Page 3 - Devastates Saladin News Today

Saladin vetted it with his advisers in the court, and they all said okay. they sent word back to richard that, we have a deal. >> but before it can be finalized, the crusader camp learns about the agreement. >> everyone was shocked by it. the only two people who really accepted it were richard the lionheart and saladin himself. the christians were all appalled by richards idea. >> peoples absolute belief in the spiritual significance of jerusalem inevitably raises the stakes when there is confli...

>> the crusades are often remembered with this romantic glow, with all the chivalry and the bravery of all the knights, but it was the least romantic event of those times. how do you sell an ugly war? you have to tell stories of how noble it is. you tell people the city where jesus was raised from the dead, it was being defiled by muslims. >> after the fall of jerusalem, the people in the west are told that saladin is the son of satan. >> that struck at the heart of every christian because they ...

Young warrior, but way too inexperienced to be a proper king, becoming ruler of the entire kingdom of jerusalem. >> when saladin amasses his forces in northern palestine, king guys inexperience is quickly put to the test. >> saladin was very shrewd in sort of provoking the christians to come out of the safety of jerusalem to meet them further north. >> guy of lusignan felt like this was his chance to strike at saladins army once and for all. if he could win, it would be a huge victory. if not, i...

>> saladin has king guy brought before him. and king guy, of course, is certain that hes going to be killed, but saladin doesnt do that. >> saladin has the true cross. he says that to him, its a worthless piece of wood. but hes well aware its something that the christians really want back. >> so i dont think you can equate it with any loss of money because it surpasses any money you can imagine. >> so its vital to have it as a good bargaining tool, and it will be used in negotiations between mus...

Neither side is really willing to give on that point. >> the treaty fell apart, and no peace was made. ♪ >> it would have been obviously a transformative event if al adil and joanna had married because that proposal essentially floated a great idea, and that is coexistence. it would have been an inspiring moment, and it would have probably played a role today in the way palestinians and israelis negotiate over the fate of jerusalem. >> with any hope of compromise gone, conflict is now inevitab...

But he sees it, its the only realistic option. >> richard retreats to acre to begin the long voyage home, leaving the crusaders who remain in the holy land leaderless. >> so saladin took advantage of that. and when richard has to go back to england, saladin realized that was the time to strike and to launch an attack. >> saladin goes down to jaffa and besieges it. >> when king richard hears jaffa is under siege, he decides he must immediately return to the holy land once more. >> and the garriso...

That people believe that they must possess it absolutely. >> the palestinian/israeli conflict that we are experiencing today, youve seen it experienced in jerusalem for thousands of years. >> for the jews, jerusalem is where solomon built the holy temple. >> for christians, this is the place where jesus was crucified. >> for muslims, jerusalem is where the prophet muhammed made the night journey. >> people who are said to have conquered the world have swept through this city. >> no other individ...

So what he does is he swings around the backside of the city and busts in. and by doing this, hes able to drive saladins forces out of the city. >> saladin makes a number of desperate efforts to break into acre to relieve the siege. hes leading from the front, but he is unable to break through into acre. >> the result of the battle of acre is that rich the lionheart does something that no one else has been able to do. he hands saladin his first loss at the hands of crusaders. saladin is forced t...

They beheaded them. they cut their hands off. they literally rode with their horses deep in blood up their legs. so it was one of the great crimes of religious fanaticism in all of history, an unforgivable moment. >> but saladin didnt go in and slaughter all of the christians who were in there. he was a noble warrior, and so he allowed all of the christians to live. >> saladin decides that christians would be allowed to leave on payment of a ransom, and anyone who cant pay, would be enslaved. >>...

>> the best thing he can do is to retreat to safe ground and guard his most cherished possession, and thats the city of jerusalem. >> the crusade is all about recovering jerusalem. but what really worries richard is when you capture jerusalem, what do you do with it? >> one of the challenges that richard and his army faced was the fact that jerusalem had these big defensive walls, and the only way to get through it was to attack it with their siege engines. it worked at acre, but if they destroy...