The French King Louis IX and the Seventh Crusade: The Church, The Templars, and The Crusades – Part 8

 

The endeavor of the Seventh Crusade began under the French king Louis IX. Louis was an intensely spiritual man, and was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church twenty-seven years after his death. He brought a holy passion for the Crusades that seemed reminiscent of the victorious First Crusade. Louis' enthusiasm, sincerity, and piety allowed him to gain support for a new crusading effort. The Templars were instrumental in helping him organize and finance the Crusade. So, Louis set sail in August of 1248 AD, and thus began the Seventh Crusade.

Louis' armada stopped off at Cyrus and stayed on the island for eight months to resupply and make ready. The delay also allowed stragglers to join the main army from both Europe and the Middle East. In addition Louis would benefit from the contribution of the military orders based in the Levant, namely the Knights Hospitallers, Knights Templar, and Teutonic Knights. By the summer of 1249, the army was finally ready to begin the Crusade. Louis wrote to the Sultan of Egypt, boldly expressing his intention of not just taking back Jerusalem but of conquering all of Egypt and the Levant:

“I will assault your territory, and even were you to swear allegiance to the cross, my mind would not be changed. The armies that obey me cover mountains and plains, they are as numerous as the pebbles of the earth, and they march upon you grasping the swords of fate.”

Louis' Crusader army landed in Egypt in June of 1249, and met their first of many problems. The heavy and deep-bottomed sailing ships of the Europeans meant that the army could not easily disembark to the sandy beaches of Egypt, and so the knights were forced to wade their way to the shore. Meanwhile, al-Kamil had been busy reinforcing Damietta, the fortress city of the Nile Delta. As it turned out, the Crusaders captured Damietta with surprising ease. An added bonus was that because the garrison had fled in a panic, the cities fortifications remained intact. However, the Sultan's main army waited at a safe distance from Damietta. This was only the opening move of what would be a very long game.

The Ayyubid Dynasty was at this time led by al-Salih Ayyub, the second son of al-Kamil, the previous Sultan of Egypt. Like his father, al-Salih struggled to keep control of his territories due to rivalries between Muslim leaders and even Ayyubid princes. In addition, the Mongol Empire was rapidly expanding westwards and seemed unstoppable. Louis IX had made some diplomatic advances towards the Mongol khan hoping that he might make a usefully ally in pushing the Ayyubids out of Egypt and the Levant. But the Mongols were only interested in conquest, it made no difference to them whether the lands be in the control of Christians or Muslims.

In the Fall of 1249, al-Salih was dying at his camp at Mansourah on the Nile Delta. The people of Cairo were in a panic at the double blow of losing Damietta and now possibly their leader. Meanwhile, Louis was still waiting for an important military force belonging to his brother Alphonse, which did not arrive in Egypt until October. At this time the annual Nile flood was abating, and so the way to Cairo was open. Going against the advice of most of his nobles to wait out the winter in safety at Damietta, Louis ignored their warnings and set off for Cairo on the 20^th of November in 1249 AD.

The Crusaders made very slow progress as they marched along the banks of the Nile. At this point, the end of November 1249, al-Salih died, succumbing to his illness. The officers, led by their commander Fakhr al-Din, then stepped in to smoothly continue the war against the Crusaders. In December, the Crusader army reached the canal separating them from Mansourah. On the other side of the canal were the armies of Fakhr al-Din, and the Mameluke general Baibars. The Muslims held the Crusaders in check until February of 1250, when part of the Christian force was able to cross the canal and attack the Muslim camp at dawn. Fakhr al-Din was killed as he jumped naked from his bath. The Crusaders continued on to Mansourah, where Baibars tricked them. His soldiers hid themselves within the walls of the town. The Crusaders stormed through the gates, where they were ambushed resulting in great casualties on the Christian side. Meanwhile, the rest of the army crossed the river and were attacked by the Egyptian force, where they also suffered a great loss of men.

