Battle of Al Mansurah

Battle of Al Mansurah
Part of the Seventh Crusade
Battle of Al Mansurah
Date 8–11 February 1250 Location Al Mansurah, Egypt Result Decisive Ayyubid victory
Belligerents
Ayyubid	Crusaders
Commanders and leaders
Qutuz Fakhr-ad-Din Yusuf  † Baibars Faris ad-Din Aktai	Louis IX Guillaume de Sonnac † Alphonse de Poitiers Robert d'Artois † William II Longespée
Strength
ca.70,000 men	15,000 men[1]
Casualties and losses
Light	c15,000. Entire Army killed.[2]

The Battle of Al Mansurah was fought from February 8 to February 11, 1250, between Crusaders led by Louis IX, King of France, and Ayyubid forces led by Emir Fakhr-ad-Din Yusuf, Faris ad-Din Aktai and Baibars al-Bunduqdari.

Background

By the mid-13th century, the Crusaders became convinced that Egypt, the heart of Islam's forces and arsenal,^[3] was an obstacle to their ambition to capture Jerusalem, which they had lost for the second time in 1244. In 1245, during the First Council of Lyon, Pope Innocent IV gave his full support to the Seventh Crusade being prepared by Louis IX, King of France.

The goals of the Seventh Crusade were to destroy the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt and Syria, and to recapture Jerusalem. The Crusaders asked the Mongols to become their allies against the Muslims,^[4] the Crusaders attacking the Islamic world from west, and the Mongols attacking from the east. Güyük, the Great Khan of the Mongols, told the Pope's envoy that the Pope and the kings of Europe should submit to the Mongols.^[5]

The ships of the Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis's brothers, Charles d'Anjou and Robert d'Artois, sailed from Aigues-Mortes and Marseille to Cyprus during the autumn of 1248, and then on to Egypt. The ships entered Egyptian waters and the troops of the Seventh Crusade disembarked at Damietta in June 1249. Louis IX sent a letter to as-Salih Ayyub.^[6] Emir Fakhr ad-Din Yusuf, the commander of the Ayyubid garrison in Damietta, retreated to the camp of the Sultan in Ashmum-Tanah,^[7] causing a great panic among the inhabitants of Damietta, who fled the town, leaving the bridge that connected the west bank of the Nile with Damietta intact. The Crusaders crossed over the bridge and occupied Damietta, which was deserted.^[8] The fall of Damietta caused a general emergency (called al-Nafir al-Am النفير العام) to be declared, and locals from Cairo and from all over Egypt moved to the battle zone.^[9][10] For many weeks, the Muslims used guerrilla tactics against the Crusader camps; many of the Crusaders were captured and sent to Cairo.^[11] As the Crusader army was strengthened by the arrival of Alphonse de Poitiers, the third brother of King Louis IX, at Damietta, the Crusaders were encouraged by the news of the death of the Ayyubid Sultan, as-Salih Ayyub. The Crusaders began their march towards Cairo. Shajar al-Durr, the widow of the dead Sultan, concealed the news for some time and sent Faris ad-Din Aktai to Hasankeyf to recall Turanshah, the son and heir, to ascend the throne and lead the Egyptian army.

