The Strategy of Saladin 5: The Third Crusade (1187-1193)

 

The Strategy of Saladin 5 

The Third Crusade (1187-1193)

 

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. In the last video, we saw how Saladin had taken advantage of the Crusaders’ external and internal troubles, and in 1187 launched what would turn out to be a wildly successful campaign: destroying the Crusader army at Hattin, capturing the Holy City of Jerusalem, and conquering almost the entire Crusader Levant. Now, in the twilight of his life, he would have to hold all that he had gained against the might of the Third Crusade.

The Strategy of Saladin 4: The Conquest of Jerusalem (1185-1188)

The Strategy of Saladin 4

The Conquest of Jerusalem (1185-1188)

 

Introduction
Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. In the previous video, we detailed how the strategic and political failures of the Crusaders, particularly the Kingdom of Jerusalem, prevented them from effectively confronting Saladin. All these accumulated problems would come home to roost during the Hattin campaign of 1187, where Saladin would finally achieve his lifelong ambition.

The Strategy of Saladin 3: The View from Jerusalem (1150s-1185)

 

The Strategy of Saladin 3

The View from Jerusalem (1150s-1185)

 

Introduction

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. In the last video, we detailed how Saladin secured Egypt and conquered Syria, before committing to Holy War against the Crusader States. In 1187, this culminated in his decisive victory at Hattin, the surrender of Jerusalem, and the near-conquest of the Crusader Levant.

While Hattin and its aftermath demonstrated Saladin’s military and strategic competence, it was, above all, the end result of a decade of Crusader failure, both strategically and politically. We must therefore shift perspective temporarily towards them, and see why they failed so utterly to stop Saladin.

The Strategy of Saladin 2: Ruler of Egypt & Syria (1169-1186)

The Strategy of Saladin 2 

Ruler of Egypt & Syria (1169-1186)

 

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. When we last left Saladin in the spring of 1169, he had just been appointed Vizier of Fatimid Egypt, one of the richest states of the medieval world, and quite the promotion for a thirty-something-year-old. Inevitably, such power earned him internal and external enemies whose attacks he needed to fend off. Beyond them, Saladin’s rulership would also be further tested as he sought to satisfy both his own dynastic ambitions, and the demands of Sunni Islam’s Holy War.

The Strategy of Saladin 1: The Takeover of Egypt (1164-1169)

The Strategy of Saladin 1 

The Takeover of Egypt (1164-1169)

  

Introduction

Yusuf ibn Ayyub: also known as Salah ad-Din or Saladin, meaning ‘Righteous of the Faith’. To Muslims, he was the Sultan who reclaimed their Holy City of Jerusalem from Christian European Crusaders. To those same Crusaders, he became a symbol of generosity and chivalrous rulership. Beyond them, his career was also one of the more dramatic in the medieval Middle East, rising from obscurity to ruler of Egypt and Syria, and founding a dynasty that would last for a hundred years.

Welcome to Strategy Stuff, and this is the story of how Saladin became the greatest prince in an age of great princes.

Defensive Strategies of the Roman Empire (18/12/2017)

Defensive Strategies of the Roman Empire

This video will describe the strategies employed by the Roman Empire to defend its territory, as laid out in American strategist Edward Luttwak’s Book, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire. Luttwak is not a full-time historian and archaeological evidence contradicts some of his views, but at a minimum the video illustrates his thinking on several variants of defensive strategy, their pros and cons, and the links that exist between politics and strategy formulation.

The Strategy of the Crusades, 1096-1202 (28/04/2017)

The Strategy of the Crusades

To be honest, the title’s a bit misleading: neither the Crusaders nor the Muslims had a grand strategy, and in any case fragmented medieval governments could not execute such plans. Rather, this video is about the strategic problems each side faced, and their responses.