Siege of Jerusalem (1187) 1187
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1187 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Israel | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Crusader battles between 1149 and 1189 | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ayyubid Sultanate, County of Tripoli, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, Order of Saint Lazarus, order of Mountjoy | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 31.7833, 35.2167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Jerusalem lasted from 20 September to 2 October 1187, when Balian of Ibelin surrendered the city to the forces of the Ayyubid Sultanate under sultan Saladin. Earlier that summer, Egyptian forces under Saladin had defeated the kingdom's army and conquered several cities. Balian was charged with organizing a defense. The city was full of refugees but had few soldiers. Despite this fact, the defenders managed to repulse several attempts by the Egyptian army to take the city by storm. Balian bargained with Saladin to buy safe passage for many, and the city was peacefully surrendered with limited bloodshed.
Though Jerusalem fell, it was not the end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as the capital shifted first to Tyre and later to Acre after the Third Crusade. Latin Christians responded in 1189 by launching the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart, Philip Augustus, and Frederick Barbarossa separately. In Jerusalem, Saladin restored Muslim holy sites and generally showed tolerance towards Christians; he allowed Orthodox and Eastern Christian pilgrims to visit the holy sites freely—though Frankish (i.e. Catholic) pilgrims were required to pay a fee for entry. The control of Christian affairs in the city was handed over to the patriarch of Constantinople.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Jerusalem (1187) (revision 1380559918), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Crusader battles between 1149 and 1189
- Battle of Marj Ayyun 1179
- Siege of Jacob's Ford 1179
- Battle of Belvoir Castle 1182
- Battle of al-Fule 1183
- Siege of Kerak (1183) 1183
- Battle of Cresson 1187
- Battle of Hattin 1187
- Siege of Tyre (1187) 1187
All 15 battles of the Crusader battles between 1149 and 1189 →
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