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==Introduction==__NOTOC__[[File:KoHposter.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Kingdom of Heaven]]The Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 historical epic directed by Ridley Scott, who directed some of the most memorable movies of recent decades such as Gladiator. The historical epic was produced in Spain and Morocco. The movie starred Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson , and Jeremy Irons, among others. It The movie was scripted by Academy Award winner William Monahan who is an Academy award winner. It was one of the most anticipated releases in 2005 but the movie theatrical release did not live up to people’s expectations. The motion picture was something of a box-office flop and it was not appreciated liked by the critics, who complained that felt that it was incomplete and fragmentary.  Most of the movie's problems because Ridley Scott was obliged forced to cut his original version of the picture by the studio executives. He did this against his will and he later released these cuts gutted the movie. Later, Scott was allowed to release a directors’ director's cut of the movie on Blu-ray and DVD. The new cut, which included many scenes that Scott was forced to delete. The director’s cut and is some fifty minutes longer than the movie that theatrical release. The director's cut was shown in the cinemas. This longer version a dramatic improvement and was widely praised by the critics and it . It is now regarded as the definitive versionof the movie. The This article evaluates the director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven and its historical accuracy is examined in this articleinstead of the dramatically inferior theatrical version. [[File: Kingdom of Heaven 1.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Orlando Bloom in 2005]]====The historical background==The background to the British director’s movie was the decline and the fall of the First Kingdom of Jerusalem (1091-1087). This kingdom was established by the Crusaders after they had captured the city in 1081. They were Christian knights and soldiers who had taken a religious vow to recapture the sacred sites in the Holy Land (modern Israel). The Kingdom of Jerusalem had been under near constant attack from the Arabs and Muslims, for whom the city is of great religious significance <ref> Runciman, Steve. A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1952), p 167</ref>. The movie captures very well the near constant and brutal conflict between the Christians and the Muslims in the area. The Crusaders were motivated to fight in the Holy Land out of religious fervour and they genuinely believed that they could save their souls from eternal damnation by fighting the Muslims. The movie concentrates on the growing threat posed to the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the rise of the Ayyubid Sultanate. This was a kingdom founded by Saladin who deposed the last Fatimid Caliph in Egypt and later captured Syria. He was the most powerful Islamic ruler in the region in a century. The movie very well captures the threat posed by Saladin to the Crusaders who is often regarded as a military genius. Scott’s movie also shows very accurately the lead up to the Battle of Hattin (1187). As in the motion picture this battle was fought in a desert and it was a military disaster for the Crusaders and a great victory for the Ayyubid Sultan <ref> Runciman, p 189</ref>. The British director’s account of the Crusaders near-annihilation by the army of Sultan is factually correct. The aftermath of the battle was that Saladin was able to besiege Jerusalem and this is also correctly shown in the 2005 movie. The capture of Jerusalem was a complete disaster for the Crusaders, and they lost most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In the movie this is shown as leading to the start of the Third Crusade and attempt by mainly English and French Crusaders to recapture Jerusalem<ref> Runciman, p 189</ref>.. This is also historically accurate. In general, the historical background of the movie and its portrayal of major events such as sieges and battles are fairly accurate. ==

The background to the British director’s movie was the decline and the fall of the First Kingdom of Jerusalem (1091-1087). This kingdom was established by the Crusaders after they had captured the city in 1081. They were Christian knights and soldiers who had taken a religious vow to recapture the sacred sites in the Holy Land (modern Israel). The Kingdom of Jerusalem had been under near constant attack from the Arabs and Muslims, for whom the city is of great religious significance.<ref> Runciman, Steve. <i>A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem</i> (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1952), p 167</ref>  The movie captures the constant and brutal conflict between the Christians and the Muslims in the area. The Crusaders were motivated to fight in the Holy Land out of religious fervour and they genuinely believed that they could save their souls from eternal damnation by fighting the Muslims. The movie concentrates on the growing threat posed to the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the rise of the Ayyubid Sultanate. This was a kingdom founded by Saladin who deposed the last Fatimid Caliph in Egypt and later captured Syria. He was the most powerful Islamic ruler in the region in a century. The movie captures the threat posed by Saladin to the Crusaders because he was often regarded as a military genius.  Scott’s movie accurately depicts the lead up to the Battle of Hattin (1187). While the Battle of Hattin is one of the most significant battles in world history, it was a one-sided slaughter. Scott does not spend much time on the Hattin and the climax of the movie focuses on the defense of Jerusalem. Scott's decision makes a lot of sense because the defense of Jerusalem is a far more compelling story.