Eighth Crusade

Timeline

1. 1270Aigues-Mortes · FranceLouis IX announced the Eighth Crusade with Tunis as its target, a decision believed to be influenced by his brother Charles I of Anjou. In June 1270 about ten thousand French troops gathered at the Mediterranean port of Aigues-Mortes; the king set sail with the fleet, resupplied briefly at Cagliari in Sardinia, and headed for North Africa. The shift of the crusade's goal from the Holy Land to Tunis confused many crusaders.
2. 1270Ruins of Carthage (near Tunis) · TunisiaOn 17 July 1270 the crusader fleet reached North Africa, landing near the ruins of Carthage and seizing coastal positions. Hafsid sultan al-Mustansir I did not attack, holding fast inside Tunis. When the crusaders tried to advance on the city they met brutal heat, and the camp soon suffered water shortages and spoiling food, sowing the seeds of the coming epidemic.
3. 1270Camp at Tunis (Carthage) · TunisiaExtreme heat and poor sanitation let epidemic disease (suspected typhoid or dysentery) spread rapidly through the crusader camp. Louis's son Jean Tristan died on 3 August 1270, and the papal legate Raoul de Grosparmy soon followed. Louis's own condition worsened and he died in his tent on 25 August 1270, reportedly uttering 'Jerusalem' on his deathbed. The crusade's supreme command collapsed and morale hit rock bottom.
4. 1270Tunis (peace camp) · TunisiaCharles I of Anjou arrived in Tunis in September 1270 with Sicilian forces and took effective command. Unwilling to continue a war of attrition, Charles sought commercial gains from the Hafsid dynasty through diplomacy. A truce was signed: Sultan al-Mustansir paid an indemnity of about 150,000 ounces of gold, released Christian captives, allowed missionaries in his territory, and granted Sicilian merchants favorable trade privileges. The crusaders then withdrew in stages—Prince Edward of England (later Edward I) led part of the army east to the Levant (later called the Ninth Crusade), while the main force returned to Europe, ending the crusade.