Battle of Montgisard
Battle of Montgisard | |||||||
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Part of the Charles Philippe Larivière, 1842–1844 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Jerusalem Knights Templar |
Ayyubid Dynasty | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Renaud de Châtillon Eudes de Saint-Amand |
Saladin Taqi al-Din Umar | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
3,000–4,500 men
| 21,000–26,000 men (greatly exaggerated)[2][a] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Most of the army killed |
The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the
Background
In 1177,
Opposing forces
The true numbers are impossible to estimate, since the
Just as uncertain are the numbers of their opponents. An 1181 review listed
Battle
The
The Jerusalem army attacked the hurriedly arranged Muslims, inflicting heavy casualties. The King Baldwin IV, fighting with bandaged hands to cover his sores, was in the thick of the fighting. Egyptian effective command was under Saladin's nephew Taqi ad-Din. Taqi ad-Din apparently attacked while Saladin was putting his Mamluk guard together. Taqi's son Ahmad died in the early fighting. Saladin's men were quickly overwhelmed. Saladin himself only avoided capture by escaping, as Ralph de Diceto claims,[14] on a racing camel. By nightfall, those Egyptians that were with the Sultan had reached Caunetum Esturnellorum near the mound of Tell el-Hesi. This is about 25 miles from Ramla. It is only about 7 km from Tell es-Safi (al-Safiya).[6]
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem pursued Saladin until nightfall, and then retired to Ascalon. Only a remnant of his army made it back to Egypt with him.[15]
Aftermath
Meanwhile,
Related campaigns
- 1179: Battle of Banias
- 1179: Battle of Marj Ayyun
- 1179: Battle of Jacob's Ford
- 1182: Battle of Belvoir Castle
- 1183: Battle of Al-Fule
- 1183: Siege of Kerak
- 1187: Battle of Cresson
- 1187: Battle of Hattin
- 1187: Siege of Jerusalem
- 1187: Siege of Tyre
Fiction
The Battle of Montgisard is alluded to in the 2005 movie Kingdom of Heaven, as a battle where King Baldwin IV defeated Saladin when he was sixteen. It was also described in the novel Jerusalem, written by Cecelia Holland.
An account of the battle is also given in Swedish author
Notes
References
- ISBN 0444850929, p. 149
- ^ a b c d e f g h Stevenson 1907, p. 218.
- ISBN 0444850929, p. 149
- ^ "Baldwin, Marshall W., and Setton, Kenneth M, A History of the Crusades: Volume One, The First Hundred Years, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1969, pp. 571, 595, 625, 650".
- ^ Stevenson 1907, pp. 217–218.
- ^ a b c d e Stevenson 1907, p. 217.
- ISBN 0444850929, p.149
- Helen Nicholson, David Nicolle. 2005 Osprey Publishing
- ^ possibly at Tell el-Jezer (Lane-Poole 1906, pp. 154–155), or Kfar Menahem (Lyons & Jackson 1982, p. 123)
- ^ The Crusader States by Malcolm Barber, published by TJ International Ltd, 2012
- ^ The chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr by D.S. Richards, published by Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 1935
- ^ Malcolm Cameron Lyons, D. E. P. Jackson Cambridge University Press, Aug 20, 1984
- ^ Lane-Poole 1906, pp. 154–155
- ^ Ralph de Diceto (Radulf de Diceto decani Lundoniensis) Ymagines historiarum
- ^ Lane-Poole 1906, p. 155.
Bibliography
- Lane-Poole, Stanley (1906). Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Heroes of the Nations. London: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
- Lyons, M. C.; Jackson, D.E.P. (1982). Saladin: the Politics of the Holy War. ISBN 978-0-521-31739-9.
- Stevenson, W. B. (1907). The Crusaders in the East: a brief history of the wars of Islam with the Latins in Syria during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Cambridge University Press.
The Latin estimates of Saladin's army are no doubt greatly exaggerated (26,000 in Tyre xxi. 23, 12,000 Turks and 9,000 Arabs in Anon.Rhen. v. 517
Further reading
- Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, ed. D. S. Richards, Ashgate, 2002.
- Willemi Tyrensis Archiepiscopi Chronicon, ed. R. B. C. Huygens. Turnholt, 1986.
- Bernard Hamilton, The Leper King and his Heirs, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- R. C. Smail, Crusading Warfare, 1097–1193. Cambridge University Press, 1956.