By the end of February in 1250 AD, the new Sultan of Egypt, al-Mu'azzam Turan Shah, arrived at Mansourah along with vital supplies and reinforcements. The Crusaders, on the other hand, had no means of resupply, since their camp had been cut off from Damietta by a fleet of Muslim ships. Soon starvation and disease spread throughout their camp. Finally, on the 5^th of April in 1250, Louis ordered a retreat. The Crusader army, greatly reduced by disease, starvation and constant attacks from the Ayyubid army, was virtually useless as an effective force. The remaining Crusaders surrendered, and the French king was captured. Louis was released on the 6^th of May, but only after a large ransom was paid for himself, and for what remained of his army, and also the surrender of Christian held Damietta.

Once free from his Muslim captors Louis did not flee back to Europe in disgrace, but remained in the Middle East for four more years. During that time, he oversaw the re-fortification of his base at Acre, as well as the strongholds of Sidon, Jaffe, and Caesarea. Louis also created an innovative new force of 100 knights along with a regime of crossbowmen. Unlike previous knights, who were garrisoned at particular strategic cities or castles, this force was used wherever they were most needed to protect Latin interests in the Middle East. Eventually King Louis IX left the Holy Land in 1254 AD, officially bringing an end to the Seventh Crusade.

References:

Adduson, C.G. The Knights Templars. (Forgotten Books, 2012).

Haag, M. The Templars: History & Myth. (London, England: Profile Books, 2008).

Robinson, J.J. Dungeon, Fire & Sword. (Lanham, Maryland: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., 2009).

Wasserman, J. The Templars and the Assassins. (Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2001).

The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the Sixth: Crusade: The Church, The Templars, and The Crusades – Part 7

 

The Sixth Crusade was led by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1228 AD. Frederick was an intriguing and exotic person who spoke six languages fluently, including Arabic. He was liked and respected by the Muslims. He enjoyed long-standing friendships with various members of Islamic royalty, kept a harem in Sicily, and was schooled in Arabic philosophy and mathematics. Frederick was known to his contemporaries as Stupor Mundi, the “Marvel of the World.” Frederick II was crowned king of Germany by Pope Innocent in 1215, and immediately announced his intention to go on a Crusade. In 1225, he was married to the daughter and heiress of John of Brienne, king of Jerusalem. John assumed the marriage would encourage Frederick to finally begin his Crusade, but instead he delayed.

In 1227, Pope Honorius III died, and was succeeded by Pope Gregory IX, who immediately ordered Frederick to fulfill his promise to begin the Crusade. Frederick quickly returned however, claiming illness, but Gregory did not believe him. Pope Gregory then excommunicated Frederick for his premature return and for his military efforts against the Templars. Frederick set off again in June 1228, and his resolve to fight a Crusade for two years was initially received with enthusiasm by the Templars and the Hospitalers. Yet soon after his arrival in Acre, a letter from the pope ordered the Templars to play no part in Frederick's efforts because of his excommunication. The pope soon sent another letter to the Templars announcing that he had just excommunicated Frederick a second time. The Templars were now presented with a problem, for it was forbidden for an excommunicate to take part in a Crusade.

Although the Templars were bound by their vows of obedience to the pope, they knew that any changes Frederick might make with the Muslims would effect the balance of power in the Holy Land. Therefore they needed full knowledge of his actions, and in the event of any military or territorial gains, they wanted to be included. Thus the Templars decided on a compromise: they rode one day's journey behind Frederick so they could not be accused of marching with him. Later they marched alongside him. The terms of this arrangement were that Frederick would state that his orders were being given in the name of God, rather than in his own name, that of an excommunicated emperor.

In February 1229, Frederick negotiated a ten year treaty with al-Kamil for the return of Jerusalem and a portion of the land leading to the Mediterranean. In addition, the sultan agreed to the return of Nazareth, western Galilee, and the lands around Sidon and Bethlehem. In March 1229, Frederick crowned himself king of Jerusalem. The very next day, the archbishop of Caesarea excommunicated the entire city of Jerusalem for harboring the excommunicated emperor. Although Frederick negotiated his treaty in the name of all Franks, he never received their permission to do so. The Templars were angry that the site of their original Temple would remain in Muslim hands. The holy war against the infidel was the raison d'etre of the military orders, and Frederick had just undermined it. Feelings were so tense between him and the Templars that he feared for his life and so he left Jerusalem.