Battle

The Crusaders approached the battle by the canal of Ashmum (known today by the name Albahr Alsaghir), which separated them from the Muslim camp. An Egyptian showed the Crusaders the way to the canal shoals. The Crusaders, led by Robert of Artois, crossed the canal with the Knights Templar and an English contingent led by William of Salisbury, launching a surprise assault on the Egyptian camp in Gideila, two miles (3 km) from Al Mansurah,^[12] and advancing toward the royal palace in Al Mansurah. The leadership of the Egyptian forces passed to the Mamluks Faris Ad-Din Aktai and Baibars al-Buduqdari who contained the attack and reorganized the Muslim forces. This was the first appearance of the Mamluks as supreme commanders inside Egypt.^[13] Shajar al-Durr, who had full control of Egypt, agreed with Baibars' plan to defend Al Mansurah.^[14] Baibars ordered the gate be opened to let the Crusaders enter the town. The crusaders rushed in, thinking the town deserted, only to find themselves trapped inside. The Crusaders were besieged from all directions by Egyptian forces and the local population, and they took heavy losses. Robert of Artois, who took refuge in a house,^[15][16] and William of Salisbury were both killed along with most of the Knights Templar. Only five Templar Knights escaped alive.^[17] The Crusaders retreated to their camp in disorder, and surrounded it with a ditch and wall. Early on the morning of February 11, the Muslim forces launched a devastating offensive against the Frankish camp. On February 27, the new sultan Turanshah arrived in Al Mansurah to lead the Egyptian army, and the death of as-Salih Ayyub was formally announced in Egypt.^[18] Ships were transported overland and dropped in the Nile behind the Crusader ships blocking the reinforcement line from Damietta. The Egyptians used Greek fire, destroying and seizing many Crusader supply vessels. The besieged Crusaders soon began suffering from famine and disease. Some Crusaders deserted to the Muslim side.^[19][20]

Despite being overwhelmed and ultimately defeated, King Louis IX tried to negotiate with the Egyptians, offering the surrender of the Egyptian port of Damietta in exchange for Jerusalem and a few towns on the Syrian coast. The Egyptians rejected the offer, and the Crusaders retreated to Damietta under cover of darkness on April 5, followed closely by the Muslim forces. At the subsequent Battle of Fariskur, the last major battle of the Seventh Crusade, the Crusader forces were annihilated and King Louis IX was captured on April 6. Meanwhile, the Crusaders were circulating false information in Europe, claiming that King Louis IX defeated the Sultan of Egypt in a great battle, and Cairo had been betrayed into Louis's hands.^[21][22] Later, when the news of Louis IX's capture and the French defeat reached France, the Shepherds' Crusade movement occurred in France.^[23]

Louis IX was taken prisoner.

Aftermath

According to medieval Muslim historians, 15,000 to 30,000 French fell on the battlefield and thousands were taken prisoners.^[24] Louis IX of France was captured in the nearby village of Moniat Abdallah (now Meniat el Nasr), chained and confined in the house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman, the royal chancellor, and under the guard of a eunuch named Sobih al-Moazami.^[25] The king's brothers, Charles d'Anjou and Alphonse de Poitiers, were taken prisoner at the same time, and were carried to the same house with other French nobles. The sultan provided for their subsistence. A camp was set up outside the town to shelter the rest of the prisoners. Louis IX was ransomed for 400,000 dinars. After pledging not to return to Egypt, Louis surrendered Damietta and left for Acre with his brothers and 12,000 war prisoners whom the Egyptians agreed to release.^[26]

The battle of Al Mansurah was a source of inspiration for writers and poets of that time. One of the satiric poems ended with the following verses: "If they (the Franks) decide to return to take revenge or to commit a wicked deed, tell them :The house of Ibn Lokman is intact, the chains still there as well as the eunuch Sobih". —from stanza by Jamal ad-Din ibn Matruh. ^[27]

The name of Al Mansurah (Arabic: "the Victorious") that dates from an earlier period^[28] was consolidated after this battle. The city still holds the name of Al Mansurah today, as the capital of the Egyptian governorate, Daqahlia. The National Day of Daqahlia Governorate (capital Al Mansurah) on February 8, marks the anniversary of the defeat of Louis IX in 1250. The house of Ibn Lokman, which is now the only museum in Al Mansurah, is open to the public and houses articles that used to belong to the French monarch, including his personal thirteenth century toilet.

The 1246 letter of Güyük to Pope Innocent IV.

