"820 years ago today, Richard the Lionheart left the eastern Mediterranean, effectively ending the "Third Crusade." Saladin had his spies focused on Richard; Saladin was not going to relax until the English king, a lethal and effective warrior for the enemy faith, was confirmed leaving the area. He understood—Richard needed to clear up unresolved debts and issues before leaving, including securing the release of William of Preaux who had saved Richard from capture by pretending to be Richard about a year before. But Saladin was still relieved to get word that Richard was confirmed gone.
Richard departed to a well-crafted ceremony, as anyone who knew him would expect. A red carpet stretched out to the ships in the harbor at Acre. He offered a prayer, and a promise to return. (He would not be able to keep the promise. Both Richard and his celebrated Muslim opponent Saladin would be dead before the end of the decade, Saladin within a year…
Both Richard and Saladin lamented the results of the conflict and considered their efforts to be failures. But both could claim some success. Richard had not taken Jerusalem, but had left behind a viable western Christian state when western Christians had been holding on by a thin thread before his arrival. Saladin did not expel the western Christians, but he had taken on the onslaughts from three European monarchs and sent them all away without giving up Jerusalem (in the case of Frederick Barbarossa, the German emperor never arrived). And the peace agreement by all reasonable measures, certainly when measured by the tone of the times, was a just and reasonable one, religiously tolerant, perhaps ahead of its time…"
From
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Hope you enjoy!.
Amicalement
Armand
