# Canonical recap data for Saladin's Victory at Hattin (1187)
# Source: https://recap.at/1187/battle-hattin
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: battle-hattin
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1187/battle-hattin"
title: Saladin's Victory at Hattin
aliases:
- Battle of Hattin
- Horns of Hattin
- Battle of the Horns of Hattin
subtitle: Saladin crushed the Crusader kingdom decisively, reclaimed Jerusalem, and checked European expansion into the Levant for generations.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1187-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1187
decade: 1180
country:
name: Syria
slug: syria
summaryShort: ""
summaryLong: |-
  On July 4, 1187, Saladin's army destroyed the Crusader kingdom in the Levant at the Battle of Hattin, a military catastrophe that effectively ended Christian control of the Holy Land for nearly a century. The battle itself was brutally decisive—Saladin's forces, estimated between 12,000 and 18,000 men, encircled a Crusader army of roughly 20,000 led by Guy of Lusignan near the volcanic hills of Hattin in northern Palestine. The Crusaders, who had marched through the Galilean desert without securing water supplies, were exhausted before combat even began. Saladin's archers, holding the higher ground and fresh supplies, methodically broke the Crusader lines. By day's end, the Christian army was routed; Guy and most of the surviving nobility were captured, and hundreds of soldiers and civilians were massacred in the aftermath.

  Saladin himself was a Syrian and Egyptian military commander born Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub in 1138, who had spent decades consolidating Muslim power across the Levant and Egypt before finally confronting the Crusaders as a unified force. He was ruthless when necessary—the massacre of Templars and Hospitallers immediately following Hattin demonstrated that—but he was also a shrewd administrator and propagandist who understood that the Crusader states had become fragmented and overextended. The Crusaders had ruled the Levant for nearly a century since the First Crusade in 1095, but their hold had always been precarious, dependent on constant reinforcements from Europe and internal military discipline. By 1187, both were failing. Guy of Lusignan was an ineffective ruler, and the Crusader nobility had fractured into competing factions, each controlling scattered coastal and inland strongholds.

  The immediate aftermath was swift and humiliating. Within weeks of Hattin, Saladin's forces took Acre, Jaffa, and Ascalon. Jerusalem itself fell on October 2, 1187—less than three months after the battle—after a brief siege. Saladin famously spared the Christian population of Jerusalem (unlike the brutal Crusader slaughter during the First Crusade in 1099), offering them the choice of ransom or slavery. The Christian holy sites were reclaimed for Islam, and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem effectively ceased to exist as a territorial power. Though Crusader footholds persisted in places like Tyre and Tripoli, and later Crusades would attempt to reclaim the region, the geopolitical equation had fundamentally shifted. Islam now held the strategic initiative in the Eastern Mediterranean, and European Christian rulers would have to mobilize unprecedented resources just to maintain a foothold.

  Hattin became a turning point in medieval military history, not because the Crusaders were outfought in a single engagement, but because it exposed the structural weaknesses of Crusader colonialism: their dependence on overseas supply lines, their inability to sustain a unified command structure, and their vulnerability to a disciplined, centralized Muslim state. Saladin had created that state through decades of military consolidation and political maneuvering, and Hattin was the payoff. For the Islamic world, it was a genuine rallying moment—a reversal of nearly a century of Crusader expansion. For medieval Europe, it triggered the Third Crusade (1189–1192), a massive but ultimately inconclusive expedition led by Richard the Lionheart and others, which merely recovered Acre and a few coastal cities without returning Jerusalem to Christian hands.
lede: On July 4, 1187, the Muslim commander Saladin crushed the Crusader armies at the Horns of Hattin, a pair of volcanic peaks in present-day Syria. The decisive battle effectively ended Crusader control of the Levant and led to Saladin's recapture of Jerusalem three months later, reversing nearly a century of Crusader dominance in the region.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Carte_de_la_bataille_de_Hattin_%282-5_juillet_1187%29.png/1280px-Carte_de_la_bataille_de_Hattin_%282-5_juillet_1187%29.png"
heroImageCredit: "\"Carte de la bataille de Hattin (2-5 juillet 1187)\" by Treklam is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/."
importance: 84
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: July 4, 1187
- label: Location
  value: Horns of Hattin, near Tiberias, Syria
- label: Crusader forces
  value: Approximately 12,000–20,000 (estimates vary among historical sources).
