One hundred and forty knights (the original party and their reinforcements) was a respectably large force considering its hasty muster, but it was dwarfed by the seven thousand men Saladin’s generals had under their command. On the morning of May 1 the disparity became horribly apparent as the Templars tracked down al-Afdal and his men to a wooded area at the Springs of Cresson, a natural fountain not far from Nazareth.
