Editing 1188 (section)

==== Levant ====
* Spring &ndash; [[Siege of Tyre (1187)|Siege of Tyre]]: Muslim forces under Saladin withdraw from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] after a 1½-month siege. For the Crusaders, the city-port becomes a strategic rallying point for the Christian revival during the Third Crusade.
* [[May 14]] &ndash; Saladin begins a campaign and marches north but finds [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]] too strong to be besieged. He decides to take other Crusader fortifications and signs an 8-month truce with Prince [[Bohemond III of Antioch]].
* [[May]] &ndash; Saladin besieges the [[Knights Hospitaller|Hospitaller]] fortress of [[Krak des Chevaliers]], in Syria. Seeing that the castle is too well defended, instead he decides to march on the Castle of [[Margat]], which he also fails to capture.<ref>Kennedy, Hugh (1994). ''Crusader Castles'', p. 147. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-42068-7}}.</ref>
* [[July]] &ndash; Saladin marches through the [[Beqaa Valley|Buqaia]], and occupies [[Jableh|Jabala]] and [[Latakia|Lattakieh]]. From Lattakieh he turns inland and, after a few days of fierce fighting, takes [[Sahyun Castle]] (called '''Castle of Saladin''') on [[July 29]].<ref>Steven Runciman (1952). ''A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem'', p. 383. {{ISBN|978-0-241-29876-3}}.</ref>
* [[September 4]] &ndash; King [[Guy of Lusignan]] is released by Saladin after [[Ascalon]] is forced to surrender. Guy and his wife, Queen [[Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem|Sibylla of Jerusalem]], seek refuge in Tyre, which is defended by [[Conrad of Montferrat]].