Battle of Montgisard

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Battle of Montgisard

The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Ayyubids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christianity kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. It lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, Israel, was destroyed by the Mamluks....
on November 25, 1177. The 16 year old King Baldwin IV

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem , called the Leper or the Leprous, the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay, was Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185....
, seriously afflicted by leprosy

Leprosy

Leprosy , or Hansen's disease , is a Chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the Peripheral nervous system and Mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom....
, led an out-numbered Christian force against the army of Saladin

Saladin

ala ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub , better known as Saladin in medieval Europe, was the Sultan of Egypt and Greater Syria. He led the Islamic opposition to the Second Crusade and Third Crusade....
. The Islamic force was routed and their casualties were massive, only a fraction managed to flee to safety.

Background
In 1177, the Crusader kingdom was facing the prospect of a succession crisis.

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Encyclopedia

The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Ayyubids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Kingdom of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Leprosy

Saladin

Background

In 1177, the Crusader kingdom was facing the prospect of a succession crisis. King Baldwin IV

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Sibylla of Jerusalem

Sibylla of Jerusalem was the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon from 1176 and Kings of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190. She was the eldest daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay, sister of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and half-sister of Isabella of Jerusalem, and mother of Baldwin V of Jerusalem....
had been left widowed and pregnant by William of Montferrat

William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon

William of Montferrat , also called William Longsword , was the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, the eldest son of William V of Montferrat, Marquess of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg....
, and the nobles of the kingdom began to seek another suitable husband. At the same time, Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders

Count of Flanders

The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French Revolution in 1790....
, arrived on pilgrimage, and demanded that Sibylla be married off to one of his vassals. Philip and Baldwin also planned an alliance with the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
for a naval attack on Egypt

Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
; but none of these plans came to fruition.

Meanwhile, Saladin planned his own invasion of the kingdom from Egypt. Learning of Saladin's plans, Baldwin IV

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
with, according to William of Tyre

William of Tyre

William of Tyre was archbishop of Tyre and a chronicler of the Crusades and the Middle Ages....
, only 375 knight

Knight

File:Gothic armor 2.jpgKnight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry....
s to attempt a defense at Ascalon

Ascalon

The word Ascalon comes from Ashkelon, a coastal city in Israel. It can refer to a number of possible topics:...
, but Baldwin was stalled there by a detachment of troops sent by Saladin, who, again according to William of Tyre, had men. Accompanying Baldwin was Raynald of Chatillon

Raynald of Chatillon

Raynald of Ch?tillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat. He ruled as Principality of Antioch from 1153 to 1160 and through his second marriage became lordship of Oultrejordain....
, lord of Oultrejordain

Oultrejordain

Oultrejordain or Oultrejourdain was the name used during the Crusades for an extensive and partly undefined region to the east of the Jordan river, an area known in ancient times as Edom and Moab....
, who had just been released from captivity in Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km? and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population....
in 1176. Raynald was a fierce enemy of Saladin, and was the effective commander of the army, with King Baldwin too ill to command it personally. Also with the army were Odo de St Amand

Odo de St Amand

Odo de St. Amand was the 8th Grand Masters of the Knights Templar of the Knights Templar, between 1171 and 1179....
, master of the Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple , were among the most famous of the History of Christianity#Sanctification of knighthood military orders....
, Baldwin of Ibelin

Baldwin of Ibelin

Baldwin of Ibelin, also known as Baldwin III of Ramla , was an important noble of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was the second son of Barisan of Ibelin, and was the younger brother of Hugh of Ibelin and older brother of Balian of Ibelin....
, his brother Balian

Balian of Ibelin

Balian of Ibelin was an important noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century....
, Reginald of Sidon

Reginald of Sidon

Reginald Grenier was Lordship of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century crusader states....
, and Joscelin III of Edessa

Joscelin III of Edessa

Joscelin III of Edessa was the titular County of Edessa 1159– after 1190. He was the son of Joscelin II of Edessa and his wife Beatrice. He inherited the title of "Count of Edessa" from his father, Joscelin II, although Edessa, Mesopotamia had been captured in 1144 and its remnants conquered or sold years before he took the title....
. Another Templar force attempted to meet Baldwin at Ascalon, but they were also besieged at Gaza

Gaza

Gaza is a Palestinian people city in the Gaza Strip, approximately southwest of Jerusalem, with a population of 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority....
.

The battle

Saladin

ala ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub , better known as Saladin in medieval Europe, was the Sultan of Egypt and Greater Syria. He led the Islamic opposition to the Second Crusade and Third Crusade....
continued his march towards Jerusalem, thinking that Baldwin would not dare to follow him with so few men. He attacked Ramla

Ramla

Ramla , is a city in central Israel with a mixed Arab and Jewish population. Ramla was founded circa 705?715 CE by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik....
, Lydda and Arsuf

Arsuf

Arsuf also known as Arsur or Apollonia, was an ancient city and fortress located in Israel, about 15 kilometres north of modern Tel Aviv, on a cliff above the Mediterranean Sea....
, but because Baldwin was supposedly not a danger, he allowed his army to be spread out over a large area, pillaging and foraging. However, unknown to Saladin, the forces he had left to subdue the King had been insufficient and now both Baldwin and the Templars were marching to intercept him before he reached Jerusalem.

The Christians, led by the King, pursued the Muslims along the coast, finally catching their enemies at Montgisard near Ramla

Ramla

Ramla , is a city in central Israel with a mixed Arab and Jewish population. Ramla was founded circa 705?715 CE by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik....
. Saladin was taken totally by surprise. His army was in disarray, out of formation and tired from a long march. The Islamic army, in a state of panic, scrambled to make battle lines against the enemy. However, in the distance, the Christian army was completely quiet. King Baldwin ordered the relic of the True Cross

True Cross

The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christianity tradition, are believed to be from the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified....
to be raised in front of the troops. The King, whose teenage body was already ravaged by aggressive leprosy, was helped from his horse and dropped to his knees before the cross. He prayed to God for victory and rose to his feet to cheers from his army. As Saladin's army rushed to prepare, Baldwin began the charge across the sand.