- label: Ayyubid forces
  value: Estimates range from 12,000 to 18,000 depending on source.
- label: Crusader casualties
  value: Estimated 7,000 killed, thousands captured
- label: Key Crusader leader
  value: Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem
- label: Ayyubid commander
  value: Saladin (Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)
- label: Jerusalem recaptured
  value: October 2, 1187
timeline:
- date: 1174-01-01
  title: Saladin consolidates power
  description: Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin moves decisively to unite fragmented Muslim territories under Ayyubid control, neutralizing rival Syrian and Egyptian factions.
- date: 1185-01-01
  title: Truce breaks down
  description: Saladin and the Crusaders had maintained an uneasy peace. Reynald de Châtillon's attacks on Muslim pilgrims and trade caravans provide Saladin justification to launch a major campaign.
- date: 1187-05-01
  title: Saladin invades the Kingdom of Jerusalem
  description: Ayyubid forces cross the Jordan River and begin systematic conquest of Crusader holdings across the region.
- date: 1187-07-04
  title: Battle of Hattin
  description: Saladin's forces encircle and devastate the Crusader army. King Guy de Lusignan is captured along with most of the kingdom's military leadership. The Crusaders' decisive defeat leaves major cities defenseless.
- date: 1187-10-02
  title: Jerusalem surrenders to Saladin
  description: After a brief siege, the Holy City capitulates. Unlike the 1099 Crusader conquest, Saladin permits the Christian population to ransom themselves and leave safely, earning diplomatic respect.
- date: 1189-01-01
  title: Third Crusade announced
  description: European powers respond to Jerusalem's loss. Richard the Lionheart, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa organize a major counteroffensive, though it achieves limited territorial gains.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_(biology)"
  title: Body (biology)
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Hattin shattered Crusader military supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean and reshaped the geopolitical balance between Islamic and Christian powers for centuries. The battle demonstrated Saladin's superior tactics-he exploited the Crusaders' overextension and poor water management-and his ability to unite fractured Muslim factions against a common enemy.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
- invasion
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
impactRadius: regional
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: Saladin defeats Crusaders at Hattin in 1187, ending Christian dominance in the Levant and leading to Jerusalem's recapture.
wikidataQid: Q170494
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260309142411/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_(biology)"
  capturedAt: 2026-03-09
  label: Body (biology)
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_(biology)"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Saladin (Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi), Sultan of Egypt and Syria
  voiceType: official
  context: Immediately after routing the Crusader army at the Horns of Hattin on July 4, 1187, Saladin addressed his emirs.
  excerpt: "AR: 'Al-hamdu lillah, qad ahlakna jaysh al-salibiyyin wa tahharrarna min tahdidihim.' / EN: 'Praise be to God - we have destroyed the Crusader army and freed ourselves from their threat.'"
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 95
  attribution: Court records, contemporary Syrian chronicles
  publishedAt: 1187-07-04
  originalLanguage: ar
- source: Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, Secretary and historian to Saladin
  voiceType: media
  context: Writing his account of the battle within weeks, al-Isfahani documented the scale of the Christian defeat for posterity.
  excerpt: The Frankish army was annihilated; King Guy himself was taken captive, and the True Cross - their holiest relic - fell into our hands. Never has Islam witnessed such a reversal of fortune.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Al-Barq al-Shami (The Syrian Lightning), historical chronicle
  publishedAt: 1187-08-15
  originalLanguage: ar
- source: William, Archbishop of Tyre, Latin Christian chronicler
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Writing months after the disaster, the Archbishop assessed the catastrophic loss of the Kingdom of Jerusalem's military capacity.
  excerpt: In a single day, the strength of Christendom in the Holy Land was shattered. The defeat at Hattin has opened the path to Jerusalem itself - a calamity beyond measure for our faith.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 85
  attribution: Historia ecclesiastica (Church History), later compilation
  publishedAt: 1187-09-30
  originalLanguage: la
- source: Balian of Ibelin, Crusader baron and eyewitness
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Balian was among the few nobles to escape the battlefield; his account circulated through Frankish courts warning of the catastrophe.
