Deus Vult! A Crusades Timeline

July 2nd 1187

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was in the midst of a fight for it's life. Saladin had mustered his army of 30,000 warriors and was in the midst of besieging Tiberias. At the traditional mustering point of the Franks the main Frankish army was pondering a decision that would have major significance for the future of the Holy Land. Guy of Lusignan had to make the decision and it was either to fight Saladin, which was a major risk, or pull back to the coast and make a stand there. Although pulling back seemed like the worst choice, it had the advantage of being able to decide battle.

Although the sources do not tell us exactly what was said, Raymond III was willing to give up his castle for the safety of the kingdom. Despite any assurances to the contrary, Guy decided to not leave the safety of his defenses. Although historians were sure that the decision was smart, at least it was sensible. The Frankish army then moved back and let Saladin continue his siege of Tiberias and allow them to fend for themselves. Saladin would be denied the chance to fight on his terms.
 
Last edited:
July 3rd, 1187
Tiberias

Saladin's forces were gainig the upper hand on the Frankish forces besieged in the castle. Saladin knew that he would easily take the castle, and the bait would be tempting to force Guy out. He knew that he could not take the castle and then have to provision it and garrison it, because he counted on the Franks to move out and he could strike them in the horns of Hattin.


Hattin as viewed today

Instead, a messanger brought a disturbing piece of news to Saladin. The Franks were choosing to stay put and to wait out his next move. Saladin was confused, because he knew that although his casualties were not large, the amount of effort he had put into the ruse appeared to be wasted. He knew that Tiberias would make a good base of operations and he could at least improve his logistical situation, what was pressing him was that he needed a great victory in order to increase his chances to hold together his coalition.

The next morning, Saladin led his troops into battle and they attemped to storm the castle. The Franks were outnumbered but they fought very well and were able to hold off the enemy for another day. But the defenders were running low on supplies and knew that Saladin would try again the next morning. Raymond was pleased as he heard that his castle was holding out. He was willing to exchange his home in order to buy time for Guy to formulate a strategy. The divided Frankish high command would have to fight among themselves, but they were grudgingly willing to work together in order to at least try and stop the enemy form taking over the kingdom.
 
A question that comes to mind. If Guy pulls back to the coast, what about Jerusalem itself? Guy had stripped the defenses of the kingdom to the bone to build the army that OTL was destroyed at Hattin.

I'm not saying you need to answer right away, just a thing that's bound to be problematic if the Franks think that keep-away will keep Saladin away.
 
On the 7th of July, Saladin finally stormed Tiberias and took it over. Despite heavy resistance, Saladin was able to take over the castle and suffered only 973 total losses, most of them in the final assault. However, the siege was to be not a disaster for the Franks because Tiberias was able to buy time for Guy to send word back to Jerusalem and the costal regions to make sure that any and all adventurers and traders would be able to send money and supplies into the kingdom. This move was later viewed as a smart and rational one that allowed for Jerusalem to be able to in time increase the capacity to withstand a siege that would possibly come in the near future.

Meanwhile, Guy called another war council that night in his tent. Although historians are not clear about what exactly was said, the next day work was done in order to strengthen the position at the springs. More water was brought and the army was prepared to fight on it's terms.

Saladin was aching with worry over how he was able to get the Christian army to fight him. It was clear to him that his ruse had failed, but Tiberias would make an excellent staging area for his next phase of the campaign. Saladin decided to send the main army to Hattin in order to threaten the Franks and to allow him to scout out the defenses he would have to overcome.
 
As night fell, the main Muslim army was just about to exit the horns and then started to set up camp, assuming that this would be relatively normal and there would be nothing out of the ordinary. But tonight was destined to be unordinary. Frankish spies had told Guy that the main army had foolishly set up camp for the night, and that they may be vulnerable.

