Richard the Lionheart and the massacre of captives

This was one of the worst wartime atrocities of all time. King Richard the Lionheart ordered the execution of about 2,700 Saracen prisoners outside the city walls of Acre in 1191. This appalling event happened during the Third Crusade. The massacre at Ayyadieh was one of the most controversial incidents of all the crusades.

The Third Crusade pitched Richard the Lionheart against Saladin – a brilliant Kurdish leader who united Egypt and Syria, founding the Ayyubid dynasty, and becoming the most powerful Muslim ruler in the region. The rivalry between the two men enthralled contemporary chroniclers and has fascinated writers and historians ever since. Though incredibly, the two warriors never met.

They were utterly ruthless. In 1187, Saladin defeated the Christian crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. Captives who were brothers in the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller were executed along with the notoriously violent prince of Antioch, Raynald of Châtillon. You may recall his beheading was portrayed in the Hollywood movie, Kingdom of Heaven.

So when Richard found himself with a large number of Muslim captives at Acre, he felt justified in showing very little mercy towards them. But the massacre that took place was not only a war crime by today’s standards, but shocked many at the time. Below we see a medieval depiction of this traumatic event.

Why did Richard the Lionheart give the order for a massacre? He had already won the siege of Acre and was involved in negotiations with Saladin over prisoner swaps and financial compensation. The king also wanted the return of the True Cross, a holy relic that had been taken by the Muslims after the capture of Jerusalem. But Saladin was dragging his feet and stalled when it came to a promised payment. Richard embarked on the slaughter to speed things up.

FIND OUT MORE: Links between the Knights Templar and the Cathars

There’s a brutal logic to Richard’s action. He would have suspected that Saladin was playing for time to marshal his forces and attempt to relieve Acre from the Christian besiegers. So, he took the captives – men, women, and children – to a raised hill and murdered all of them within sight of the Saracen armies.

The reputation of Richard the Lionheart – unaffected by the massacre

Richard’s reputation – surprisingly – wasn’t tarnished by this incident. For centuries, he was regarded as the quintessential crusader – bold and courageous. Although it was certainly noted during his reign that the King of England spent very little time in England. Though he was also king of much of France and regarded Anjou and Aquitaine as his ancestral home.

In popular culture, Richard became associated with the legendary Robin Hood. The story runs that Robin Hood was born into a noble family in Locksley. But he was denied his lawful right to become Earl of Huntingdon. He lived with a band of ‘merry men’ in Sherwood Forest where he robbed the rich to give to the poor. Like many in England, he suffered under the misrule of Richard’s brother John who ran the kingdom while the Lionheart was off on crusade.

In much later versions of the tale, Richard returns to England and in disguise gets to know Robin Hood and his band. After revealing himself, he grants the bandits a royal pardon and it’s even claimed he officiated at the marriage of Robin and Maid Marian. This is all purely fiction but it illustrates how Richard was viewed as a good king with the massacre entirely airbrushed from the record.

Beha ad-Din was a prominent Muslim historian who served as a close advisor to Saladin, and his accounts provide valuable insight into the events of the Third Crusade, including the massacre at Ayyadieh. He wrote:

“The Franks then flung themselves upon them all at once and massacred them with sword and lance in cold blood. Our advanced guard had already told the Sultan of the enemy’s movements and he sent it some reinforcements, but only after the massacre. The Muslims, seeing what was being done to the prisoners, rushed against the Franks and in the combat, which lasted till nightfall, several were slain and wounded on either side. On the morrow morning our people gathered at the spot and found the Muslims stretched out upon the ground as martyrs for the faith. They even recognised some of the dead, and the sight was a great affliction to them. The enemy had only spared the prisoners of note and such as were strong enough to work.“