 <unk> ended in 1100 or 1101 , when Haifa was besieged and blockaded by the Crusaders and then conquered after a fierce battle with its Jewish inhabitants and <unk> garrison . Under the Crusaders , Haifa was reduced to a small fortified coastal stronghold . It was a part of the Principality of Galilee within the Kingdom of Jerusalem . Following their victory at the Battle of <unk> , Saladin 's Ayyubid army captured Haifa in mid @-@ July 1187 and the city 's Crusader fortress was destroyed . The Crusaders under Richard the <unk> retook Haifa in 1191 . 
