Nur ad-Din proves to be one of the most dangerous enemies the Frankish kingdom has ever faced.

Starting out as Emir of Aleppo, he had steadily increased his territory at the expense of his Muslim and Latin neighbors, until he gained the great city of Damascus in 1154.

He had seriously defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Lake Huleh in 1157, but fell very ill immediately afterward, allowing the Franks to a chance to recover and, with the help of Thierry of Alsace and an army of pilgrims, to capture Harim castle later in the year.

However, an attack on Shaizar failed when Reynald of Châtillon, the Prince of Antioch, quarreled with the other Franks.

Consequently, Shaizar soon became the property of Nur ad-Din.

In 1158, Thierry and King Baldwin III had defeated Nur ad-Din at Butaiha, northeast of Tiberias.

The year 1160 had seen the capture of Reynald, who will spend the next sixteen years in Nur ad-Din's dungeons.

In December 1161, the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus had married Maria of Antioch and this event has given Antioch a strong protector in the emperor.

Amalric, count of Jaffa and Ascalon, succeeds his elder brother Baudouin III to the throne of Jerusalem in 1163.

Both Amalric and Nur ad-Din had soon become aware of the weakness of Fatimid Egypt, whose government has fallen into a state of decay.

After the assassination of Caliph al-Zafir and a series of palace coups, Shawar had seized power in 1162, was soon deposed, and appealed to Nur ad-Din for help.

Neither the Latin king nor the Muslim emir can afford to let the other capture the rich prize of Egypt.

Accordingly, Nur ad-Din had sent his lieutenant Shirkuh with an army to support the Egyptian vizier.

While Shirkuh campaigns in Egypt, Nur ad-Din mounts an offensive in Lebanon.

Following Latin policy, King Amalric takes an army to support his northern vassals, Bohemund III of Antioch and Raymond III of Tripoli.

Fortuitously, a large group of French pilgrims led by Hugh VIII of Lusignan and Geoffrey Martel, the brother of William IV of Angoulême, have joined the king of Jerusalem.

In addition, Constantine Kalamanos, the governor of Cilicia, has brought his Greek warriors to assist the Crusaders.

Nur ad-Din is no match for such a formidable combination of enemies and his army suffers a defeat.

Both Muslims and Franks are impressed by the fighting qualities of the imperial soldiers.

The negative result of al-Buqaia only makes Nur ad-Din more keen for revenge.

Bohemond III's father, Raymond of Poitiers, had been killed at the Battle of Inab in 1149, and his mother has ruled as regent until Bohemond is old enough to rule on his own.

Constance, however, had married a second time, to Raynald of Châtillon, who had ruled as Prince of Antioch until being taken captive in 1160 and imprisoned in Aleppo (where he will remain until 1176).

Bohemond was by this time of legal age to succeed, but Constance had refused; King Baldwin III of Jerusalem had intervened and declared Bohemond ruler of the principality.

In 1163, Constance asks the newly appointed imperial governor of Cilicia, Constantine Kalamanos, for aid in order to maintain her rule; the citizens of Antioch then riot and exile her.

She dies later this year, allowing Bohemond to take full control.

Constantine and Prince Bohemond III soon lead their troops together against Nur ad-Din Zengi's armies, which are besieging Krak des Chevaliers, a fortress in the County of Tripoli.

After a short battle, in which Constantine and his troops particularly distinguish themselves, Nur ad-Din flees in disorder to Homs.

Nur ad-Din moves north to Antioch, with assistance from his brother Qutb ad-Din in Mosul, his other vassals from Aleppo and Damascus, and the Artuqids of the Jazira, and besieges the fortress of Harim (Harenc) in 1164.

As William of Tyre says, "he stationed his engines around it in the customary manner and began to assault the place with a fury which permitted the inhabitants no rest."

Reginald of Saint Valery, lord of Harim, calls for help, and Raymond III of Tripoli, Bohemond III of Antioch, and Joscelin III of Edessa arrived to relieve the siege.

They are joined by Constantine Kalamanos, the imperial governor of Cilicia, and Thoros, and Mleh of Armenia, as well as Hugh VIII of Lusignan and Geoffrey Martel, brother of William IV of Angoulême, both of whom had recently arrived on pilgrimage.

Nur ad-Din prepares to give up the siege when they arrive, but the crusaders, inspired by the victory at al-Buqaia, and, "regardless of the rules of military discipline ... recklessly dispersed and roved hither and yon in pursuit of the foe."

Nur ad-Din's troops defend against their charge and lead a counterattack, pushing the crusaders into a swamp, and they are massacred "like victims before the altar."

It is possible that Nur ad-Din was only feigning a retreat in order to draw the crusaders into an ambush, but abandoning a siege when a relief army arrived is a standard tactic and Nur ad-Din presumably had no way of knowing the crusaders would follow him.

William's assertion that this was a reckless move is further evidence of this.

"Only the Armenian Thoros, who had foreseen the Turkish maneuver and had not set off in pursuit, escaped from the disaster".

(Oldenbourg, Zoé (1966).

The Crusades.

New York: Pantheon Books.)

Mleh also avoids capture.

Constantine Kalamanos, Hugh, Raymond, Bohemund, and Joscelin are captured and imprisoned in Aleppo.

According to Ibn al-Athir, ten thousand crusaders were killed.

Nur ad-Din resumes the siege and captures Harim a few days later.

Amalric's absence in Egypt leaves all three crusader states without their rulers, but Nur ad-Din does not want to attack Antioch itself for fear of provoking a response from Constantinople, as the Principality is technically an imperial fief.

To his critics he replies, "I would rather have Bohemond as a neighbor than the King of the Greeks!".

Nur ad-Din goes on to besiege and capture Banias.

Amalric abandons Egypt and marches north with Thierry of Flanders to relieve Nur ad-Din's pressure on Antioch.

The influence of Emperor Manuel secures Bohemond's early release from captivity in 1165, but Raymond will remain in prison until 1173.

The castles of Toron, …

…Beirut, and …

…Sidon fall to Saladin’s forces, together with the Crusader cities in Palestine, shortly after the disastrous battle of Hattin.

Saladin and his lieutenants have by September 1187 occupied most of the major strongholds in the kingdom and all of the ports south of Tripoli, except Tyre, Jubayl, and ...