The Ayyubids and the Crusaders

PAX MONGOLICA : THE STEPPE EMPIRE OF THE MONGOLS HIST 1301 | History The Ayyubids and the Crusaders The Ayyubid dynasty, descended from Salah al-Din, dominated the region that the crusaders had planned to conquer. Upon his death in 1193, Salah al-Din had ordered his kingdom to be divided among his brothers and sons, but by around 1200, his brother al-Adil I had brought it under his personal authority. Any Ayyubid ruler's true authority depended on his ability to keep the allegiance of his army, known as mamluks. Mamluks were warriors who were often abducted as slaves from the peoples of the Eurasian Steppe while they were youths or teenagers. If gifted, they may advance into senior administrative and leadership positions and enjoyed restricted rights to property and marriage. Since they had no allegiance to the people they protected and policed, they were far less inclined to revolt than those from communities that may grow dissatisfied with the caliph's leadership. Their status and destiny were entirely dependent upon their owner's continued authority. Thus, Mamluk armies were chosen above civilian ones by several caliphs. After the Fourth Crusade, when Jerusalem was still held by Muslims, Pope Innocent declared the need for a Fifth Crusade and dedicated church money to steer clear of the financial problems that had led the Fourth Crusade astray. The Fifth Crusade set off for Egypt in 1217, adopting the Fourth Crusade's original plan of action. The crusaders took Damietta in 1219 by taking advantage of the unrest brought on by al-Adil I's death in late 1218 and the subsequent uprising against his son al-Kamil. With his territories in shambles, al-Kamil attempted to buy the crusaders out of Egypt. He proposed to them a thirty-year ceasefire between Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land, as well as the entirety of the previous crusader kingdom that was centred on Jerusalem. The crusaders denied al-Kamil's offer because they were sure they could beat him, which turned out to be a foolish decision. Al-Kamil and his brothers reunited to encircle the Crusader army in the Nile delta in 1221, having regained control over their father's dominion by then. The Fifth Crusade ended in yet another failure when the crusaders decided to give up their conquests and return to Europe in the face of the prospect of death by water or by sword. Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty consented to spearhead a fresh crusade in order to appease the pope, but his efforts were impeded by personal tragedy and a lack of enthusiasm among Europe's vassals. Pope Gregory IX became so enraged by the delays that he excommunicated him, severing his connection to the church and its hallowed ceremonies. Gregory denounced Frederick's expedition as an unjust war rather than a holy crusade even after he sailed in 1228. Frederick arrived at Acre, the main harbour that was still under Christian control, defying the tactics of the four previous crusades. Because of his slowness, rumours of his excommunication spread before him, and his fellow Christians viewed him with distrust. Acknowledging the balance of power between Christians and the Ayyubids, Frederick relied on his exceptionally potent diplomatic abilities to achieve the goals of the crusade, ultimately signing the Treaty of Jaffa with Sultan al-Kamil in 1219. Frederick was able to hold the title of king of Jerusalem under the arrangement, but with little authority. Muslims were governed by local Islamic scholars rather than Christian authorities; they were free to practise Islam, could not be driven from their homes or have their possessions seized, and continued to enjoy sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, two important Islamic landmarks. The pact forbade the reconstruction of Jerusalem's city walls, which were demolished during the Crusades and rendered the city vulnerable to Muslim invasion. There was a ten-year cease-fire between Christians and Muslims. The deal was viewed by many Muslims and Christians as a surrender. Frederick's preference for diplomacy over combat depleted the crusaders' morale and increased the Christians' suspicion of him in the Holy Land. Even still, Jerusalem had a Christian monarch, more Christians were ruled by Christians than in at least two generations, and all of this had happened without a single human life being lost. By the time the ceasefire ended, ambitious generals and al-Kamil's sons were battling it out for dominance. Periodically, more crusaders would arrive to strengthen Christian troops in the region. They made futile attempts to divide opposing Ayyubid groups in order to enlarge Christian territory. By 1244, al-Salih, the son of Al-Kamil, had consolidated his power inside the Ayyubid Empire, recaptured Jerusalem, and driven the Christians back to a narrow stretch of coastal ports. He included nomadic Turk tribes into the Ayyubid mamluk army, who had been driven from their homes by Mongol expansion into central Asia, and to whom he owed a great deal of his success. Even though they were useful at the time, these extra troops were not teenagers with little life experience to compare their mamluk duty to; rather, they were autonomous adult refugees when they became mamluk. As al-Salih was strengthening his position of authority, Louis IX, the king of France, ordered the creation of a new crusade to free Jerusalem from Islamic domination. He wanted to replicate the Fifth Crusade's early victories by capturing Damietta in Egypt. Although Salih's death in 1249 gave the crusaders hope, they nonetheless suffered the same end as their predecessors nearly thirty years earlier, despite his success. Leading by Turan Shah, the son of al-Salih, the Ayyubid mamluk army ensnared Louis and most of his army in 1250 by trapping the crusaders in the uncharted territory of the Nile delta. People who were judged unfit to receive a ransom were executed. Once Damietta was abandoned by the crusaders and a ransom of 6.4 million ounces of silver (more than USD$134 million at 2020 values) was paid in advance, with the crusaders promising to pay an equivalent amount later, Louis and the vassals accompanying him were kept prisoner. For a number of reasons, including a lack of knowledge with the region and its inhabitants and a long-standing mistrust between the crusaders and the native Eastern Christians, this and the subsequent crusades were frequently unsuccessful.