The siege of Acre (also called the fall of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the Crusaders' losing control of Acre to the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. It is considered one of the most important battles of the period. Although the crusading movement continued for several more centuries, the capture of the city marked the end of further crusades to the Levant. When Acre fell, the Crusaders lost their last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Background In 1187, Saladin conquered much of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (also called the Latin Kingdom), including Acre and Jerusalem, after winning the Battle of Hattin and inflicting heavy losses on the Crusaders. The Third Crusade was launched in response; the Crusaders besieged and eventually recaptured Acre in 1191. Acre became the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The religious orders made their headquarters in and around the city, and from there made crucial military and diplomatic decisions. For example, when the Mongols arrived from the East in the mid-13th century, the Christians saw them as potential allies.
In 1250, the Mamluk Sultanate arose in Egypt; it was a more dangerous enemy than the Ayyubids. The Mamluks fielded heavy cavalry – a match for the Crusader knights – and were much more hostile. The Crusaders initially attempted to maintain a cautious neutrality with the Mamluks. In 1260, the Barons of Acre granted the Mamluks safe passage through the Latin Kingdom en route to fighting the Mongols; the Mamluks subsequently won the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee against the Mongols. This was an example of atypically cordial relations between the Christians and the Mamluks.
However, as early as 1261, after the Battle of Ain Jalut, Sultan Baibars led the Mamluks against the Crusaders. Baibars captured Caesarea, Haifa, and Arsuf in 1265, all the important Crusader holdings in Galilee the following year, and then Antioch in 1268.Folda, Jaroslav (2005). Crusader art in the Holy Land : from the Third Crusade to the fall of Acre, 1187–1291. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521835831.
European states launched a number of minor Crusading expeditions to reinforce the Crusader states, including the abortive Crusade of Louis IX of France to Tunis in 1270, and the minor Ninth Crusade of Prince Edward (later King Edward I) of England in 1271–1272. The expeditions failed to provide the required relief; they were too small, too short-lived, and the interests of the participants were too diverse. Newman, Albert Henry, A Manual of Church History, p. 461
More seriously, no major reinforcing Crusade was forthcoming. Pope Gregory X was unable to rally support for another great Crusade. Papal advisors blamed the lack of enthusiasm to the laziness and vice of the European nobility and to clerical corruption. A more fundamental reason seems to have been the debasement of the Crusading ideal; Gregory X's predecessors had used Crusades to raise armies against the Papacy's European enemies, Newman, Albert Henry, A Manual of Church History, p. 461 such as the Albigensian Crusade declared by Innocent III against the Cathars & a crusade against the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II declared by Innocent IV.
The Crusader states continued to deteriorate from continuing attacks and political instability. In 1276, the unpopular "King of Jerusalem" Hugh III moved his court to Cyprus.Edbury, Peter W. (1994). The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades, 1191–1374. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-45837-5, pp 90. Under Sultan Al-Mansur Qalawun, the Mamluks captured Lattakia in 1278, and conquered the County of Tripoli in 1289. Qalawun concluded a ten-year truce with the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1284.Rabbat, Nasser O. (2021). The Citadel of Cairo. Brill. p. 136. ISBN 978-90-04-49248-6.
Following the fall of Tripoli, King Henry II, son of Hugh III, sent seneschal Jean de Grailly to warn European monarchs of the critical situation in the Levant.Runciman (1951), p. 408 Pope Nicholas IV supported Jean by writing letters urging European potentates to act. However, the Sicilian question overshadowed calls for a new Crusade, and Edward I of England was too entangled by troubles at home.Schneidman, J.Lee (December 1969). "Ending the War of the Sicilian Vespers". Journal of Peace Research. 6 (4): 335–347. doi:10.1177/002234336900600404. ISSN 0022-3433. S2CID 110273792.
Decades of communications between the Europeans and the Mongols failed to secure a meaningful Franco-Mongol alliance.Atwood. "Western Europe and the Mongol Empire" in Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. p. 583. "Despite numerous envoys and the obvious logic of an alliance against mutual enemies, the papacy and the Crusaders never achieved the often-proposed alliance against Islam".Ryan, James D. (November 1998). "Christian Wives of Mongol Khans: Tartar Queens and Missionary Expectations in Asia". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Cambridge, UK; New York, New York, USA: Cambridge University Press. 8 (3): 411–421. doi:10.1017/S1356186300010506. JSTOR 25183572.
