Battle of Arsuf
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Arsuf was a battle of the Third Crusade
in which Richard I of England
defeated Saladin
at Arsuf
. Following a series of harassing attacks by Saladin's forces, battle was joined on the morning of 7 September 1191. Richard's forces resisted attempts to disrupt its cohesion until the Hospitallers broke ranks; he regrouped his forces and led them to victory.
, he knew that his army's greatest need was water and heat exhaustion its greatest danger. Though pressed for time, he marched only in the morning before the heat of the day. He made frequent rest stops, always beside sources of water. The fleet sailed down the coast in close support, a source of supplies and a refuge for the wounded. Aware of the ever-present danger of enemy raiders and the possibility of hit-and-run attacks, he kept the column
in tight formation with a core of twelve mounted regiments, each with a hundred knight
s. The infantry marched on the landward flank, covering the flanks of the horsemen. Tormented by Saladin's archers and by tarantula
s, which came out at night, Richard's generalship ensured that order and discipline were maintained under the most difficult of circumstances. Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
, the Muslim chronicler, describes the march thus:
Saladin, assessing the enemy line of advance, decided to make a stand at Arsuf near Jaffa
, with his army facing west towards the Crusaders and the sea. His northern flank was protected by the Forest of Arsuf, with the marshy Rochetaillée river to the front. To the south, his left flank was secured by a series of wooded hills, going down to the ruins of the town of Arsuf itself. The plan was to draw the Crusaders out by a series of advances followed by feigned retreats, and destroy them by sustained attacks once their ranks were broken. Between the hills of Arsuf and the sea there was only a two-mile (3 km) gap, leaving Richard little room to maneuver, and restricting the possibility of a concentrated charge by the armoured knights. Saladin saw this as the perfect trap; but Richard was quick to turn it into an opportunity.
s travelled the camp, announcing that battle would be joined that day. The Knights Templar
under Robert de Sablé were ordered to the fore, along with the Angevins and the Bretons, followed by Guy of Lusignan
and the Poitevins. Next came the Anglo-Normans, and then the Flemings under James of Avesnes
. After the Flemings came the French, and finally the Knights Hospitaller
, headed by Fra' Garnier de Nablus
. Under the leadership of Henry II of Champagne
, a small troop was detached to scout the hills, and a squadron of knights under Hugh of Burgundy was detached to ride up and down the ranks ensuring that they were kept in order.
The first Saracen attack came at nine o'clock in the morning. In an attempt to destroy the cohesion of the enemy and unsettle their resolve, the onslaught was accompanied by the clashing of cymbals and gongs, trumpets blowing and men screaming. The Itinerarium Regis Ricardi
records: "So the unspeakable Turks fell on our army from all sides, from the direction of the sea and from dry land. There was not a space for two miles (3 km) around, not even a fistful, which was not covered with the hostile Turkish race." When this failed to have the desired effect, the attack was switched to the left flank of the Crusader army, with the Hospitallers coming under the greatest pressure. Bit by bit the onslaught extended across the rest of Richard's line. These incursions followed the same pattern: the Bedouins and Nubians launched arrows and javelins into the enemy lines, before parting to allow the mounted archers to advance, attack and wheel off, a well-practised technique. Crusader crossbowmen responded, when this was possible, although the chief task among the Crusaders was simply to preserve their ranks in the face of sustained provocation. At several points along the line, the two armies were engaged in close hand-to-hand combat.
Just as the vanguard entered Arsuf in the middle of the afternoon, the Hospitaller crossbowmen to the rear were having to load and fire walking backwards. Inevitably they lost cohesion, and the enemy was quick to take advantage of this opportunity, moving into the gap. For the Crusaders, the Battle of Arsuf had now entered a critical stage. Garnier de Nablus pleaded with Richard to be allowed to attack. He refused, ordering the Master to maintain position. This was more than the Hospitaller could endure. He charged into the Saracen ranks with a cry of St. George!, followed quickly by the rest of his knights. Moved by this example, the French followed.
began his attack, Saladin's archers had dismounted to direct their arrows more accurately, and were overwhelmed by the unexpected Hospitaller onslaught.
