Fifth Crusade

Preparations for the Crusade

In April 1213, Innocent III issued the papal bull Quia maior, calling all of Christendom to join a new Crusade, followed by the conciliar decree Ad Liberandam in 1215. The message was preached in France by legate Robert of Courçon, a former classmate of the pope, but he faced bitter complaints from clergy accusing him of encroaching on their domains. Philip II of France supported his clergy, and Innocent III realized Robert's zeal threatened the Crusade's success.

At the Fourth Lateran Council on 11 November 1215, French prelates presented their grievances, many well-founded, and the pope pleaded for them to forgive the legate's indiscretions. Ultimately, very few Frenchmen took part in the 1217 expedition, unwilling to go in the company of Germans and Hungarians; France was represented by Aubrey of Reims and the bishops of Limoges and Bayeux, Jean de Veyrac and Robert des Ablèges. Innocent III wanted the Crusade led by the papacy to avoid the mistakes of the Fourth Crusade, which had been taken over by the Venetians.

He planned to meet the Crusaders at Brindisi and Messina for departure on 1 June 1217, and prohibited trade with the Muslims to ensure ships and weapons, renewing an 1179 edict. Every Crusader would receive an indulgence, as would those who helped pay expenses but did not go themselves. To protect Raoul of Merencourt, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, on his return trip, Innocent III tasked John of Brienne with providing escort. Since John was in conflict with Leo I of Armenia and Hugh I of Cyprus, the pope ordered them to reconcile before the Crusaders reached the Holy Land.

Innocent III died on 16 July 1216, and Honorius III was consecrated pope the next week; the Crusade dominated the early part of his papacy. The next year, Honorius crowned Peter II of Courtenay as Latin Emperor, but Peter was captured on his eastward journey in Epirus and died in confinement. Robert of Courçon was sent as spiritual advisor to the French fleet, subordinate to newly-chosen papal delegate Pelagius of Albano. Bishop Walter II of Autun, a veteran of the Fourth Crusade, would return to the Holy Land with the Fifth Crusade.

French canon Jacques de Vitry arrived as Bishop of Acre in 1216, and Honorius III tasked him with preaching the Crusade in the Latin settlements of Syria, made difficult by rampant corruption at the port cities. Oliver of Paderborn preached the Crusade in Germany with great success in recruitment. In July 1216, Honorius III called on Andrew II of Hungary to fulfill his father's vow to lead a Crusade. Frederick II of Germany had taken an oath to embark for the Holy Land in 1215 and appealed to German nobility to join, but he hung back with his crown still in contention with Otto IV, and Honorius repeatedly put off the date for the expedition.

The strength of the armies was estimated at more than 32,000, including more than 10,000 knights. An Arab historian described it as: 'This year, an infinite number of warriors left from Rome the great and other countries of the West.' The Crusader force was prepared to use the latest siege technology, including counterweight trebuchets.

Crusade of Andrew II of Hungary

King Andrew II of Hungary was the first to take up the cross for the Fifth Crusade. He mortgaged his estates to finance the expedition, reputedly with designs on becoming Latin emperor. In July 1217, Andrew departed from Zagreb with Leopold VI of Austria and Otto I, Duke of Merania. His army was so large—at least 20,000 mounted soldiers and many more infantry—that most stayed behind when he embarked from Split on 23 August 1217, transported by the Venetian fleet.

The Hungarian army landed on Cyprus on 9 October 1217 and then sailed to Acre, where Andrew joined John of Brienne, Raoul of Merencourt, and Hugh I of Cyprus. In October 1217, a war council presided over by Andrew II included the masters of the Hospitallers, Templars, and Teutonic Knights, along with Leopold VI, Otto I, and Walter II of Avesnes. John of Brienne's plan for a two-prong attack—Andrew's forces engaging al-Mu'azzam at Nablus while the fleet attacked Damietta—was abandoned at Acre due to lack of manpower and ships. Instead, the objective became to keep the enemy occupied in small engagements, possibly as far as Damascus.

Campaign in Egypt

On 27 May 1218, the first Crusader ships arrived at the harbor of Damietta on the right bank of the Nile, with Simon III of Sarrebrück chosen as temporary leader. Soon the remaining ships arrived carrying John of Brienne, Leopold VI of Austria, and the masters of the military orders. A lunar eclipse on 9 July was seen as a good omen. The Muslims were not alarmed, believing the Crusaders could not attack Egypt successfully; Sultan al-Adil was surprised and disappointed, while his sons al-Kamil and al-Mu'azzam defended Cairo and the Syrian coast.

The Tower of Damietta

Egyptian reinforcements encamped at al-'Adiliyah, south of Damietta, but were too weak to attack the Crusaders. Damietta's fortifications consisted of three walls with dozens of towers, and the key Burj al-Silsilah—the chain tower—on an island in the Nile could stretch chains across the river. The siege began on 23 June 1218 with an assault on the tower using up to 80 ships and projectile machines, but it failed. Two new vessel types were tried: one used by Leopold VI and the Hospitallers mounted scaling ladders on two bound ships, and a maremme commanded by Adolf VI of Berg carried a small fortress on its mast.

The maremme withdrew under heavy counter-barrage, and the scaling ladders collapsed under the weight of soldiers; the first assault was a failure. Following the successful siege of Damietta in 1218–1219, the Crusaders occupied the port for two years. Al-Kamil, now Sultan of Egypt, offered attractive peace terms, including the restoration of Jerusalem to Christian rule, but the sultan was rebuked by Pelagius several times. The Crusaders marched south towards Cairo in July 1221.

Disaster at Mansurah

En route, they attacked a stronghold of al-Kamil at the Battle of Mansurah, but they were defeated and forced to surrender. The terms of surrender included the retreat from Damietta—leaving Egypt altogether—and an eight-year truce. The Fifth Crusade ended in September 1221, a Crusader defeat that failed to achieve its goals.

Historiography

The historiography of the Fifth Crusade covers the history of the military campaigns and biographies of important figures. Primary sources include medieval works by participants or contemporaries. Key eyewitness accounts include Estoire d'Eracles empereor, an anonymous continuation of William of Tyre; Historia Orientalis and Epistolae by Jacques de Vitry; Historia Damiatina by Oliver of Paderborn; De Itinere Frisonum, an account of the Frisians' journey; Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover; Gesta crucigerorum Rhenanorum; Gesta Innocentii III; and Chronicon by Richard of San Germano. Other primary sources include De expugnatione Salaciae carmen by Goswin of Bossut and Gesta obsidionis Damiate by Giovanni Codagnello.