 |
Fig.1: Tripoli and Antioch didn't
appreciate the Dominions of Saladin
being all up in their business. |
Typically, the third chapter of a story leaves more to be desired. The "Part Threes" of
Star Wars,
Back to the Future,
The Godfather, and that Keanu Reeves alternate-reality thing (whose third movie was so bad I dare not mention it) all fell flat in adequately wrapping up the story. The Third Crusade would follow much of the same pattern. After the
Blues Brothers 2000-like debacle that was the
Second Crusade, the state of Christianity was one of disunion. The Crusader States
continued to squabble against each other and within themselves
when the throne or the TV remote was up for grabs. The kings of Europe became too distracted with petty wars over land, titles, and how many peasants they'd like to rule over.
No one in their right mind trusted the Byzantine Empire anymore (in
fairness, those guys were more two-faced than Harvey Dent). All this
was almost slightly excusable since the Islamic world was just as divided; the
only thing that the Seljuqs in Turkey, the Fatimids in Egypt, and the
Zengids in Syria and Iraq could agree on was that Muhammad is the messenger of God (which is a great thing, don't get me wrong, guys!). This changed with the rise of Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (called
Saladin by me and my fellow lazy historians), who united much of the Islamic dominions, stole territory from the Crusader states (fig.1), and forced the Christians in both Europe and the Holy Land to at least consider fighting some on else for once.
