He had married a young sister of Sybilla of Lusignan, and upon the death of Sybilla, holding that the right went to the living princess, his wife, rather than to Lusignan, the husband of the dead princess, he demanded the throne. Meanwhile Guy besieged Acre, thirty miles south of Tyre, and was there surrounded by an army under the command of Saladin, and cut off from all assistance except by sea. It was under these circumstances, in the midst of the disputed succession to the throne, that the third crusade had begun. Frederick Barbarossa, who had marched with the Germans by land, perished on the road, and the Duke of Swabia reached the camp with only five thousand wearied men. The arrival of the hosts of England and France by sea changed the aspect of affairs; and the kingdom might have regained had it not been for the bad feeling which existed between Richard and Philip, which found new food in the rivalry of the two claimants for the crown of Jerusalem. Conrad of Montferrat at once allied himself with the French monarch; Guy of Lusignan, whose family in Languedoc were English vassals, attached himself to Richard. Directed by the enthusiasm of Richard, who, whenever mere fighting was the question, came prominently forward, the arms of the besiegers were successful, and Acre fell. The superiority which Richard acquired in actual warfare added fresh fuel to Philip’s anger. There were besides certain circumstances in his own kingdom, where he had lately acquired Flanders, which seemed to require his presence. He therefore withdrew from the crusade, leaving the Duke of Burgundy with a part of his army under Richard’s command. Had Richard been a general as well as a soldier, he had still forces enough to have brought this crusade to a successful issue. As it was, it consisted but of a series of brilliant but useless skirmishes. Even the great battle of Arsouf, which Richard won in September on his way to Joppa, brought him no nearer his object. [Sidenote: Richard quarrels with Austria.] [Sidenote: Truce with Saladin. 1192.]