Download FIFTH CRUSADE

NAME
CLASS/SECTION
DATE
Fifth and Sixth Crusade
In 1215, Pope Innocent III called for a new crusade and sent preachers out
all over Europe to whip up the Crusading spirit (Armstrong, 1988, p. 403). After
his death in 1216, the work was carried on by Pope Honorius III (Mayer, 1988, p.
220). Several problems faced the new crusade. The two most notable were the
absence of Frederick II's support and the coolness displayed by the French
nobles. Hungary, Germany, and the Netherlands would supply the lion's share
of the troops for the Fifth Crusade (Riley-Smith, 1987, p. 146).
In 1218, three fleets arrived in Acre on the Mediterranean Sea in Galilee
but, a famine in Acre forced a many of the Crusaders to go home (Armstrong,
1988, p. 404; Riley-Smith, 1987, p. 146). The remaining crusaders made petty
raids in the area to keep their enemies nervous (Van Cleave, 1969, p. 389). When
more crusaders arrived, they decided to attack the port city of Damietta in the
Nile Delta which would destroy the Muslims' center of power in Egypt and make
the conquest of Jerusalem more possible (Mayer, 1988, p. 221). John of Brienne
was chosen as the military commander because of his abilities and also because
he was the only crowned king among them (Powell, 1986, p. 141).
The key to the Muslims' defense was the Tower of Chains which was
situated on an island in the middle of the Nile. Chains stretched from that tower
to the east bank of the Nile where the town lay and could be lowered to halt any
traffic in the river (Mayer, 1988, p. 222). Several attempts on the Tower failed
until Oliver of Cologne designed a siege engine mounted on two boats and with
a ladder which enabled the Crusaders to reach the top of the tower and capture it
(Powell, 1986, p. 162). By September, a steady flow of reinforcements had
arrived which helped compensate for the number of crusaders who were leaving.
The crusaders had been unable to secure a position on the east bank of the river;
dysentery and winter floods were beginning to take their toll (Mayer, 1988, p.
222). One of the new arrivals was Pelagius, sent by the pope to represent the
pontiff's interests. He stirred up the embers of partisanship, assumed control
without considering the personal and commercial motives of the Crusaders, and
made naive military decisions which placed him in conflict with John of Brienne
(Van Cleave, 1969, p. 403).
During the winter of 1218-19, Al-Kamil, the Muslim ruler of Egypt, fled
the city of Damietta when the Egyptians tired of his heavy taxes and constant
demand for troops. By February, the Crusaders were able to occupy his camp on
the east bank of the Nile and laid siege to Damietta. Al-Kamil re-solidified his
position and offered the Crusaders all of Jerusalem if they would enter into a
truce. The Crusaders refused, and a second offer was made. Al-Kamil offered to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore the True Cross. John of Brienne
wanted to take this offer but was overruled by Pelagius (Mayer, 1988, p. 223-24).
By November, the city had fallen and Al-Kamil withdrew further up the
Nile to Mansourah to block the road to Cairo. Internal dissent stymied any
movements until July, when the Crusaders moved into position around
Mansourah (Mayer, 1988, p. 225-26). They failed to notice the rising Nile, and
their camp was soon flooded (Armstrong, 1988, p. 408). Added to this problem
were the reinforcements sent by Al-Ashraf which cut them off from Damietta
(Mayer, 1988, p. 226). During their retreat, dikes were broken, and the Crusaders
soon found themselves on a mud island and totally surrounded (Armstrong,
1988, p. 408). The Christians were forced to leave Egypt, and Al-Kamil reentered
Damietta in September of 1221. The Fifth Crusade was the Church's final
attempt at running the Crusades alone (Mayer, 1988, p. 227).
The Sixth Crusade was the best financed, most well organized, and last
whole-hearted effort by Christendom. Its failure brought disillusionment and
cynicism, for if the richest, most powerful king couldn't turn back the Muslims,
then who could (Strayer, 1969, p. 487-88). This king was Louis IX who was
considered by much of Western Europe to be the perfect example of a Christian
king. The populace regarded him as a saint, and he was eventually canonized.
A severe illness in 1244 had led him to pledge a Crusade if he was healed
(Armstrong, 1988, p. 435, 441).
France was the only country capable of leading a Crusade, and the Church
bore much of the financial burden. In August 1248, troops sailed from AiguesMortes, wintered in Cyprus, and decided to take the city of Damietta. They
arrived on June 5, 1249 and were met on the beach by the Egyptians (Mayer,
1988, p. 260-62). A sufficient number of shallow bottomed landing boats allowed
the French to storm the beach and drive the defenders off (Strayer, 1969, p. 495).
The retreating Muslim armies bypassed Damietta and retreated to Mansourah.
Damietta fell the next day and the French were outside of Mansourah by
December. During the siege, Louis' brother, Robert of Artois, took an advance
guard into the city and managed to kill the Egyptian commander-in-chief
(Mayer, 1988, p. 263).
Louis' army became decimated by weakness, hunger, and the constant
attacks of the Muslims. They began retreating to Damietta, but were captured in
April. The French queen, Margaret, was in Damietta and persuaded the Italian
merchants not to abandon the city, which would give her a bargaining chip in
securing Louis's release (Mayer, 1988, p. 264). Damietta was exchanged for Louis
who also had to pay immediately 400,000 bezants. Upon his release, he returned
to Acre and spent four years in the Holy Land, working to release French
prisoners and rebuild the fortifications of many towns. By 1254, he was heavily
in debt to Italian merchants. That same year, his mother, who had been ruling in
his absence, died. Louis left the Holy Land and returned to France in late April
of 1254 (Mayer, 1988, p. 264, 266; Strayer, 1969, p. 505).
REFERENCES
Armstrong, K. (1988). Holy war. New York: Doubleday.
Mayer, H. E. (1988). The Crusades. (J. Gillingham, Trans.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Powell, J. M. (1986). Anatomy of a crusade: 1213-1221. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Riley-Smith, J. (1987). The crusades. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Strayer, Joseph. (1969). The crusades of Louis IX. In R.L. Wolff & H.W. Hazard
(Eds.), A history of the Crusades (pp.480-510). Madison, WI: The University of
Wisconsin Press.
Van Cleve, T. C. (1969). The Fifth Crusade. In R.L. Wolff & H.W. Hazard (Eds.), A
history of the Crusades (pp.385-405). Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin
Press.