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The Crusades from the Muslim side (1099–1291)

Grade 11 · World History to the End of the Fifteenth Century, Grade 11, University/College Preparation · 75 min · standard

Mapped by the museum, not endorsed by the Ministry.

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.

Curriculum mapping

Ontario, Canada
World History to the End of the Fifteenth Century, Grade 11, University/College Preparation CHW3M
Grade
11
Strand
E · The Legacy of Civilizations
Overall expectations
E2
What the lesson does, in the museum's words
The lesson studies one kind of interaction between societies before 1500, war, truce and trade in the crusading age, from the sources of the Muslim side, and asks students to show what each side gained and lost and to explain differing accounts by differing historical perspective.
Curriculum document consulted
The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Canadian and World Studies, 2015
Codes checked on
23 October 2026 CE · 12 Jumada I 1448 AH†

Mapped by the museum, not endorsed by the Ministry.

Lesson goal

Students analyse interaction between opposed societies before 1500 from the side rarely told in class, and compare two accounts of one event.

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'.

Print the pack: teacher page, worksheet and answer key Classroom quiz Walk this pathway

Lesson steps

Walk this pathway

8steps · 75min · teacher · student · standard

  1. The crusading age

    The frame in time and space: Syria and Egypt between 1099 and 1291.

    The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

  2. Jerusalem 1099

    What Muslim historians wrote about the Franks' entry into the city.

    Jerusalem · The Franks Seize Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem)

  3. Zangi and Nur al-Din

    Two amirs of Mosul and Aleppo unite Syria: unity before war.

    عماد الدين زنكي · Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zangi

  4. Salah al-Din

    From a Kurd in Nur al-Din's service to sultan of Egypt and Syria.

    Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)

  5. Hattin, 1187

    A one-day battle that decided a kingdom: how the Arabic sources describe it.

    Battle of Hattin

  6. The entry into Jerusalem

    The terms of surrender in 1187 compared with 1099: what the two accounts say.

    Salah al-Din recovers Jerusalem

  7. The Ayyubids

    Salah al-Din's house after him: truces, trade and treaties with the Franks.

    Ayyubid dynasty

  8. The Mamluks and the end of the crusader states

    The soldiers' state ends the crusader presence in Syria in 1291.

    Mamluk Sultanate

islam.museum/en/exhibits/pathway-g11-chw3m-crusades-muslim-side/ Scan the code to open this page

What you now know

  • I can order the main events between 1099 and 1291 and name the parties. — 1, 2, 5, 8
  • I can compare two accounts of one event and explain their difference by perspective. — 2, 6
  • I can show that interaction in this age was war, truce and trade at once. — 3, 4, 7

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.

Marking needs JavaScript; the questions and their key read and print without it.

Question 1 of 5
In which year did the Franks first enter Jerusalem?

Question 2 of 5
What did Nur al-Din do before facing the Franks?

Question 3 of 5
What was the outcome of the battle of Hattin in 1187?

Question 4 of 5
How do the sources' accounts of Jerusalem's surrender in 1187 differ from 1099?

Question 5 of 5
Who ended the crusader presence in Syria in 1291?

Answer key (for the teacher)
  1. In which year did the Franks first enter Jerusalem? — 1099(Learn it at step 2: Jerusalem 1099)
  2. 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)
  3. 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)
  4. 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)
  5. 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.

  1. I can order the main events between 1099 and 1291 and name the parties.
  2. I can compare two accounts of one event and explain their difference by perspective.
  3. 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.

Worksheet

Answer in your own words after each step; every question points back to a museum page.

  1. How do the Arabic sources describe the Franks' entry into Jerusalem in 1099, and how do the Frankish sources you studied describe it?

  2. What did Nur al-Din do before anyone could face the Franks, and why was it a precondition?

  3. Compare the terms of Jerusalem's surrender in 1187 with what happened in 1099.

  4. Give one example of trade or a treaty between the Ayyubids and the Franks.

  5. Why does the name of these wars differ between languages? What does the name reveal about the narrator?

Free and open: print, quote and adapt, with no account and no student data.

islam.museum/en/learn/teachers/pathways/g11-chw3m-crusades-muslim-side/ Scan the code to open this page