Conflict28 August 1189 – 12 July 1191

Siege of Acre

After a siege of nearly two years Acre surrendered once Richard I and Philip II arrived; it then became the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Philip II and Richard I receive the keys of Acre (1191) — miniature in the Grandes Chroniques de France, c. 1375–1380
Unknown author · Public domain · Source

Released after Hattin, Guy of Lusignan was refused entry to Tyre and in August 1189 laid siege to Acre with a small force. Saladin’s army soon encircled the besiegers in turn, and for nearly two years both sides lost many men to hunger and disease.

When Philip II (April) and Richard I (June) arrived in 1191 and battered the walls with siege engines, the garrison surrendered on 12 July. As ransom negotiations dragged on, Richard executed about 2,700 Muslim prisoners in August.

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States at the time: Kingdom of Jerusalem · victor
England · reinforcements
France · reinforcements
Ayyubid dynasty · defeated
Places: Acre

People

Guy of Lusignan1194
commander · King of Jerusalem (r. 1186–1192), captured by Saladin at Hattin and later lord of Cyprus
Richard I of England1157 – 1199
commander · King of England (r. 1189–1199), “the Lionheart”, who retook Acre in the Third Crusade and made the Treaty of Jaffa with Saladin
Philip II of France1165 – 1223
commander · King of France (r. 1180–1223), “Augustus”, who went on the Third Crusade, left after Acre fell and seized England’s French lands
Saladin1137 – 1193
commander · Sultan and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty who united Egypt and Syria, won at Hattin in 1187 and retook Jerusalem

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