Outremer
King Henry I
The Third Crusade rolled out of town in April 1192, once again leaving the barons of Outremer to deal with the aftershocks. Richard had managed to achieve open access to Jerusalem for pilgrims, and to recover the cities of Acre, Ascalon, Jaffa and Daron. Outremer had managed to go from hanging by its fingernails to hanging by its fingernails and toes. Nowhere did the Kingdom of Jerusalem stretch inland for more than ten miles.
But their nemesis, Saladin, died the following year. He had seventeen sons, and much of the next twenty years or so was conditioned by the rivalries among the brothers. No matter what the political climate, one or more emirs found it convenient to allow the Franks to continue to reside in the Holy Land, or at least that prying them out was more trouble than they were worth.
Henry ruled well, working in much-straitened circumstances. Worse, the intense rivalries among the Italian city-states were now spilling over into Outremer. In May 1193, Henry uncovered a Pisan plot to seize Tyre and hand it over to Guy of Cyprus. Henry arrested the ringleaders and the Pisans began raiding the cost in retaliation, so Henry booted them out of Acre altogether. They were reconciled in 1194, but this flare-up was an indication of future troubles.
Guy died in May 1194 and was succeeded by Amalric. Henry made an alliance with Amalric, whose three sons were married to the three daughters of Isabella (she had two girls by Henry). All were child marriages and only one of them bore fruit. But at least the rivalry between Lusignan and the Palestinian barons was at last laid to rest, for Amalric seemed to bear no ill-will on behalf of his brother, and we was respected by all.
Henry also interested himself in affairs in Syria, where Antioch was engaged in a bitter and desperate dispute with Leo of Armenia. On his journey north to arbitrate in this dispute, Henry had a remarkable and memorable encounter.
He was approached by the Assassins, who wished to renew the traditionally friendly relations between them and the Franks. The famous Old Man of the Mountain, Sinan, had died the previous year and the new leader was anxious to secure Frankish cooperation. To this end, he invited King Henry up to his mountain fortress at al-Kahl.
There Henry was entertained lavishly. The Assassin lord wanted to impress the Frankish king with his great wealth and power, so no expense was spared. After the dinner, the sheik indicated the many followers who were gathered here and there about the castle, high atop the mountain. At a motion from him, one of these followers suddenly leaped off a parapet to his death. This is the power I wield, the sheik seemed to be saying, that my followers will die without question at my command. To drive the point home, he motioned again and another man leaped to his death. The sources do not say how many died, only that Henry finally begged the sheik to have mercy and to order no more deaths. He went away from that place properly impressed.