Battle of Ramleh, 25 November 1177

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Battle that ended an early attempt by Saladin to crush the crusader states and capture Jerusalem. The relationship between the crusaders and Byzantium had just collapsed, while many of the crusaders were themselves absent campaigning in the north. On 18 November Saladin crossed the Egyptian border, intent on dashing up the coast towards Jerusalem. The Knights Templars rushed to defend Gaza, but Saladin ignored them and marched on past. King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem gathered together a small force of five hundred and managed to reach Ascalon before Saladin. Once again, Saladin chose to ignore the crusaders and march on towards Jerusalem, leaving a small force to pin down Baldwin in Ascalon.

Saladin now made a rare mistake. Knowing that there were no more crusader armies between him and Jerusalem, he allowed his army to relax, and spread out as it marched towards apparent glory. However, Baldwin managed to get a message to the Templars at Gaza. They joined him at Ascalon, and the united force broke out and raced to intercept Saladin. The crusaders came across Saladin and most of his army crossing a ravine near Ramleh. Their attack came as a complete surprise. Much of Saladin's army fled in the face of the attack, while Saladin was himself saved by his Mamluk guards, and was able to escape to Egypt. That part of his army that stood and fought was annihilated, while those who survived the battle were harassed all the way back to Egypt by the Bedouins of the Sinai.

For a brief moment, Saladin's empire was vulnerable to attack, either in Egypt or against Damascus, but the crusaders were in no position to take advantage of the moment, and the sole result of the battle was the give the crusader kingdoms another ten years of life.

Crusades Subject Index - Books on the Middle Ages

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (12 December 2001), Battle of Ramleh, 25 November 1177, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ramleh.html

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