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I half-heartedly apologize if this topic has already been discussed multiple times before, but i'll say it anyway.
As we all know, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa's last venture was his campaign in the Third Crusade. After defeating the Seljuks, he drowned in a river, his army abandoned the crusade, yadda yadda and all that.
So, assume that Frederick does not drown in Seleukeia in 1190. Fred was a quite strong and healthy man for the environment he lived in, i could easily see him living till his mid-70's. He keeps his large army together, and meets the other major participants of the Kings' Crusade, Philip II "Augustus" of France and Richard of England, at Antioch or somewhere nearby.
IIRC, Richard and Philip squabbled and argued plenty in OTL's crusader campaign, which led to the latter deciding to abandon ship and return to France in august 1191. Richard, alone, went on to score a stunning victory over Saladin at Arsuf a month later, but could not retake Jerusalem.
If, IATL, all three kings are present and cooperating (if still with some rivalry), what course of action will they take? Jerusalem is the obvious priority, but given the large armies now involved, could some soldiers be spared for conquering Damascus or Aleppo? Perhaps a future campaign in Egypt at an undefined date?
Another issue was Conrad of Montferrat's mysterious murder at the hands of the Hashashin in 1192. He was an ally of Frederick, and was well-poised to be a capable ruler of Jerusalem before the incident. If his assassination can be somehow avoided by butterflies, could the battered KoJ have a chance to recover?
Also, what about the reaction of the Byzantine Empire? Isaac Angelos was the emperor from 1185 to 1195, and there's plenty of evidence to point to him as a secret ally of Saladin. If Saladin is thoroughly beaten by the Crusader army and the Latin kingdoms are strengthened, how will Isaac react, given Frederick's previous threats towards the city Constantinople and increasing distrust against the Latin west (especially after the 1184 Massacre of the Latins)?
Any further thoughts?
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