Guy swiftly decided to act as he sent Raymond with the Military Orders on a swift night march in order to attack and to rough up the main force before Saladin could feed reinforcements. Additionally, Raymond was not to press his luck any further than necessary and to make sure that his army would survive the battle as intact as possible.

9k=

Ambush at Meskana

As soon as the crusaders neared the camp, Raymond gave the signal to charge. The Muslims were stunned by the ferocity and speed of 8,000 troops. Most were stabbed in their tents and Muzaffar al Din, the commander of the main army was killed trying to rally his troops. As July 9 dawned, the battlefield was stained red with Muslim corpses and Raymond lost only 67 knights to death and injury. The Muslim army was shattered, as out of 19,000 troops in the encampment, only 2,000 survived to flee to Tiberias. Saladin had always believed that he could win in a field engagement in Hattin, but ironically he had been outfoxed and had been caught being too aggressive in search of a decisive victory. His prestige was to take a huge nosedive for this disaster, and suddenly the Kingdom of Jerusalem had dramatically increased the chances of winning the war
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King Guy, about 1178
 
As the remnants of the Muslim force straggled into Tiberias, Saladin was alarmed by news of the disaster. There was no way that he could have anticipated such an aggressive response from the Franks, and that he knew that he would have to call up more troops from Syria and Egypt, something that would be made more difficult once word of the disaster would reach across the Islamic world, and his coalition would be in danger of splintering.

On the Crusader side, Raymond was viewed as the hero of the battle, which threatened the stability of the tenuous unity of the royal court. Guy after all was the one who had made the decision to not force an engagement until he was ready and let Raymond get the glory of evening the playing field for now. Guy carefully planned his next move, knowing that Saladin would not just leave, that he would be ever more seeking the decisive battle to take over his kingdom. Guy then decided to make sure that he would never be drawn into a fight unless he would choose the ground, because he knew that his reputation would be more secure and that he would be given the respect and time for now to plan.
 
After the disaster, Saladin was said to have grown ever angrier at the Crusaders, for daring to have destroyed a significant chunk of his army. But Saladin was facing a growing set of problems, because in the aftermath of the battle, the Druze were wondering what the price was of joining what looked like a beaten force, because Saladin had promised a great victory and spoils, but instead he had wantonly thrown away the lives of numerous solders in order to try and draw out Guy's army. Specifically, there was reason to doubt Saladin.

As news traveled back to Jerusalem, bonfires were lit in celebration and there was a new shot of confidence in morale. Raymond was hailed as a hero for having the leadership to attack at night, and there were some who were willing to back him as king, especially the Iberlin clan, who were noted enemies of Guy.

Back at the front, Guy was pleased that he had won a great victory, but he knew that the Muslim response would be quick and brutal because Saladin was not going away. He sent orders back that Jerusalem was to be fortified by 2,000 French settlers who had recently emigrated in search of a better life. Guy also made sure that news of the victory would be sent to Western Europe and would be also accompanied by warnings that future vengeance would be fierce.
 
Hmm, so basically a repeat of Montisgard in 1179. Welp, on one hand, the crusader states are prolonged yet again, but on the other, Saladin has suffered similar setbacks before.
 
Hmm, so basically a repeat of Montisgard in 1179. Welp, on one hand, the crusader states are prolonged yet again, but on the other, Saladin has suffered similar setbacks before.
Well, funny you should say that. But the difference is this time I have added a few wrinkles.
 
As the summer dragged by, both armies were constantly moving in an effort to try and gain any advantage. Saladin didn't dare let himself get lulled into an ambush, while Guy refused to give in to the temptation of a fixed battle. Guy was content to send small numbers of troops to try and harass the supply line, and always made sure to keep himself between Saladin and Jerusalem.

In Syria, the news of Saladin's defeat had far-reaching consequences for the future of the region. After hearing about the disaster near Hattin, ʻIzz ad-Dīn recognized the oppourtunity to force Saladin to choose what was more important to him. Was it going to be Jerusalem or Syria? In September of that year, he invaded Syria.
 
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