Why did Philip II leave the Third Crusade after Acre fell?

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Richard I Richard I, detail of tomb effigy in the abbey church of Fontevrault-l'Abbaye, France.

After the fall of Acre in 1191, Philip II of France departed the Third Crusade for two primary reasons: he was in poor health and felt he had already fulfilled his crusader's vow.1

Beyond these stated reasons, Philip was a pragmatic and ambitious politician whose primary interest lay in expanding his own domains rather than the success of the Crusade. His departure allowed him to return to France to settle the succession of Flanders following the death of Philip of Alsace and to begin preying upon the French lands held by Richard I, despite having previously promised not to do so.213