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Walk this pathway
8steps · 75min · teacher · student · standard
The crusading age
The frame in time and space: Syria and Egypt between 1099 and 1291.
Jerusalem 1099
What Muslim historians wrote about the Franks' entry into the city.
Zangi and Nur al-Din
Two amirs of Mosul and Aleppo unite Syria: unity before war.
Salah al-Din
From a Kurd in Nur al-Din's service to sultan of Egypt and Syria.
Hattin, 1187
A one-day battle that decided a kingdom: how the Arabic sources describe it.
The entry into Jerusalem
The terms of surrender in 1187 compared with 1099: what the two accounts say.
The Ayyubids
Salah al-Din's house after him: truces, trade and treaties with the Franks.
The Mamluks and the end of the crusader states
The soldiers' state ends the crusader presence in Syria in 1291.
What you now know
Mastery check
Five questions on what you walked through. Marked on your device; nothing is kept but the stamp in your passport when you pass.
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Answer key (for the teacher)
- In which year did the Franks first enter Jerusalem? — 1099(Learn it at step 2: Jerusalem 1099)
- What did Nur al-Din do before facing the Franks? — United the cities of Syria under his rule(Learn it at step 3: Zangi and Nur al-Din)
- What was the outcome of the battle of Hattin in 1187? — Salah al-Din's victory, then the entry into Jerusalem(Learn it at step 5: Hattin, 1187)
- How do the sources' accounts of Jerusalem's surrender in 1187 differ from 1099? — 1187 was a negotiated surrender and 1099 a forced entry(Learn it at step 6: The entry into Jerusalem)
- Who ended the crusader presence in Syria in 1291? — The Mamluks(Learn it at step 8: The Mamluks and the end of the crusader states)
Tell it back
Tell what you learned in your own words. What you write stays on this device only, and no one else reads it.
- I can order the main events between 1099 and 1291 and name the parties.
- I can compare two accounts of one event and explain their difference by perspective.
- I can show that interaction in this age was war, truce and trade at once.
Writing here needs JavaScript; the prompts read and print without it.
Write at least two sentences, or tick that you told it, to earn the stamp in your passport.
Overview
A CHW3M pathway telling the two crusading centuries as Muslim historians wrote them: the fall of Jerusalem in 1099, Zangi and Nur al-Din, Salah al-Din, Hattin and the entry into Jerusalem in 1187, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks to the end of the crusader states.
For the teacher
Seventy-five minutes. Best taught after a European account of the Crusades so students can work on the comparison. The museum's battle descriptions follow the sources and avoid sensation; the museum's voice never says 'enemy'.
Sources
- The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Canadian and World Studies (2015)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Crusades from the Muslim side (1099–1291)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/exhibits/pathway-g11-chw3m-crusades-muslim-side/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.