Richard knew that if he did not support the Hospitallers, they would soon be cut down and slaughtered. But if he decided to send more knights after them, he might throw away his whole force. Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri, one of Saladin's commanders, managed to rally his men intending to attack the enemy bowmen. Before he was in a position to do so Richard regrouped his army and sent a second charge of Breton and Angevin knights towards Saladin's left flank. Richard himself led a third and final charge composed of Norman and English knights.
Leading by example, Richard was in the heart of the fighting, as the Itinerarium explains:
In an attempt to restore the situation, Taqi al-Din
, Saladin's nephew, led 700 men of the Sultan
's own bodyguard against Richard's left flank. Alert to the danger presented to his scattered ranks, Richard regrouped his forces once more for a third and final charge. It was more pressure than the enemy could withstand; Saladin's army broke, closely pursued across the hills of Arsuf by the Crusader knights. The King's banner was set on Saladin's hill, while the Saracen camp was looted. With darkness closing in, Richard allowed no further pursuit.
s and 7,000 men, but it is possible that the true number may have been less. Richard's own dead are said to have numbered no more than 700, which included James of Avesnes.
Arsuf was an important victory. The Muslim army was not destroyed, but did rout, which was considered a shame by the Muslims and a boost of morale for the Crusaders. After the rout Saladin was able to regroup and attempted to resume skirmishing, startled back by the Crusaders' quick and agile response he was now even less willing to risk a full scale attack. The onset of the winter meant it could not be resumed. Arsuf had dented Saladin's reputation as an invincible warrior and proved Richard's courage as soldier and his skill as a commander. Richard was able to take, defend and hold Jaffa - a strategically crucial move toward securing Jerusalem. By depriving Saladin of Jaffa, Richard seriously threatened Saladin's hold on Jerusalem, since Jaffa was the nearest port to the Holy City.
There are descriptions of the battle in the Itinerarium Regis Ricardi, the Old French continuation of William of Tyre
called Estoire d'Eracles and, from the Kurdish and Arab side, in Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
's Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, Abu Shama and Ibn al-Athir.
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
in which Richard I of England
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
defeated Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
at 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. The city site, Tel Arsuf, was intensively excavated from 1994...
. Following a series of harassing attacks by Saladin's forces, battle was joined on the morning of 7 September 1191. Richard's forces resisted attempts to disrupt its cohesion until the Hospitallers broke ranks; he regrouped his forces and led them to victory.
South from Acre
After capturing Acre in 1191, Richard fought many engagements with Saladin, whose main objective was to prevent the recapture of Jerusalem. Knowing he would need to control the port of Jaffa before making an attempt on Jerusalem, Richard began to march down the coast from Acre in August 1191. Richard organized the advance with attention to detail. Mindful of the lessons of the disaster at HattinBattle 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....
, he knew that his army's greatest need was water and heat exhaustion its greatest danger. Though pressed for time, he marched only in the morning before the heat of the day. He made frequent rest stops, always beside sources of water. The fleet sailed down the coast in close support, a source of supplies and a refuge for the wounded. Aware of the ever-present danger of enemy raiders and the possibility of hit-and-run attacks, he kept the column
Column (formation)
A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation...
in tight formation with a core of twelve mounted regiments, each with a hundred knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s. The infantry marched on the landward flank, covering the flanks of the horsemen. Tormented by Saladin's archers and by tarantula
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...
s, which came out at night, Richard's generalship ensured that order and discipline were maintained under the most difficult of circumstances. Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Bahā' ad-Dīn Yusuf ibn Rafi ibn Shaddād was a 12th-century Muslim jurist and scholar, an Arabian historian of great note, notable for writing a biography of Saladin whom he knew well.Ibn Shaddād was born in Mosul on 10 Ramadan 539 AH , where he studied the...
