section_path: Crusades and the Holy Land, 1095–1291/Second Crusade/Fall of Jerusalem
section_name: Fall of Jerusalem
paragraph_text: Fall of Jerusalem
  
  Baldwin V became sole king upon the death of his uncle in 1185 under the regency of Raymond III of Tripoli. Raymond negotiated a truce with Saladin which went awry when the king died in the summer of 1186. His mother Sibylla of Jerusalem and her husband Guy of Lusignan were crowned as queen and king of Jerusalem in the summer of 1186, shortly thereafter. They immediately had to deal with the threat posed by Saladin.
  
  Despite his defeat at the Battle of al-Fule in the fall of 1183, Saladin increased his attacks against the Franks, leading to their defeat at the Battle of Cresson on 1 May 1187. Guy of Lusignan responded by raising the largest army that Jerusalem had ever put into the field. Saladin lured this force into inhospitable terrain without water supplies and routed them at the Battle of Hattin on 4 July 1187. One of the major commanders was Raymond III of Tripoli who saw his force slaughtered, with some knights deserting to the enemy, and narrowly escaping, only to be regarded as a traitor and coward. Guy of Lusignan was one of the few captives of Saladin's after the battle, along with Raynald of Châtillon and Humphrey IV of Toron. Raynald was beheaded, settling an old score. Guy and Humphrey were imprisoned in Damascus and later released in 1188.
  
  As a result of his victory, much of Palestine quickly fell to Saladin. The siege of Jerusalem began on 20 September 1187 and the Holy City was surrendered to Saladin by Balian of Ibelin on 2 October. According to some, on 19 October 1187, Urban III died upon of hearing of the defeat. Jerusalem was once again in Muslim hands. Many in the kingdom fled to Tyre, and Saladin's subsequent attack at the siege of Tyre beginning in November 1187 was unsuccessful. The siege of Belvoir Castle began the next month and the Hospitaller stronghold finally fell a year later. The sieges of Laodicea and Sahyun Castle in July 1188 and the sieges of al-Shughur and Bourzey Castle in August 1188 further solidified Saladin's gains. The siege of Safed in late 1188 then completed Saladin's conquest of the Holy Land.