Battle of Marj Ayyun (1179)

Also known as Marjayoun

On 10 June 1179, Baldwin IV intercepted a Saladin-led raiding column returning to Damascus through the Marj Ayyun valley in what is now southern Lebanon. The Crusader vanguard caught the Ayyubid baggage train and inflicted heavy losses, but a concentrated counter-attack by Saladin's reserves caught the Franks scattered across the valley floor. The Crusader force was driven back in disorder; the master of the Templars, Odo of St Amand, was captured along with Hugh of Tiberias and several hundred knights. Marj Ayyun was the prelude to the disaster at Jacob's Ford ten weeks later, and together the two engagements shifted the strategic initiative on the kingdom's northern frontier permanently to Saladin.

Coordinates: 33.3600°, 35.5900°

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