, the Muslim chronicler, describes the march thus:
Saladin's response
As the Crusader army marched to the far side of the river at Caesarea, Saladin was making his own dispositions. He had planned to place his army by the old Roman roads further into the interior, allowing him to attack in any direction as the occasion presented itself. But the coastal advance of the Crusaders compelled him to follow on a parallel course. At the first light, harassing attacks failed to have the intended effect; these were stepped up in intensity, becoming mini-battles in the process. When Richard's army approached Caesarea on 30 August, the rear guard, commanded by Hugh III of Burgundy, came under serious onslaught, cutting it off from the rest of the army for a time. Richard managed to rally the troops, as the whole of the army cried Sanctum Sepulchrum adjuva ("Help us, Holy Sepulchre!").Saladin, assessing the enemy line of advance, decided to make a stand at Arsuf near Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, with his army facing west towards the Crusaders and the sea. His northern flank was protected by the Forest of Arsuf, with the marshy Rochetaillée river to the front. To the south, his left flank was secured by a series of wooded hills, going down to the ruins of the town of Arsuf itself. The plan was to draw the Crusaders out by a series of advances followed by feigned retreats, and destroy them by sustained attacks once their ranks were broken. Between the hills of Arsuf and the sea there was only a two-mile (3 km) gap, leaving Richard little room to maneuver, and restricting the possibility of a concentrated charge by the armoured knights. Saladin saw this as the perfect trap; but Richard was quick to turn it into an opportunity.
Day of battle
At dawn on September 7, 1191, Richard's heraldHerald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
s travelled the camp, announcing that battle would be joined that day. The Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
under Robert de Sablé were ordered to the fore, along with the Angevins and the Bretons, followed by Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan was a Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of the prominent Lusignan dynasty. He was king of the crusader state of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194...
and the Poitevins. Next came the Anglo-Normans, and then the Flemings under James of Avesnes
James of Avesnes
James was a son of Nicholas d'Oisy, lord of Avesnes and Matilda de la Roche. He was the lord of Avesnes, Condé, and Leuze from 1171. He participated in the Third Crusade as leader of a detachment of French, Flemish, and Frisian soldiers which arrived in the Holy Land in 1189...
. After the Flemings came the French, and finally the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, headed by Fra' Garnier de Nablus
Garnier de Nablus
Garnier de Naplouse was the 9th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1190 to 1192. He fought at the Battle of Arsuf under Richard the Lionheart...
. Under the leadership of Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and King of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197, although he never used the title of king.- Early Life and Family :...
, a small troop was detached to scout the hills, and a squadron of knights under Hugh of Burgundy was detached to ride up and down the ranks ensuring that they were kept in order.
The first Saracen attack came at nine o'clock in the morning. In an attempt to destroy the cohesion of the enemy and unsettle their resolve, the onslaught was accompanied by the clashing of cymbals and gongs, trumpets blowing and men screaming. The Itinerarium Regis Ricardi
Itinerarium Regis Ricardi
The Itinerarium Regis Ricardi is a Latin prose narrative of the Third Crusade, 1189-1192. The first part of the book concentrates on Saladin's conquests and the early stages of the crusade, with a long description of the expedition of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa...
records: "So the unspeakable Turks fell on our army from all sides, from the direction of the sea and from dry land. There was not a space for two miles (3 km) around, not even a fistful, which was not covered with the hostile Turkish race." When this failed to have the desired effect, the attack was switched to the left flank of the Crusader army, with the Hospitallers coming under the greatest pressure. Bit by bit the onslaught extended across the rest of Richard's line. These incursions followed the same pattern: the Bedouins and Nubians launched arrows and javelins into the enemy lines, before parting to allow the mounted archers to advance, attack and wheel off, a well-practised technique. Crusader crossbowmen responded, when this was possible, although the chief task among the Crusaders was simply to preserve their ranks in the face of sustained provocation. At several points along the line, the two armies were engaged in close hand-to-hand combat.
