<P> After the failure of the Second Crusade , the Zengid dynasty controlled a unified Syria and engaged in a conflict with the Fatimid rulers of Egypt . The Egyptian and Syrian forces were ultimately unified under Saladin , who employed them to reduce the Christian states and recapture Jerusalem in 1187 . Spurred by religious zeal , King Henry II of England and King Philip II of France ( known as Philip Augustus ) ended their conflict with each other to lead a new crusade . The death of Henry in 1189 , however , meant the English contingent came under the command of his successor , King Richard I of England ( known as Richard the Lionheart , in French Cœur de Lion ) . The elderly German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa also responded to the call to arms , leading a massive army across Anatolia , but he drowned in a river in Asia Minor on 10 June 1190 before reaching the Holy Land . His death caused tremendous grief among the German Crusaders , and most of his troops returned home . </P>
who were the three european kings who participated in the third crusade
King Henry II of England King Philip II of France Frederick Barbarossa