Afterward, in the spring of 1170, Nur ad-Din sent Saladin's father to Egypt in compliance with Saladin's request, as well as encouragement from the Baghdad-based Abbasid caliph, al-Mustanjid, who aimed to pressure Saladin in deposing his rival caliph, al-Adid.

Saladin aimed to persuade the caliph claiming that while he conquered Egypt and Yemen under the flag of the Abbasids, the Zengids of Mosul openly supported the Seljuks ( rivals of the caliphate ) and only came to the caliph when in need.

) But, as Saladin wrote, " Satan incited Guy to do what ran counter to his purpose.

Saladin, fearing the tenuousness of both his hold on Egypt and the alliance with his Syrian vassals, spread propaganda that the Christians had in fact lost the battle.

Shirkuh became vizier, although he himself died in March, and was succeeded by his nephew Saladin.

Over the next few years the kingdom was threatened not only by Saladin and Nur ad-Din, but also by the Hashshashin ; in one episode, the Knights Templar murdered some Hashshashin envoys, leading to further disputes between Amalric and the Templars.

The Latin clergy were expelled after the city was captured by Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Syria.

In 1169 Saladin was appointed as the new vizier of Egypt by the Fatimids and two years later he would seize power from the family of the last Fatimid caliph, al -' Āḍid.

In 1183, a census was taken of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, to ascertain the number of men and amount of money that could possibly be raised against an invasion by Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria.

* 1192 – Richard the Lion-Heart is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third crusade.

A 12th-century treatise prepared by Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi for Saladin records an Arab version of Greek fire, called naft, which also had a petroleum base, with sulphur and various resins added.

In 1187, the Crusaders were evicted by the Ayyubid forces of Saladin after their victory in the Battle of Hattin, and the town slowly went into decline.

The first kingdom lasted from 1099 to 1187, when it was almost entirely overrun by Saladin.

The fragmentation of the Muslim east allowed for the initial success of the crusade, but as the 12th century progressed, the kingdom's Muslim neighbours were united by Nur ad-Din Zangi and Saladin, who vigorously began to recapture lost territory.

Shawar was promptly assassinated, and when Shirkuh died in 1169, he was succeeded by his nephew Yusuf, better known as Saladin.

The subsequent events have often been interpreted as a struggle between two opposing factions, the " court party ", made up of Baldwin's mother, Amalric's first wife Agnes of Courtenay, her immediate family, and recent arrivals from Europe who were inexperienced in the affairs of the kingdom and who were in favour of war with Saladin ; and the " noble party ", led by Raymond of Tripoli and the lesser nobility of the kingdom, who favoured peaceful co-existence with the Muslims.

The inexperienced Guy led the Frankish army against Saladin's incursions into the kingdom, but neither side made any real gains, and Guy was criticized by his opponents for not striking against Saladin when he had the chance.

In October 1183 Isabella married Humphrey of Toron at Kerak, during a siege by Saladin, who perhaps hoped to take some valuable prisoners.

Raymond of Tripoli, Balian of Ibelin, and Reginald of Sidon escaped, but Raynald was executed by Saladin and Guy was imprisoned in Damascus.

Grand Master Gérard de Ridefort was beheaded by Saladin in 1189 at the Siege of Acre.

He spent most of his father's treasury ( filled with money raised by the Saladin tithe ), raised taxes, and even agreed to free King William I of Scotland from his oath of subservience to Richard in exchange for marks.

The emperor demanded that marks ( 65, 000 pounds of silver ) be delivered to him before he would release the king, the same amount raised by the Saladin tithe only a few years earlier, and 2 – 3 times the annual income for the English Crown under Richard.

Muslim sources at the time, however, put Saladin in the " baggage of the center " with orders to lure the enemy into a trap by staging a false retreat.

The battle ended in a Zengid victory, and Saladin is credited to have helped Shirkuh in one of the " most remarkable victories in recorded history ", according to Ibn al-Athir, although more of Shirkuh's men were killed and the battle is considered by most sources as not a total victory.

