The Treaty of Jaffa

After the Battle of Jaffa, with Richard I and the members of the Third Crusade once again in control of the city, a truce was made between Richard and Saladin, signed at the beginning of September 1192. The three-year arrangement officially ended the Third Crusade.

The Crusade had begun because Jerusalem had fallen into Saracen hands. Richard and Saladin had been exchanging letters ever since the Siege of Acre about access to Jerusalem, but nothing was to be concluded until Saladin's defeats by the Crusading army.

The Treaty demanded safe passage for Christians to visit Jerusalem, which would remain under Islamic control. Also, Christians would control the coast from Tyre to Jaffa. The Battle of Hattin had essentially placed the whole of the Kingdom of Jerusalem into Muslim possession, but the Treaty declared that the Tyre-to-Jaffa strip would now be considered the Kingdom. The town of Ascalon would be rebuilt and given to Saladin.

With that, Richard departed for England on 9 October. His brother John and Philip II of France were causing trouble, and he was anxious to get home.

Saladin did not live long after these events. He died 4 March 1193, aged 55 or 56. Prior to his death, he had given all his wealth away to the poor, with only a single piece of gold and 40 pieces of silver left—not even enough to pay for his funeral. He was buried in Damascus, in the garden outside a mosque (pictured above).

Richard lived another seven years, but his trip home almost rivaled that of Odysseus. I'll explain tomorrow.