Battle of Montgisard (1177): Baldwin IV Defeats Saladin

The Battle of Montgisard was fought on 25 November 1177 near Ramla, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, between the crusader army of King Baldwin IV and the invading forces of Saladin, sultan of Egypt. The 16-year-old king, already ill with leprosy, surprised and routed a much larger army. It was one of the most complete crusader victories of the twelfth century and Saladin’s worst defeat.

Background

By 1177 Saladin ruled Egypt and had taken over Damascus after the death of Nur ad-Din in 1174. His growing power threatened the Kingdom of Jerusalem from both south and north-east. That autumn the kingdom was also expecting help from Europe: Count Philip of Flanders had arrived with crusaders, and plans for a joint attack on Egypt with the Byzantine fleet had broken down.

Instead, Philip, Count Raymond III of Tripoli and Prince Bohemond III of Antioch marched north to besiege the Muslim town of Harim in Syria, taking many of the kingdom’s knights with them. Saladin saw an opportunity and led an army out of Egypt into southern Palestine in November 1177.

What happened

Baldwin IV, ruling in his own right only since 1176, gathered about 375 knights and hurried to the coastal fortress of Ascalon. Saladin left a force to watch him there and advanced inland, confident that the Franks were trapped. His troops spread out to plunder the countryside, burning Ramla and threatening Lydda, while the road to Jerusalem lay open.

The king, however, broke out of Ascalon and moved north along the coast. He joined up with about 80 Knights Templar under their master, Odo of St Amand, who had come from Gaza. Raynald of Châtillon, the lord of Oultrejordain, was with the army and is often credited with leading it in the field. William of Tyre adds that the relic of the True Cross was carried before the army by the Bishop of Bethlehem.

On 25 November the Frankish force caught Saladin’s army near a hill the Franks called Montgisard. Saladin’s troops were dispersed and his baggage was slowing them down. The Frankish knights charged before the Muslim army could form a proper line. Saladin’s Mamluk bodyguard fought hard to protect him, but the army broke and fled.

The retreat

Saladin escaped, reportedly on a racing camel, but his retreat across the Sinai desert in winter turned into a disaster. Bedouin raiders attacked stragglers, and many men were killed or captured. Muslim chroniclers acknowledged the scale of the defeat. Among the dead was a young son of Saladin’s nephew Taqi al-Din.

Key people

• Baldwin IV, king of Jerusalem, aged 16 and already suffering from leprosy, who led the army in person.
• Saladin, sultan of Egypt and ruler of Damascus, who commanded the invasion and narrowly escaped capture.
• Raynald of Châtillon, lord of Oultrejordain and a former prince of Antioch, the most experienced commander with the king.
• Odo of St Amand, master of the Knights Templar, whose knights from Gaza joined the royal army.
• Taqi al-Din, Saladin’s nephew and one of his senior commanders, who lost a son in the battle.

By the numbers

Consequences

The victory saved Jerusalem from an immediate threat and greatly raised Baldwin’s prestige. In thanks, he founded a Benedictine monastery on the battlefield dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose feast falls on 25 November.

The result did not last. Saladin rebuilt his forces within months. In 1179 he defeated the Franks at Marj Ayyun and destroyed the new castle of Jacob’s Ford on the Jordan. In the long run, his control of Egypt and Syria gave him far greater resources than the kingdom. Ten years later, he destroyed its army at the Battle of Hattin.

Legacy

Montgisard became part of the legend of Baldwin IV, the Leper King, a young, sick ruler defeating the greatest Muslim commander of his age. In the nineteenth century the French painter Charles-Philippe Larivière depicted the battle for the Hall of the Crusades at Versailles. The battle has since featured in popular histories and in films and games about the crusades.

Saladin himself is said to have learned from the defeat. In later campaigns he kept his forces more concentrated and was wary of being surprised.

Timeline

• 1174, May: Nur ad-Din dies; Saladin begins taking over his Syrian lands.
• 1177, autumn: Philip of Flanders and northern Frankish lords march to besiege Harim.
• 1177, November: Saladin invades southern Palestine; Baldwin IV moves to Ascalon.
• 1177, 25 November: Baldwin IV routs Saladin’s army near Ramla.
• 1179, June: Saladin defeats the Franks at Marj Ayyun.
• 1179, August: Saladin destroys the castle at Jacob’s Ford.

Why it matters

Montgisard showed that a small, well-led crusader force could defeat a larger army caught off guard. It made Baldwin IV a hero and delayed Saladin’s plans, but it could not overturn the underlying shift of power that ended in the fall of Jerusalem in 1187.