On 18 June 1191 , soon after Richard 's arrival at Acre , he sent a messenger to Saladin requesting a face to face meeting . Saladin refused , saying that it was customary for kings to meet each other only after a peace treaty had been agreed , and thereafter " it is not seemly for them to make war upon each other " . The two therefore never met , although they did exchange gifts and Richard had a number of meetings with Al-Adil , Saladin 's brother . Saladin tried to negotiate with Richard for the release of the captured Muslim soldier garrison , which included their women and children . On 20 August , however , Richard thought Saladin had delayed too much and had 2,700 of the Muslim prisoners decapitated in full view of Saladin 's army , which tried unsuccessfully to rescue them . Saladin responded by killing all of the Christian prisoners he had captured
2,700 of the Muslim prisoners decapitated
Massacre at Ayyadieh
Third Crusade