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Hattin Campaign Options and Possibility of Victory?
The Battle of Hattin was an unprecedented defeat for the Crusader states and broke their military power. My question is could this defeat have been avoided? What could have been done differently to achieve victory? How should the Crusaders have dealt with Saladin?
My opinion would be not to even fight the battle and leave Tiberias to its fate. Some are of the opinion that Saladin's army might have broken up and left afterwards. Not sure what Saladin's next move would be? This solution however to me seems unrealistic based on the political situation in the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Guy of Lusignan was criticized heavily for not engaging Saladin in 1183 and knights had just been massacred in the battle of Cresson. So with this in mind Guy will be forced to engage and chances of prolonged peace with Saladin also seem unlikely.