Lord Edward's Crusade,Henry Summerson (2005). "Lord Edward's crusade (act. 1270–1274)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. sometimes called the Ninth Crusade, was a military expedition to the Holy Land under the command of Edward Longshanks, later king of England, in 1271–1272. In practice an extension of the Eighth Crusade, it was the last of the Crusades to reach the Holy Land before the fall of Acre in 1291, which brought an end to the permanent crusader presence there.
The crusade saw Edward clash with the Egyptian Mamluk sultan Baibars, with both achieving limited victories. The Crusaders were ultimately forced to withdraw since Edward had pressing concerns at home and felt unable to resolve the internal conflicts within the remnant Outremer territories. It also foreshadowed the imminent collapse of the last remaining crusader strongholds along the Mediterranean coast.
From Dover to Acre Following the Mamluk victory over the Mongols in 1260 at the Battle of Ain Jalut by Qutuz and his general Baibars, Qutuz was assassinated, leaving Baibars to claim the sultanate for himself. As sultan, Baibars proceeded to attack the Christian crusaders at Arsuf, Atlit, Haifa, Safad, Jaffa, Ascalon, and Caesarea. As the Crusader fortress cities fell one by one, the Christians sought help from Europe, but assistance was slow in coming.
In 1268, Baibars captured Antioch, thereby destroying the last remnant of the Principality of Antioch, securing the Mamluk northern front and threatening the small Crusader County of Tripoli. With royal and papal approval, Edward "took the cross" on 24 June 1268.Michael Lower, The Tunis Crusade of 1270: A Mediterranean History (Oxford University Press, 2018), p. 76. Louis IX of France organized a large crusader army with the intent of attacking Egypt, but diverted it instead to Tunis. Louis himself died there in 1270. He had lent Edward 70,000 livres tournois for his crusade.Lower 2018, p. 104.
Edward and his brother Edmund prepared an expedition to join Louis at Tunis, but it was delayed several times in the summer of 1270 because their father, King Henry III of England, could not make up his mind whether to join it or not. On the advice of his councilors, he opted to stay in England and the crusaders embarked at Dover on 20 August.Lower 2018, pp. 174–76. Unusual for the time, they were accompanied by Edward's wife Eleanor of Castile throughout. There is some debate around the place and month of departure, Portsmouth or Dover, August or September; Dover is certainly more likely, the month less certain. Ann. Thomas Wykes. 236. “Obtenta quoque licentia, dominus E[dwardus] satagens dominum Robertum Burnel clericum suum, quem sincerissime diligebat, ad tantæ celsitudinis apicem promovere, relicta classe cum quanta poterat celeritate secessit Cantuariam, ut personæ suæ præsentia supradictos induceret electores, ut in dictum clericum suum vota sua dirigerent.” Or ‘having also obtained leave, the Lord Edward, endeavouring to promote Sir Robert Burnel, his clerk, whom he loved most sincerely, to the pinnacle of such highness, left the fleet and retired to Canterbury with all the speed he could, in order to bring in the aforesaid electors in his person, to give his wishes to the said clerk they would direct.” He then goes on to suggest that Edward returned to Portsmouth to continue with the plan to travel to Aigues Mortes by way of Bordeaux and Gascony, but the timeline is very tight and the Winchester chronicler, closer to Portsmouth, has a date for the Dover embarkation whereas Wykes merely recites the original plan. Ann. Winchester. 109. “Et sic iter suum versus Portesmue, ubi transfretare proposuerat, arripuit; et cum eo dominus Willelmus] de Valencia, dominus Thomas de Clare, dominus Rogerus de Clyfford, et multi alii, qui mutato proposito Cantuariam adiverunt, et apud Doveriam transfretaverunt xiii. kal. Septembris.” Or “and so he set out on his way towards Portsmouth, where he had proposed to cross; and with him lord William de Valencia, lord Thomas de Clare, lord Roger de Clyfford, and many others, who, with a changed purpose, went to Canterbury, and crossed over at Dover. 13th cal. September.” King Henry writing to Llywelyn ap Grufydd also describes a move of origin from Portsmouth to Dover see CCR King Henry III vol 14 1268-1272, 290. “Edwardi primogeniti nostri versus Terram Sanctam, qui, illis qui sunt de consilio nostro et aliis regni nostri magnatibus et fidelibus nostris secum existentibus, cum crucesignatorum multitudine apud Portesmuth' auram expectando jam diu est perhendinavit et pretextu contrarietatis aure predicte ab inde usque Dovor'”
Edward traveled slowly through France, arriving in Aigues-Mortes, the same port from which Louis had embarked, in late September (a month later than expected). He went from there to Sardinia, where he waited a month before crossing to Tunis, where he arrived on 10 November, too late for the fighting. In fact, the Treaty of Tunis that ended the crusade had been signed on 30 October. Although Edward had played no role in its negotiation, the treaty obligated its signatories—Philip III of France, Charles I of Sicily and Theobald II of Navarre—to prevent Edward from attacking Tunis. Edward was also excluded from receiving a portion of the indemnity paid to the crusaders for leaving.Lower 2018, pp. 134–35.
On 18 November, Charles granted Edward a safe-conduct allowing him to stay in Sicily while contemplating his next steps. Although the other crusaders decided each to return home, Edward opted to continue on his way to the Holy Land to assist Bohemund VI, Prince of Antioch and Count of Tripoli, against the Mamluk threat to the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. On May 9, 1271 Edward finally arrived at AcrePrestwich, p. 75 with a fleet of eight sailing vessels and thirty galleys.Lower 2018, pp. 179–82. He brought a small but not insignificant contingent of no more than 1,000 men, including 225 knights.Prestwich, p. 71Lower 2018, p. 179, says 300 knights.
