Battle of Montgisard (1177)

One of the most dramatic upsets in Crusader history. In November 1177 Saladin led a large raiding force — perhaps twenty-six thousand men — across the frontier from Egypt, pushing deep into the kingdom while its army was scattered. The sixteen-year-old King Baldwin IV, already suffering from leprosy, gathered what forces he could find: barely 375 knights, a company of Templars from Gaza, and a few thousand infantry. Carrying the relic of the True Cross, this small force intercepted Saladin near Montgisard, south of Ramla, on 25 November. The Crusader heavy cavalry charged directly into Saladin's army, shattering it so completely that Saladin himself barely escaped on a camel. It was the worst defeat of his career, and it made the young leper king a legend in both Christendom and the Muslim world.

Coordinates: 31.8600°, 34.9200°

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