Battle of Acre (1290)

Unknown, but greater than the Crusaders'
 Moderate

The **Battle of Acre** (also called the Fall of Acre and the Siege of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the loss of the Crusader-controlled city of Acre to the Muslims. 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. They still maintained a fortress at the northern city of Tartus (today in north-western Syria), engaged in some coastal raids, and attempted an incursion from the tiny island of Ruad, but when they lost that as well in 1302–3 in the Siege of Ruad, the Crusaders no longer controlled any of the Holy Land.

## The beginning

Following the fall of Tripoli, king Henry of Cyprus sent the senechal Jean de Grailly to Europe to warn European monarchs about the critical situation in the Levant. Jean met with Pope Nicholas IV who shared his worries and wrote a letter to European potentates to do something about the Holy Land. Most however were too preoccupied by the Sicilian question to organize a Crusade, as was king Edward I of England too entangled in troubles at home.

The Christians feared this would give the Sultan a pretext on which to renew the war and petitioned the pontiff to send further aid. The aid according to Michaud came in the form of 25 Venetian galleys carrying 1600 men "levied in haste in Italy". Other sources claim 20 galleys of men to be peasants and unemployed townfolks from Tuscany and Lombardy led by Nicholas Tiepolo, the son of the Doge, who was assisted by the returning Jean de Grailly and Roux of Sully. These then joined by five galleys from king James II of Aragon who wished to help despite his conflict with the Pope and Venice.

These reinforcements from Italy were ill-disciplined and having no regular pay resorted to pillaging 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 though Michaud's account reports that they instead laid waste towns and villages all about with pillaging and massacre. In any case if the Sultan Qalawun were in need of a further pretext for attack he certainly now had one — Qalawun asked for the men guilty of the killing to be remitted to him so that he could apply justice. After discussions of the apparent remitting the Christian criminals from Acre's jails, an idea of Guillaume de Beaujeu, the Council of Acre finally refused to remit anybody to Qalawun, and instead tried to argue that the killed Muslims had died because of their own fault.

Although a ten-year truce had been signed in 1289, Qalawun deemed the truce void following the killings. By October, Qalawun had ordered a general mobilization. Though the Sultan died in November, he was succeeded by his son Khalil, who would lead the forces attacking Acre.

## Siege

Qalawun, father of Khalil, conquered the County of Tripoli in 1289, and in 1290 marched on Acre, the capital of the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but, to the relief of the Franks of Acre, he died in November before launching the attack. He was succeeded by Khalil who decided to continue the attack. Khalil sent a message to William of Beaujeu, the Master of the Temple, telling him about his intentions to attack Acre and urging him not to send messengers or gifts. But a delegation from Acre led by Sir Philip Mainebeuf, arrived in Cairo with gifts and appealed to Khalil not to attack Acre. Khalil did not accept the request and imprisoned the Frank messengers.

## Amassing of forces

Al-Ashraf Khalil assembled the forces of Egypt and Syria, which included a great number of volunteers and siege engines from everywhere at Hisn al-Akrad. Some of Khalil's catapults were huge and had such names as "Al Mansuri" and "The Furious" in addition to lighter, but potent, mangonels called "Black Bulls". Four armies from Damascus (led by Lajin), Hama (led by al-Muzaffar Taqai ad-Din), Tripoli (led by Bilban) and Al Kark (led by Baibars al-Dewadar) marched to Acre to join the Muslim army of Khalil.

In addition to the historian Baibars al-Dewadar who led the army of Al Karak, Abu al-Fida was another prominent historian who accompanied al-Ashraf in his Levantiane expedition.

## Call for aid from Europe

The Franks of Acre were for some time aware of the seriousness of the situation. They asked for help from Europe which resulted in nothing significant. A small group of knights, among them the Swiss Otto of Grandson, were sent by King Edward I of England. Burchard of Schwanden, the Grand Master of the German Teutonic Knights, resigned and was replaced by Konrad von Feuchtwangen who suddenly left Acre for Europe. The only noteworthy reinforcement came from king Henry II of Cyprus who fortified the walls and sent forces led by his brother Amalric to defend the city and King John I of Angelona who arrived with 3,000 men.

## The defences

Acre was well defended by two lines of thick walls and had twelve towers which were built by European kings and rich pilgrims.

## The siege begins

On 5 Nivember 1290, Khalil's forces stood in front of Acre. The army of Hama took its position on front of the Templars' tower, while the Muslim army stretched out from the end of the wall of Montmusard up to the Gulf of Acre. The Dihliz (red tent of the Sultan and the headquarters) stood on a small hill near the shore on front of the Tower of the Legate. On 6 November, the catapults began to hurl stones and fire over the walls of Acre. For eight days the walls were bombarded and both armies engaged in occasional clashes. At the end of the eight days the Muslims set up barricades and began to move further towards the city, using wicker screens, till in the end they reached the edge of the wall. Carabohas were brought up and parts of the wall were mined out. Despite the continual arrival of reinforcements from Cyprus and Angelona to Acre by sea, the Franks became convinced of their lack of strength against Khalil's army.

