In 1187, the Battle of Hattin was a devastating defeat for the Crusaders in the Holy Land. Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, lured King Guy of Jerusalem and his army into a trap in the arid desert. Exhausted and dehydrated, the outnumbered Crusaders were surrounded at the Horns of Hattin. Saladin's forces set the dry grass on fire, choking the Crusaders with smoke. Disoriented, they were easily defeated, marking the end of Christian control in the Holy Land. Saladin's victory paved the way for the Muslim reconquest of Jerusalem, a turning point in the Crusades.

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