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Capture of Damietta
After more than a year of siege, Damietta fell to the Fifth Crusade on November 5, 1219, after the garrison collapsed;…
Timeline
- 1219Damietta defenses · DamiettaThe prolonged siege left Damietta's garrison out of supplies and reinforcements, and mutiny broke out within the city. According to historical records, some defenders opened the gates or fled, and the Crusaders stormed in, forcing the Ayyubid garrison to retreat to the opposite bank.
- 1219Inside Damietta · DamiettaCrusader forces led by Pelagius and John of Brienne entered Damietta, treating the city as the foremost prize of the Fifth Crusade in the East. The papal legate regarded the victory as clear proof of divine favor and rejected al-Kamil's subsequent offer to exchange Jerusalem for withdrawal.
Sources
- Anatomy of a Crusade, 1213-1221 — James M. Powell (1986)
- The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin — Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad