Massacre at Ayyadieh facts for kids

The Massacre of Ayyadieh was a sad event that happened during the Third Crusade. It took place on August 20, 1191, near the city of Acre. After the city of Acre was captured, King Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, ordered a large number of Muslim prisoners to be killed. This happened in front of the armies of Sultan Saladin. Later, Saladin ordered some Christian prisoners to be killed in return.

The Massacre by King Richard

After the city of Acre fell, King Richard I had many Muslim prisoners. He wanted to exchange them for important things. These included the True Cross, a Christian relic, and a lot of gold. He also wanted 1600 Christian prisoners held by Saladin to be set free.

A deal was made between King Richard and Saladin. A time limit was set for Saladin to give back the True Cross and the Christian prisoners. However, the two leaders started to distrust each other. They couldn't agree on who should release their prisoners first.

When the time limit ran out, King Richard felt that Saladin was just delaying. So, he made a difficult decision. On August 16, he ordered all the prisoners from Acre to be taken to a small hill called Ayyadieh. He then ordered about 2700 Turkish prisoners to be led out of the city. They were killed there.

Some people at the time, even some Christians, thought Richard's actions were very harsh. A writer named Baha ad-Din, who was with Saladin's army, said that even many Crusaders didn't understand why Richard did this. Parts of Saladin's army became very angry. They tried to attack the Crusader soldiers. But the Crusaders were able to hold them back and leave safely.

Saladin's Response

After the massacre at Ayyadieh, any hope of getting the True Cross back was lost. It was believed that Saladin had sent it to Damascus. In response to King Richard's actions, Saladin ordered the 1600 Christian prisoners in Damascus to be killed.

As news of the massacre spread, Christian prisoners in other places were also killed. This was done as revenge for what happened at Ayyadieh. Historians say that between August 22 and 30, as Richard's army moved from Acre, Saladin's horsemen attacked them. They took some prisoners. These prisoners were questioned and then killed as revenge.

Historians have studied how Saladin treated prisoners of war. Even though he was known for being generous at times, his treatment of prisoners could be very harsh. When he was winning battles, he was often kind to people he conquered. But when he faced defeats, his behavior towards prisoners changed. They were often killed. For example, after losing Acre and the Ayyadieh massacre, Saladin was very frustrated. This led to more prisoners being killed.