James Warren DATE \@ "d MMMM y" 19 November 2014

History Essay
How Successful was the Third Crusade?
The Third Crusade’s ultimate objective was to recapture the Holy Land. When they returned without this the overwhelming opinion was that they had failed on there efforts. However, they returned with far more than they had left with, gaining new territories and matching the previously “immortal” Saladin throughout the expedition. They managed to gain a highly useful treaty with him. These successes were met with substantial failures though, including the death of the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa whilst crossing Anatolia and the return of Philip II to France to deal with internal threats. However, the Crusaders took the port of Acre as well as taking Cyprus from the Byzantines. Overall I would say the Crusade failed because they did not retake Jerusalem, but the Crusader’s achievements were still considerable considering how tough the task was originally, and the fact they were fighting a full strength Muslim army.
A major success of the second Crusade was how well prepared the Crusade troops were thanks to Richard I’s vast preparation. Richard was an experienced soldier and he knew exactly what was required for a successful Crusade. As soon as he was crowned king in 1190, he channeled all his resources (Normandy, Aquitaine etc) towards applying the Crusader’s with what they needed to be successful. Richard knew just how tough it was to even get to the Holy Land, let alone reclaim it and attention detail ensured that there were enough supplies to prevent ‘unnecessary deaths’ due to famine and starvation. He was also incredibly aware of the issues that the prior two Crusades faced, which were limited financial resources. To combat the limited finances the ‘Saladin tithe’ was introduced. This was a tax for which all the money would go towards funding the crusade, whether it be ships, food or horses paid for (60,000 horseshoes were purchased). Richard also increased the tax in people who chose not to assist the Crusading movement, as a deterrent to take up the cross, and if they definitely didn’t want to go, more money helped the case. This was a major success as it was the only Crusade with a significant amount of planning prior, making sure they were prepared for every possible eventuality. Without this planning the Crusade could well have been a huge failure, as this was the catalyst for everything that went right for the Frankish army.
One of major things that benefited from this prior planning was the Crusader’s success in battle. Saladin had previously proved to be an ‘immortal’ leader, who was highly distinguished in battle and he had already taken Jerusalem off Frankish hands. Considering the lack of help from the Byzantine’s and Frederick Barbarossa’s army, it was remarkable how well Richard the Lionhearts’s army did with the diminished numbers. 2 years into Guy’s siege of Acre Richard’s army arrived and changed the context of the siege completely. Before his arrival famine was the biggest killer for both sides, but he bought troops, money and equipment to help finish the siege. Within a month it was complete and the coastal port of Acre was under Christian rule. This is highly significant as it made it a prime location for boats to arrive with supplies and men in the future. As well as this the ‘true cross’ was returned to the Christians which gave them a huge boost in morale. Just a few months later, Saladin was defeated at the battle at Arsuf. A cunning counter attack by Richard’s forces led to Saladin’s forces being forced to retreat away from the battlefield, virtually handing Arsuf to the Crusader’s. After this Jaffa was also taken. In the space of less than year Richard had taken the coastal strip and the ports of Jaffa and Acre and beaten Saladin. This was a huge success because even when they came back without Jerusalem future Crusade’s were made far easier because of the coastal strip Richard had created. As well as this it proved Saladin was not by far and away the best military leader, and he received a lot of hassle from his own side for for some poor decisions. After this Saladin chose not to participate in any more pitched battles and changed his defence tactics. This slowed down the Crusading movement drastically. There were too few men to just storm through these tactics, would with a larger army would’ve been easy to get past. This is down to Frederick Barbarossa.
The third Crusade mainly focuses on King of England, however had Frederick Barbarossa, the result could have been highly different. Barbarossa was the most powerful monarch in the Western World, and also the most experienced monarch that went on Crusade, and even went on the disastrous second Crusade, This meant he would have known how to hopefully succeed on the third Crusade, however he unfortunately drowned on the way. Barbarossa was an outstanding military leader, and although he supposedly made the incorrect decision by not sailing to Acre like the rest of the Crusaders. Upon crossing Anatolia, Barbarossa’s army defeated a hostile byzantine force, successfully crossing a majority of Anatolia, and even defeating the Seljuks in 1190. All this time Barbarossa managed to preserver over half his original military force, which still possessed significant numbers. However, when he died, his men were left clueless. A overwhelming majority decided it was best to give up on the Holy Land, and a minor few decided to try and carry his body all the way to Jerusalem out of respect. The soldiers that returned home significantly reduced the Crusader’s manpower. The reasoning Richard gave for not trying to take the holy land and signing the treaty with Saladin is that it would have been impossible to keep, because there were too few men. If Barbarossa’s men had been there then there is a strong chance the increased manpower would have resulted in the taking of Jerusalem, and even the possibly security of the city and protection against future invasion. Overall I think Barbarossa’s death, although unfortunate, was a major failure in the 3rd Crusade, and made Richard’s task a thousand times harder than it was previously.