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Montgisard, 1177

On 25 November 1177 the sixteen-year-old leper king Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, with only a few hundred knights, routed Saladin's invading army from Egypt. Saladin had bypassed Baldwin at Ascalon and spread his forces across the coastal plain to plunder; the Franks broke out, joined the Templars from Gaza, and caught the sultan's strung-out army near a hill called Mons Gisardi. Saladin barely escaped, and his army was largely lost in the flight back across Sinai. Numbers are disputed: William of Tyre gives Saladin 26,000 men and Baldwin 375 knights, and modern historians accept a heavy Muslim superiority but much smaller totals. The battlefield's location is not known for certain. This map follows the traditional identification with Tel Gezer near Ramla; Saladin's secretary Imad al-Din and several modern historians place it at or near Tell es-Safi (Blanchegarde), about 17 km to the south, shown as an alternative. All battlefield positions are approximate reconstructions.

Open the interactive map6 stages on modern satellite imagery and terrain, with 3D elevation

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The Battle of Montgisard (Larivière, 1844)
The Battle of Montgisard (Larivière, 1844) — Charles-Philippe Larivière — public domain

The battle, stage by stage

  1. 18–22 November 1177

    Saladin invades; Baldwin shut in Ascalon

    With much of the Frankish army away in northern Syria besieging Harim with Philip of Flanders and Raymond of Tripoli, Saladin leads an army out of Egypt and crosses into the kingdom around 18 November. William of Tyre gives him 26,000 horsemen; modern writers think the core was several thousand regular cavalry (an 1181 muster lists about 8,500), with auxiliaries. King Baldwin IV, sixteen and suffering from leprosy, rushes south with what he can gather — William's figure is 375 knights — and reaches Ascalon just ahead of Saladin, who arrives about 22 November. The Templars under Odo of Saint-Amand hold Gaza. Rather than besiege Ascalon, Saladin leaves it behind.

  2. 23–24 November

    The road to Jerusalem lies open; Ramla burned

    Saladin's army moves north-east into the kingdom, apparently making for Jerusalem, and spreads out to plunder. Ramla, abandoned by its people, is burned; Lydda is attacked, and raiders range toward Mirabel and the hill country. Ibn al-Athir later blamed the defeat on this dispersal and over-confidence: the troops scattered for booty and the sultan posted no watch on Ascalon. Muslim sources speak of the army near the tell of al-Safiya (Tell es-Safi, the Frankish castle of Blanchegarde); the main road route shown is approximate.

  3. 24–25 November

    Baldwin breaks out and follows

    Baldwin and his barons leave Ascalon and, joined by the Templars from Gaza, march north — William of Tyre says along the coast — and then inland after the Muslim army. Reynald of Châtillon, lord of Hebron and Transjordan, was apparently the senior commander in the field; Baldwin and Balian of Ibelin, Reynald of Sidon and Joscelin of Courtenay rode with him. The Frankish foot was raised in haste. Ehrlich (2013) credits the Ibelins, whose castle stood on this plain, with local knowledge of a little-known route. The exact line of march is not recorded; it is drawn here only to make the outflanking clear.

  4. 25 November, early afternoon

    The surprise at Montgisard (site uncertain)

    The Franks come upon Saladin's army near a hill William of Tyre calls Mons Gisardi, 'near Ramla'. Where this was is not known for certain: the traditional site, shown here, is Tell Jezer (Tel Gezer), 229 m high on the edge of the hills about 8 km south-east of Ramla; Imad al-Din places the fight by al-Safiya, and Barber and Lyons & Jackson favour Tell es-Safi or nearby Kfar Menahem, 17 km further south. By Ibn al-Athir's account the Muslims were caught crossing a watercourse, their baggage in the way, while Saladin tried to re-form his wings. Before the charge the bishop of Bethlehem raises the True Cross and Baldwin, by William's account, prays before it. All positions here are approximate.

  5. 25 November, afternoon to nightfall

    The rout; Saladin escapes

    The charge breaks the Muslim centre. Taqi al-Din's young son Ahmad is killed early in the fighting, and Saladin's guard — the mamluks around his standards — is cut down. Saladin escapes; Ralph of Diceto, writing in England, says he got away on a fast camel. The jurist Isa al-Hakkari, one of his close advisers, is captured. The Franks pursue for about 12 miles (William) until dark, and the camp, baggage and plunder are taken. Losses on the Frankish side were also heavy: a letter of Roger de Moulins, master of the Hospitallers, speaks of about 1,100 dead and 750 wounded. Saladin's party reached a halt the Latins called Caunetum Esturnellorum, perhaps near Tell el-Hesi.

  6. 26 November – 8 December 1177

    The flight across Sinai; aftermath

    The broken army struggles back toward Egypt through heavy rain and cold, harried by Bedouin and townspeople; many stragglers are killed or taken captive, and men who had lost their way were rounded up in the following days. Saladin reached Cairo about 8 December with only a fraction of his army (one account says a tenth). Baldwin returned to Ascalon. In thanksgiving he founded a Benedictine monastery on the battlefield dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria, whose feast fell on 25 November; its site has not been found, which is one reason the battlefield cannot be fixed. Saladin rebuilt quickly and beat Baldwin at Marj Ayyun in 1179.

Weapons

Ayyubid army (Saladin)

Turkish composite bow

Turkish composite bow

Recurved composite bow · in use for many centuries

At Montgisard: Saladin's horse archers had little chance to shoot: the army was scattered and caught before it could form up.

Small, very strong recurved bows built up from horn, wood and sinew. Mounted archers could shoot them at the gallop and wheel away before a charge reached them, the tactic that wore down Crusader columns on the march.

