The Battle of Harim: Nur ad-Din Zangi defeats the joint Crusader armies

 

On this day, August 12, 1164, the Battle of Harim was fought between the forces of Nur ad-Din, and a combined army from the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, the Byzantine Empire, and Armenia at Harim, Syria. Nur ad-Din emerged victorious in the battle and as a result most of the leaders of the opposing army were captured.

The lord of Harim, Reginald of Saint Valery, sought help from Raymond III of Tripoli, Bohemund III of Antioch and Joscelin III of Edessa, who arrived to relieve the siege. When they arrived, Nur ad-Din prepared to abandon the siege, but inspired by the victory at al-Buqayya and without regard for the rules of military discipline, the warriors scattered and after wandering around, Nur began to attack ad-Din. Army of the day on the sly. Nur ad-Din's army, defending itself, launched a counter-attack, driving the crusaders into the marshes and killing them "like victims before the altar".

It is possible that Nur ad-Din was simply feigning retreat to draw the Crusaders into an ambush, but abandoning a siege when a relief army arrived was standard tactic and Nur ad-Din probably had some way of knowing that the Crusaders weren't doing that. William's claim that it was a reckless move is further evidence of this. "Only the Armenian Thoros, who had predicted the Turkish maneuvers and did not follow through, escaped the disaster". Constantinos Kalamanos, Hugh, Raymond, Bohemund and Jocelin were captured and imprisoned in Aleppo. According to Ibn al-Athir, 10,000 warriors were killed.