How far was Saladin able to unite the Muslim world from 1174 to 1187?
The battle of Montgisard * In 1177 the Crusader kingdom was facing the prospect of a succession crisis. King Baldwin IV was a leper and could not leave an heir. His sister Sibylla had been left widowed and pregnant by William of Montferrat, and the nobles of the kingdom began to seek another suitable husband. At the same time, Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders, arrived on pilgrimage, and demanded that Sibylla be married off to one of his vassals. Philip and Baldwin also planned an alliance with the Byzantine Empire for a naval attack on Egypt; but none of these plans came to fruition. * Meanwhile, Saladin planned his own invasion of the kingdom from Egypt. Learning of Saladin's plans, Baldwin IV left Jerusalem with, according to William of Tyre, only 375 knights to attempt a defense at Ascalon, but Baldwin was blockaded there by Saladin, who, again according to William of Tyre, 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, and was the effective commander of the army, with King Baldwin too ill to command it personally. Also with the army were Odo de St Amand, master of the Knights Templar, Baldwin of Ibelin, his brother Balian, Reginald of Sidon, and Joscelin III of Edessa. Another Templar force attempted to meet Baldwin at Ascalon, but they were also besieged at Gaza. * Saladin continued his march towards Jerusalem, thinking that Baldwin would not dare to follow him with so few men. He attacked Ramla, 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 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 recalled his army as quickly as possible, organizing it into a centre flanked by two forward wings, one of which was commanded by his nephew Taqi ad-Din, but the cavalry had not rested since leaving Egypt and the horses were exhausted. While Saladin manoeuvered his flanks so that a nearby tell would be at their rear, the Christians attacked the centre line. * The Muslims were routed with heavy casualties, and their baggage was lost to the Christians. Taqi ad-Din's son, Ahmad, was killed in the fighting, and the jurist Diya ad-Din Isa was taken prisoner. Saladin himself escaped only because he rode a racing camel. The Old French translation of William of Tyre, commonly attributed to Ernoul, recorded that St. George took the field alongside Baldwin and Raynald.

Saladin takes Mosul and Aleppo * He continued towards Aleppo which still closed its gates to him, halting before the city. On the way, his army took Buza'a, then captured Manbij. From there they headed west to besiege the fortress of A'zaz on 15 May. Several days later, while Saladin was resting in one of his captain's tents, an assassin rushed forward at him and struck at his head with a knife. The cap of his head armour was not penetrated and he managed to grip the assassin's hand—the dagger only slashing his gambeson—and the assailant was soon killed. Saladin was unnerved at the attempt on his life, which he accused Gumushtugin and the Assassins of plotting, and so increased his efforts in the siege. * A'zaz capitulated on 21 June, and Saladin then hurried his forces to Aleppo to punish Gumushtigin. His assaults were again resisted, but he managed to secure not only a truce, but a mutual alliance with Aleppo, in which Gumushtigin and as-Salih were allowed to continue their hold on the city and in return, they recognized Saladin as the sovereign over all of the dominions he conquered. The emirs of Mardin and Keyfa, the Muslim allies of Aleppo, also recognised Saladin as the King of Syria. When the treaty was concluded, the younger sister of as-Salih came to Saladin and requested the return of the Fortress of A'zaz; he complied and escorted her back to the gates of Aleppo with numerous presents.

How did attitudes between East and West change in the period 1119 to 1192? * During the early years of the crusader kingdom the Westerners were in a tiny minority; despite the slaughter of those in Jerusalem in 1099, the Christians could not be at war continously with the Muslims. * The crusaders in the early decades of the new kingdom often established alliances with Muslim factions; they needed the military and economic support of the indigenous populations and could not afford to overtax or treat them harshly for fear of rebellion * The defeat at the Battle of the Field of Blood in 1119, where Prince Roger of Antioch and large numbers of the Antioch nobility were killed, was something of a turning point. * The church council at Nablus in 1120 forbade sexual relations between Muslims and Christians; the severity of the punishments imposed certainly suggests that people were conducting sexual relations across the religious divide * Attitudes after the Second Crusade continued to harden; while it used to be thought that the western settles adapted to the eastern way of life, they probably remained more aloof and segregated, inhabiting only certain areas