would give Saladin ' s victory . There was a major change in the Crusaders plan . Believing that the Crusaders could not fight its way across Saladin ' s front , Raymond persuaded Guy to veer to the left and head for the springs of Hattin only away . From there they could march down to Tiberias the following day . In the ensuing struggle , the Frankish rearguard was forced to a standstill by continuous attacks , thus halting the whole army on the arid plateau near the village of Meskana . The crusaders were thus forced to make camp surrounded by the Muslims . They now had no water nor any hope of receiving supplies or reinforcements . Guy hoped that his men could make a dash for the Spring of Hattin the following morning . While the Crusaders gasped with thirst , the Muslim army had a caravan of camels carrying goatskin s of water up from Lake Tiberias ( now known as the Sea of Galilee ) . Baha ad - Din ibn Shaddad summarizes the situation of the Frankish army : They were closely beset as in a noose , while still marching on as though being driven to death that they could see before them , convinced of their doom and destruction and themselves aware that the following day they would be visiting their graves . On the morning of July 4 , the crusaders were blinded by smoke from fires that Saladin ' s forces had set to add to the Frankish army ' s misery , through which the Muslim cavalry particularly the divisions commanded by Gokbori pelted them with 400 loads of arrows that had been brought up during the night . Gerard and Raynald advised Guy to form battle lines and attack , which was done by Guy ' s brother Amalric . Raymond led the first division with Raymond of Antioch , the son of Bohemund III of Antioch , while Balian and Joscelin III of Edessa formed the rearguard . While this was being arranged , five of Raymond ' s knights defected to Saladin and told them of the dire situation in the crusader camp . Thirsty and demoralized , the crusaders broke camp and changed direction for the springs of Hattin , but their ragged approach was attacked by Saladin ' s army which blocked the route forward and any possible retreat . Count Raymond launched two charges in an attempt to break through to the water supply at the Lake Tiberias . The second of these saw him cut off from the main army and forced to retreat . After Raymond escaped , Guy ' s position was now even more desperate . Most of the crusader infantry had effectively deserted by moving on to the Horns of Hattin to escape the storm of destruction . Guy attempted to pitch the tents again to block the Muslim cavalry , but without infantry protection the knights ' horses were cut down by Muslim archers and the cavalry was forced to fight on foot . Then they too retreated to the Horns . Now the crusaders were surrounded and , despite three desperate charges on Saladin ' s position , were eventually defeated . An eyewitness account of this is given by Saladin ' s 17 - year - old son , al - Afdal . It is quoted by Muslim chronicler Ibn al - Athir : When the king of the Franks [ Guy ] was on the hill with that band , they made a formidable charge against the Muslims facing them , so that they drove them back to my father [ Saladin ] . I looked towards him and he was overcome by grief and his complexion pale . He took hold of his beard and advanced , crying out " Give the lie to the Devil ! " The Muslims rallied , returned to the fight and climbed the hill . When I saw that the Franks withdrew , pursued by the Muslims , I shouted for joy , " We have beaten them ! " But the Franks rallied and charged again like the first time and drove the Muslims back to my father . He acted as he had done on the first occasion and the Muslims turned upon the Franks and drove them back to the hill . I again shouted , " We have beaten them ! " but my father rounded on me and said , " Be quiet ! We have not beaten them until that tent [ Guy ' s ] falls . " As he was speaking to me , the tent fell . The sultan dismounted , prostrated himself in thanks to God Almighty and wept for joy . Aftermath . The Muslim forces had captured the royal tent of King Guy , as well as the True Cross after the Bishop of Acre was killed in the fighting . Prisoners included Guy , his brother Amalric II , Raynald de Chatillon , William V of Montferrat , Gerard de Ridefort , Humphrey IV of Toron , Hugh of Jabala , Plivain of Botron , Hugh of Gibelet , and many others . Perhaps only as few as 3 , 000 Christians escaped the defeat . The anonymous text " De Expugnatione Terrae Sanctae per Saladinum Libellus " claims that Raymond , Joscelin , Balian , and Reginald of Sidon fled the field in the middle of the battle , trampling " the Christians , the Turks , and the Cross " in the process , but this is not corroborated by other accounts and reflects the author ' s hostility to the Poleins . The exhausted captives were brought to Saladin ' s tent , where Guy was given a goblet of iced water as a sign of Saladin ' s generosity . When Guy passed the goblet to his fellow captive Raynald , Saladin allowed the old man ( Raynald was about 60 ) to drink but shortly afterwards said that he had not offered water to Raynald and thus was not bound by the Muslim rules of hospitality . When Saladin accused Raynald of being an oath breaker , Raynald replied " kings have always acted thus . I did nothing more . " Saladin then executed Raynald himself , beheading him with his sword . Guy fell to his knees at the sight of Raynald ' s corpse but Saladin bade him to rise , saying , " It is not the wont of kings , to kill kings ; but that man had transgressed all bounds , and therefore did I treat him thus . This man was only killed because of his maleficence and perfidy . " The True Cross was fixed upside down on a lance and sent to Damascus . Several of Saladin ' s men now left the army , taking Frankish prisoners with them as slaves . On Sunday , July 5 , Saladin traveled the six miles ( 10 km ) to Tiberias and , there , Countess Eschiva surrendered the citadel of the fortress . She was allowed to leave for Tripoli with all her family , followers , and possessions . Raymond of Tripoli , having escaped the battle , died of pleurisy later in 1187 . The executions ( one of only two executions of prisoners ordered by Saladin ) were by beheading . In an act of solidarity , many of the captured crusaders falsely claimed to be Templar knights , forcing Saladin ' s men to behead them as well . Saint Nicasius , a Knight Hospitaller venerated as a Christian martyr , is said to have been one of the victims . Guy was taken to Damascus as a prisoner and the others were eventually ransomed . In fielding an army of 20 , 000 men , the Crusaders states had reduced the garrisons of their castles and fortified settlements . The heavy defeat at Hattin meant there was little reserve with which to defend against Saladin ' s forces . The importance of the defeat is demonstrated by the fact that in its aftermath a host of settlements and fortifications were captured by Saladin ' s forces . By mid - September , Saladin had taken Acre , Nablus , Jaffa , Toron , Sidon , Beirut , and Ascalon . Tyre was saved by the fortuitous arrival of Conrad of Montferrat . Jerusalem was defended by Queen Sibylla , Patriarch Heraclius , and Balian , who subsequently negotiated its surrender to Saladin on October 2 ( see Siege of Jerusalem ) . According to the chronicler Ernoul , news of the defeat caused Pope Urban III to die of shock . News of the disastrous defeat at Hattin was brought to Europe by Joscius , Archbishop of Tyre , as well as other pilgrims and travelers . Plans were immediately made for a new crusade ; Pope Gregory VIII issued the bull " Audita tremendi " , and in England and France the Saladin tithe was enacted to fund expenses . The subsequent Third Crusade , however , did not get underway until 1189 , being made up of three separate contingents led by Philip Augustus , Richard Lionheart , and Frederick Barbarossa .