Battle of Hattin

Battle of Hattin
Part of the Wars of the Crusader States

The Battle of Hattin, from a 13th-century manuscript of the Chronica Majora depicting the capture of the True Cross by Saladin.[1]
Date3–4 July 1187
Location32°48′13″N 35°26′40″E / 32.80361°N 35.44444°E / 32.80361; 35.44444
Result Ayyubid victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Jerusalem
County of Tripoli
Knights Templar
Principality of Antioch
Knights Hospitaller
Order of St. Lazarus
Order of Mountjoy
Ayyubid Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Guy of Lusignan Surrendered
Raynald of Châtillon Surrendered Executed
Humphrey IV of Toron
Aimery of Lusignan
Reginald of Sidon
Joscelin III of Edessa
Balian of Ibelin
Raymond III of Tripoli
Gerard de Rideford Surrendered
Garnier de Nablus
Raymond of Antioch
Saladin
Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri
Al-Muzaffar Umar[2]
Al-Adil I
Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din[3]
Strength

18,000 - 20,000 men[4][5]

  • 1,200 knights[6]
  • 3,000 men-at-arms[7]
  • 500 turcopoles[8]
  • 15,000 infantry

20,000-40,000 men[9][5][10][11][12]

  • 12,000 regular cavalry[9]
Casualties and losses

Most of the army


200 captured knights executed[13]
Captured turcopoles executed[14]
Captured infantrymen enslaved[15]
Light, mostly spearmen and some archers[16]
Battle of Hattin is located in Israel
Battle of Hattin
Location of the battle site on a map of Historical Palestine and modern State of Israel

The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of that name.

The Muslim armies under Saladin captured or killed the vast majority of the Crusader forces, removing their capability to wage war.[17] As a direct result of the battle, Muslims once again became the eminent military power in the Holy Land, re-capturing Jerusalem and most of the other Crusader-held cities and castles.[17] These Christian defeats prompted the Third Crusade, which began two years after the Battle of Hattin.

  1. ^ https://blog.metmuseum.org/penandparchment/exhibition-images/cat410r3c_49h/ [bare URL]
  2. ^ Nicolle (2011). pp. 22-23, 27, 29, 52.
  3. ^ Nicolle (2011). pp. 22, 23.
  4. ^ Konstam 2004, p. 133
  5. ^ a b Riley-Smith 2005, p. 110
  6. ^ Nicolle (1993). p. 59.
  7. ^ Nicolle (1993). p. 61.
  8. ^ Madden 2005
  9. ^ a b Waterson (2010), p. 126
  10. ^ Konstam 2004, p. 119
  11. ^ France 2015, p. 82.
  12. ^ Tibble 2018, p. 317.
  13. ^ France 2015, pp. 102–103.
  14. ^ Richard (1999). p. 207.
  15. ^ Newby (1992).Battle of Hattin
  16. ^ France 2015, p. 120.
  17. ^ a b Madden 2000