On to Jerusalem!

Richard has twice vanquished  Saladin,  his foe!

The Sultan’s reputation as military leader is at an all time low!

Richard prepares his army for the march to Jerusalem, all systems go!

Flushed with the warm glow of victory, Richard’s keen military antennae now concentrated its focus on Ascalon, which also served as a port for Jerusalem.  On October 1191 Richard set out for Jerusalem.  Down but certainly not out,  Saladin, a man of clear vision sensed as much and now sought to check the Lionheart’s plans of procedure.  The Sultan resolved to extract some particles of satisfaction from the jaws of defeat by destroying the walls of the city of Ascalon, the next item on Richards’s list as he advanced towards the prize of Jerusalem itself.  However, victory does not always bear a fruit that is sweet and a pleasure to eat.  It was this unpalatable fact that confronted Richard in October 1191.

With the advent of winter came the rains, and this served to hamper the crusaders progress. The unrelenting downpours made a swamp of the roads and rendered their food supplies an inedible, soaking, sopping  mush.  Foraging opportunities were minimal because Saladin had destroyed livestock and any other sources of sustenance that the crusaders might have availed themselves of.  Worst of all, the Saracens had fouled the wells which now yielded only a vile smelling, noxious, poisonous fluid.  All the while the crusaders had also to endure the stinging, sweeping attacks of the grinning Saracen mounted bowmen as they toiled footsore,  half-starved and delirious with thirst through the wind, rain and muck.

Every Islamic warrior carries his bow and off the arrows do go!

Our message to the crusaders, you will reap what you chose to sow!

The entire march was conducted amidst a storm of arrows and the resultant torrent of blood from pierced Christian flesh which turned the sand beneath their feet a grisly, slippery rouge.

‘Oh, the arrows are dispatched with the customary ping!

They hit their targets causing a most dreadful sting!

In this way we, the army of Islam will halt the ambitions of the Crusader King!’

This lethal onslaught from laughing, mounted Saracen bowmen accompanied by a relentless shower of torrential rain was a challenge which would sorely test the fortitude of the most dedicated of crusaders.  The dismal visuals,  punctuated by the cries of agony and howls of anguish from the assailed crusaders could not have had a more detrimental effect on the general morale of the army as a whole . How they must have longed for home and the smiles, and indeed even the frowns of familiar faces, the bustle and sound of well-known places.

It took the army almost two months to reach Beit Nuba, some twelve miles from Zion itself where Richard conferred with his commanders. It was at this point that Richard decided to resort to taking the diplomatic avenue.  The Lionheart had been in contact with Saladin through his brother al-Adil.  Richard suggested to the Sultan that his sister Joan and al Adil should marry in order to establish a new dynasty in Palestine.

‘Sally, what about your brother and Joan, my sister!

When al-Adil sees her, he won’t be able to resist her’!

Joan was not at all enthusiastic about the proposed union and the nuptials were never completed.

Seal of Joan of England.

Many of the crusaders now viewed the prospect of attempting to take Zion and securing it for Christendom in perpetuity as a hellish fantasy. As they hunkered down in their winter quarters, the crusaders concluded that even if they were able to successfully besiege the city, they would not be able to hold it permanently. Given the geographical features of the terrain, the Saracens would soon at some point be able to cut their supply lines with the coast. The conquest of Jerusalem, sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews alike was simply a step too far.

Nevertheless Richard in the summer of 1192 marched once again on Jerusalem with great speed. This time Saladin thought that the city would fall to the Christians.  On his knees, the Sultan prayed more fervently that he had never done before.  However Saladin could not have known that divisions within the crusader camp had widened considerably.  Richard, the astute military strategist, courageous warrior of renown and most faithful of Christian crusaders was now prepared to talk terms.