Battle of Montgisard
The
Battle of Montgisard was fought between
Saladin and the
Kingdom of Jerusalem on
November 25,
1177.
In 1177 the kingdom had planned an alliance with the
Byzantine Empire for a naval attack on
Egypt;
Philip of Alsace,
count of Flanders, arrived early in the year hoping to organize this attack, but the plans were abandonded.
Meanwhile, Saladin planned his own invasion of the kingdom from Egypt. Learning of Saladin's plans,
Baldwin IV left
Jerusalem with 500
knights to attempt a defense at
Ascalon, but Baldwin was blockaded there by Saladin, who had 26,000 men. Accompanying Baldwin was
Raynald of Chatillon, lord of
Oultrejordain, who had just been released from captivity in
Aleppo in
1176. Raynald was a fierce enemy of Saladin. The
Knights Templar attempted to meet Baldwin at Ascalon, but they were also besieged at
Gaza.
Saladin executed his Christian prisoners and continued his march towards Jerusalem, thinking that Baldwin would not dare to follow him with so few men. He captured
Ramla and besieged
Lydda and
Arsuf, but because Baldwin was supposedly not a danger, he allowed his army to be spread out over a large area, pillaging and foraging. However, Baldwin and the Templars both escaped their blockades, and marched out along the coast, hoping to meet Saladin before he reached Jerusalem.
The combined force of Baldwin and the Templars amounted to Baldwin's 500 knights, 80 Templars, and a few thousand infantry. They met Saladin at Montgisard near Ramla, surprising him completely, as his army was not prepared for a pitched battle. Saladin's personal bodyguard of
Mamluks was destroyed and the rest of his troops were defeated as well. Saladin fled back to Egypt, harassed by
Bedouins along the way. Only one tenth of his army made it back to Egypt with him.
Baldwin followed him into the Sinai peninsula, but was unable to gain an advantage and Saladin renewed his attacks in
1179. There was however an intervening year of peace, something the Crusader kingdom had not had in many years, and the victory soon became a heroic legend.
The battle of Montgisard is alluded in the
2005 movie Kingdom of Heaven, as a battle where King Baldwin IV defeated Saladin when he was sixteen.
An account of the battle is also given in Swedish author
Jan Guillou's novel
Tempelriddaren (ISBN 91-1-300733-5), in which the protagonist, Arn Magnusson (de Gothia) is portrayed as commander of the
Knights Templar at the battle of Montgisard.
