The Battle of Hattin

The Battle of Hattin, fought on July 4, 1187, was a pivotal conflict during the Crusades in which Saladin’s forces decisively defeated the Crusader army near Tiberias in present-day Israel. This battle led to the fall of Jerusalem and significantly weakened Christian control in the Holy Land. The Muslim victory was achieved through strategic encirclement and the effective use of the terrain, which left the Crusaders exhausted and dehydrated. The battle is often regarded as a turning point that marked the beginning of the end for the Crusader states in the Levant.

Hattin—Crusader Desert Disaster

Introduction

Thirty years after the Battle of Hastings, Pope Urban II gave one of the most influential speeches in history at the Council of Clermont. His words sparked a conflict that stretched over several hundred years and involved all the major powers of Europe and the Near East. This conflict, of course, was the Crusades, a series of invasions of the Islamic kingdoms of the Near East by the Christian kingdoms of Europe. Although the Crusades extended over a 200-year span, the turning point was the Battle of Hattin in 1187. The opposing forces seem evenly matched, but squabbling among their leadership and a series of poor decisions ultimately doomed the European army to a miserable and dusty death.

The Crusades up to Hattin

• (1) The enthusiastic response to the Pope’s call for an expedition to free the Holy Land from the “pagans” was probably much greater than he imagined. Around 30,000 professional fighting men from a number of countries volunteered.
• (2) Enlisting was called “taking the cross” because strips of cloth in the shape of a cross were sewn onto enlistees’ clothes or painted on their shields. It was from this practice that they became known as Crusaders, and the entire movement was called the Crusades.
• (3) The official First Crusade set off in 1096, reaching Antioch in 1097. After a siege, Antioch fell, and the Crusaders marched down the coast, winning a string of victories. Eventually, they reached Jerusalem itself, and after another siege, in July of 1099, the Crusaders burst into the holy city and massacred many of the inhabitants.
• (4) A number of small Crusader kingdoms were established along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, the most important of which was the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
• (5) From the European perspective, the First Crusade had been a spectacular success, exceeding all of its goals in just a few years.
• (6) One significant effect was the establishment of Christian military religious orders, the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar, which grew into powerful, independent political and military forces whose members took religious vows but were trained as knights. They quickly acquired a large number of key castles and strongholds scattered around the various Crusader kingdoms because they represented a permanent, professional core of fighting men in the region, became important factors in the overall history of the Crusades.
• (7) The politics of this era are a confusing muddle of ever-shifting treaties between and among the small Christian kingdoms, the various Islamic states and their subfactions, the militant orders, the European kingdoms, and the pope.
• (8) Periodically, a new wave of Crusaders would arrive from Europe, whose allegiance to either the existing Crusader states or their home countries was questionable and who often did not feel constrained by existing treaties or alliances.
• (9) The lines of military and political command were often muddy or disputed. Rivals might temporarily join forces to achieve a desired end, but almost all major campaigns were fought by uneasy coalitions with divided and often antagonistic leadership. This lack of a clear command structure was a serious flaw that repeatedly caused problems for the Crusaders and hampered the effectiveness of their military initiatives.
• (10) This stalemate continued for nearly 100 years. Then, in the late 12th century, a new Islamic leader emerged who would begin to tilt the balance in favor of the Muslims. He is known in the West as Saladin or, more correctly in Arabic, Salah-huddeen. The turning point of the Crusades, and one of Saladin’s greatest victories, was the Battle of Hattin in 1187.

Leaders and Armies

• (1) Saladin played an active role in the struggle for control over Egypt and eventually became its de facto ruler. From this base, he extended his power north, bypassing the Crusader kingdoms along the coast but gaining control over Damascus and much of Syria and Palestine.
• (2) Saladin’s armies were a mixture of Muslim Turks, Arabs, and Kurds, most of whom were fairly professional soldiers, with a high proportion of skilled horsemen. Standard equipment included bows, lances, spears, and swords.
• (3) Many of Saladin’s warriors were well protected with metal helmets, mail hauberks, substantial shields, and lamellar armor. At Hattin, Saladin probably commanded a force roughly equal in size to that of the Crusaders—around 30,000.
• (4) In 1186, the Crusaders faced a leadership crisis.
  (a) Baldwin IV had appointed Raymond of Tripoli, an able commander, to serve as regent and rule the kingdom after his death. A captive for eight years in Aleppo, Raymond was fluent in Arbic, knowledgeable about Islamic civilization, and willing to explore peaceful coexistence.
  (b) Guy de Lusignan was the choice of a group of nobles who favored a hostile approach to the Muslims and staged a coup at court in which Raymond was ousted.
  (c) Reynald of Chatillon, like Raymond, was a skilled military commander and had been a captive in Aleppo for many years. The experience had left Reynald an implacable foe of the Muslims and a forceful member of the pro-war faction.
• (5) Making up the majority of the Christian forces were various men-at-arms, both mounted and on foot, equipped with an array of weapons and armor, ranging from leather jerkins to mail hauberks, and bearing swords, axes, spears, bows, and polearms.

