King Louis IX: The French Crusader
How a medieval French king attempted to capture Jerusalem.
King Louis IX of France was devastated to hear the news of Jerusalem’s fall at the hands of Muslims in 1244. The medieval monarch vowed to lead a Crusader army to recapture the Holy City. He personally ensured that his military campaign would be well-financed and provisioned. Fleets from Genoa transported Louis’ forces. Supplies were stockpiled ahead of time in Cyprus.
Seventh Crusade
On August 25, 1248, Louis’ fleet set sail. The King’s army arrived in Cyprus by September. The French King announced his intentions to campaign in Egypt. This was based on the belief that capturing Cairo would be a stepping stone into Jerusalem. King Louis held long sessions with his war council. Going into the Seventh Crusade, the French monarch wanted to avoid any of Christendom’s previous military missteps. He departed from Cyprus in May of 1249. The Crusaders arrived at Damietta on June 4. The Sultan of Egypt attempted to block out the Crusaders from the west bank to prevent a French landing. The galleys of Louis’ ships allowed his knights to charge into the land. Thus, the French were able to immediately occupy the city.
Invasion of Egypt
When the Egyptian forces regrouped to the south, the French advanced down the Nile. Their long march began on November 20, 1249. They established bases all along the way, to prevent any cutoffs. As-Salih Ayyub died, while the Sultan’s men scrambled off to find the new heir. Emir Fakhr-ad-Din Yussuf organized the Muslim opposition to the Crusaders. King Louis sent Robert I, Count of Artois, to led a surprise attack against the Emir’s forces. Egyptian reinforcements poured in to repel the King’s forces. At the Battle of Mansurah, fought on February 11, 1250, the Muslims won a decisive victory against Louis’ forces. The King’s men were plagued and worn down. An attack on Cairo was now unthinkable. The Muslims cut off Louis’ supply lines at Damietta. The Christian infantry were slaughtered, and King Louis was captured. Damietta surrendered, and King Louis was released on May 6, 1250. The remnants of Louis’ army limped on toward Acre.
A failed Crusade
King Louis would remain on the Holy Land for another four years. In this time, the French Crusaders improved fortifications at various strongholds, such as Acre, Caesarea, Jaffa, and Sidon. Louis served as the de facto ruler of a kingdom there. Although Louis’ Crusade had failed, his presence in the Holy Land had a harmonizing effect. The competing factions within the Crusader forces were unified in purpose. Louis established a permanent French garrison at Acre. This served to reinforce the various military orders, such as the Knights Templars, Hopsitallers, and secular troops. Finally, in 1254, the King returned home.
Rise of the Mamluks
Louis’ Seventh Crusade, although it ultimately failed, won a much-beloved status within the memory of Western Christendom. His invasion of Egypt weakened the Islamic power enough to collapse the Ayyubid dynasty. But the Mamluks who replaced them would be far more dedicated to the Islamic cause of jihad than any of Saladin’s heirs. The rise of the Mamluks spelled disaster for Christendom. Unlike the previous Ayyubids, the Mamluks were dedicated to the complete eradication of Crusader presence in the Levant.
Eighth Crusade
The Mamluk Baybars came to power in the Egyptian Sultanate in 1260. They launched a decade of jihad to wipe out the Crusaders. They captured Arsuf, Caesarea, and Jaffa. At every turn, the Mamluks captured and enslaved Christians. On May 18, 1268, the Muslims conquered Antioch. It was a massive blow to Christendom. The city had been in Christian hands for 170 years. The Mamluks murdered every Christian in the city. Women and young boys were sold into sex slavery. Meanwhile, back in France, the elderly King Louis heard reports of the losses in the East. He was enraged, and prepared to lead another crusade. His war council universally opposed the idea. To the King’s knights, this was nothing more than a youthful fantasy. But the King was undeterred. With the Pope’s help, King Louis organized another crusade. Louis’ second crusade was even better funded and prepared than the previous one. This was largely thanks to the King’s reforms in France, which made the kingdom more prosperous and efficient. Louis’ brother, Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily, and he helped out with the Crusade’s planning. It was widely assumed that King Louis would attempt to conquer Egypt, but instead he turned his sights on Tunis. Tunis laid on the coast of North Africa, directly opposite from Sicily, which was under the control of Louis’ brother. The city of Tunis was poorly defended, and a siege could be easily supplied out of Sicily. If successful, it would allow Louis and his brother to rule over the Western Mediterranean. The Crusaders arrived at Tunisia on July 18, 1270. They quickly captured a Muslim fortress on the ancient site of Carthage, setting up base there.
Death
As Louis prepared his next move, an outbreak of disease spread suddenly among the French ranks. North African summers were deadly, especially for foreigners. Many soldiers died, including Louis’ own sons Philip and Jean. King Louis himself fell sick, and was bedridden. On August 24, after reaching Last Rites, Louis called out, “Jerusalem! Jerusalem!” as he lay in a feverish sweat. With his men around him, the King died the next day. The Crusaders were overcome with grief. The Eighth Crusade fell to Charles of Anjou, who cared little about a faraway war. He immediately negotiated peace terms with the Emir of Tunis, Mohammed I. The Treaty of Tunis was signed in 1270. Under it, Sicily gave special trading rights to Tunis. Tunis agreed to pay 210,000 gold ounces to Sicily. The Emirate was to pay a yearly tribute to Sicily. Christian prisoners were released, and Christianity was allowed to be freely preached in Tunis. Louis’ death was mourned all across Europe. His body was repatriated, and he was buried in the royal necropolis at the Basilica of Saint Denis in May 1271. Louis’ brother Charles and King Philip III later disseminated Saint Louis’ relics across Europe. This was done as a deliberate way by the French Crown to promote the cult of Saint Louis. Just as in life, Louis’ legacy played to the superstitions of medieval Catholicism. But none can deny the indelible impact left by the powerful French monarch on the trajectory of European civilization.
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Saint Louis IX, ora pro nobis