THE FALL OF THE HOLY CITY
in his last engagement in the East. Negotiations for a truce
had several times been attempted, but had been broken off
as soon as one side or the other thought itself in a favourable
position for attack. Both Richard and Saladin were now
anxious for peace—Richard because he was ill and affairs at
home required his attention, Saladin because there had been
outbreaks of rebellion in his empire. On September 2nd,
1192, the terms of a truce were agreed. Peace was to last
for three yearsj the Christians were to retain Jaffa and Acre
and the coast between these towns, and were to be allowed to
make pilgrimages to the holy places of Jerusalem. The
fortifications of Ascalon were, however, to be destroyed by the
Christians, and not rebuilt during the period of the truce.
Five weeks later (October gth) Richard sailed from Acre.
He knew that the Emperor of Germany, the King of France,
the Duke of Austria, and other rulers hoped to make him
their captive on his return journey, and he appealed to Robert
de Sabloil (who was probably English) to assist him to reach
England in safety. The Temple had quarrelled with Richard
over Guy of Lusignan, the division of the spoil, and over the
tactics in the campaign, and Richard appears to have thought
that his enemies would not look for him in the company of
brethren of the Temple. He is said to have been smuggled
on board ship disguised in a Templar's mantle, and he was
certainly accompanied by a number of members of the Order
as far as Zara in Dalmatia. There he started the overland
journey which led first to an Austrian and then to a German
prison.
The Third Crusade had resulted in the return to the
Christians of almost all the coastal plain possessed by them
before the battle of Hittin. The Temple had regained Gaza
and many of the fortresses that it had lost, but throughout
the campaign, there were frequent quarrels with the king
who made such conquests possible. Though the Order never
refused to support Richard in his battles against the Moslems,