In 1169, Shawar was reportedly assassinated by Saladin, and Shirkuh died later that year.

Ibn al-Athir claims that the caliph chose him after being told by his advisers that " there is no one weaker or younger " than Saladin, and " not one of the emirs obeyed him or served him.

" Although positions were complicated by rival Muslim leaders, the bulk of the Syrian rulers supported Saladin due to his role in the Egyptian expedition, in which he gained a record of military qualifications.

According to Imad ad-Din, Nur ad-Din wrote to Saladin in June 1171, telling him to reestablish the Abbasid caliphate in Egypt, which Saladin coordinated two months later after additional encouragement by Najm ad-Din al-Khabushani, the Shafi ' i faqih, who vehemently opposed Shia rule in the country.

Saladin conquered Aleppo two years later, ending Zengid rule in Syria.

His plot was eventually foiled by Prince Alexander with help from Captain Saladin ( captain of the guard who was suspicious and helped after reading a letter showing the truth ) and the resurrected King and Queen in the long path's ending.

In the short path's ending, Captain Saladin says that he was banished forever from the Land of the Green Isles.

Later, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ramla between Richard and Saladin, ending the crusade.

The siege was long and famine broke out in the Christian camp ; the Byzantines and crusades blamed each other for the failure, and a truce was signed with Saladin.

The siege was lifted in December and Saladin retreated to Damascus.

Saladin attempted another siege in 1184, but Baldwin repelled that attack as well, and Saladin raided Nablus and other towns on the way home.

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 siege was set, but the governor of Tell Khalid surrendered upon the arrival of Saladin himself on May 17 before a siege could take place.

Izz al-Din would not accept his terms because he considered them disingenuous and extensive, and Saladin immediately laid siege to the heavily fortified city.

After several minor skirmishes and a stalemate in the siege that was initiated by the caliph, Saladin intended to find a way to withdraw from the siege without damage to his reputation while still keeping up some military pressure.

When the siege had started, Saladin was unwilling to promise terms of quarter to the Frankish inhabitants of Jerusalem until Balian of Ibelin threatened to kill every Muslim hostage, estimated at 5000, and to destroy Islam's holy shrines of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque if quarter was not given.

In August, the unfinished castle at Jacob's Ford fell to Saladin after a brief siege, with the slaughter of half its Templar garrison.

Baldwin marshalled what strength he had and lifted the siege, but Guy refused to fight Saladin and Saladin's troops simply went home.

On July 2, Saladin, who wanted to lure Guy into moving his army away from the springs at Saffuriya, personally led a siege of Raymond's fortress of Tiberias while the main Muslim army remained at Kafr Sabt.

In May 1182, Saladin finally captured Aleppo after a brief siege ; the new governor of the city, Imad al-Din Zangi II, was unpopular with his subjects and surrendered Aleppo after Saladin agreed to restore his previous control over Sinjar, ar-Raqqah, and Nusaybin — which would act as vassal territories under the Ayyubids.

Mosul had been subjected to a short siege in the autumn of 1182, but after mediation by the Abbasid caliph an-Nasir, Saladin withdrew his forces.

In November 1187, Saladin returned for a second siege of Tyre.

Saladin was forced to pull back yet again, burning his siege engines and ships to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

When journalist Robert Fisk watched the film in a Beirut cinema, he reported that the Muslim audience rose to their feet and applauded wildly during a scene in the film in which Saladin respectfully places a fallen cross back on top of a table after it had fallen during the three-day siege of the city.

Raymond thus unsuccessfully argued in favor of peace with Saladin, but, ironically, it was Saladin's siege of Raymond's Countess in Tiberias that led the Crusader army into Galilee before its defeat at Hattin in 1187, and although Raymond survived the battle, he died soon afterwards.

" Because of the hill Saladin was unable to use siege engines, but after almost two years the castle finally fell to his troops in May 1189, after which the defenders ' families were returned to them.

Saladin did not lift the siege but agreed not to target Humphrey and Isabella's wedding chamber.