People/Papacy and Western Europe

1157–1199 · King of England and leader of the Third Crusade

Richard the Lionheart

Other names · Richard I · Richard the Lionheart

The principal Latin commander of the Third Crusade in the campaigns of Acre, Arsuf and Jaffa.

Richard the Lionheart
Verified biography·Histoire d’Outremer / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER

Life and historical role

01

Life and political setting

Richard was a son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and became king of England in 1189. He spent much of his reign outside England and financed the expedition through heavy taxation, the sale of offices and the disposal of royal rights. His military reputation rests chiefly on campaigns in France and the eastern Mediterranean.

02

Role in the Crusades

In 1191 Richard conquered Cyprus from Isaac Komnenos and played a decisive part in the surrender of Acre. When fulfilment of the capitulation terms was delayed, he ordered the killing of about 2,700 Muslim prisoners on 20 August. He defeated Saladin's forces at Arsuf and Jaffa, twice approached Jerusalem without besieging it, and concluded a treaty in 1192.

Method note

Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.

CONTEXTUAL READING

Related cases

1189–1192 · Anatolia and Levant

Third Crusade

The Third Crusade, launched after the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, was joined by Frederick Barbarossa, King Philip II Augustus of France and King Richard the Lionheart of England. Barbarossa died on the way; the crusade took Acre and recovered the coastal strip, but ended with the Treaty of Jaffa in 1192 without taking Jerusalem.

Open record →28 August 1189 – 12 July 1191 · Acre

Siege of Acre

The siege of Acre, begun by King Guy of Lusignan in August 1189, became a two-year war of attrition as Saladin besieged the besiegers from outside. After Philip II and Richard I arrived in 1191, the city surrendered on terms on 12 July 1191.

Open record →May – June 1191 · Limassol – Nicosia

Richard's conquest of Cyprus

In May 1191, some of Richard's ships, caught in a storm on the way to Acre, were driven onto the coast of Cyprus. When the island's self-proclaimed emperor Isaac Komnenos mistreated the shipwrecked, Richard conquered the island within weeks; Cyprus later became a lasting Latin kingdom.

Open record →20 August 1191 · Ayyadiya / Acre

Killing of the Acre prisoners

Because of delays in fulfilling the terms of Acre's surrender, Richard ordered on 20 August 1191 that some 2,600–3,000 Muslim prisoners be killed near the hill of Ayyadiya before the crusader army. The episode became one of the most controversial treatments of prisoners in the crusades.

Open record →7 September 1191 · Arsuf

Battle of Arsuf

Richard's army, advancing south along the coast from Acre toward Jaffa, came under Saladin's great attack near Arsuf on 7 September 1191. Keeping its tight formation, the army, after an early charge by the Hospitallers, forced Saladin to withdraw with a general counterattack.

Open record →July – 2 September 1192 · Jaffa

Battle of Jaffa and peace treaty

In July 1192 Saladin took Jaffa in a surprise attack; Richard arrived by sea, retook the city and on 5 August defended his camp with very few knights. On 2 September 1192 the two sides signed the Treaty of Jaffa: the coastal strip stayed with the Franks, Jerusalem stayed under Muslim rule, and pilgrims were granted free access.

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