Richard the Lionheart and Saladin: Leaders in the Crusades

King Richard is described as one lion-hearted, due to his brave and courageous actions that characterized his leadership as the king of England as well as leading his countrys army to win various battles against Muslims in the Middle East. He is famous for his advances against, Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and the leader of Muslim warriors. He enticed his men with rewards, so they would put up a strong fighting spirit against their enemies. Richard is also known for his role in the rebellion against his father, King Henry of England.

He defied attempts by his father to let his youngest son inherit him by asserting himself and eventually became the king of England. King Richard was an admirable commander. (Stark, 2017).

Skillful Military CommanderThough he, alongside King Philip of France never won over the city of Jerusalem, they did pen a truce with the Turks, then led by Saladin. Under the truce, Christians whose army Richard led were allowed to occupy some coastal areas and could as well visit the other areas occupied by the Muslim in Jerusalem. Due to his respect, Christians would be accorded some kindness by the Muslims in Jerusalem. Saladin would as well extend the same regard to the bishop of Jerusalem.

He raised money to fund the army through additional taxes. He had won the fight to gain control of Arsuf, establishing the capital at Gaffla. However, Saladin would recapture Arsuf while Richard was away. When he came back, Richard led his army to recapture Arsuf. He masterminded massacre at Acre, an act that almost divided Saladin forces since they were envious of Richardss victory. He was a fighter, a spirited one, perhaps they could have won over Jerusalem were it not for the death of King Philip of France. However, even after the death of King Philip, he would later stage a fierce fight that almost retained control over Jerusalem. (Stark, 2017).The TurksThe Turks were referred to as nomadic warriors with a strong fighting tradition.

The Turks were in need of more education and in need of a well-educated leader and upon conversion to Islam, they are more effective under the leadership of a famous warrior, Saladin. Saladin, also a sultan, would lead them to a successful war against Christian crusaders, capturing several states in Syria among other parts of Middle East. Their last victory being the famous third crusade to recapture the city of Jerusalem. The city had been held for long by the Christians. They won a hard battle against the Christians from England and France combined (Stark, 2013).Christian-Muslim RelationsOverall, I would term relations between Christians and Muslims as more negative than positive. Despite the desire by some Muslims to convert to Christianity, the majority of the Muslims were of the option of uniting to form a formidable alliance that would win a war against an enemy.

Although they fought on many occasions, they were both willing to cooperate on some situations as well. Though Christians would at times pursue failed policies in the Middle East like the Damascus policy, they still won in other agreements mainly for their own interests. The agreements were meant to help their army advance in conquering more and more cities. However their relations were by far different than those of the whites and blacks (Stark, 2017).

References

• Stark, R., & Bainbridge, W. S. (2013).
• Religion, deviance, and social control. Routledge.Stark, R. (2017).
• Why God?: Explaining Religious Phenomena. Templeton Foundation Press.Stark, R., Wei, D., & Zhong, Z. (2015).
• Sociology of Religion: A Rodney Stark Reader. Baylor University Press.

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