Edmund meanwhile left England between 25th February and 4th March 1271. Ann. Winchester. 110. “Item in secunda hebdomada Quadragesimæ transfretavit dominus Eadmundus filius e regis Henrici versus Terram Sanctam.” Or “Likewise, in the second week of Lent, Lord Eadmund, son of King Henry, sailed towards the Holy Land.” Ann. Waverley. 377. “Item in secunda hebdomada Quadragesimæ transfretavit dominus Edmundus filius regis Henrici versus Terram Sanctam.” Or “Likewise, in the second week of Lent, Lord Edmund, son of King Henry, sailed towards the Holy Land.” His route is mostly unknown, but we do know he travelled through France as Savoyard archives place him in Saint-Georges-d'Espéranche visiting his great-uncle Philip I, Count of Savoy. AST. sez. 1, Faucigny, paq. 1, n" 15, orig. parch. (Insent. 5-6.). - *Mém.-doc. soc. Savois. hist.-ar- chéol. IV, xxvij; V, Translation Latin to French in Ulysse Chevalier. 1913. Regeste Dauphinois Répertoire Chronologique & Analytique des Documents Imprimës et Manuscrits Relatifs a l'Histoire du Dauphiné, Chretiennes l'Année 1349 tome II, Valence: l’Imprimerie Valentinoise. 861. No 1098. “St-Georges-d'Espéranche, 3 août 1271. Sentence prononcée par Edmond, fils du roi d'Angleterre, et Philippe, comte de Savoie et de Bourgogne, arbitres nommés entre la dauphine Béatrix, dame de Faucigny, et Béatrix de Villars-Thoire et ses enfants Humbert, seigneur de Thoire et Villars, et Henri, chan- tre de Lyon, au sujet des biens et de l'hoirie d'Aimon de Faucigny. Les arbitres statuent que la dame de Faucigny cèdera à celle de Thoire, pour toutes ses réclamations, les châteaux d'Aubonne (Albona) et d'Hermance (Ermencia), ainsi que tous les fiefs qu'elle possède dans le pays de Vaud (Waudi), au nord d'Aubonne, à l'exception de ceux des sires de Montfaucon. En outre, il sera payé chaque année à Béatrix de Thoire et à ses fils 700 liv. Viennois, dans lesquelles seront compris les revenus des lieux ci-dessus cédés. La dame de Thoire et ses fils reconnaîtront tenir en fief du comte de Savoie le château d'Aubonne et tout ce qu'ils ont ou acquerront au-delà du lac de Genève vers Lausanne; ils tien- dront le château d'Hermance en fief de la comtesse de Viennois, mais celle-ci en fera hommage au comte de Savoie, de même que de tout ce qui est compris entre le lac de Genève et Flumet. Act. ap. S. Georgium de Speranchia, lundi fête de la révélation de s' Etienne.” Thus making his departure port most likely Aigues-Mortes.
Operations in the Holy Land Edward arrived at Acre while it was still under siege. His arrival caused Baibars to change his plans and turn away from Acre. In the meantime, Edward discovered that the Venetians had a flourishing trade with the Mamluks, providing the latter with timber and metal needed for armaments. In addition, they controlled the slave-trade along with the Genoese, in which they carried Turkish and Tartar slaves from the Black Sea ports to Egypt. However, he could not prevent such businesses, as they had licenses from the High Court at Acre.
Crusader raids The forces under Edward's command were much too small to take on the Mamluks in a straight battle, being unable to even stop the Mamluks from seizing the nearby Teutonic Montfort Castle. They settled for launching a series of raids, one of which reached Nazareth. The 14th-century English chronicler Walter of Guisborough mentions that Nazareth was captured, a detail not mentioned in sources from the Crusader states themselves. Another raid struck St Georges-de-Lebeyne but accomplished little other than burning some houses and crops, on top of losing a few men to the heat.Tyerman, p. 813
Later, the arrival of additional forces from England and Hugh III of Cyprus, under the command of Edward's younger brother Edmund, emboldened Edward. He launched a larger raid with the support of the Templar, Hospitaller, and Teutonic Knights on the town of Qaqûn. The Crusaders surprised a large force of Turcomans (mostly itinerant herdsmen), reportedly killing 1,500 of them and taking 5,000 animals as booty. These Turcomans were likely relatively new additions to Baibars' army, being integrated in 1268 and given horses, titles, and lands in return for military service after the Turkmen migrations following the Mongol invasions.Preiss, p. 70 Muslim sources list one emir as killed and one as wounded during this raid. On top of that, the Muslim commander of the castle was forced to abandon his command. However, Edward did not take the castle itself and retreated before Baibars could respond in kind (he was with his main army in Aleppo at the time, guarding against the Mongol raid).Prestwich, p. 77
In December 1271, Edward and his troops saw some action when they repelled an attack by Baibars on the city of Acre.
Mongol raids As soon as Edward arrived in Acre, he made some attempts to form a Franco-Mongol alliance, sending an embassy to the Mongol ruler of Persia, Abagha, an enemy of the Muslims. The embassy was led by Reginald Rossel, Godefroi of Waus and John of Parker, and its mission was to obtain military support from the Mongols.Histoire des Croisades III, René Grousset, p. 653. Grousset quotes a contemporary source (Eracles, p. 461) explaining that Edward contacted the Mongols "por querre secors" ("To ask for help"). In an answer dated 4 September 1271, Abagha agreed on cooperation and asked on what date the concerted attack on the Mamluks should take place.Preiss, p. 98