The Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, was a significant military expedition that took place from 1248 to 1254 CE. This crusade aimed to reclaim Jerusalem and other Holy Land territories that had fallen back into Muslim hands. Ultimately it would cost the king his freedom but not his crusading zeal.
Background and Preparations
In December 1244, Louis IX decided to launch the Seventh Crusade in response to the fall of Jerusalem to Muslim forces. The city had been conquered by the Turks in August 1244, just 15 years after the success of Frederick II’s Sixth Crusade. Louis IX believed that the political climate in Europe, with a temporary lull in the conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy, made it an opportune time for a new crusade.
Despite facing opposition from his closest barons and noblemen, and suffering from malaria, Louis IX remained determined to free the Holy Land. The French king spent years meticulously preparing for the expedition, gathering resources and building support.
On August 25, 1248, Louis IX finally departed from Aigues-Mortes in southern France. He was accompanied by his family, 100 ships, and an army of 35,000 men. The majority of the forces were French, with some Scottish and English soldiers joining the ranks. The crusaders’ strategy was to seize key towns in Egypt and use them as bargaining chips to negotiate for Syrian cities.
The Crusade Begins
The Seventh Crusade’s first major engagement took place in June 1249 when the crusader army landed in Egypt. In a swift and decisive action, they captured the strategically important city of Damietta, located on the Nile Delta. This early victory boosted the morale of the crusaders and provided them with a strong foothold in Egypt.
Encouraged by their initial success, the crusader army began their march from Damietta towards Cairo on November 20, 1249. Their ultimate goal was to strike at the heart of Muslim power in Egypt, hoping that this would lead to the recapture of Jerusalem and other Holy Land territories.
The Eve of Battle
As the Crusader army approached Mansurah, they found themselves separated from the Muslim camp by the canal of Ashmum (now known as Albahr Alsaghir). For six weeks, the two armies faced each other across this waterway, with neither side gaining a decisive advantage.
During this time, the Crusaders attempted to construct a dam to cross the canal, but their efforts were thwarted by enemy bombardment, including the use of Greek fire. The stalemate was broken when an Egyptian Copt offered to reveal the location of a ford across the canal.
The Initial Assault
On the dawn of February 8, 1250, the Crusaders began their crossing. King Louis IX led the main army, while his brother, Robert of Artois, commanded the vanguard, supported by the Knights Templar and an English contingent led by William of Salisbury.
Robert of Artois, despite explicit orders to wait for the king’s signal, made a fateful decision to launch an immediate attack on the Egyptian camp. The surprise assault caught the Ayyubid forces completely off guard. Many were still asleep or unarmed when the Frankish cavalry charged into their midst.
The initial attack was a resounding success. The Muslim defenders were slaughtered as they scrambled for their weapons, and the survivors fled towards Mansurah. In the chaos, the Ayyubid commander, Fakhr ad-Din, was cut down by Templar knights as he rushed from his bath to join the battle.
The Tide Turns
Flush with victory, Robert of Artois made another crucial decision that would ultimately spell disaster for the Crusaders. Instead of consolidating their position and waiting for the main army to arrive, he ordered his forces to pursue the fleeing Egyptians into Mansurah itself.
This overreach proved to be a fatal mistake. As the Crusaders entered the city, they found themselves trapped and surrounded by the bulk of the Ayyubid army, now under the command of the Mamluk officer Baibar. The narrow streets of Mansurah negated the Crusaders’ cavalry advantage, and the tables quickly turned.
The Crusader vanguard suffered devastating losses. Robert of Artois and William of Salisbury were both killed, along with most of the Knights Templar. Only five Templar Knights managed to escape the slaughter.
As news of the disaster reached King Louis IX, he rushed to support his beleaguered vanguard. The main battle raged for two more days, with heavy losses on both sides. The Crusaders found themselves besieged from all directions by Egyptian forces and the local population. The Crusaders were forced to retreat to their camp, hastily surrounding it with a ditch and wall for protection.
Siege and Retreat
The crusader army faced relentless attacks, famine, and disease. Morale plummeted, with some crusaders even deserting to the Muslim side. In a desperate bid to salvage the situation, King Louis IX proposed surrendering Damietta in exchange for Jerusalem and other coastal Syrian towns. The Egyptians, fully aware of the crusaders’ dire circumstances, rejected the offer.
On the night of April 5, under the cover of darkness, the crusaders attempted a desperate evacuation of their camp. In their haste, they made a critical error by failing to destroy the pontoon bridge they had constructed across the canal. This oversight would prove catastrophic.
The Battle of Fariskur
As dawn broke on April 6, 1250, the Egyptian forces, led by Sultan Turanshah, seized the opportunity presented by the crusaders’ hasty retreat. Crossing the intact pontoon bridge, they pursued the fleeing Christian army to the town of Fariskur.
At Fariskur, the exhausted and demoralized crusader force faced the full might of the Egyptian army. The battle quickly turned into a rout as the Egyptians overwhelmed the crusaders. Thousands of Christian soldiers were killed or captured in the ensuing chaos.
King Louis IX, the embodiment of crusader zeal, found himself in a humiliating position. Along with a handful of nobles, he sought refuge in the nearby village of Moniat Abdallah (now Meniat el Nasr). However, their sanctuary was short-lived. Louis IX, realizing the futility of further resistance, surrendered to an Egyptian eunuch named al-Salihi after receiving assurances that his life would be spared.
Aftermath and Consequences
The capture of the French king sent shockwaves through the Christian world. Louis IX, along with his brothers Charles d’Anjou and Alphonse de Poitiers, was taken to Al Mansurah and imprisoned in the house of Ibrahim ben Lokman, the royal chancellor. The king of France found himself chained and under guard, a stark symbol of the crusade’s failure. He was released after a month following the payment of a large ransom.
The Battle of Fariskur effectively ended the Seventh Crusade and marked a significant turning point in the history of the crusading movement. It demonstrated Egypt’s role as the citadel and arsenal of Islam, capable of repelling even the most determined Christian offensives.
For the crusaders, the defeat at Fariskur represented more than just a military setback. It signaled the last major offensive undertaken against Egypt and dealt a severe blow to the dream of recapturing Jerusalem. European monarchs, with the notable exception of Louis IX, began to lose interest in launching new crusades.
Louis IX’s Continued Efforts
Despite this setback, Louis IX remained in the Holy Land for four more years. During this time, he focused on diplomacy and fortification rather than military campaigns. The king managed to negotiate several advantageous alliances and strengthened the defenses of Christian cities in Syria.
Louis IX only returned to France in 1254 upon learning of his mother’s death. Despite the ultimate failure of the Seventh Crusade, the king’s efforts during these years helped to temporarily stabilize the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
Impact and Legacy
The Seventh Crusade had far-reaching consequences for both Europe and the Middle East:
Financial Strain: The crusade placed an enormous financial burden on France. It’s estimated that the expedition cost Louis IX about 1.5 million livres tournoi, approximately six times his annual income as King of France.
Shift in Crusading Leadership: The Seventh Crusade, like the Sixth, was led by a monarch rather than the Church. This shift highlighted the declining power of the papacy and the increasing use of crusades as tools of national policy.
Sainthood of Louis IX: Despite its failure, the Seventh Crusade did not totally diminish the European enthusiasm for crusades. Louis IX himself would later lead the Eighth Crusade in 1270, and his dedication to the crusading cause, despite repeated failures, led to his canonization. He became a model of the selfless warrior of Christ for many Christians.
