On Richard I's Achievements In The Third Crusade And Their Causes

The crusades to the East occupies a unique place in the'growth of Europe'. In some sense the passagia were at the zenith on the Third Crusade. Richard I played a leading role on the crusade; the Third Crusade was very much his crusade. It had very far-reaching implications for the crusades to the Eastern Mediterranean and for the expansion of Catholic Christendom. The dissertation comprises the preface, the body, the epilogue and an appendix with a chronology and two maps.The preface touched upon the research significance and overview.The body was made three parts, the first of which addressed the origin and launching of the Third Crusade, the rise of Richard, and his preparations for the crusade. Europe, in a shambles, resulted in the protracted'fallow period'in crusading. Fighting against the rebels, Capetian kings, and his own brothers and even father, Richard came to be the ruler of the Angevin Empire. The long dormant crusading zeal had been re-ignited by the catastrophic defeat of the battle of Hattin and the loss of Jerusalem. Richard I worked with the system of government that Henry II had already brought to a sound level of achievement, and thereby draw the material resources necessary for his adventure ultra mare.The second part dealed with the achievements of Richard I in the Third Crusade. His triumphs in the siege of Acre and in the battle of Arsuf did much to weaken the fighting power of the Muslim armies. Meanwhile, Richard I initiated the complicated negotiations and the friendly contacts with the Muslim world, which defused the spirit of religious hostility, created the mutual trust and understanding, and secured the fruits of his crusading military victories. The Treaty of Jaffa suggested that Saladin had recognized the Frankish presence in the Holy Land. From Richard I's conquest of Cyprus onwards, it had been the granary of the crusaders'states, the springboard of the crusades to the east, and ultimately, the sole outpost of the western Europeans in the Eastern Mediterranean.The third part analyzed the reasons why Richard I achieved so much on the crusade. In Saladin's case, both his inner strength and military advantages were partly nullified by the ethnic frictions, the political dilemma, and the diplomatic isolation, but the Muslims still had the overwhelming potential. For Richard's part, his rebelliousness in character, his valiant chivalry, his evident knowledge of warfare, and especially his great material resources, all forced Saladin to concede, but the Franks also faced so many difficulties. The Franks'reconciliation with the Muslims was either the immediate consequence of the stalemate, or the important reflection of commercial ties, of social intercourse, and of cultural cross-fertilization between them.The epilogue pointed out the enormous significance of the Third Crusade.