1187 Saladin Captures Jerusalem
The Catholic knights of the First Crusade had taken much of the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean away from Muslim forces by 1100 and set up a number of Christian enclaves, principally the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The westerners had benefited from Islamic political divisions in the area but as the 12th century wore on, those divisions were healed and an Arab counter-attack had begun. In 1144 Edessaa fell to the Turks, prompting an unsuccessful Second Crusade that failed to return the city to Christian control.
In the person of An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known in the West as Saladin, Muslim forces in the Middle East found a powerful leader. In 1169 he conquered Egypt from the Fatimid dynasty and in 1174 he made himself master of Syria. Despite attempts to kill him by the Assassins (a Shi’ite sect) he managed to unite most of the Arab forces in a bid to oust the Crusaders from the Middle East.
On July 4, 1187 Saladin defeated a large Crusader army at the Battle of Hattin (depicted in the dreadful Hollywood film Kingdom of Heaven which you must never, ever watch if you value historical truth) taking the King of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan, prisoner, and massacring Templar and Hospitaller prisoners. He then moved against the city of Jerusalem and placed it under siege. Defenders under Balian of Ibelin swore to destroy sacred Islamic sites inside the city if reasonable surrender terms were not granted, so Saladin agreed to let Christians withdraw from the city on payment of a low ransom. On October 2, 1187 the city surrendered, with Saladin keeping about 15,000 Christian residents as slaves.
The fall of Jerusalem prompted the Third Crusade, led by Richard Lionheart of England who was able to defeat Saladin in battle but could not recapture the city. Saladin achieved a glowing reputation among Christians during the Middle Ages as a noble infidel. Dante placed him in Limbo along with other virtuous non-Christians such as Socrates and Plato.