Lionheart in the Holy Land: The Crusading King Richard I

Richard I of England was remembered by chroniclers as Richard the Lionheart and ruled from 1189 to 1199, but he spent most of his reign on campaign abroad and did not govern at home.

Born on 8 September 1157 at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, he was the third legitimate son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, from whom he inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine in 1172. 

By the time he became king, Richard had already earned fame as a skilled military commander who had spent years during which he suppressed revolts among his rebellious vassals in southwestern France.

His early campaigns in Aquitaine, which included the sieges of Saintes and Taillebourg, showed his skill in siege warfare and his ability to command loyalty through force.

Richard did not concern himself with domestic administration, however, and he viewed the English crown as a source of financial support for his military campaigns, so his government imposed heavy taxation, including the Saladin Tithe of 1188, to fund his involvement in the Crusades.

This tax alone raised approximately 100,000 marks in England and even more in his continental territories, which placed a serious financial burden on his subjects.

His reputation among contemporaries rested on his command during the Third Crusade, when his victories in the Holy Land became the defining episode of his reign. 

Twelfth-century Europe remained politically unstable as the monarchs of England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire pursued territorial aims and struggled to maintain authority over feuding nobles.

Within the Angevin Empire itself, Richard had joined his brothers Henry the Young King and Geoffrey in open revolt against their father.

He had later reconciled with Henry II shortly before his death in 1189. 

Elsewhere, Muslim unity had strengthened under the leadership of Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, who sought to drive out the Crusader states that had held power in the Levant since the First Crusade.

His forces won a crushing victory over the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin in July 1187, where he captured the relic of the True Cross and destroyed most of the Crusader field army.

Saladin’s army then marched on Jerusalem, which surrendered on 2 October 1187, depriving Christendom of its holiest city and prompting support for another crusading campaign. 

News of Jerusalem’s fall shocked the courts of Europe and prompted an immediate response from the papacy.

On 29 October 1187, Pope Gregory VIII issued the papal bull Audita Tremendi, which declared that God had allowed the disaster to punish the sins of Christendom and called upon Christian rulers to take the cross and restore the Holy Land. 

In the following months, several monarchs pledged to lead the expedition.

Frederick Barbarossa, the ageing but powerful Holy Roman Emperor, departed with a large army from Germany in 1189.

Philip II of France and Richard I of England both took the cross in 1187. Tensions between the two soon strained their cooperation. Each king had political as well as religious motivations, since crusading allowed them to raise their status and secure influence over the Crusader states.

Their rivalry, however, would influence the events of the Third Crusade more than any shared vision for victory. 

Before he reached the Levant, Richard had delayed in Sicily over a dispute with Tancred of Lecce, who had seized the Sicilian throne after the death of King William II, whose widow, Richard’s sister Joan, had been imprisoned.

After he had negotiated Joan’s release and secured compensation, he sailed onwards, but he was forced to stop at Cyprus when a storm had scattered his fleet in May 1191. 

Isaac Komnenos, a self-proclaimed Byzantine ruler on the island, refused to release shipwrecked Crusaders and looted their cargo.

So, Richard invaded Cyprus and he had captured it in a swift campaign that ended within weeks.

He married Berengaria of Navarre at Limassol on 12 May and then sold the island to the Knights Templar.

When they struggled to govern it, they resold it back to Richard, who subsequently transferred it to Guy of Lusignan.

This conquest secured an important base for Crusader operations in the eastern Mediterranean. 

In June 1191, Richard arrived at Acre, where Crusader forces had besieged the city since 1189.

Richard ordered the construction of powerful siege engines such as trebuchets known as "Bad Neighbour" and "God's Own Catapult", and he directed concentrated bombardment.

He broke through the defences, and Acre capitulated on 12 July. After Saladin had delayed the handover of hostages and had not fulfilled the agreed terms of surrender, Richard executed more than 2,700 Muslim prisoners outside the city walls in August.

The massacre shocked even some of his allies. Richard justified it as a tactical decision that was intended to pressure Saladin into honouring the deal.

In return, Saladin also executed Christian captives. 

After he had secured Acre, Richard led the Crusader army south towards Jaffa. On 7 September 1191, his forces met Saladin’s army near Arsuf.

