ORDER OF BATTLE // September 14, 1191
Battle of Arsuf
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 36,200 estimated
Angevin Empire
11,200
Medium-confidence figure
Ayyubid Sultanate
25,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Arsuf was a major engagement of the Third Crusade in which a Crusader force of approximately 11,200 troops under Richard I of England defeated a substantially larger Ayyubid army of some 25,000 commanded by Saladin. The victory demonstrated the Crusaders' ability to hold cohesion and offensive capability against a numerically superior opponent, and represented one of the most significant battlefield reverses suffered by Saladin during the Third Crusade. The engagement involved senior commanders on both sides: Richard's force included Hugh III of Burgundy, Guy of Lusignan, Garnier de Nablus, Robert IV of Sablé, James of Avesnes, and Henry II of Champagne, while Saladin's command comprised Saphadin, Al-Afdal ibn Saladin, Aladdin of Mosul, Musek, and Al-Muzaffar Taqi al-Din Umar, indicating the strategic weight both sides attached to the contest. Within the wider arc of the Third Crusade, Arsuf reinforced Crusader momentum following the siege of Acre and strengthened Richard's position as the dominant military force in the campaign against Ayyubid control of the Holy Land.
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