The Templars joined in a plan with the patriarch of Jerusalem to take back Jerusalem in the name of the pope. However, Frederick learned of their activities and called them traitors. He also expelled them from Acre, and disarmed them to the extent that he was able. He helped strengthen the newly arrived Teutonic Knights, a German military order founded in 1198, and patterned after the Templars. Meanwhile, the pope had undertaken a Crusade against Frederick in Italy, and the Templars tried to persuade sultan al-Kamil to turn against Frederick. Finally, on May 1, 1229, the pressure from the pope forced Frederick to return to Europe. Thus the Sixth Crusade lasted from 1228-1229 AD, one year.

 

 

References:

Adduson, C.G. The Knights Templars. (Forgotten Books, 2012).

Haag, M. The Templars: History & Myth. (London, England: Profile Books, 2008).

Robinson, J.J. Dungeon, Fire & Sword. (Lanham, Maryland: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., 2009).

Wasserman, J. The Templars and the Assassins. (Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2001).

The Fifth Crusade and the Assault on Egypt: The Church, The Templars, and The Crusades – Part 6

Pope Innocent was succeeded by Pope Honorius III, who continued to embrace the Templars with his support. The Templars looked after their own interests and developed their remaining holdings into self sufficient feudal communities. Castles were reinforced in keeping with the lessons of siege warfare. The skill by which Saladin's soldiers had been able to undermine castle walls was not forgotten. Castle Pilgrim at Atlit, between Jaffa and Haifa, marked the ultimate in medieval castle design. Construction began under the Templar Grand Master William of Chartres in 1217 AD, the same year the Fifth Crusade began.

Beginning in 1217, the Fifth Crusade started off as a multinational force comprised of volunteers from Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, France, England, Holland, and Austria. To start with, the Crusaders attempted to take the Egyptian city of Damietta hoping that a strategic victory against the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil would allow them safe passage on to Jerusalem. The main commander in this Crusade was a Spanish cardinal named Pelagius. The defining strategy pursued by Pelagius and Pope Honorius was the late Pope Innocent's interpretation of scripture that Muhammad was the Beast as prophesied in the book of Revelation, whose evil empire would eventually fall by its own wickedness. Thus the counsel of the Templars, the Hospitallers, and any other military leaders could be ignored due to religious prejudice.

Francis of Assisi visited al-Kamil at Cairo during the siege of Damietta. Through Francis, the sultan offered the Christians a truce. If they would leave Egypt, he would return the holy relic of the True Cross (previously held by Saladin) and give them the area around Galilee and all of central Palestine, including Jerusalem. Pelagius refused, believing it was sinful to negotiate with an infidel. The more sophisticated military leaders knew that Jerusalem would be in a strategically indefensible position because the sultan insisted on keeping two castles that could be used for future attacks from the Muslims. They also reasoned that the sultan must be weaker than they had estimated if he was willing to offer such favorable terms. Thus they attacked Damietta with renewed enthusiasm and the city fell in November 1219. Upon entering Damietta, they discovered that the city had been ravaged by a plague.

Templar Grand Master William of Chartres had died that summer, due to complications from his wounds. He was succeeded by Pedro de Montaigu, whose leadership inspired morale and confidence among the Templars. Meanwhile, Pelagius held the army within a twenty mile radius of Damietta, and this would last for the next two years. This infuriated the military leaders, but since the Templars were bound by their strict allegiance to the pope, they were forbidden to disobey his orders or the orders of his direct representative no matter how incompetent he may have been.

Ultimately, Pelagius ordered the assault force of over six hundred ships and nearly fifty thousand foot soldiers towards Cairo in July 1221. He had chosen a bad time however, for the annual inundation of the Nile was at hand. After a twelve day march, the Crusader armies came to a plain from which they could see the Muslim army that had surrounded them undetected throughout their march. The Crusaders attempted to retreat only to have the Muslims open the Nile flood gates, which nearly destroyed them. The Fifth Crusade ended in disaster. While al-Kamil offered to return the True Cross as part of the truce ending the Crusade, it had been misplaced and could not be found. The Sultan ordered a thorough search for the holy relic, but unfortunately it was never recovered.

