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In 1192, Richard The Lionheart called time on The Third Crusade, choosing to make peace with his nemesis, the sultan Saladin. During his time on Crusade, Richard had certainly bested Saladin in military terms, reversing many of the Sultan's gains. But, in practical terms, Richard's successes were limited, which, judging by his communications with Saladin during peace negotiations, the king of England was well aware of. There was no Christian assault on Jerusalem which Saladin had conquered in 1187 with Richard opting against making an attempt despite the pleas of others in his campaign. For Richard, this would have been a very hard decision to make; after all, it was Jerusalem, that holiest of cities, that the Crusaders had come to take. But why had Richard taken such a decision? Well, simply put, there had been numerous bumps in the road during the Crusade and, because of the actions of other leaders of the Crusade, Richard's eyes were no longer fuller focused on his end goal. Hostility had grown between Richard and Philip II of France who had made his excuses``to abandon the Crusade and return home where he hoped to seize at least parts of Richard's lands on the continent. Philip had taken his leave after the capture of Acre in 1191 and Richard was acutely aware of the French king's motives and, by 1192 when enough time had elapsed for Philip to do Richard considerable harm, Richard would have been itching to return home to deal with Philip who had once been his friend. Richard had also won the enmity of Duke Leopold of Austria at Acre although he would not have foreseen his dramatic kidnapping at the hands of Leopold on his return west. The Third Crusade had also been dealt a significant blow in its early stages when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa who drowned whilst making a river crossing.  Frederick had been determined to defeat Saladin but, with his death, his army had become rudderless and most of his army returned home, depriving the Crusade of a significant number of men. Frederick's death left matters in Richard's and Philip's hands and, with Philip's betrayal, Richard was being left in a distinctly uncomfortable position. He manfully battled on but there would be further reasons why Richard sought a truce with Saladin. Crusading was extremely unforgiving work, particularly in the east where extreme climates would take a dreadful toll on a westerner's body and Richard, as tough as he was, was no different.  Richard's health deteriorated to such an extent that it was said he "began to despair of recovering his health." Whilst he certainly didn't want to die, Richard, fortified by his faith, was less concerned by his own fate than he was by the fate of his army and the conquests he had made should he die. Without Richard, both would surely be easy pickings for Saladin. Ill health and treachery then put paid to Richard's crusade. During negotiations with Saladin's brother, Richard emphasised that he had every intention of returning to Jerusalem which Saladin had no reason to doubt. There was mutual respect between king and Sultan with both recognising the obvious capabilities of the other.  For Richard, making a truce with Saladin and providing some stability in the east for the Crusaders was the best he could hope for. Meanwhile, at home, things were becoming even more urgent for Richard as his brother, John, plotted his way to power at Richard's expense. Richard was lucky to have the likes of William Marshal and his own indefatigable mother Eleanor of Aquitaine to look after things in his absence but he could not put his return off a minute longer. So Richard made peace with Saladin and left the Third Crusade, the stage where he earned his "Lionheart" reputation. But there would be more woes in store for Richard as Leopold sought his revenge against him, capturing Richard and handing him over to the Emperor Henry VI, to the delight of Richard's enemies. From behind the walls of his prison, Richard continued to govern his vast empire and Eleanor helped raise the huge ransom that would free Richard after a year in confinement. The Third Crusade had won Richard much renown but had come at a physical cost to him and a heavy financial cost to his kingdom.