Crusades after the fall of Acre, 1291–1399

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Popes continued to call for crusades in the century following the fall of Acre and subsequent loss of the Holy Land by the Western world in 1302. These include further plans and efforts for the recovery of the Holy Land, the later popular crusades, crusades against Christians, political crusades, the latter parts of the Reconquista, and the Northern Crusades. Crusades were to continue well into the fifteenth century and would include those against the Ottoman Empire.

The end of Outremer When the Eighth Crusade ended in 1270, the Mamluks were free to continue to assert complete control over Syria and Palestine. The Frankish fortresses soon fell, and the last major expedition of Lord Edward's Crusade failed to free Jerusalem. Mamluk sultan Baibars had defeated the Crusaders and continued his quest to drive the Franks from the Holy Land. At the Second Council of Lyon in 1274, Gregory X preached a new crusade to an assembly which included envoys from both the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and the Mongol Ilkhan Abaqa, as well as from the princes of the West. Many among the Western nobility took the cross. But Gregory X died on 10 January 1276, and there was to be no crusade.Barker, Ernest (1911). "Crusades". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 543–545.

Because of civil strife throughout Europe and the Crusader states, Baibars was able to pursue his ambitions without the threat of Western intervention. He led a raid into Armenian Cilicia, sacking the cities of the plain and later invading the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. He did not long survive his Anatolian invasion, dying in Damascus on 1 July 1277. As he was the greatest enemy to Christendom since Saladin, there was rejoicing throughout the Holy Land and Europe at the news of his death. His successor was an emir named al-Mansûr Qalawun who would soon turn his attention from intrigue in Cairo to attack the Franks.

Henry II of Cyprus was crowned King of Jerusalem in Tyre on 15 August 1286, but soon returned to Cyprus. His brother Amalric of Tyre remained as constable. Amalric overthrew his brother on 26 April 1306, but was murdered on 5 June 1310. After a brief interlude, Henry was restored to power and served until 1324.

Open warfare began off the Syrian coast between the Pisans and the Genoese. The Grand Masters Jean de Villiers and Guillaume de Beaujeu brokered a tentative peace to allow free passage for shipping. Lattakieh had not been impacted by this conflict but Syrian merchants had been complaining to Qalawun about sending their goods to a Christian port. Lattakieh was the last remnant of the Principality of Antioch and was not covered by the truce signed after the Siege of Tripoli. Qalawun attacked the town and on 20 April 1287, the garrison surrendered, with no relief coming from Christian forces in the area.

The death of Gregory X resulted in a series of popes––Innocent V, Adrian V, John XXI, Nicholas III, Martin IV, Honorius IV––that were never able to mount an expedition to the East. When the lengthy 1287–1288 Papal Election concluded, Nicholas IV became the new pontiff on 22 February 1288 and immediately wanted to begin a new crusade.Nicholas Aloysius Weber (1911). "Pope Nicholas IV". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company. In the meantime, Qalawun looked at the situation in Tripoli as an excuse to break his truce with Tripoli and would soon move his army into Syria.

Situation in Europe With a new pope calling for a crusade and the Mamluk sultan threatening Outremer, the situation was dire. Among the European royalty, only France was actively pursuing various crusades after Acre. This situation would change some but not significantly over the next few decades.

England Edward I of England was supportive of a crusade but engaged in more pressing matters.Thomas Frederick Tout (1911). "Edward I". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 8. (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 991–993. His foray as a prince and crusader of 1271–1272 was actually one of the most successful of the crusades to the Holy Land but could not stop the Mamluks' driving the Franks out.Henry Summerson (2005). "Lord Edward's crusade (act. 1270–1274)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He died on 7 July 1307 and was succeeded by his son Edward II of England.Thomas Frederick Tout (1911). "Edward II". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 8. (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 993–945. In 1313, Edward II and his wife Isabella of France traveled to Paris to visit her father Philip IV of France, hoping to resolve the Gascony issue then being negotiated by Aymer de Valence. Among other things, this trip resulted in a public declaration that both kings and their queens would join a crusade to the Holy Land. The Parliament of 1327 forced the king to abdicate in favor of his son Edward III of England who would later claim the throne of France.Thomas Frederick Tout (1911). "Edward III". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 8. (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 994–995.

Germany and the Holy Roman Empire Rudolf I of Germany had taken the cross more than a decade before and was similarly occupied with local intrigue.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Rudolph I. Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pg. 816. He died on 15 July 1291 and was succeeded by his eldest son Albert I of Germany who had a reign unmarked by accomplishments, dying on 1 May 1308.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Albert I. (German king). Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pg. 496. As king of Germany, Albert was succeeded by Henry VII of Luxembourg, the first of the House of Luxembourg.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Henry VII. (Roman emperor). Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 278–279. Henry VII was also elected Holy Roman Emperor, the first since the death of Frederick II in 1250. This ended the Great Interregnum of the empire and in July 1309, Clement V confirmed Henry's election. He agreed to personally crown Henry emperor in December 1312 in exchange for Henry's oath of protection to the pope, his agreement to defend the rights and not attack the privileges of the cities of the Papal States, and to go on crusade once he had been crowned emperor.