Pretext for attack One Arab account claims that an affair between a rich young wife of the city and a Mussulman was discovered by the husband:
The Crusaders feared that Qalawun would use this as a pretext to resume the war, and petitioned the pontiff for reinforcements. According to Michaud, 25 Venetian galleys carrying 1600 men "levied in haste in Italy" were sent. Other sources claim 20 galleys of peasants and unemployed townfolks from Tuscany and Lombardy, led by Nicholas Tiepolo, the son of Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo, who was assisted by the returning Jean de Grailly and Roux of Sully. These were joined by five galleys from King James II of Aragon who wished to help despite his conflict with the Pope and Venice.Runciman (1951), p. 409
The Italian reinforcements were ill-disciplined and without regular pay; they pillaged indiscriminately from both Muslims and Christians before setting out from Acre. According to Runciman they attacked and killed some Muslim merchants around Acre in August 1290, although in Michaud's account they instead pillaged and massacred towns and villages. Qalawun demanded the extradition of the Christian perpetrators. On the suggestion of Guillaume de Beaujeu, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, the Council of Acre debated the issue; the Sultan's demand was rejected, with the Crusaders claiming that the murdered Muslims had been responsible for their own deaths.Runciman (1951), pp. 410–411
Siege
Prelude to the battle Sultan Qalawun dissolved the truce with Acre, and the Mamluks began mobilizing by October 1290. Qalawun died in December and was succeeded by his son, Al-Ashraf KhalilClaster (2009), p. 286 (sometimes spelled Chalil). Guillaume de Beaujeu received a message from Khalil, which stated the latter's intention to attack Acre and to refuse peace overtures."Because you have been a true man, so we send you advance notice of our intentions, and give you to understand that we are coming into your parts to right the wrongs that have been done. Therefore we do not want the community of Acre to send us any letters or presents (regarding this matter), for we will by no means receive them." —From the letter of Al-Ashraf Khalil to Guillaume de Beaujeu, The Templar of Tyre, Gestes des Chiprois, p. 104 / part 3 Nonetheless, the Crusaders dispatched a peace delegation, led by Sir Philip Mainebeuf,The Templar of Tyre, Gestes des Chiprois, p. 104 / part 3Philip Mainebeuf, who spoke Arabic, was accompanied by a knight named Bartholomew Pisan and a scribe named George. The Templar of Tyre, Gestes des Chiprois, p. 104 / part 3 to Cairo; the delegation was imprisoned.Asili, p. 110 Khalil set out from Cairo in March 1291.
The assembled Mamluk army greatly outnumbered the Crusaders. Khalil called upon Syria to reinforce his Egyptian army; he was answered by contingents from Damascus (led by Lajin), Hama (led by al-Muzaffar Taqai ad-Din), Tripoli (led by Bilban) and al-Karak (led by Baibars al-Dewadar.)There are no reliable figures for the Muslim army, according to some sources it consisted of 60 000 cavalry and 160 000 infantry. Though the numbers seem exaggerated, the army of the Muslim was probably larger than that of the Crusaders. Asili, p. 111Michaud, ibid, pp. 75–76, gives account of 7 emirs leaving in Kalouan's (ie Sultan Qalawun) stead as he was ill; he reports that each emir had 4,000 horse and 20,000-foot at his command – giving about 160,000 men. A significant portion of the troops were volunteers.Abu al-Fida, p. 278 / vol. 13. According to Ibn Taghri most of Khalil's troops were volunteers. Ibn Taghri, p. 5 / vol. 8 The army included a substantial artillery train drawn from fortresses across the Mamluk empire. Hama sent the enormous catapult "The Victorious" (). Another large catapult was "The Furious" (). There were also lighter mangonels called "the Black Bulls" ().Asili, p. 110; Templar of Tyre, p. 105
Notable historians in the Mamluks' ranks included Baybars al-Dewadar,Rukn ad-Din Baibars al-Dewadar was also a historian. He gave his account about the battle for Acre in his book "Zobdat al-Fikrah Fi Tarikh al-Hijrah ( 11 volumes )". and Abulfeda in the Haman contingent.Asli, p. 114
The Crusaders' appeals for aid met with little success. England sent a few knights, including Otto de Grandson of Savoy. The only noteworthy reinforcements came from Henry II of Cyprus, who fortified the walls and sent troops led by his brother Amalric, Lord of Tyre. Burchard von Schwanden suddenly resigned as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and left Acre for Europe; he was succeeded by Konrad von Feuchtwangen. The only major contingent to leave were the Genoese, who concluded a separate treaty with Khalil. Many women and children were evacuated from Acre to Cyprus in March.
Acre was defended by an inner and outer wall, with a total of twelve towers built by European kings and rich pilgrims.Among these towers were the Tower of the Countess of Blois, the Accursed Tower, the Tower of the Legate, the Tower of the Patriarch, the Tower of St. Nicholas, the English Tower, the Germans Tower, the Tower of Henri II, the Tower of King Hugh and the Tower of St. Lazarus. Asili, p. 113; Templar of Tyre, p. 106 / note2The English tower was built by Henry I. Asili, p. 113The Tower of the Countess of Blois was built by the Countess of Blois. Asili, p. 114
Siege begins
Sultan Khalil and the Egyptian army arrived at Acre on 6 April 1291, with the Syrian contingents arriving two days later with siege engines. The Mamluk encampment spanned from one coast to the other about two kilometers from the city walls. The red dihliz – the Sultan's personal tent and headquarters – was on a small hill west of the Legate's Tower. There was little fighting during the first eight days as the besiegers established their camp. From days nine to eleven the Mamluks pushed forward barricades and wicker screens until they reached the fosse before the outer wall; Carabohas, rapid-fire siege engines, were brought up. The besiegers began mining and bombarding the walls. Acre's gates remained open – but heavily defended – as sally ports.
The Crusaders launched multiple attacks on the Mamluk camp. An amphibious assault on the Hamans – stationed on the northernmost section of the line by the sea – was successful although the Crusaders suffered heavy casualties. In another raid, three hundred Templars, led by Jean de Grailly and Otto de Grandson, rode out under moonlight to attack Haman artillery with Greek fire; while the artillery was not destroyed, the Templar engaged over 1000 Mamluks and returned with trophies and captured supplies. Khalil punished some subordinates for the humiliation caused by the Templar sorties. In general, Crusader attacks failed to disrupt Mamluk preparations for a direct assault on the walls.Folda (2005), p. 486