the new attacks from these never stopped. The falling stones
killed twelve men at a time, and the Muslim generals knew that
this was the end.
They sent a letter to Saladin saying that they couldn’t fight
any longer. Saladin thought that one last fight could win the
day. He asked all of his men to attack, but the emirs said, ‘We
can’t win now. There are too many Franks.’
In July 1191, the town surrendered. Saladin asked King
Richard to treat his Muslim prisoners well, but the English king
wanted to win back other towns in Palestine that the Muslims
held. Most of all he wanted Jerusalem, so all Richard’s prisoners
– Muslim soldiers of Acre, their wives and their children – died
under the swords of the Frankish knights that day.
The Franks now marched towards Jerusalem, but it was
summer and it was hot. They tried to stay near their ships which
were sailing down the coast. But Saladin’s men never stopped
attacking them. Richard’s men were brave and they went on,
but the army could march only five miles a day. At Arsuf the
Franks won a small battle, but the war wasn’t over.
The next year saw a lot of fighting, but no real victory for
either army. Saladin knew that time was on his side. Richard
needed to go home. In the end, they agreed to stop fighting.
The Franks kept the land between Tyre and Jaffa, but Saladin
kept Jerusalem and the other towns in Palestine that he held.
European pilgrims could visit the holy city without danger, and
many European knights travelled there to pray, but Richard
never went. He left for England without ever seeing Jerusalem.