Fifth Crusade armies at Acre

Background

On the date set by the Fourth Lateran Council, in summer 1217, Hungarian and Austrian forces sailed from Split to Acre. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was ruled by John of Brienne; on the Ayyubid side al-Adil had grown old and his sons ruled Egypt and Syria. Al-Adil's son al-Mu'azzam had built a new castle on Mount Tabor threatening Acre.

Course of events

In November 1217 the crusader army left Acre, advanced through Baysan into the Jordan valley, plundered the region and circled around the Sea of Galilee. The Ayyubids avoided open battle.

In early December the castle on Mount Tabor was attacked, but on its steep slopes it could not be taken, and the attack was soon abandoned. As winter set in, other small operations also failed. Andrew II, considering his crusade complete, returned to Hungary through Anatolia in January 1218.

Outcome and significance

The failure of the Galilee operations led the crusade leaders to a strategy of attacking Egypt, the source of Ayyubid power, rather than taking Jerusalem directly. With the arrival of Frisian and German fleets in spring 1218 the army grew stronger and in May 1218 turned to Damietta in the Nile delta. Al-Mu'azzam soon had the Tabor castle demolished because it was hard to defend.

Sources and debates

The first phase is described most fully in the letters of James of Vitry, bishop of Acre, and Oliver of Paderborn's Historia Damiatina. Abu Shama and Ibn al-Athir give the Muslim view. Andrew II's return is criticised in Western sources; some historians explain it by internal problems in Hungary.