Qualla: Battle of Montgisard https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/8/v/battle-of-montgisard-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Montgisard https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard Battle of Montgisard: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard/ Photo credit Charles-Philippe Larivière, Public domain. The teenage king could barely ride his horse. Leprosy was already consuming Baldwin IV of Jerusalem -- his hands had to be bandaged to cover the sores, and he needed help mounting and dismounting. He was sixteen years old, recovering from malaria, and he commanded fewer than 500 armored knights against a force that contemporary chroniclers numbered in the tens of thousands. On November 25, 1177, at a place called Montgisard near Ramla, Baldwin ordered the relic of the True Cross raised before his army, then dropped to his knees in the dust and prayed. When he rose, his men cheered. Then they charged. By nightfall, Saladin was fleeing toward Egypt on the back of a camel, having lost roughly ninety percent of his army. Muslim historians considered the defeat so catastrophic that only Saladin's victory at Hattin a decade later could redeem it.

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Image: Charles-Philippe Larivière | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/8/v/battle-of-montgisard-wp/sv8v-battle-of-montgisard-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Montgisard: A Kingdom Left Bare https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard/ Photo credit Cplakidas, CC BY-SA 3.0. The disaster began as a diplomatic failure. In 1177, Baldwin and Philip of Alsace, a Flemish nobleman on pilgrimage, had planned a joint naval attack on Egypt with Byzantine support. The alliance collapsed. Philip instead joined Raymond III of Tripoli on an expedition against the...

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Image: Cplakidas | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/8/v/battle-of-montgisard-wp/sv8v-battle-of-montgisard-a-kingdom-left-bare.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Montgisard: The Sultan's Miscalculation https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard/ Photo credit Heretiq, CC BY-SA 2.5. When Saladin reached Ascalon on November 22, Baldwin led his troops out to confront him -- then, seeing the size of the opposing army, retreated behind the city walls. Saladin made his critical error: he dismissed the leper king as irrelevant and marched on toward Jerusalem, leav...

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Image: Heretiq | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/8/v/battle-of-montgisard-wp/sv8v-battle-of-montgisard-the-sultans-miscalculation.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Montgisard: Prayer and Slaughter https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard/ Photo credit Prokurator11, Public domain. The Crusaders caught Saladin's army at Montgisard, near Ramla. The precise location remains debated -- Malcolm Barber identifies it with the mound of Al-Safiya, and Saladin's own chronicler Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani confirms the battle took place near that landmark. Baldwin ordered...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/8/v/battle-of-montgisard-wp/sv8v-battle-of-montgisard-prayer-and-slaughter.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Montgisard: Victory's Price https://qualla.com/battle-of-montgisard/ Photo credit Unspecified, Public domain. Baldwin returned to Ascalon in triumph. Only a tenth of Saladin's army limped back to Cairo, arriving on December 8. The young king commemorated the victory by erecting a Benedictine monastery on the battlefield, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose feast day fell on...

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]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/8/v/battle-of-montgisard-wp/sv8v-battle-of-montgisard-victorys-price.mp3 0:06 5 full