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Decline of the Crusader States (1240s)

Type Event Region Western Asia Time 1240–1249

On 15 July 1244 Khwarazmian mercenaries took Jerusalem for Ayyubid Egypt; on 17–18 October crusaders and allies were crushed at La Forbie, shifting t…

Timeline

  1. 1240–1241Gaza · PalestineFrom the 1230s the crusader states had already lost much inland territory. Around 1240 the Kingdom of Jerusalem relied on fragile treaties with the Ayyubid kings to maintain its position, with limited capacity for counteroffensives and border fortresses repeatedly harassed.
  2. 1244Jerusalem and La Forbie · PalestineOn 15 July 1244 Khwarazmian forces captured Jerusalem. In the Battle of La Forbie on 17–18 October, Ayyubid Egyptian forces with Khwarazmian mercenaries annihilated the crusaders' field army: the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Aimery de Périgord, was killed, and the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Guillaume de Châteauneuf, was captured; only a few dozen knights from each order escaped. Earlier accounts writing both grand masters as 'captured and then dying' are inaccurate.
  3. 1245–1249Acre · AcreIn decline, the crusader states made Acre their de facto capital, sustaining themselves through sea supply and Western pilgrims. The kingdom's finances were strained and noble infighting intensified; Western royal preparations for a new crusade (such as Louis IX's 1248 expedition) reflected that the old defense system could no longer stand on its own.

Sources