Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Third Crusade
The retaking of Jerusalem by
Saladin in 1187 prompted
the Third Crusade. The
Crusade failed to regain
the Holy City, but
Richard I “the Lionheart”
negotiated the right of
access for pilgrims.
Richard I and Saladin
The Crucifixion
was believed
to have taken place on the site
occupied by the Holy
Sepulchre church.
The burial of
Christ
The city walls
were
finally breached by
the Crusaders in the
north, near Herod's
Gate, and also on
Mount Zion.
The Fall of Akko
Following a succession of
defeats by the Mamelukes, the
Crusaders were forced to leave
the Holy Land for good in
1291. The last stronghold to
fall was Akko, where this coat
of arms was discovered.
Siege warfare
was a major
element of the
Crusades; siege
engines were
built on site.
THE TEMPLARS AND HOSPITALLERS
Much of the defence of Crusader gains in the
Holy Land fell to two elite Military Orders of
monastic knights, the Hospitallers (see p99)
and the Templars, so named because they
were headquartered in the former Temple
area of Jerusalem. The Orders occupied and
refortified Crusader castles in the Holy Land,
as well as building new ones of their own.
The Hospitaller castle of Belvoir in the Jordan Valley
1270
Last major
Crusade, led by
Louis IX, ends in
his death in Tunis
1244
Jerusalem falls to
Muslim mercenaries in
the employ of Egypt
Louis IX
embarking on
the last Crusade
1220
1240
1260
1300
1280
1260
Mamelukes
defeat invading
Mongols; Baybars
becomes Sultan
of Egypt
1291
Last Latin
strongholds in Holy
Land, including Akko,
fall to Mamelukes
1217-21
Fifth Crusade
1249-50
Louis IX of
France leads
unsuccessful
invasion of Egypt