France Philip IV of France became king on 5 October 1285 and would serve until his death on 29 November 1314.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Philip IV., king of France. Encyclopædia Britannica. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 381–382. Among the European monarchs, he alone remained interested in crusades to the Holy Land. Towards that end, he was pursuing a Franco-Mongol alliance with Arghun, ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate in Baghdad. Arghun was seeking to join forces between the Mongols and the Europeans against their common enemy, the Muslim Mamluks. Arghun offered to return Jerusalem to the Christians once it was re-captured from the Muslims. Philip seemingly responded positively to the request of the embassy by sending one of his noblemen, Gobert de Helleville, to accompany Mongol ambassador Rabban Bar Ṣawma back to Mongol lands. There was further correspondence between Arghun and Philip in 1288 and 1289, outlining potential military cooperation. However, Philip never actually pursued such military plans.

The Mediterranean

A crusade was declared by Martin IV against Peter III of Aragon in 1284. The pope also deposed him as king and bestowed Aragon on Peter's nephew Charles of Valois, son of Philip III of France. This was part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers which had begun in 1282.Amari, M., Ellesmere, F. Egerton. (1850). History of the War of the Sicilian Vespers. London: R. Bentley.

War of Curzola The War of Curzola was fought in 1295–1299 between Venice and Genoa. both looking for ways to increase their dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas. Following the expiration of a truce between the republics, Genoese ships continually harassed Venetian merchants in the Aegean Sea. In 1295, Genoese raids on the Venetian quarter in Constantinople further escalated the tensions, resulting in a formal declaration of war by the Venetians in the same year. The Byzantines entered the war on the Genoan side. While the Venetians made some advances, the Genoans exercised dominance throughout the war, finally defeating the Venetians at the Battle of Curzola in 1298, with a truce being signed the next year.

Aragonese Crusade Charles of Valois, brother to the king of France, would try in vain for a crown.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Charles (Count of Valois). Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pgs. 936–937. Thanks to the Aragonese Crusade undertaken by his father, against the advice of his brother, he believed he would win a kingdom but won nothing but ridicule. In 1301, Charles married Catherine of Courtenay, titular Empress of Constantinople, but he was lost in the complexity of Italian politics. He would eventually play a role in later crusades. Catherine died on 11 October 1307 and their daughter Catherine of Valois succeeded her as titular empress.Small, Carola M. (2004). "Charles of Valois". In Kleinhenz, Christopher (ed.). Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia.

Charles II of Anjou The War of the Sicilian Vespers had begun when Charles I of Anjou ruled the Kingdom of Sicily, and was still raging when he died on 7 January 1285. He was succeeded by his son Charles II of Anjou on the mainland as King of Naples and, after some interim rulers, Frederick II of Sicily on the island itself. Because of his father's dealings with Maria of Antioch, Charles II also laid claim to the crown of Jerusalem. The Battle of La Falconara was fought on 1 December 1299, in the latter days of the war, between the forces of Frederick II of Sicily and Philip I of Taranto, the son of Charles II. It was a momentous victory for Frederick and a disaster for Philip, who was captured. He was held until the signing of the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302 that terminated the war. Charles II died on 5 May 1309 and was succeeded by his son Robert the Wise.Housley, Norman (1984). "Charles II of Naples and the Kingdom of Jerusalem". Byzantion. 54 (2): 527–535

Crusade of Nicholas IV One of Nicholas' first actions as pope was to receive the Mongol ambassador Bar Ṣawma who, with Gobert de Helleville, left Rome in the late spring of 1288 with letters in support of a crusade to the Ilkhan court. The letters were vague and the pope unable to promise a definite date for any action. In 1289, Nicholas dispatched the Franciscan Giovanni da Montecorvino as papal legate to Kubilai Khan, Arghun, and other leading personages of the Mongol Empire.

A year after Nicholas assumed the papacy, Mamluk sultan Qalawun stuck at the Franks, causing the Fall of Tripoli in April 1289. Within days, Henry II of Cyprus came to Acre where he met with an envoy from Qalawun. Despite the attack on Tripoli, their 1283 truce was renewed, covering of Jerusalem and Cyprus for another ten years, ten months and ten days. Lucia of Tripoli and Leo II of Armenia soon joined the pact. Henry had little faith in Qalawun's word, but could not appeal to the Mongols as that would be breach of the truce. He returned to Cyprus in September, sending Jean I de Grailly west to impress upon the Europeans how desperate the situation was.