Charles Oman

In 1187, Saladin, a Moslem leader, succeeded in ousting the Christians from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The conquest of Jerusalem by the Moslem Turks, or Saracens, was the occasion for the Third Crusade (1189–1192). One of the legends to emerge from that Crusade was the heroic struggle between King Richard I of England and the Moslem Saladin. For over two years, their armies fought with neither side winning a decisive and final victory. The following excerpt is taken from Sir Charles Oman's authoritative A History of the Art of War . In it, Oman quotes from two sources—one Christian and the other Moslem—to describe one such instance when Richard defeated Saladin at the city of Arsur near Jerusalem. Although adversaries, Richard and Saladin respected each other's military prowess and sense of honor. In the end, their mutual admiration and trust was...