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Fifth Crusade Naval Fleet

Type Object Region Mediterranean Time 1217–1221

The cross-sea forces assembled for the Fifth Crusade (1217–1221), called by Pope Honorius III to retake Jerusalem by attacking Ayyubid Egypt.

Timeline

  1. 1217–1218Eastern Mediterranean sea lanes · Eastern MediterraneanIn 1217 King Andrew II of Hungary and Duke Leopold VI of Austria led the first contingent across the sea to Acre and elsewhere; in 1218 German and Papal States reinforcements arrived in succession, and the crusaders coordinated with the Venetian fleet to blockade the Egyptian coast, establishing the strategic route of attacking Egypt via the Nile.
  2. 1218–1219Damietta · Nile DeltaThe crusader navy blockaded the Mansura channel while the army besieged Damietta for over a year; in November 1219 the city fell, becoming the expedition's forward base and logistics hub, with the papal legate Pelagius dominating strategic decisions in the camp.
  3. 1220–1221Nile direction of Mansura–Cairo · Nile DeltaIn 1220–1221 the crusaders advanced south along the Nile to attack Cairo, facing counterattack by Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil and flooding of the river; after their defeat at Mansura in August 1221 they were forced to abandon Damietta, and the fleet carried the remnants back to Europe, ending the Fifth Crusade in military failure.

Sources