1239–1307 · English heir and leader of the 1271–1272 expedition
Lord Edward
Other names · Edward I of England
Prince who led one of the last Western expeditions based at Acre and later became king of England.
BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER
Life and historical role
Life and political setting
Edward was a son of Henry III and became king of England as Edward I in 1272. He had gained military experience in the baronial wars before departing to join Louis IX's expedition to Tunis, where he arrived too late for the main campaign. He then redirected his comparatively small force toward Acre.
Role in the Crusades
Edward reached Acre in 1271, conducted raids around Caesarea and sought coordination with the Ilkhans against the Mamluks. His army was too small for permanent conquest, and he concluded a truce with Baybars in 1272. An assassin wounded him in the same year; he survived and later planned another expedition but never returned east.
Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.