IN Part Five of the current series we looked at how Salahdin had taken back Jerusalem from the Crusaders. The remaining Crusader forces were now confined to a port in Tyre. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Pope of this period was so disturbed by the news that he had a heart attack and died. The Crusaders were humiliated and bitter over their defeat in Jerusalem. In England and France, the Crusaders were fuelling themselves for war against the Muslims as they were eager to settle the score. In 1189 CE, a man called Richard was crowned King of England although he was actually French and did not speak a word of English. Richard was a homosexual who was in a relationship with a man called Phillip who was the King of France. Richard also ruled over a big chunk of France. Both kings were fearful to leave their lands and go on the Crusades to Jerusalem because they each suspected that the other would opportunistically acquire territory in the other’s absence. They eventually joined their forces and raised money and resources to fight the Muslims of Jerusalem. Richard would lead the Crusaders to Jerusalem and Philip would stay behind. Richard’s army was more professional than the previous Crusaders. They were dressed in strong armour which had heavy felt. When Richard’s Crusaders arrived in Tyre, they found that the Crusaders who had been marooned in Tyre had made advances to acquire a nearby town called Acre. Richard aided them to victory after they had spent years besieging it. The large siege mounds did damage to the walls of Acre. On July of 1192 CE, Richard won Acre and captured a garrison of Muslims comprising 3 000 men, women and children. Richard offered them freedom if Salahdin was to pay over 200 000 pieces of gold and to release 1 500 Crusader prisoners. Salahdin could not pay this ransom because he did not have such wealth in his personal possession and he also was not present when these demands were made. Richard then chained the Muslim captives who were black people, blind folded them on a platform and massacred them one by one until they were all dead. They were each beheaded in cold blood and their bodies stacked under the platform they were executed on. So many blacks were beheaded that it took the Crusader executioners three days to finish them. The Crusaders then turned Acre into a brothel, importing hundreds of European prostitutes to entertain themselves. How could such sinful men claim to be Christians when their ways of fighting and celebration were so much against the biblical laws of morality? The Crusaders were enjoying the pleasures of Acre so much that they were reluctant to advance to Jerusalem. After great effort, Richard eventually managed to march his troops towards Jerusalem. After two weeks marching, the Crusaders arrived at a port called Jaffa which was adjacent to inland Jerusalem and they took it over. Richard soon realised that even if he was to attack and conquer Jerusalem, Salahdin could easily counter his attack and retake Jerusalem for he was excessively powerful in the whole region between Syria and Egypt. Richard then settled for a cunning approach to secure the stay of the Crusaders in Jerusalem. He tried unsuccessfully to establish a peace treaty between the Crusaders and the Muslims, whereby the Crusaders would no longer be treated as invaders in Jerusalem. Salahdin refused saying that the Crusaders were strangers in that region of the world. However, Salahdin allowed for his brother Aladhil to be a mediator between Richard and Salahdin. This would prove a fatal mistake as Richard corrupted Aladhil and tried to use him to secure a place in Jerusalem. In October of 1191 CE, Richard arranged for Salahdin’s brother Aladhil to marry his sister. His plan was for the resultant couple to jointly rule over the land of Israel which is now called Palestine. Richard had also knighted Aladhil, an act which would be considered treasonous given the war situation between the two groups. Aladhil had become ambitious and was planning to seize power from Salahdin with Richard’s help. Salahdin refused to accept such a ridiculous offer stating that he had no obligation to share his power with the Crusaders or to hand it over to his brother Aladhil. Irritated by such impractical proposals by the Crusaders, Salahdin’s troops angrily attacked the Crusader camp in Jaffa, all without Salahdin’s command. Salahdin’s troops had deemed their leader too remorseful, given the continued offenses by the Crusaders. Richard only had about 1 500 troops at this time and 50 knights on horses. Salahdin’s army, if mobilised, could reach an excess of 30 000 troops. The Crusaders were no match for Salahdin, but this attack by Salahdin’s army was not led by a commander. Thus after being satisfied by killing many Crusaders in battle, they stopped the attack prematurely and did not make a complete end of the Crusader armies. Throughout the period of the Crusades, the hostility and desire to kill was almost always instigated by the Crusaders and the Muslims would only retaliate after being attacked. In August of 1192 CE, a treaty was eventually signed that allowed Crusader priests to enter Jerusalem and to let the surviving Crusaders keep the port of Jaffa. Richard saw that his chances of having an outright victory over Salahdin were slim and next to none. He then took off for England, but he was imprisoned enroute and was held for ransom by some Austrians who had uncovered his identity. Salahdin eventually passed away and to this day, his memory is honoured and respected by both the descendants of the Muslims and the Crusaders. The Muslims remember him for being a unifier of Muslims and also a leader of jihad. The Crusaders deemed him patient and merciful, as he had restrained himself from wiping them out on several occasions when he had the power to do so. Salahdin also protected Crusader captives from being killed by his troops and he once got Richard treated when he fell ill despite the fact that they were enemies. Although Salahdin was a great Muslim leader, he is not the one remembered as the man who totally crushed the Crusades.