Third Crusade

The Third Crusade (1189 – 1192), also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Salāh ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, better known as "Saladin" to the Western world. During this crusade, the Christian forces returned to the Holy Land to reclaim Jerusalem, which Saladin had recently recaptured after his decisive victory at Hattin. King Richard, the leader of the Crusaders, began his crusade by conquering Cyprus, and then triumphed at the, after which three thousand captives were slaughtered by his knights.

The Crusaders then began to mobilize their forces to march south towards Jaffa, and then on to their ultimate goal, Jerusalem. Saladin was clearly aware of this, however, and so he gathered his troops before the broken citadel of Arsuf, determined to halt the Crusaders and keep Jerusalem in Muslim hands.

At the Battle of Arsuf, Richard led the Crusader army against Saladin's forces. During this time, Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, asked Richard to unite with Saladin against the Assassins, who were behind the murders of eight men, both Crusader and Saracen. Before Robert de Sable could finish, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Assassin who had personally killed the men, arrived after fighting his way across the battlefield of Arsuf in search of de Sable.

Altaïr told Richard of Robert's treachery, which de Sable denied. King Richard, seeing no other way to resolve the claims, decided that both men should fight, saying that "the Lord" would protect the one who spoke the truth. After a long battle with many of Robert's guards, Altaïr finally finished off de Sable, who then revealed to him that his master, Al Mualim, was also a Templar. Following this, Richard bid the Assassin a safe journey and Altaïr left for Masyaf to confront his mentor.