<ref> Runciman, p 189</ref>  Scott's depiction of the Crusaders near-annihilation at Hattin and Saladin's siege of Jerusalem and Scott's are both fairly accurate. The capture of Jerusalem was a complete disaster for the Crusaders, and they lost most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In the movie this is shown as leading to the start of the Third Crusade and attempt by mainly English and French Crusaders to recapture Jerusalem<ref> Runciman, p 189</ref>.. This is also historically accurate. In general, the historical background of the movie and its portrayal of major events such as sieges and battles are not only accurate but extraordinarily well done.  ====The historicity of the main characters====[[File: Kingdom_of_Heaven 2.jpg|350px|thumb|left| Balian of Ibelin surrendering Jerusalem to Saladin from a 15th-century manuscript]]The hero main character of the movie is Balian who is played by the English actor Orlando Bloom. The screenwriter loosely based this character on a real-life character. In the movie , Balian is a young blacksmith who decides to go on Crusade when he meets his natural father, who is a knight and who is played by Liam Neeson. In the movie Balian is shown as both as both an illegitimate and a very humble young man who goes on Crusade to help to secure his wife’s salvation after her suicide. The character played by Bloom was based on Balian of Ibelin's and . Unlike the movie version, he was a member of the nobility. He was definitely not a lowly blacksmith. Rather he was and the legitimate son of his father Barsian Barisan of Ibelin . He also was not a blacksmith.<ref> William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, trans (Columbia, Columbia University Press, 1943), p 114</ref>. The motion picture gives Balian’s  Instead of using Bailin's real father , the name of movie created a character, Godfrey of Ibelin which is incorrect, played by Liam Neeson. Neeson has played this type of role (the father-like mentor who dies in the movie) several times. In the movie Godfrey played by Liam , Neeson recognized Balian as 's character knights his son and right before he dies he knights his death. By recognizing Bailian as his son, Bloom's character inherits his father's holding in the Holy Land. The In reality, the knighting of an illegitimate son would not have been legally possible in the Middle Ages without some dispensation from a monarch or the Catholic Church. Ridley Scott introduces Balian as living in France, but his origins are not knownunknown, and his family may actually have been Italian.  The character is also shown as making his way to the Holy Land , and he did make this journey at some time. His father in the motion picture is shown to be a crusader , and this was indeed the case. The motion picture shows Godfrey of Ibelin as a noble knight who went on Crusade for religious reasons. In fact, Balians Balian's father was one of the most powerful lords in the Crusader States and he . He ruled the County of Jaffa (modern Israel) and was a vassal of the King of Jerusalem .<ref> William of Tyre, p 201</ref>. In the movie we see Balian going on crusade with his father who died before arriving in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In fact, it seems It is likely that Balian had been living in the Crusader kingdom since he was a young man. He was not the only son of Barsian of Ibelin and was , in reality , his youngest son. His father gave Balian was given a large area of land and a castle by his father and he too became a vassal of the King of Jerusalem . <ref>William of Tyre, p 212</ref>. This meant that he He would have been very familiar with the culture and politics of the region. In Scott's depiction makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Most viewers would have been unfamiliar with the movie Crusader Nation. Balian provides a window into this world for the main character audience. While it is inaccurate from a historical perspective, it allows Scott to introduce this bizarre world to a modern audience.  Balian is portrayed as a young man however at the time in Kingdom of the events shownHeaven, but he was a mature man. The movie does correctly show that in the 1180s that Balian was a major figure in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was very involved in the power struggles that greatly weakened the realm. In the movie the hero is shown as struggling to save the Kingdom from various factions who were only interested in power. In reality , Balian was quite Machiavellian and sought to increase his own power and influence at the expense of his rivals. However, the movie does accurately shown show that the character played by Bloom was a great and a brave knight. In the movie he is portrayed as a great swordsman and a brave leader. The commander of the Christian garrison of Jerusalem during the Ayyubid army, was indeed Balain and he provided to be a brilliant commander, as portrayed by the British Director. He was able to beat off countless attacks by the Muslims as in the 2005 motion picture. In the movie we seen Balian and Saladin reaching a negotiated settlement that ended the bloody siege. This was actually the case and the Christian did agree to surrender the city on terms in 1187. In one of the most memorable scenes we see the main character as leading the Christians safely out of Jerusalem as he hands it over to Saladin. This actually happened and the Muslims did allow the garrison and the Christian population to leave the city unmolested. In the movie after the surrender of Jerusalem to the Muslim Sultan that he returns to Europe with Sybilla. In one scene he is shown as living happily as a blacksmith in his native village and refusing the entreaties of English knights to go on the Third Crusade. In fact, after the fall of Jerusalem Balian stayed in the region and he became one of the leaders of the Crusader states. He actually participated in the Third Crusades and was a key advisor to the legendary Richard the Lionheart. Scott shows the main character as having good relations with Muslim and indeed in real-life Balian of Ibelin had a good relationship with Saladin.[[File: Kingdom of Heaven 2.jpgFile.png|200px|thumb|left| Balian of Ibelin surrendering Jerusalem to Saladin from a 15th century manuscripts]]