Coach Williams
World History
February 9, 2015 The fall of Jerusalem in 1187 was one of the biggest events in the history of the Crusades. It was the end of the second crusade and gave up Jerusalem to the Muslims for the first time and the Crusaders never got it back. The siege of Jerusalem in 1187 lasted from September 20 to October 2 in 1187. Balian, a blacksmith from Ibelin, the son of Godfrey was the leader of Jerusalem at this time. The leader of the Muslims, Saladin had tried to negotiate a peace to avoid bloodshed and a war. He offered generous terms to the people of Jerusalem and was trying to avoid the death of so many people which would surely come with a war. The citizens of Jerusalem and Balian refused to give up …show more content…
Balian once again stated that the city did not have such a large amount of money. After a few more weeks of lengthy and complicated negotiations, Saladin and Balian finally reached a agreement. They agreed to 7,000 people could leave the city and not be harmed for a sum of 30,000 dinars. Saladin told Balian that the rest of the remaining citizens inside of Jerusalem would be enslaved to the Muslims and forced to convert to their religion and do as they say. The Crusaders survived from September 20 to October 2, much longer than anyone that was there even thought possible. Balian, the son of Godfrey became a legend in his own right to the Crusaders and to the European nations. The siege of Jerusalem was still to this day one of the biggest events in history and changed the course of the Crusaders. After the Muslims took over Jerusalem and everyone that could leave had ,ade it out, the Crusades ended for two years and Jerusalem was never taken back from the Muslims. The Crusaders survived a siege against a enemy that was known for their tremendous military strength and their superior leader Saladin. Balian was just a blacksmith that became a knight just a few months before he