Conflicts and territorial changes during the Crusades
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Crusades were related to the wars between Christian kingdoms and the Muslim powers of the East and the Iberian Peninsula, as the campaigns changed control of cities and fortresses and affected the political organization of these regions.
Conquest of Lisbon during the Second Crusade
Lisbon was under Muslim rule when Afonso I of Portugal decided to conquer it to expand his territories to the south, and the arrival of several groups of crusaders from northern Europe provided him with the military aid he needed to organize a larger-scale attack.
Those crusaders were heading toward the Holy Land, but they agreed to participate in the Portuguese campaign after arriving on the shores of the peninsula, so the army formed by Portuguese and crusaders surrounded Lisbon and maintained the siege for several months, while the defenders were isolated and suffered difficulties receiving food and reinforcements.
Finally, on October 25, 1147, the city surrendered and became part of the Kingdom of Portugal, whose position on the coast was strengthened and whose expansion to the south found in Lisbon a military and economic base of great importance.
Occupation of Jerusalem by Saladin
In 1187, the Kingdom of Jerusalem suffered a severe defeat against Saladin's army at the Battle of Hattin, after which Muslim forces occupied several cities and advanced toward Jerusalem, which had remained under Christian control since its conquest during the First Crusade.
Saladin's army arrived before the walls on September 20, while the city's defense was left in the hands of Balian of Ibelin, who gathered the available men and organized the resistance against an army that possessed a superior force.
The attacks continued until Saladin's troops managed to breach the walls, so the defenders realized that holding the city through combat would be very difficult and began negotiations to agree on its surrender, until on October 2, Jerusalem capitulated and the Christian rule that had begun in 1099 ended, although the population was not expelled in its entirety and conditions were established to allow the departure of those who could pay the required ransoms.
On October 4, the effective handover of the city began, during which the defenders, members of the military orders, and part of the Christian population left Jerusalem following the conditions agreed upon with Saladin, while other inhabitants remained under the new government.
Saladin reorganized the city's administration and re-established Muslim rule, while the crusaders retained some positions on the coast.
The loss of Jerusalem sparked a strong reaction in Europe and contributed to the calling of the Third Crusade, in which monarchs such as Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France participated.
Richard of Cornwall arrives in Acre during the Barons' Crusade
The Crusader States needed new reinforcements because they had lost a good portion of the territories they had controlled during the first Crusades, so Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III of England, led an expedition to the Holy Land to support the positions that still remained under Christian rule.
Richard arrived in Acre in October 1240 and, instead of seeking a major battle, used negotiations with various Muslim rulers to obtain agreements that would allow for the recovery of some positions and the improvement of the situation of the crusader territories.
During the campaign, the reconstruction of the fortifications of Ascalon, a coastal city of great importance for the defense of the region, was also promoted, while the Templars continued to participate in the protection of fortresses and territories along with other Christian military forces.
The agreements reached by Richard allowed for the recovery of some positions without a prolonged military campaign, although Jerusalem remained under Muslim control and the Crusader States continued to need support from Europe.