The Hattin Campaign

• (1) In 1187, a truce was in effect between Saladin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Reynald continued to raid Muslim caravans of merchants and religious pilgrims—plainly a breach of the truce. Saladin began assembling an army.
• (2) One contingent of Saladin’s army annihilated a Christian force at the Springs of Cresson that included several hundred hospitalers and Templars. Although this battle itself was not decisive, it had a significant effect on the Battle of Hattin because the heavy losses incurred deprived the Christians of some of their most dependable forces.
• (3) The various Christian factions temporarily shelved their differences and united under King Guy of Jerusalem. It was an uneasy alliance, with much bickering and resentment among the leaders. Guy ignored Raymond’s advice against marching to relieve Saladin’s siege of the city of Tiberias; Raymond had pointed out that the road to Tiberias lacked both water and fodder for the horses.
• (4) The army traveled in several separate divisions, but each division assumed a similar formation, with the cavalry in the center, surrounded and protected by a hollow square of infantry. King Guy was with the center group, which carried the most valuable Christian religious artifact, a cross alleged to be the one on which Christ was crucified.
• (5) The soldiers literally baked in their armor, choked on the dust clouds raised by thousands of marching feet, and suffered tremendous thirst from the severely restricted water rations. Adding to the discomfort were harassing raids by Saladin’s forces, which increased in intensity over the course of the day.
• (6) By the afternoon, Guy was determined to alter the direction of the march toward the nearby springs of Hattin, beyond which lay the Lake of Tiberias. Knowing that keeping the Christian army from reaching either of these water sources would be a great advantage, Saladin ordered a detachment of his more mobile army to hurry around and block the road.
• (7) In contrast to the dismal conditions in the parched Christian camp, Saladin’s army settled down for the night in high spirits.
  (a) Fresh sheaves of arrows were distributed to all the archers, and 70 camels carrying more arrows were organized to supply fresh ammunition wherever it might be needed.
  (b) A relay of more camels brought water from Lake Tiberias in goatskin bags so that everyone had plenty to drink.
  (c) Finally, Saladin had his troops arrange highly flammable dry undergrowth and sticks into bundles positioned along the windward side of the Christians’ anticipated line of march.
• (8) On July 4, the weary Christian army dragged itself toward the springs of Hattin, a couple of miles from the vanguard. To increase their discomfort and confusion, Saladin’s men ignited the gathered brush, enveloping Guy’s men in choking clouds of smoke.
• (9) Saladin then launched a general attack. The battle now coalesced around the embattled Christian survivors atop the Horns of Hattin. In the end, they were overrun, and most of the knights surrendered. The prisoners included nearly every major Christian leader.

Outcomes of the Battle of Hattin

• (1) Hattin was a crushing defeat for the Crusader kingdoms. The main body of their fighting force had been destroyed and their leadership lost. Not only was it a disaster in material terms, but it was also a devastating and humiliating psychological blow.
• (2) Riding the momentum of his decisive victory, Saladin swiftly moved to capture many of the largest Crusader cities. Acre quickly fell, freeing 4,000 Muslim slaves and prisoners. By the end of the campaign, they would be joined by 15,000 more, while close to 100,000 Christians would be captured.
• (3) Saladin began his siege of Jerusalem on September 20, using a sophisticated array of catapults and siege towers to bombard the city and its defenders. Seeing little hope for survival, the leaders of Jerusalem negotiated a surrender, agreeing to leave the city and pay a sizable ransom. On October 2, Saladin took possession. He would continue to rule until his death in 1193.
• (4) Most of the history of the Crusades from this point on is a story of failures and attempts to cling to the cities remaining in Christian hands. In the end, all the Crusader kingdoms were destroyed and all Christian outposts in the region were lost.
• (5) Although the Crusades seem to have been a fiasco for Europe, they helped to initiate the exchange of information and technology between East and West, an interaction that particularly benefited Europe and may even have helped prompt the Renaissance.

Conclusion

The Battle of Hattin was a pivotal moment in the history of the Crusades, leading to the Muslim recapture of Jerusalem and signaling a significant shift in the balance of power in the Holy Land. It underscored the strategic importance of unity and strong leadership, with Saladin’s victory becoming a symbol of Muslim resurgence against the Crusader states.

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