Historical consequence

The Seventh Crusade's defeat in Egypt in 1250 marked a turning point for all the existing regional parties. Egypt again proved to be Islam's stronghold. Western kings, except Louis IX, lost interest in launching new crusades. The Seventh Crusade was the last major crusade against Egypt and the Crusaders never recaptured Jerusalem.

Shortly after the defeat of the Seventh Crusade, the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah was assassinated at Fariskur. The Mamluks, those who defended Al Mansurah and prevented Louis IX from advancing to Cairo, became the ruling power in Egypt, ending the Ayyubid rule in that country. The southern and eastern Mediterranean basin was divided among four main dominions. Mamluk Egypt, Ayyubid Syria, Franks of Acre with their Christian strongholds on the Syrian coast, and the Levantine Christian Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The Ayyubids of Syria clashed with the Mamluks of Egypt. The Franks, the Cilician Armenians and the Principality of Antioch formed a western Christian alliance.

See also

• Berke–Hulagu war
• Battle of Fariskur

Notes

1. Setton, Kenneth p. 494.
2. Al Maqizi, p. 448/vol. 1.
3. Toynbee, p. 447.
4. Runciman, pp. 260-263. D. Wilkinson, Paragraph: THE MONGOLS AND THE WEST. See also Franco-Mongol alliance.
5. The message was handed to the pope's Franciscan emissary Giovanni da Pian del Carpine. The document is preserved in the Vatican secret archive. You must say with a sincere heart: "We will be your subjects; we will give you our strength". You must in person come with your kings, all together, without exception, to render us service and pay us homage. Only then will we acknowledge your submission. And if you do not follow the order of God, and go against our orders, we will know you as our enemy." —Letter from Güyük to Pope Innocent IV, 1246. Lord of Joinville, pp. 249-259.
6. "As you know I am the ruler of the Christian nation I do know you are the ruler of the Muhammadan nation. The people of Andalusia give me money and gifts while we drive them like cattle. We kill their men and we make their women widows. We take the boys and the girls as prisoners and we make houses empty. I have told you enough and I have advised you to the end, so now if you make the strongest oath to me and if you go to christian priests and monks and if you carry kindles before my eyes as a sign of obeying the cross, all these will not persuade me from reaching you and killing you at your dearest spot on earth. If the land will be mine then it is a gift to me. If the land will be yours and you defeat me then you will have the upper hand. I have told you and I have warned you about my soldiers who obey me. They can fill open fields and mountains, their number like pebbles. They will be sent to you with swords of destruction." Letter from Louis IV to as-Salih Ayyub - (Al-Maqrizi, p. 436/vol.1).
7. Ashmum-Tanah, now town of Dakahlia - Al-Maqrizi, note p. 434/vol. 1.
8. Al-Maqrizi, p. 438/vol.1.
9. Al-Maqrizi, p. 446/vol. 1, p. 456/vol. 1.
10. Ibn Taghri, pp. 102-273/ vol. 6.
11. Al-Maqrizi, p. 447/vol. 1.
12. Gideila and Al Mansurah on map.
13. Baibars led the Egyptian army at the Battle of La Forbie east of Gaza in 1244. See also Battle of La Forbie.
14. Qasim, p.18
15. Lord of Joinville, 110, part II.
16. Asly, p. 49.
    Skip Knox, Egyptian Counter-attack, The Seventh Crusade.
17. According to Matthew Paris, only 2 Templars, 1 Hospitaller and one ‘contemptible person’ escaped. Matthew Paris, LOUIS IX`S CRUSADE, p. 14/ Vol. 5.
18. Turanshah did not go to Cairo, he was enthroned in al-Salihiya and went straight to Al Mansurah. - Al-Maqrizi, pp. 449-450/ vol. 1.
19. Matthew Paris, LOUIS IX`S CRUSADE, p. 108 / Vol. 5.
20. Al-Maqrizi, p. 446/vol. 1.
21. Lord of Joinville, 170, part II.
22. False rumours from Egypt: letters from the bishop of Marseille and certain Templars spread the rumour that Cairo and Babylon have been captured and the fleeing Saracens have left Alexandria undefended. - Matthew Paris, note. p. 118 / Vol. 5. LOUIS IX`S CRUSADE 1250
23. Matthæi Parisiensis, pp. 246-53.
24. Al-Maqrizi, pp. 455-56/ vol.1
    Abu al-Fida, pp. 66-87/year 648H.
    Ibn Taghri, pp.102-273/ vol.6
25. Though Louis IX, a king, was treated well, he was chained and put under the guard of a slave which was not the custom.
26. Many prisoners were executed. Al-Maqrizi, p. 455/ vol.1.- Ibn Taghri, pp. 102-273/vol. 6. - The number 12,000 included prisoners from previous battles. Al-Maqrizi, p. 460/ vol.1
27. Al-Maqrizi, p. 460/ vol. 1.
28. The name Al Mansurah was first used by al-Kamil for his camp during the siege of Damietta (Fifth Crusade) in 1219. Skip Knox, Mansourah, The Seventh Crusade. It was named al-Madinah al-Mansurah (the victorious town). Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar, p. 373/ vol.1

