Jerusalem had fallen. All of Europe was aghast.  Muslim Saracens of the Ayyubid Dynasty had slaughtered a Christian army at Hattin, and then gone on to take the Holy City itself. Their leader, Saladin, swept all before him. But Richard the Lionheart's crusading fever became inflamed when he heard, and once his father, Henry II, had died, he committed the entire Angevin Empire to Jerusalem's recapture. This is the incredible story of Richard's journey to the Holy Land, the epic recapture of its port-city, Acre, and why - with Jerusalem in sight - Richard had to make a fateful decision that affected the rest of his life.   Subscribe to us here on your favourite podcast channel, follow @bitesizebattles on Instagram and FB, and support me on Patreon. Thanks for listening.