The Jerusalem army smashed into the hurriedly arranged Muslims, inflicting huge casualties. The King, fighting with bandaged hands to cover his terrible wounds and sores, was in the thick of the fighting and Saladin's men were quickly overwhelmed. They tried to flee but hardly any escaped. Saladin himself only avoided capture by escaping on a racing camel.

King Baldwin's victory was total. He had utterly destroyed the invasion force, captured Saladin's baggage train and killed his nephew, (Taqi ad-Din's son) Ahmad.

Baldwin pursued Saladin until nightfall, and then retired to Ascalon. Deluged by ten days of heavy rains and suffering the loss of roughly ninety percent of his army, including his personal bodyguard of Mamluk

Mamluk

A mamluk was a slavery soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans from the 9th to the 13th centuries....
s, Saladin fled back to Egypt, harassed by Bedouin

Bedouin

The Bedouin, , are predominantly Muslim, desert-dwelling Arab nomadic pastoralist, or previously nomadic group, found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert , Sinai Peninsula, and Negev to the Arabian Desert....
s along the way. Only one tenth of his army made it back to Egypt with him.

Aftermath

Saladin, fearing the tenuousness of both his hold on Egypt and the alliance with his Syrian vassals, spread propaganda that the Christians had in fact lost the battle; Baldwin likewise propagandized his victory. He erected a Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy....
monastery on the battlefield, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, whose feast day fell on the day of the battle. However, it was a difficult victory; Roger des Moulins, master of the Knights Hospitaller

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta is a Roman Catholic Church order based in Rome, Italy....
, reported that men had been killed and 750 returned home wounded.

Meanwhile, Raymond III of Tripoli

Raymond III of Tripoli

Raymond III of Tripoli was County of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Principality of Galilee in right of his wife Eschiva....
and Bohemund III of Antioch

Bohemund III of Antioch

Bohemond III of Antioch , also known as the Stammerer or the Stutterer, was principality of Antioch from 1163 to his death. He was a son of Constance of Antioch by her first husband Raymond of Antioch....
joined with Philip of Alsace in a separate expedition against Harim in Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
; the siege of Harim lasted into 1178, and Saladin's defeat at Montgisard prevented him from relieving his Syrian vassals. Despite an intervening year of relative peace, by 1179 Saladin was able to renew his attacks on the kingdom, including his victory at the Battle of Marj Ayyun

Battle of Marj Ayyun

In the Battle of Marj Ayyun, alternately Marj Ayyoun, an Ayyubid army commanded by Saladin defeated a Crusader army led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem on June 10, 1179....
that year. This led to almost another decade of warfare which culminated in Saladin's crushing victory over the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin

Battle of Hattin

The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty.The Muslim armies under Saladin captured or killed the vast majority of the Crusader forces, removing their capability to wage war....
in 1187.

Fiction

The battle of Montgisard is alluded to in the 2005 movie

2005 in film

The year 2005 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,The Devil's Rejects, Saw II, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, ''The Ring Two, ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, ''xXx: State of the Union, ''Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous...
Kingdom of Heaven, as a battle where King Baldwin IV defeated Saladin when he was sixteen.

An account of the battle is also given in Swedish author Jan Guillou
Jan Guillou

Jan Oscar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou is a Sweden author and journalist. Among his many books, the most well-known are the spy fiction novels about Swedish spy Carl Hamilton and the historical fiction trilogy about Knights Templar Arn Magnusson....
's novel Tempelriddaren (The Knight Templar
The Knight Templar

The Knight Templar is the second book in Jan Guillou The Knight Templar book series. This book follows the fictional character of Arn Magnusson as a Knights Templar in the kingdom of Jerusalem....
) (ISBN 91-1-300733-5), in which the protagonist, Arn Magnusson (de Gothia) is portrayed as a high ranking member of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple , were among the most famous of the History of Christianity#Sanctification of knighthood military orders....
, commanding a contingent of the army at the battle of Montgisard.

Sources

Baha ad-Din, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, ed. D. S. Richards, Ashgate
Ashgate

Ashgate is an area in northeast Derbyshire, England, west of the town of Chesterfield. It is close to the town centre and local amenities.A leading place of interest in the area is the Inkerman playing fields, formerly a Victorian era swimming baths and a former area of pottery, most notably Bramptonware....
, 2002.
Willemi Tyrensis Archiepiscopi Chronicon, ed. R. B. C. Huygens. Turnholt, 1986.
Bernard Hamilton, The Leper King and his Heirs, Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is a printer and publisher granted a Royal Letters Patent by Henry VIII of England in 1534. It is the world's oldest continually operating book publisher....
, 2000.
M. C. Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson, Saladin: the Politics of the Holy War, Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is a printer and publisher granted a Royal Letters Patent by Henry VIII of England in 1534. It is the world's oldest continually operating book publisher....
, 1982.
Steven Runciman
Steven Runciman

Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman Order of the Companions of Honour , better known as Sir Steven Runciman, was a United Kingdom mediaeval historian known for his work on the Middle Ages.For other people named Runciman, see Runciman ...
, A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187. Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is a printer and publisher granted a Royal Letters Patent by Henry VIII of England in 1534. It is the world's oldest continually operating book publisher....
, 1952.
R. C. Smail, Crusading Warfare, 1097-1193. Cambridge University Press, 1956.