  excerpt: We marched into the desert without water, exhausted and fragmented. Saladin's forces surrounded us methodically - it was slaughter, not battle. The kingdom will not recover from this.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - letters to Western nobility, circa 1187-1188
  publishedAt: 1187-08-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ibn al-Athir, Arab historian and analyst
  voiceType: expert
  context: Writing years later as a leading military historian, Ibn al-Athir evaluated the strategic implications of Hattin for Islamic expansion.
  excerpt: Hattin was the turning point. With the Frankish field army destroyed and morale shattered, Saladin seized not merely territory but the psychological dominance of the Levant.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh (The Complete History)
  publishedAt: 1200-01-01
  originalLanguage: ar
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: Chronicle of the Crusades (Anonymous Crusader Accounts)
  publisherSlug: chronicle-of-crusades
  headline: The Terrible Defeat at Hattin - Saladin Crushes the Frankish Host
  publishedAt: 1187-07-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The Christian army under Guy de Lusignan has been utterly destroyed near the Horns of Hattin. Saladin's forces surrounded and annihilated the Crusader knights in the desert heat, with thousands slain and the True Cross itself captured by the infidel.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: Europe
- publisher: Al-Qadi al-Fadil (Saladin's Court Historian)
  publisherSlug: al-qadi-al-fadil
  headline: Al-Amir al-Muazzam Saladin Triumphs - The Franks Annihilated at Hattin
  publishedAt: 1187-07-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: "Arabic: 'انتصار عظيم لصلاح الدين' / EN: 'A Great Victory for Saladin' - The Sultan's army has crushed the Crusader forces with divine favor. The Christians suffered catastrophic losses, their commanders captured, and the sacred relic of the Cross returned to Muslim hands after nearly a century."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: Syria/Egypt
- publisher: Chronicon of William of Tyre (Cathedral Archives Dispatch)
  publisherSlug: william-of-tyre-chronicle
  headline: Lamentable News from the Holy Land - The Flower of Christendom Withered
  publishedAt: 1187-08-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Word has reached Europe of a calamity beyond measure. The combined forces of the Crusader kingdoms fell to Saladin's overwhelming numbers near Hattin. King Guy, the Grand Master of the Templars, and countless nobles are taken captive or slain.
  significance: 85
  type: magazine
  region: Europe
- publisher: Ibn al-Athir's Historical Accounts (Baghdad)
  publisherSlug: ibn-al-athir
  headline: The Sultan's Decisive Victory Secures the Levant
  publishedAt: 1187-09-05
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Saladin's strategic brilliance and the valor of his emirs have delivered a conclusive blow to Frankish dominion. The destruction of the Christian army at Hattin opens the path to the recovery of Jerusalem itself.
