The Crusades/VII

1248–1254 · 8 event records

Seventh Crusade

After the loss of Jerusalem in 1244, Louis IX led a large, well-funded army to Egypt; the crusade ended with the king's capture at Mansurah.

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Seventh Crusade

01

Overview

The Seventh Crusade was proclaimed after the Khwarazmians took Jerusalem in 1244 and the Frankish–Syrian army was crushed at La Forbie (Harbiyya) near Gaza. King Louis IX of France answered Pope Innocent IV's call at the First Council of Lyon in 1245 with a large, well-funded army.

The king wintered on Cyprus in 1248 and took Damietta without resistance in June 1249. After the fighting at Mansurah, the retreating army was destroyed at Fariskur in April 1250 and the king was captured. The murder of Turanshah ended Ayyubid rule in Egypt and began the Mamluk state. Ransomed, Louis stayed four years at Acre fortifying the coastal castles before returning to France in 1254.

02

Main route

Aigues-Mortes · Cyprus · Damietta · Mansurah · Fariskur · Acre

03

Outcome

The king was ransomed and turned to fortifying the coast from Acre; Mamluk rule was born in Egypt.

CONTEXTUAL READING

Event records for this crusade

11 July – 23 August 1244 · Jerusalem

Khwarazmian capture of Jerusalem

Khwarazmian forces, invited into Syria by the Egyptian sultan al-Salih Ayyub, entered Jerusalem in July 1244. The citadel surrendered on 23 August; most of the Christian population leaving the city was killed on the road, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was plundered. Jerusalem never again came under Latin rule.

Open record →17–18 October 1244 · La Forbie – Gaza

Battle of Gaza / La Forbie

On 17–18 October 1244 at Harbiyya (La Forbie) near Gaza, the allied army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with Damascus, Homs and Kerak was heavily defeated by the Egyptian army and its Khwarazmian allies. The Frankish army was largely destroyed; Count Walter of Brienne of Jaffa was captured.

Open record →17 July 1245 · Lyon

First Council of Lyon and call for the Seventh Crusade

The council Pope Innocent IV held at Lyon in summer 1245 deposed Emperor Frederick II and, in response to the loss of Jerusalem, proclaimed a new crusade. A tax on clerical revenues was decided for the Seventh Crusade, to be led by King Louis IX of France.

Open record →17 September 1248 · Limassol

Louis IX arrives in Cyprus

Louis IX set out from Aigues-Mortes in August 1248 and reached the port of Limassol in Cyprus on 17 September 1248. The army wintered in Cyprus; during this time supplies were gathered, ships prepared, Mongol envoys received and Damietta chosen as the crusade's objective.

Open record →5–6 June 1249 · Damietta

Louis IX captures Damietta

Louis IX's army landed near Damietta on 5 June 1249 and forced the Ayyubid forces on the beach to withdraw. When the commander Fakhr al-Din withdrew, the garrison and population also abandoned the city; the crusaders took Damietta without a fight on 6 June.

Open record →8 February – 6 April 1250 · Mansurah – Fariskur

Louis IX captured at Mansurah and Fariskur

Louis IX's army crossed the river before Mansura in February 1250, but the reckless charge into the town by the king's brother, Count Robert of Artois, caused heavy losses. After long attrition and disease, the retreating army was surrounded at Fariskur in April 1250; Louis was captured and released in exchange for the return of Damietta and a large ransom.

Open record →May 1250 · Cairo

Beginning of Mamluk rule in Egypt

In May 1250 the Bahri Mamluks killed the Ayyubid sultan Turanshah. For a short time al-Salih Ayyub's widow Shajar al-Durr was recognised as sultan; she then married the emir Izz al-Din Aybak and left power to him. Ayyubid rule in Egypt thus ended and the era of the Mamluk Sultanate began.

Open record →May 1254 · Acre

Louis IX leaves the Levant

After his release in May 1250, Louis IX stayed in Acre for four years instead of returning to France. During this time he had the walls of Acre, Caesarea, Jaffa and Sidon repaired, negotiated the release of the prisoners in Egypt, and returned to France in April 1254.

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