Syria (1183), and he took control of the Kurdish city of
Mosul, now in modern Iraq in 1186.
Saladin’s unification of Muslim nations encircling
Jerusalem aroused fears in Europe, where his rise was
seen as a threat to the Holy Land, and European religious
and political leaders moved to counter and fight him.
This began what is known as the Third Crusade, which
led to the clash between two of the greatest generals of
the age: Saladin and richard i the lion-hearted,
also known as Richard Coeur de Lion. In 1187, Guy
de Lusignan, who held Jerusalem for the Christians, led
his army out to meet Saladin but was defeated, first at
Tiberias (2 July 1187) and then at Hattin (4 July 1187),
where his forces were destroyed by Saladin. Although
Guy escaped with some of his men, he had to leave be-
hind the bulk of his army, which was put to death en
masse by Saladin’s army. Having fled to the city of Tyre
(now in Lebanon), Guy called on his fellow Christians
to send more forces to the Holy Land. Three months
after their victory at Hattin, Saladin’s forces took the cit-
ies of Acre, Beirut, Nazareth, and Jaffa. On 2 October
1187, he occupied Jerusalem, the first time in nearly a
century it was held by anyone but Christians.
It was left to Richard I and his forces to fight Sal-
adin. A series of battles began soon after Richard’s ar-
rival at Acre on 8 June 1191. He soon took the city and
ordered that all 3,000 Muslim prisoners taken at Acre
be put to death. Richard then moved south to Jaffa,
but Saladin blocked his route. On 7 September 1191,
Richard’s forces entered Arsuf, where they met Saladin’s
forces in one of the greatest battles of the 12th century.
Saladin sent wave after wave of light infantry against
Richard’s forces, but the Crusaders held their ground.
When the Muslims’ line broke, they panicked and fled
the field. Marching to Jaffa, Richard arrived at the city
on 10 September 1191 and found that Saladin had or-
dered it destroyed. Although Richard had a clear path to
retake Jerusalem, he realized he would have to hold the
city from Muslim attacks, and he did not have the sup-
plies for such control, so he withdrew to Jaffa.
Saladin launched a surprise attack on Jaffa, but
again the Crusader line held. Tiring of the battle and
concerned by reports of rebellion in England, Richard
sought an accommodation with his enemy. On 2 Sep-
tember 1192, following a series of talks, Saladin and
Richard signed the Peace of Ramla (1192), which left
Jerusalem in the hands of the Muslims while securing
Jaffa and some cities along the Mediterranean coast
for Christianity. Richard left the area on 29 September
1192, having fought the Third Crusade to a draw, and
Saladin withdrew to Damascus. The following year, on
4 March 1193, Saladin died following a short illness. He
was buried in a magnificent tomb in Damascus, which
contains the saying, “Oh mighty God, let his soul be ac-
ceptable to thee... .”References: Ehrenkreutz, Andrew S., Saladin (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1972); Lane-Poole,
Stanley, Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusa-
lem (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1906); Brundage,
James A., The Crusades: A Documentary Survey (Milwau-
kee: Marquette University Press, 1962); Regan, Geoffrey,
Saladin and the Fall of Jerusalem (London: Croom Helm,
1987); “Saladin,” in Command: From Alexander the Great
to Zhukov—The Greatest Commanders of World History,
edited by James Lucas (London: Bloomsbury Publishing,
1988), 44–45.Samsonov, Alexander Vasilyevich (1859–
1914) Russian general
Born in Russia in 1859, Alexander Samsonov joined the
Russian army at the age of 18 and served honorably dur-
ing the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). Following the
end of that conflict, he went to the Nikolaevsky Military
Academy in St. Petersburg, where he specialized in cavalry
tactics. After serving on the general staff, he was posted
to command the cavalry school. Returning to active ser-
vice in the Russian army, he saw action in China during
the Boxer Rebellion (1900), was promoted to general in
1902, and served in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05).
In 1909, he commanded the forces in Turkestan.
Samsonov’s big moment came when the First World
War began. Following the assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on 28 June 1914,
all of the powers of Europe implemented their numer-
ous alliances and moved toward all-out conflict on the
European continent. Believing Serbia had backed the as-
sassination, Austria made demands that Serbia could not
accept. Russia, fearful of Austrian expansion, supported
Serbia, while Germany, eager for war, allied itself to Aus-
tria. This brought in France, which had signed a defense
treaty with Russia. Britain was dragged in because it had
guaranteed the independence of Belgium back in 1839;
when Germany advanced through Belgium, Britain also
went to war.0 SAmSonov, AlexAnDeR vASilyevich