Hospitallers break ranks
All Saladin's best efforts could not dislocate the Crusader column, or halt its advance in the direction of Arsuf. Richard was determined to hold his army together, forcing the enemy to exhaust themselves in repeated charges, with the intention of holding his knights for a concentrated counter-attack at just the right moment. There were risks in this, because the army was not only marching under severe enemy provocation, but the troops were suffering from heat and thirst. Just as serious, the Saracens were killing so many horses that some of Richard's own knights began to wonder if a counter-strike would be possible.Just as the vanguard entered Arsuf in the middle of the afternoon, the Hospitaller crossbowmen to the rear were having to load and fire walking backwards. Inevitably they lost cohesion, and the enemy was quick to take advantage of this opportunity, moving into the gap. For the Crusaders, the Battle of Arsuf had now entered a critical stage. Garnier de Nablus pleaded with Richard to be allowed to attack. He refused, ordering the Master to maintain position. This was more than the Hospitaller could endure. He charged into the Saracen ranks with a cry of St. George!, followed quickly by the rest of his knights. Moved by this example, the French followed.
Richard's response
The precipitate action of the Hospitallers could have caused Richard's whole strategy to unravel. But just as Garnier de NablusGarnier de Nablus
Garnier de Naplouse was the 9th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1190 to 1192. He fought at the Battle of Arsuf under Richard the Lionheart...
began his attack, Saladin's archers had dismounted to direct their arrows more accurately, and were overwhelmed by the unexpected Hospitaller onslaught.
Richard knew that if he did not support the Hospitallers, they would soon be cut down and slaughtered. But if he decided to send more knights after them, he might throw away his whole force. Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri, one of Saladin's commanders, managed to rally his men intending to attack the enemy bowmen. Before he was in a position to do so Richard regrouped his army and sent a second charge of Breton and Angevin knights towards Saladin's left flank. Richard himself led a third and final charge composed of Norman and English knights.
Leading by example, Richard was in the heart of the fighting, as the Itinerarium explains:
In an attempt to restore the situation, Taqi al-Din
Al-Muzaffar Umar
Al-Muzaffar Taqi al-Din Umar was the Ayyubid prince of Hama from 1179 to 1191 and a general of Saladin. He was the son of Nur al-Din Shahanshah, the brother of Saladin.-Emir of Hama:...
, Saladin's nephew, led 700 men of the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
's own bodyguard against Richard's left flank. Alert to the danger presented to his scattered ranks, Richard regrouped his forces once more for a third and final charge. It was more pressure than the enemy could withstand; Saladin's army broke, closely pursued across the hills of Arsuf by the Crusader knights. The King's banner was set on Saladin's hill, while the Saracen camp was looted. With darkness closing in, Richard allowed no further pursuit.
Losses and consequences
As always with medieval battles, losses are difficult to assess with any precision. The Christian chroniclers claim the Muslims lost 32 emirEmir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
s and 7,000 men, but it is possible that the true number may have been less. Richard's own dead are said to have numbered no more than 700, which included James of Avesnes.
Arsuf was an important victory. The Muslim army was not destroyed, but did rout, which was considered a shame by the Muslims and a boost of morale for the Crusaders. After the rout Saladin was able to regroup and attempted to resume skirmishing, startled back by the Crusaders' quick and agile response he was now even less willing to risk a full scale attack. The onset of the winter meant it could not be resumed. Arsuf had dented Saladin's reputation as an invincible warrior and proved Richard's courage as soldier and his skill as a commander. Richard was able to take, defend and hold Jaffa - a strategically crucial move toward securing Jerusalem. By depriving Saladin of Jaffa, Richard seriously threatened Saladin's hold on Jerusalem, since Jaffa was the nearest port to the Holy City.
There are descriptions of the battle in the Itinerarium Regis Ricardi, the Old French continuation of William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
called Estoire d'Eracles and, from the Kurdish and Arab side, in Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Bahā' ad-Dīn Yusuf ibn Rafi ibn Shaddād was a 12th-century Muslim jurist and scholar, an Arabian historian of great note, notable for writing a biography of Saladin whom he knew well.Ibn Shaddād was born in Mosul on 10 Ramadan 539 AH , where he studied the...
's Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, Abu Shama and Ibn al-Athir.
External links
- Battle of Arsuf animated battle map by Jonathan Webb