Siege of Acre

From August 28, 1189 to July 12, 1191, the Crusader armies surrounded Acre. Guy of Lusignan established a camp in the north, soon joined by French reinforcements led by Philip II then Richard the Lionheart. For nearly two years, daily fighting, rolling tower assaults and naval blockade stifled the Ayyubid garrison. Exhausted by famine and deprived of hope of relief, the city capitulated to the crusading kings.

After Hattin, Acre became the main Ayyubid port in Palestine. Guy of Lusignan, contested as king, hopes to reconquer the city to legitimize his authority. The French contingents – Burgundians, Champagne, Picards – arrived in 1190, followed by Philip II (April 1191) with a fleet loaded with siege engines, then by Richard in June with his Poitevin knights. Saladin tried several times to break the encirclement but was unable to cross the line of crossed fortifications.

The crusaders built a double line of entrenchments: exterior ramparts to repel Saladin's attacks, interior palisades to maintain the siege. Philippe breeds the large mangonel 'La Malvoisine' which beats the Saint-Nicolas gate; Richard leads targeted assaults and coordinates the Pisan and Genoese fleet in order to block the outer harbor. French sappers dug mines, burned the Ayyubid sulfur towers and took advantage of a breach opened on July 11 to force the surrender.

The capture of Acre gives the Latins a deep port capable of welcoming reinforcements from France and Italy. Philip II, ill, leaves but leaves garrison and engineers; Richard retains the city and settles the succession dispute between Guy and Conrad de Montferrat. The treaty required the payment of a heavy tribute by Saladin and the exchange of thousands of prisoners, although their execution by Richard on the hill of Ayyadieh aroused Muslim indignation. Acre becomes the administrative capital of the reconstituted Kingdom of Jerusalem.