References

Abu al-Fida, Tarikh Abu al-Fida, The Concise History of Humanity Al-Maqrizi, Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk, Dar al-kotob, 1997. In English: Bohn, Henry G., The Road to Knowledge of the Return of Kings, Chronicles of the Crusades, AMS Press, 1969. Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar, Matabat aladab, Cairo 1996, ISBN 977-241-175-X. In French: Bouriant, Urbain, Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte, Paris 1895 Asly, B., al-Muzafar Qutuz, Dar An-Nafaes Publishing, Beirut 2002, ISBN 9953-18-051-2 Bournoutian, George A., A Concise History of the Armenian People: From Ancient Times to the Present, Mazda Publishers, 2002 David Wilkinson, Studying the History of Intercivilizational Dialogues, presented to United Nation University, Tokyo/Kyoto 2001 Dawson, Christopher, The Mongol Mission, London: Sheed and Ward, 1955 Hassan. O, Al-Zahir Baibars, Dar al-Amal 1997 Ibn Taghri, al-Nujum al-Zahirah Fi Milook Misr wa al-Qahirah, al-Hay'ah al-Misreyah 1968 Michaud, Yahia (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies) Ibn Taymiyya, Textes Spirituels I-XVI 2002

Qasim, Abdu Qasim Dr., Asr Salatin Al-Mamlik (Era of the Mamluk Sultans), Eye for human and social studies, Cairo, 2007 Rachewitz, I, Papal envoys to the Great khans, London: Faber and Faber, 1971 Runciman, Steven A history of the Crusades 3. Penguin Books, 1987 Sadawi. H, Al-Mamalik, Maroof Ikhwan, Alexandria. Setton, Kenneth (editor), A History of the Crusades (II) The Later Crusades 1189-1311, 1969 Skip Knox, Dr. E.L., The Crusades, Seventh Crusade, A college course on the Crusades, 1999 Shayal, Jamal, Prof. of Islamic history, Tarikh Misr al-isalamiyah (History of Islamic Egypt), dar al-Maref, Cairo 1266, ISBN 977-02-5975-6 The chronicles of Matthew Paris (Matthew Paris: Chronica Majora) translated by Helen Nicholson, 1989 Matthæi Parisiensis, monachi Sancti Albani, Chronica majora by Matthew Paris, Roger, Henry Richards, Longman & co. 1880. The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Macropædia, H. H. Berton Publisher, 1973–74 The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, translated by Ethel Wedgwood, 1906 Toynbee, Arnold J., Mankind and mother earth, Oxford University Press, 1976 www.historyofwar.org

External links

• Map of Mansura

Coordinates: 31°02′44″N 31°22′57″E / 31.0456°N 31.3826°E