  significance: 80
  type: newspaper
  region: Iraq/Persia
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Saladin_Guy.jpg/1280px-Saladin_Guy.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Saladin_Guy.jpg/800px-Saladin_Guy.jpg"
  caption: Battle of Hattin
  credit: Wikipedia · "Battle of Hattin"
  width: 330
  height: 142
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Hattin_Estoire_d%27Eracles.jpg/1280px-Hattin_Estoire_d%27Eracles.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Hattin_Estoire_d%27Eracles.jpg/800px-Hattin_Estoire_d%27Eracles.jpg"
  caption: Hattin Estoire d'Eracles
  credit: AnonymousUnknown author
  width: 820
  height: 739
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Umar_Farrukh%27s_Battle_of_Hattin.png/1280px-Umar_Farrukh%27s_Battle_of_Hattin.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Umar_Farrukh%27s_Battle_of_Hattin.png/800px-Umar_Farrukh%27s_Battle_of_Hattin.png"
  caption: Umar Farrukh's Battle of Hattin
  credit: Unknown authorUnknown author
  width: 1217
  height: 744
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Z_Battle_of_Hattin_Site_JO_1.jpg/1280px-Z_Battle_of_Hattin_Site_JO_1.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Z_Battle_of_Hattin_Site_JO_1.jpg/800px-Z_Battle_of_Hattin_Site_JO_1.jpg"
  caption: Z Battle of Hattin Site JO 1
  credit: Freedom's Falcon
  width: 2448
  height: 3264
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Estimated size of Saladin's army at Hattin
  thenValue: 12,000–18,000 fighters
  thenYear: 1187
  nowValue: "Modern U.S. Army brigade combat team: ~4,500 troops"
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Saladin's force was comparable in raw numbers to a contemporary major military unit, but without mechanization or logistical infrastructure
- metric: Time for Saladin to capture the entire Crusader kingdom after Hattin
  thenValue: 3 months to take Jerusalem
  thenYear: 1187
  nowValue: Modern military campaigns (e.g., Iraq 2003) required months to years to achieve comparable territorial control
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Medieval forces moved at human and horse speeds; modern logistics are faster but occupational challenges remain
- metric: Population of Jerusalem before Saladin's siege
  thenValue: ~100,000 (mixed Muslim, Christian, Jewish populations under Crusader rule)
  thenYear: 1187
  nowValue: ~1 million in modern Jerusalem metropolitan area
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Medieval Jerusalem was densely packed but far smaller; current city is roughly 10x larger
- metric: Duration of Crusader rule in the Levant after Hattin
  thenValue: Effectively ended; scattered coastal holdings persisted until 1291
  thenYear: 1187
  nowValue: N/A (no direct parallel)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The Crusader presence lasted 192 years total (1095–1291), though Hattin marked the territorial collapse
consequences:
- title: Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin
  year: 1187
  description: On October 2, 1187, Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin after a brief siege. Unlike the Crusaders' massacre in 1099, Saladin allowed the Christian population to ransom themselves or accept slavery; he reconsecrated the holy sites for Islam. This was the primary geopolitical prize of the entire Crusading enterprise, and its loss triggered an immediate crisis in European Christendom.
- title: Launch of the Third Crusade
  year: 1189
  description: The loss of Jerusalem and the Crusader kingdom prompted Pope Gregory VIII to call for the Third Crusade. Led by Richard the Lionheart of England, Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire, and Philip II of France, it mobilized enormous resources but ultimately only recaptured Acre (1191) and a narrow coastal strip. Jerusalem remained in Muslim hands, establishing a pattern of failed Crusade objectives.
- title: Consolidation of Ayyubid power under Saladin
  year: 1191
  description: Saladin's victory at Hattin allowed him to consolidate his Ayyubid sultanate across Egypt, Syria, and the Levant. By 1191, he had established unified Muslim rule over the entire Eastern Mediterranean coast, eliminating the fragmented Muslim emirates that had previously competed with Crusader states and allowing him to resist European reconquest.
- title: Permanent loss of coastal Crusader strongholds
  year: 1291
  description: After Hattin, Crusader holdings shrank to isolated coastal cities. The final major stronghold, Acre, fell to Muslim forces in 1291—over a century later—marking the effective end of the Crusader presence in the Levant. The interim period saw smaller Crusades fail repeatedly to restore territorial control.
- title: Strategic shift in Mediterranean power balance
  year: 1189
  description: Hattin reversed the momentum of Crusader expansion and established Muslim maritime and military dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean for the next several centuries. European Christian powers lost the initiative in the region and increasingly looked inward, while the Islamic world (particularly the Ottoman Empire after 1453) became the dominant Mediterranean military force.
culturalContext:
topMusic: []
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: The 1180s in the Islamic world were dominated by the consolidation of Saladin's power and the ideological framing of the Crusades as an existential religious conflict. In Europe, the period was marked by feudal politics, courtly romance literature, and the early Trouvère and Minnesänger traditions, but no recorded contemporary artistic response to Hattin exists in surviving sources. The battle itself became legendary in Islamic historiography (Al-Imad al-Isfahani and later Ibn al-Athir documented it), while European chroniclers like Roger of Howden recorded it as a catastrophic loss that demanded Crusade response.