 

References:

Adduson, C.G. The Knights Templars. (Forgotten Books, 2012).

Haag, M. The Templars: History & Myth. (London, England: Profile Books, 2008).

Robinson, J.J. Dungeon, Fire & Sword. (Lanham, Maryland: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., 2009).

Wasserman, J. The Templars and the Assassins. (Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2001).

The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, 1204 AD: The Church, The Templars, and The Crusades – Part 5

 

The Ascension of Pope Innocent III in 1198 AD would be a stroke of good fortune for the Knights Templars. Pope Innocent was a powerful and influential leader, who would reign for eighteen years. He maintained an iron will towards establishing the Church as the supreme ruler of a theocratic hierarchy, in which all Christian kings would willingly submit themselves to the authority of the pope. Innocent protected the Templars, yet he ruled them with an equally firm hand. The Knights Templar became Pope Innocent's personal army, the militia of Christ, by which the pope would enforce his will and attain his goals. Among those goals would be the liberation of Jerusalem by calling for yet another Crusade.

In 1202, Pope Innocent preached a Fourth Crusade whose glory would be equal to that of the First Crusade. Egypt would be the initial target, as taking a leaf from the notes of King Richard. The army of the Fourth Crusade was led by various nobles deemed loyal to Pope Innocent, of whom Boniface of Montferrat was the overall leader. The Templars helped fund the European armies as they assembled and began to travel eastward. The Crusaders assembled in Venice from all across Europe, and from Venice the plan was to sail to Egypt.

The merchants of Venice had been enlisted to provide the required ships and passage arrangements for the army as well as to procure a year's supply of food. The Crusaders were unaware that the Venetians had also at the same time made a trade agreement with the sultan of Egypt, promising him that no European army would land in Egyptian territory. So the Venetians demanded of the Crusaders a price for their services. The Crusaders could not meet the demands of the Venetians, so the Venetians proposed a deal. If the Crusaders captured the Dalmatian port of Zara for Venice, the Venetians would then extend credit to them. Although Zara was a Christian city, the Crusaders agreed, and within five days, the Crusaders delivered the city of Zara to the Venetians. Pope Innocent was mortified at the shedding of Christian blood and excommunicated both the city of Venice and the Crusader army. However, after realizing that the army had been manipulated, the Pope lifted their excommunication.

Now, the Venetian leader Enrico Dandelo, had a long sanding grudge against Constantinople. Intent on winning Venetian dominion in the trade of the east, he all too well remembered his undignified exile from Constantinople when he had served there as an ambassador. So Dandelo in-sighted the conquest of the grand Byzantine city as a detour of opportunity for the Crusaders. They could stamp out the Orthodox Christian heresy and unite all of Christendom under the pope. They could also avail themselves of the legendary wealth of Constantinople to pay their Venetian debt. The Crusader leaders agreed and attacked Constantinople in 1204 AD. The city fell once the Crusaders managed to lower the massive chain which blocked the harbor of the Golden Horn. Sailing in with their fleet and attacking the sea walls and land walls simultaneously with siege engines and scaling ladders, even the elite Varangian Guard could not prevent the Crusaders from forcing their way into the city.

Once the Latin Christian soldiers had entered the Orthodox Christian city, wholesale looting and pillaging followed. The carnage and violence of theft would soon be accompanied by drunkenness, sacrilege, murder, and rape. Thousands were killed. In the aftermath the Byzantine territories were distributed between Venice and its allies. Pope Innocent's dream of a united Christianity was destroyed. The Fourth Crusade extinguished itself without even reaching the Holy Land. However, the Byzantine Empire would be reestablished in 1261 AD, when the Orthodox Christian forces of the Empire of Nicaea led by Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople.

References:

Adduson, C.G. The Knights Templars. (Forgotten Books, 2012).

Haag, M. The Templars: History & Myth. (London, England: Profile Books, 2008).

Robinson, J.J. Dungeon, Fire & Sword. (Lanham, Maryland: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc., 2009).

Wasserman, J. The Templars and the Assassins. (Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2001).