They are the two great names of the Third Crusade, enemies who came to respect each other across the battle line. Saladin united the Muslim Near East and retook Jerusalem; Richard the Lionheart came from England to win it back. Here they are, side by side.
Uniting the Muslim Near East and retaking Jerusalem
The warrior-king of the Third Crusade
Reputation
Praised even by his enemies for his chivalry
A fearless soldier, less sure as a ruler
The crusade
Held Jerusalem against the Crusade
Won battles but never retook Jerusalem
Lasting legacy
A hero of the Muslim world, admired in the West
The model of the English warrior-king
Saladin: the uniter
Saladin united Egypt and Syria and, at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, destroyed the main Crusader army and went on to retake Jerusalem, held by the Crusaders since 10993. His reputation for generosity and chivalry was so great that even his enemies in Europe praised him.
An imagined portrait of Saladin by Cristofano dell'Altissimo, painted between 1552 and 1568 for the Medici portrait series now in the Uffizi. Public domain
Richard: the warrior-king
Richard the Lionheart led the Third Crusade to recover what Saladin had taken. A formidable soldier, he beat Saladin at Arsuf in 1191 and came within reach of Jerusalem2, but could not take and hold the city. In 1192 the two agreed a truce4 that left Jerusalem in Saladin's hands but reopened it to Christian pilgrims4.
Richard the Lionheart in an 1841 portrait by Merry-Joseph Blondel, painted for the series of famous crusaders commissioned by King Louis Philippe for Versailles. Public domain
The verdict
Saladin achieved the greater strategic aim: he took Jerusalem and kept it. Richard was arguably the finer battlefield commander, unbeaten against Saladin in the open field, but victory in battle could not win him the war. Their rivalry is remembered less for who won than for the respect that grew between them, a rare chivalry across a bitter religious war.
Richard strikes Saladin with his lance in the Luttrell Psalter, an English manuscript of about 1325 to 1335. The duel is legend: the two kings never fought each other in person. Public domain
Each commander above has a full biography on this site, with its own sources. Judgements of who was "greater" are ours and openly a matter of debate; the facts and dates follow established histories. See our editorial approach.
Frequently asked questions
Who won, Saladin or Richard?
Strategically Saladin: he kept Jerusalem. Richard won battles like Arsuf in 1191 but could not retake the city, and the two agreed a truce in 1192 that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands with access for Christian pilgrims.
Did Saladin and Richard ever meet?
By most accounts they never met face to face5, though they exchanged messages and gifts and negotiated through envoys, and each spoke with respect of the other.
What was the Battle of Hattin?
At Hattin in 1187 Saladin trapped and destroyed the main Crusader army3 in the waterless hills above the Sea of Galilee, opening the way to retake Jerusalem.
Why did Richard not take Jerusalem?
Richard twice advanced near Jerusalem6 but judged he could not besiege and then hold it so far from the coast with Saladin's forces intact, so he settled for a truce securing the coast and pilgrim access.
Why are they both remembered as chivalrous?
Stories of mutual courtesy, such as Saladin sending aid when Richard was ill7, made both men symbols of chivalry, though some of the tales grew in the retelling.
Sources and notes
Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.
World History Encyclopedia (Mark Cartwright), “Saladin”↩
Thomas Asbridge, The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land (Simon & Schuster, 2010). ↩
John Gillingham, Richard I (Yale University Press (Yale English Monarchs), 1999). ↩
Baha al-Din Ibn Shaddad, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, trans. D. S. Richards (Ashgate, Crusade Texts in Translation 7, 2001), eyewitness account of the 1191 to 1192 campaign, the negotiations conducted through envoys, and Saladin sending fruit and snow to the sick Richard in 1192. ↩
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