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Conflict4 July 1187

Battle of Hattin

At Hattin in Galilee Saladin destroyed the main army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and captured King Guy of Lusignan.

The Battle of Hattin — miniature from a manuscript of the Estoire d’Eracles (William of Tyre and continuations), 1440s
The Battle of Hattin — miniature from a manuscript of the Estoire d’Eracles (William of Tyre and continuations), 1440s

Unknown author · Public domain · Source

Saladin had taken Egypt (1169) and Syria, encircling the crusader states. In July 1187 King Guy marched across a waterless plateau to relieve Tiberias and was surrounded at the Horns of Hattin, his men suffering from heat and thirst.

Most of the kingdom’s knights were killed or captured and the relic of the True Cross was lost. With no field army left, Acre and other cities surrendered one after another.

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States at the time
Ayyubid dynasty · victor
Kingdom of Jerusalem · defeated
Places
Horns of Hattin

People

  • Saladin1137 – 1193

    commander · Sultan and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty who united Egypt and Syria, won at Hattin in 1187 and retook Jerusalem

  • Guy of Lusignan1194

    commander · King of Jerusalem (r. 1186–1192), captured by Saladin at Hattin and later lord of Cyprus

Before and after

Earlier
AD 30 Rise and Spread of Christianity
Later
1260 Battle of Ain Jalut

Related works

Dramatized works (films, dramas, novels) may differ from the historical record.

Themes that include this event

  • The Crusades1095 – 1291

    From the Council of Clermont to the fall of Acre — two centuries of war between Latin Europe and the Islamic world over the Holy Land