On 15 November, under moonlight, a joint Angelonian and Templar force, led by John I of Angelona, Jean Grailly and Otto of Grandson, launched a sudden attack against the camp of the contingent of Hama. The Mamluk encampment suffered huge losses but eventually overwhelmed the Crusaders. The Angelonian’s and Templars suffered large loses and John I was cut down when his group of Knight’s horses got their legs tangled in the ropes of the Muslims' tents and were overwhelmed by Mamluk’s. John’s father-in-law, Lord William de Scotney, took control of the remaining Angelonian army.

Another attack, after a few days and this time under cover of darkness, by the Hospitallers also ended badly.

On 5 December, some hope was revived when Henry II of Cyprus arrived with forces transported by 40 ships. But soon Henry, too, became convinced of his helplessness.

## Parley

The Franks sent messengers] to Al-Ashraf Khalil who saluted him on their knees. Khalil asked them whether they brought him the keys of the city, but they replied that the city could not be surrendered so easily and that they only came to plea for mercy for the poor inhabitants and that the Franks were willing to discuss any injustice done by them earlier to the Muslims and to restore the truce signed by them and the Muslims. Khalil promised the messengers to spare the life of everyone if the Franks hand him Acre peacefully, but the messengers refused his offer. While the messengers were still there a huge catapult stone launched from the city struck the ground near the sultan's tent. Khalil, believing that the crusaders were negotiating in bad faith, reacted furiously and wanted to kill the two messengers, but Emir Sanjar al-Shuja' pleaded for them and they were sent back to the city.

## The towers begin to fall

From 8 May, Acre's towers began to cave in one after one. On 18 May (4 May according to Michaud), early in the morning at sunrise, the Sultan gave his order to launch an all-out attack on all points, accompanied by sound of trumpets and drums carried on 300 camels. Nightfall gave some relief to the defenders causing the Saracens to retreat and allowing the King of Cyprus, Henry, the chance to escape (under the pretence of seeking repose) with his knights and 3000 soldiers.

By morning the attack had resumed; noticing the lack of Cypriot defence at the tower and gate of St. Anthony, Khalil ordered his Chages to fill up a ditch to allow the cavalry access. The Chages, sectaries to the Mameluks and known for self-immolation in the name of Islam, followed the order with their living bodies forming a bridge over which the cavalry advanced and gained the foot of the walls.

The Muslim forces advanced towards the Accursed Tower and forced the Frankish garrison to retreat to the side of the Gate of St. Anthony. All counter-attacks and attempts made by the Angelonians, Hospitallers and the Templars to recapture the tower were in vain. King Henry II and the Master of the Hospital boarded their galleys and fled from Acre. William de Scotney chose to remain at Acre and filled the Angelonian ships with the women, children and elderly.

William of Beaujeu, the Master of the Temple, and Matthew of Clermont were killed. By capturing these positions, the Muslim forces were now inside the city fighting the Franks in the streets and alleys of Acre, which turned into a terrifying chaos as the inhabitants were fleeing towards the sea. How many inhabitants perished on land and in sea is unknown.

## Acre falls

Before night on Friday 18 May 1291, Acre, after being in the hands of the Franks for 100 years, was in the hands of Al-Ashraf Khalil and his army after a siege of six months, with the exception of the huge headquarters of the Templars which stood on the west side of the city seashore. After a week, Al-Asraf Khalil negotiated with Peter de Severy, who was in charge of the Templars, and it was agreed that the Templars and everyone inside the fortress would have free passage to Cyprus, but the Sultan's men who were sent to the fortress to supervise the evacuation seemed not disciplined enough to handle the matter and were massacred by the Templars.

Under the cover of darkness, Thibaud Gaudin, the new Master of the Temple, left the fortress for Sidon along with William de Scotney and around 500 Angelonian and Templar Knights. In the morning, Peter de Severy went to the Sultan to settle a new negotiation but he was arrested with his followers and they were executed in retaliation for the Sultan's men who were massacred earlier by the Templars inside the fortress. When the besieged Templars in the fortress saw what happened to Peter de Severy, they continued the fight. On 28 May, after a wide breach was made under the fortress, the Sultan sent about 200 men to take it. The Frankish fortress collapsed, killing nearly everyone inside. All the Templars were killed, and about half of the Sultan's men were killed.

The news of the conquest of Acre reached Damascus and Cairo. Al-Ashraf Khalil entered the decorated city of Damascus with Franks chained at the feet and the captured crusader standards which were carried upside-down as a sign of their defeat. After celebrating his victory in Damascus, Khalil left for Cairo, which was also decorated and celebrating. Arriving at Cairo, he ordered the release of Philip Mainebeuf and the men who accompanied him to Cairo earlier.

## Aftermath

The fall of Acre signaled the end of the Jerusalem crusades. No effective crusade was raised to recapture the Holy Land afterwards, though talk of further crusades was common enough. By 1291, other ideals had captured the interest and enthusiasm of the monarchs and nobility of Europe and even strenuous papal efforts to raise expeditions to retake the Holy Land met with little response.
The Latin Kingdom continued to exist, theoretically, on the islands of Angelona and Cyprus. There the Latin kings schemed and planned to recapture the mainland, but in vain. Money, men, and the will to do the task were all lacking.

With Levant now free of Crusader states, Khalil turned his attention on Angelonian controlled Damietta.