Saladin again invades the Crusader states in 1179, from the direction of Damascus.
He bases his army at Banias and sends raiding forces to despoil villages and crops near Sidon and the coastal areas.
Farmers and townspeople impoverished by Saracen raiders will be unable to pay rent to their Frankish overlords.
Saladin's destructive policy will weaken the Crusader kingdom unless stopped.
In response, Baldwin moves his army to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.
From there he marches north-northwest to the stronghold of Safed.
Continuing in the same direction, he reaches Toron castle (Tebnine), about thirteen miles (twenty-one kilometers) east-southeast of Tyre.
Together with the Knights Templar led by Odo of St Amand and a force from the County of Tripoli led by Count Raymond III, Baldwin moves northeast.
From the eastern side of the coastal range, the Crusaders see Saladin's tents in the distance.
Baldwin and his nobles decide to descend to the plain and attack at once.
As the Frankish army moves downhill, the mounted troops soon outstrip the foot soldiers.
After a few hours' delay, the Crusader army reassembles, then encounters and easily defeats the Saracen raiding forces, who are returning from their forays.
The Franks, believing the battle won, let their guard down.
Raymond's knights and Odo of St Amand's Templars move onto some high ground between the Marj Ayyun and the Litani River.
The Crusader infantry rests from their hurried march earlier in the day.
Suddenly, Saladin's main army attacks the unprepared Crusaders, defeating them badly.
Observers of the time blame the defeat on Odo of St Amand, who is captured in the battle.
King Baldwin barely escapes capture; unable to mount a horse because of his crippling disease, he is carried to safety by a knight as his bodyguard cuts a path through the Saracens.
Many Frankish survivors of the struggle flee to shelter at Beaufort Castle (Qala'at ash-Shaqif Arnoun) about five miles (eight kilometers) southwest of the battlefield.
