The period between the end of the Second Crusade in 1149 and the beginning of the Third Crusade in 1189 saw the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Crusader states be reduced from a vibrant presence in the Holy Land to just a few cities and castles. Beginning with the conquests of Zengi, followed by those of his son Nur al-Din and then Saladin, the unthinkable happened, with Jerusalem falling to Muslim forces. The Frankish presence in the Levant, limited to the cities of Tyre, Tripoli and Antioch, caused a call to arms in the West for the reconquest of the Holy Land through a new crusade.

When Zengi led his army to cause the fall of Edessa in 1144, he started a movement that would unite the Muslims in the Levant against the Frankish presence. This movement grew through Nur al-Din's creation of a Syrian-Egyptian condominium that was finalized by Saladin's declaration of being the sultan of Egypt and Syria. The seminal conflict between Islam and Christianity was seen at the 1187 Battle of Hattin from which the fall of Jerusalem was preordained. The West would respond with the Third Crusade.

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Political background The events after the Second Crusade that led to the Third Crusade were overwhelmingly shaped by the leaders of Muslim Syria and Egypt, as well as the rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In addition, key players included the Byzantine emperors and commanders, princes, counts and lords of Outremer, the knights of the military orders, and emirs of Muslim towns and cities.

Islamic rulers

After the success of the First Crusade, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Crusader states engaged in smaller confrontations with Islamic forces in the Levant but did not face a well-organized, consolidated enemy for nearly fifty years. That changed with the rise of three powerful leaders: Imad al-Din Zengi, his son Nur al-Din, and a Kurd in service of the latter, Saladin.

The Seljuk Zengi first came to prominence in 1127 when he was named atabeg of Mosul, and then of Aleppo the next year. Zengi practiced the politics of jihad against the Latin settlements beginning with the Battle of Ba'rin in 1137 and culminating with the successful Siege of Edessa in December 1144 which triggered the Second Crusade. Zengi was assassinated in 1146, and was the founder of the eponymous Zengid dynasty.

Zengi was succeeded by his eldest son Sayf al-Din Ghazi I in Mosul, and in Aleppo by his second son Nur al-Din. When Sayf died in 1149, he was succeeded in Mosul by a third son Qutb al-Din Mawdud. Nur al-Din would consolidate Zengid power in Mesopotamia and the Levant, maintaining constant military pressure on the Crusader states. He would later conquer Egypt from the Fatimids.

Nur al-Din's original mission to Egypt was to restore restore Shawar as vizier to the teenage Fatimid caliph al-Adid. To accomplish this, he sent the Kurdish commander Shirkuh, who was accompanied by his nephew Saladin, then 27 years old. Shawar was restored to his post, but internal Egyptian politics led to Shirkuh replacing him as vizier. When Shirkuh died in 1169, Saladin was appointed vizier to al-Adid. Upon the death of al-Adid in 1171, Saladin proclaimed himself Sultan of Egypt, abolishing the Fatimid caliphate at Nur al-Din's insistence. In 1174, Nur al-Din died and Saladin moved to take much of Syria, including Damascus and Aleppo, and was proclaimed the Sultan of Egypt and Syria by the Abbasid caliph. The Ayyubid dynasty was born, and Saladin filled most of the important positions with family. The Kingdom of Jerusalem would soon face a unified Islamic force driven by jihad against the Latin West.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Saladin". Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

The Fatimids of Egypt were still a threat to the Franks, but the caliphate had been unstable since the 1121 assassination of the vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah and several of his successors. Al-Hafiz was the last Fatimid to rule as adult. After his death in 1149, his three successors were children, with the last being al-Adid who was succeeded by Saladin.David Samuel Margoliouth (1911). "Fatimites". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 202–204.

The Abbasid Caliphate was based in Baghdad and was the spiritual source of Sunni Islam. In 1160, caliph al-Mustanjid extricated himself from the Seljuks and his successor al-Mustadi aligned with Nur al-Din and, later, Saladin. When al-Nasir assumed the caliphate in 1180, his embrace of Saladin helped him complete his conquests.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abbasids". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pg. 10.

Rulers of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was less than a half-century old when the fall of Edessa led the Second Crusade and the Islamic resurgence that followed. While Jerusalem enjoyed primus inter pares with the Crusader states of Outremer, these states often acted independently. In addition, the rulers of the kingdom were often underaged, sickly or lacking in military experience, contributing to the catastrophe of 1187.

King since 1118, Baldwin II of Jerusalem, had no male heirs and designated his daughter Melisende to succeed him. He wished to safeguard the kingdom by marrying her to a powerful lord. Beginning in June 1129, Fulk V, Count of Anjou and Melisende became joint rulers of Jerusalem in 1131 with Baldwin II's death. Fulk assumed sole control of the government, excluding his wife. In 1143, while the king and queen were on holiday, Fulk was mortally wounded in a hunting accident. Their 13-year-old son Baldwin III of Jerusalem then ascended the throne with his mother as co-ruler. In 1152, Baldwin III took complete hold of the government.Ernest Barker (1911). "Fulk, King of Jerusalem". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 293–294.Ernest Barker (1911). "Baldwin III". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 246–247.

