King Amalric I led the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, together with contingents from the northern Latin states, a substantial body of pilgrims who had just arrived from France, and a force brought by the Byzantine governor of Cilicia.

Starting out as Emir of Aleppo, he steadily increased his territory at the expense of his Muslim and Latin neighbors, until he gained the great city of Damascus in 1154.

This event allowed the Franks a chance to recover and, with the help of Thierry of Alsace and an army of pilgrims, to capture Harim castle later in the year.

Fortuitously, a large group of French pilgrims led by Hugh VIII of Lusignan and Geoffrey Martel, the brother of William IV of Angoulême, joined the king of Jerusalem.

Nur ad-Din was no match for such a formidable combination of enemies and his army suffered a defeat near al-Buqaia (located between Krak des Chevaliers and Beqaa Valley, in modern-day Akkar District, Lebanon).