Battle of Cresson

The Battle of Cresson, miniature by Jean Colombe, ca. 1474

Date	1 May 1187
Location	near Nazareth
Result	Ayyubid victory

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Gerard de Ridefort
Roger de Moulins †

Gökböri

Qaymaz al Najmi

Dildirim al Yaruqi

Strength

Approx. 130 knights (including the Grand Master of both, Templars and Hospitalers.)
400 infantry
Unknown numbers of turcopole

700-7,000

Casualties and losses

Almost all, only 3 knights survived including a wounded Gerard.
Roger de Moulins killed

Light

Note: Gökböri's force was said to consist of 7,000 men though this is a huge exaggeration, 700 seeming more likely.

The Battle of Cresson was a small battle, fought on 1 May 1187 at the springs of Cresson, or 'Ain Gozeh, near Nazareth. It was a prelude to the decisive defeat of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin two months later.

The political situation in Jerusalem was tense because of factional rivalries between two branches of the royal house. Raymond III of Tripoli, who had previously been regent for the kingdom, refused to accept Guy of Lusignan as king, following the death of the child king, Baldwin V (Guy's stepson) the previous year. Gerard of Ridefort, master of the Knights Templar; Roger de Moulins, master of the Knights Hospitaller; Balian of Ibelin, Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre; and Reginald Grenier, lord of Sidon, were sent to Tiberias to negotiate with Raymond and try to bring him back into the Christian fold.

Meanwhile, Saladin had sent a small force towards Tiberias led by Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri, seeking revenge for an attack on a Muslim caravan by Raynald of Châtillon. Raymond III hoped Saladin would ally with him against Guy, and allowed this force to pass through Tiberias on 30 April, although he warned the Christians in Nazareth about the army's presence. Hearing this, Gerard quickly assembled a small army, consisting of the Templar garrisons from Qaqun and al-Fulah and the royal knights stationed at Nazareth, only about 130 knights in total; Balian had stopped along the way at his fief of Nablus and Reginald was also elsewhere. A second probably larger Ayyubid force, led by Saladin's son Al Afdal, was at Al Qahwani and did not participate in the battle.

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Wikipedia