Battle of Lake Huleh

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Ba'rin


caption=
partof=the Crusades
date=1157
place=Hula Valley, Israel
result=Zengid victory
combatant1=Kingdom of Jerusalem
combatant2=Zengids
commander1=King Baldwin III of Jerusalem
commander2=Nur ad-Din
strength1=Unknown
strength2=Unknown
casualties1=Unknown
casualties2=Unknown
In the Battle of Lake Huleh in 1157, a Crusader army led by King Baldwin III of Jerusalem was ambushed and beaten by Nur ad-Din, the ruler of Muslim Syria.

Background

In 1154, Nur ad-Din achieved his goal of seizing Damascus and welding Syria into a Zengid empire. Instead of confronting a group of Muslim emirates and being able to play them off against one another, the Crusader states (Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Tripoli and Principality of Antioch) faced a unified threat to their existence.

Battle

In 1157, Nur ad-Din laid siege to the fortified town of Banias at the foot of Mount Hermon. King Baldwin III of Jerusalem assembled a Frankish army and marched to the relief of Banias and its Knights Hospitaller defenders.

While Baldwin and his knights camped near Lake Huleh in the upper Jordan River valley, they were surprised and defeated by forces under Nur ad-Din. The chronicler William of Tyre noted that "no watch was kept in the Latin camp." [Smail, p 124] Smail writes that the setback was caused by Baldwin's "carelessness and lack of normal precaution when in the neighborhood of the enemy." [Smail, p 133] Baldwin and his routed soldiers took refuge in the nearby castle at Safad. [Robinson, p 426]

Aftermath

Beyond casualties suffered in the combat, few consequences attended the Christian defeat. Banias remained a Latin territory until 1164. Nur ad-Din fell ill soon after his victory, and in his absence, Baldwin mounted a campaign in northern Syria. The Franks failed in a siege of Shaizar but recovered the castle of Harim for the Principality of Antioch in the winter of 1157. This set the stage for Nur ad-Din's crushing victory over the Crusaders at the Battle of Harim in 1164.

References

* Robinson, Edward & Smith, Eli. "Biblical Researches in Palestine and the Adjacent Regions." J. Murray, 1856.
* Smail, R. C. "Crusading Warfare 1097-1193." New York: Barnes & Noble Books, (1956) 1995. ISBN 1-56619-769-4

Footnotes