Build
horn, wood and sinew, glued and bound
Use
shot from horseback at the gallop
Range
effective to about 100–150 yd; farther for volleys
Photo: Daderot (a later Ottoman example, Higgins Armory Museum) · Public domain
Mace

Mace

Flanged or knobbed club of iron or bronze · widely used 11th–16th centuries

At Montgisard: Saladin's guard stood around his standards and was largely cut down.

A short iron-headed club that delivered crushing blows through mail. The regular cavalry of the Ayyubid army carried maces alongside lance and sword, and Frankish knights used them too. This flanged mace is a later example from the Topkapi Palace collection.

Head
flanged or knobbed metal head
Use
crushing blows that worked through mail
Carried by
heavy cavalry, at the saddle
Photo: Yair Haklai, Topkapi Palace (later example) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Straight Islamic sword (sayf)

Straight Islamic sword (sayf)

Straight, mostly double-edged sword · in use for centuries; curved sabres spread later

At Montgisard: Taqi al-Din's son Ahmad was killed fighting as the Franks broke through.

Saladin's horsemen fought with straight swords much like the Franks', alongside lance, mace and bow. The curved sabre popularly linked with the Crusades became widespread in the Middle East mainly after the 13th century. This sword is a 13th-century Mamluk example.

Blade
straight, about 80–90 cm
Use
cavalry and infantry sidearm
Note
the curved scimitar of legend became common only after this period
Photo: Dosseman, Istanbul Military Museum (13th-century Mamluk sword) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Kingdom of Jerusalem (Baldwin IV)

Mailed knight and couched lance

Mailed knight and couched lance

Heavy cavalry · 11th–13th centuries

At Montgisard: A few hundred knights' charge broke a far larger army caught out of formation.

With the lance couched under the arm, a knight put the weight of man and horse behind the point. A massed charge could break almost any enemy that stood to receive it, so Muslim commanders tried to avoid it, scattering and shooting at the horses instead.

Armour
mail hauberk, helmet, kite or heater shield
Weapon
lance held under the arm, then sword or mace
Weakness
unarmoured horses; heat and thirst
Photo: Morgan Picture Bible, Paris, c. 1250 · Public domain
Mail hauberk and kite shield

Mail hauberk and kite shield

Body armour and shield · 11th–13th centuries

At Montgisard: Mail carried the knights into the bodyguard, though Frankish losses were still reportedly heavy.

A knee-length shirt of riveted iron rings over a padded coat, with a long shield covering the left side. It stopped most cuts and many arrows; chroniclers describe Crusader foot soldiers marching on with arrows stuck in their mail. Heat and thirst were its cost.

Mail
thousands of riveted iron rings, about 10–15 kg
Shield
tall, kite- or flat-topped, wood faced with leather
Under
a padded gambeson
Photo: Walters Art Museum · Public domain
Knightly sword (arming sword)

Knightly sword (arming sword)

Straight, double-edged sword · 10th–14th centuries

At Montgisard: The pursuit ran on for miles, with sword and lance against fleeing men.

The knight's sidearm once the lance had broken: a broad, double-edged cutting blade with a simple cross guard and a disc or brazil-nut pommel. Swords were costly, prized and often blessed, and the cross shape of the hilt was not lost on men who had taken the cross.

Blade
about 75–90 cm, broad and fullered
Weight
about 1–1.4 kg
Use
one-handed, with a shield, on foot or horseback
Photo: A 12th–13th-century sword, Kostroma museum-reserve · CC0

Paintings and photographs

The Battle of Montgisard (Larivière, 1844)
The Battle of Montgisard (Larivière, 1844) Charles-Philippe Larivière's 1844 painting for Versailles, imagining the young Baldwin IV in the charge. Charles-Philippe Larivière — public domain · source
Tel Gezer today
Tel Gezer today Tel Gezer, the traditional site of Mons Gisardi. Whether the battle was fought here is disputed. Bukvoed — CC BY 4.0 · source

Medieval reconstruction. No troop maps survive for this battle. Positions follow the chronicles of both sides and modern studies, numbers are disputed, and the map shows the shape of the battle rather than exact spots.

Free for everyone every year on its anniversary: November 25.

Accuracy score: 37/100 (limited)

How the accuracy score works

Sources and method

Montgisard, 25 November 1177. A reconstruction: no troop maps exist, and the battlefield itself is disputed. Positions are drawn as contingents from the written sources and the terrain. Location: traditional identification Tell Jezer / Tel Gezer (Clermont-Ganneau; S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, 1906; B. Hamilton, The Leper King and his Heirs, 2000); alternative at Tell es-Safi / al-Safiya (Imad al-Din; M. Barber, The Crusader States, 2012) or Kfar Menahem (M. C. Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson, Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War, 1982). M. Ehrlich, 'Saint Catherine's Day Miracle — the Battle of Montgisard', Journal of Medieval Military History 11 (2013), 95–105. Latin sources: William of Tyre, Chronicon book 21; the Old French continuation (Ernoul); Ralph of Diceto; the letter of Roger de Moulins. Muslim sources: Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil; Abu Shama, Kitab al-Rawdatayn (quoting Imad al-Din al-Isfahani and al-Qadi al-Fadil); Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad. Modern: W. B. Stevenson, The Crusaders in the East (1907); R. C. Smail, Crusading Warfare; J. Richard; Nicholson and Nicolle, God's Warriors (2005) for the 1181 muster. Place coordinates: Wikipedia (Gezer, Tell es-Safi, Kfar Menahem, Ramla, Lod, Tell el-Hesi, Yavne); Ascalon, Gaza, Ibelin, Isdud, Darum and al-Arish placed approximately. Images from Wikimedia Commons.

Where the positions come from

Approximate locations

Further reading