Throughout the battle, Richard maintained tight control over his infantry and cavalry, and he resisted the urge to break formation despite repeated enemy attacks.

When the Hospitallers nearly broke ranks under pressure, Richard seized the moment to order a general charge.

His knights broke Saladin’s lines and forced a retreat, which allowed the Crusaders to capture the coastal towns and to strengthen their hold on the region. 

Richard reached within sight of Jerusalem in early 1192, but he declined to attack the city because he believed that without secure supply lines and the ability to hold the city after conquest, an assault would lead to disaster.

His caution frustrated many Crusaders, and it showed a strategic calculation based on the terrain, the weather, and the risk of counterattack. 

Throughout the campaign, Richard struggled to maintain unity among the Crusader leaders.

Philip II had already returned to France in August 1191, claiming illness. He remained concerned about Richard’s growing authority and presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Before departing, he had placed Conrad of Montferrat in control of Tyre, which challenged Richard’s support for Guy of Lusignan as King of Jerusalem. 

The dispute over the throne of Jerusalem continued to divide the Crusader ranks, as Richard initially supported Guy.

He eventually accepted a compromise when it had become clear that local barons backed Conrad.

In April 1192, Conrad was chosen as king but was assassinated days later by members of the Hashashin sect, possibly with the knowledge of Richard’s allies, though no clear proof ever emerged.

The Assassins, a branch of the Nizari Isma'ilis, often carried out politically motivated killings, and their role in Levantine politics was widely feared and mysterious. 

Additional conflict arose with Leopold V of Austria, who felt offended after Richard tore down his banner at Acre.

The incident, trivial on the surface, left lasting resentment that would later result in Richard’s arrest during his return home.

Personal rivalries and dynastic disputes created divided loyalties that consistently undermined the unity of the Crusader army and limited the success of its campaigns. 

They had fought a bitter war, and Richard and Saladin developed a surprising level of respect for each other.

Contemporary chroniclers described several exchanges of gifts and courtesies between the two leaders.

When Richard fell ill in 1192, Saladin offered fresh fruit and his own physician.

Richard returned the gesture by sending fine horses. 

Their negotiations were frequent, especially during the stalemate over Jerusalem.

Saladin refused to surrender the city, and Richard declined to risk an open siege, yet both men understood the military and diplomatic limits of their positions.

Their dialogue often included proposals for truces and prisoner exchanges, and marriage alliances appeared as tentative options.

Few of these offers proved to be serious. 

By September 1192, the two agreed to the Treaty of Jaffa, which secured a three-year truce.

The Crusaders retained control of the coastal cities from Jaffa to Tyre, extending about 20 miles inland.

Muslim forces kept Jerusalem. The agreement allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the holy sites without interference and preserved a fragile peace.

As such, neither side achieved a clear military victory. 

Richard left the Holy Land in October 1192, and he intended to return swiftly to England through Europe.

However, a storm forced him to alter his route and pass through central Europe in disguise.

On 20 December 1192, Leopold V of Austria arrested him near Vienna, still enraged by their earlier confrontation at Acre. 

After he had been handed over to Emperor Henry VI, Richard was held for ransom.

The sum was set at 150,000 marks, which was equivalent to two to three times the annual revenue of the English crown, which placed severe financial strain on the kingdom.

His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, supervised the collection of the ransom, which included taxes from nobles, clergy, and commoners alike.

Eleanor personally oversaw the shipment of silver to the emperor's court. 

After he had spent over a year in captivity, Richard was released in February 1194, and returned briefly to England, where he was recrowned at Winchester.

He soon departed again for Normandy to resume war against Philip II of France.

On 6 April 1199, during a minor siege at Châlus in Aquitaine, a crossbowman named Pierre Basile fatally wounded him.

Richard forgave the archer before he died in the arms of his mother. He was buried at Fontevraud Abbey.

His entrails were interred at Châlus, his heart at Rouen, and his body at Fontevraud, in accordance with medieval royal burial customs. 

Even though he failed to recover Jerusalem. Richard became a legendary figure in medieval Europe.

His exploits in the Holy Land defined how people remembered him more than any action taken as king of England, where he spent less than six months of his ten-year reign.

He left government in the hands of capable ministers such as Hubert Walter and William Longchamp, and he focused almost entirely on military campaigns abroad.