Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Battle of the Horns of Hattin
I was curious about the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, so I found an article detailing the engagement at the following site: http://historymedren.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=historymedren&cdn=education&tm=16&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.intranet.ca/~magicworks/knights/hattin.html. Saladin brought 12,000 knights and an army carrying provisions to Tiberius. The Christian army amassed for the battle consisted of 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 knights. The Christian army set out for Tiberius early the day before the battle without enough water to sustain their ranks the next day. By nightfall the Christian army was weary and dehydrated. The only water source nearby was a stream well guarded by Muslim warriors; any Cristian who attempted to drink for the stream was captured and beheaded. The Christian army led a charge the morning of July fourth to which Saladin allowed the advance of the enemy army into his ranks, surrounded the Christians, and slaughtered them. Any soldiers that were captured were sold off as slaves. All Hospitalers and Templars were beheaded except for the Templar Grand master Gerard de Ridefort. The barons were held as hostages and eventually ransomed. King Guy of Jerusalem, who had spent the duration of the battle hiding in a tent at the center of his army, was put under Saladin's protection, and the prince of Antioch, Reynald, after insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad, was executed. King Guy was released from prison the next year.
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The link is broken . . or is it just me? If I remember correctly, King Guy lost his political powers significantly that Conrad was able to challenge Guy's kingship. Also, it alerted the entire Europe that Jerusalem was once again in danger and triggered the Third Crusade.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you mention that all the soldiers captured were sold as slaves. I think there is a lot of ambiguity around what happened to the ones that were captured after the battle of Horns of Hattin. I have read sources say that after Saladin asked them to change their religion, he killed them all. Some sources say that he put a monetary price and those who could pay where free from slavery. But it is still not clear what exactly happened.
ReplyDeleteWarfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very well done, a good read.
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very well done, a good read.