Dying in 1163 without heirs, the heir-apparent was the king's brother, Amalric I of Jerusalem, but the Haute Cour refused to endorse Amalric's coronation unless his marriage to Agnes of Courtenay was annulled. Amalric agreed and ascended the throne without a wife. Almaric and Agnes had two children, Sibylla of Jerusalem and Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. Almaric married Maria Komnene in 1167, a union which produced a daughter Isabella, later queen. He died in 1174 and was succeeded by his son Baldwin IV.Ernest Barker (1911). "Almaric". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 778–779.Ernest Barker (1911). "Baldwin IV". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pg. 247.

In 1179, Baldwin IV began planning a marriage of Sibylla. After some intrigue, he hastily arranged her marriage to Guy of Lusignan. By 1182, Baldwin IV, increasingly incapacitated by his leprosy, came to an agreement with the Haute Cour to make the 5-year-old Baldwin V of Jerusalem his heir. Sibylla's son by her first marriage to William Longsword, Baldwin V was placed before Sibylla and Guy. The child was crowned co-king in 1183. Baldwin IV died in spring 1185, elevating Baldwin V to be the sole king. He, in turn, died shortly thereafter during the summer of 1186.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lusignan". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pg. 130.

After the funeral of Baldwin V, Sibylla was named the successor to the throne, as Queen of Jerusalem, contingent of her agreement to divorce Guy. Once crowned, she immediately remarried Guy who was then crowned as king. Sibylla would die in 1190, leaving Guy to rule through the beginning of the Third Crusade. He became lord of Cyprus in 1192 and was succeeded by Almaric's daughter Isabella I of Jerusalem and her husband Conrad of Montferrat.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montferrat, Count of". Encyclopædia Britannica. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pg. 780.

Zengi's legacy

Zengi was a powerful Muslim ruler in the 12th century who played a major role in the struggles between Islam and the Franks in the Levant. Born around 1085, he became the governor of Mosul in 1127 and within a year, Aleppo, establishing himself in both military and political matters. Zengi united Muslim territories at a time when the Crusader states had taken control of important lands following the First Crusade. His leadership marked the beginning of a more organized Muslim resistance against the Crusaders.

Zengi's greatest achievement came in 1144, when he captured the city of Edessa. The fall of Edessa shocked the Christian West because it was the first major Crusader city to be lost after decades of Christian control. This event resulted in the Second Crusade, as European leaders sought to regain their lost territory. Zengi's victory demonstrated that the Crusader states were vulnerable and that Muslim forces could reclaim lands through unity and military strength. His reputation grew throughout the Islamic world, where he was praised as a defender of Islam.

A skilled commander, Zengi was also known for being harsh and sometimes ruthless in his rule. He maintained strict control over his territories and dealt severely with rivals and rebellions. On 14 September 1146, he was assassinated by one of his servants while besieging a fortress in northern Syria. Despite his death, his legacy endured through his son, Nur al-Din, and later through Saladin, both of whom advanced the effort to unite Muslim lands against the Franks.

Advent of Nur al-Din

Nur al-Din was the second son of Zengi and became governor of Aleppo upon his father's death. He was to continue his father's work to unity the Islamic world to fight jihad against the Franks.

Edessa revisited

After the death of Zengi, an Armenian contingent in Edessa began plotting with Joscelyn II of Edessa on how to retake the city. Together with Baldwin of Marash, Joscelyn assembled a force and retook control of the city on 27 October 1146. The defending Turkish garrison retreated to the citadel which Joscelyn was unable to subdue. Nur al-Din marched from Aleppo with a force of 10,000, arriving at Edessa on 2 November, beginning the second Siege of Edessa. Trapped between the besieging troops and those in the citadel, the Christians soon fell and were massacred or enslaved. Nur al-Din had most of the churches destroyed and the fortifications dismantled.

Unur and Damascus In 1130, Zengi had allied with the emir of Damascus, Taj al-Mulk Buri, to fight the Latins, but this was a temporary alliance. By 1135, Zengi began an unsuccessful siege of the city, the first of numerous attempts to add Damascus to his domain. The city's defense was led by the Mamluk commander Mu'in ad-Din Unur. By 1140, Unur had become the de facto ruler of Damascus as vizier to the young emir Mujir ad-Din Abaq, part of the Burid Dynasty. That same year, Unur joined with Fulk of Jerusalem in a siege of the city of Banias, an arrangement which led to an alliance with Jerusalem ostensibly to protect against aggression from Zengi. Banias has been under Zengid control since 1137, and after the successful siege, Abaq ceded the city to Fulk.