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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.