The Siege of Acre, Part 5

So Conrad of Montferrat married Isabella of Jerusalem,. the rightful queen, and took her back to Tyre while the former king by marriage to Isabella's older sister Sibylla, Guy of Lusignan, refused to surrender the kingship and stayed at the Siege of Acre. This was in the fall of 1190.

Attacks on the walls on 31 December and 6 January led to a partial collapse and an attempt by the Crusaders to enter the city, but they failed. On 13 February Saladin breached the Crusader defenses to get to the city and reinforce the soldiers there. Conrad, back at Acre, tried to breach the city from the sea, but a contrary wind prevented him from getting close enough.

The Siege itself was showing no signs of resolution, either. Acre now had a garrison of some 20,000. Saladin had the Crusader camp surrounded so that more men and supplies could not arrive. Poor sanitation led to illness. Frederick of Swabia, the son of Barbarossa who died trying to get to Acre, died of illness. The Patriarch Heraclius also died during this time.

Then news came that other leaders from Europe were coming, and Saladin's chances of success were slimming.

On 20 April 1191, King Philip II of France arrived with a Genoese fleet and started building siege engines. King Richard I "Lionheart" of England arrived on 8 June (illustration), accompanied by 100 ships and a total of 8000 men. He requested a cease-fire for three days to allow him to meet with Saladin, but both Richard and Philip became ill and there was no meeting.

On the question of the rightful King of Jerusalem, France and England disagreed. Philip, the Genoese, and the Knights Templar supported Conrad as King of Jerusalem. Richard, along with the Pisans and the Knights Hospitaller, felt Guy should remain king. This debate would not be settled right away.

Not all of the English had arrived yet, so Richard wanted to wait before attacking Acre; no sense starting without all your forces in place. Philip was ready to start battering the walls. Philip did not wait: on 17 June started battering the walls. The Acre garrison signaled Saladin by sending up smoke that they needed support. A pattern formed: a breach in the walls would bring the Crusaders attacking, which would be the sign for Saladin's forces to attack the Crusader camp. This would cause the Crusaders to turn around to defend themselves. This gave Acre time to try to repair the breach.

Tomorrow we'll discuss the final battle and the end result for Acre.