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| This article is part of the Crusades series. |
| First Crusade |
| Second Crusade |
| Third Crusade |
| Fourth Crusade |
| Albigensian Crusade |
| Children's Crusade |
| Fifth Crusade |
| Sixth Crusade |
| Seventh Crusade |
| Eighth Crusade |
| Ninth Crusade |
| Northern Crusades |
The Fifth Crusade ( 1217- 1221) was an attempt to take back Jerusalem by first conquering the powerful Muslim state in Egypt.
In 1213 Pope Innocent III issued the bull Quia maior, calling all Christians to join a new crusade, except the kings and emperors of Europe, who were busy fighting with each other anyway. Innocent did not want them to help because the previous crusades led by kings had failed in the past (the Second Crusade and the Third Crusade). He ordered processions, prayers, and preaching to help organize the crusade, as these would involve the general population and the lower nobles and knights. The crusade was preached in France by Robert of Courcon , but unlike other Crusades not many French knights joined, as they were already fighting the Albigensian Crusade.
In 1215 Innocent III called the Fourth Lateran Council, where, along with the Latin Patriarch of JerusalemThe Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is one of the Roman Catholic "patriarchs of the east". The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the oldest of Eastern Catholic Patriarchates, and the only one that still follows the Latin Rite. In 1054, the Great Schism separated, Raoul of MerencourtRaoul of Merencourt (also called Ralph or Radulphus) was Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1214- 1225. In 1216 he attended the Fourth Lateran Council with many of his suffragan bishops, and along with Pope Innocent III, he gave a sermon on the first day o, he discussed the recovery of the Holy Land, among other church business. Innocent wanted this crusade to be under the full control of the papacy, as the First CrusadeThe First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II at Clermont, France with the objective of regaining control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims, and also of giving military assistance to the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk Turks. was supposed to have been, in order to avoid the mistakes of the Fourth CrusadeThe Fourth Crusade ( 1202- 1204), originally designed to conquer Egypt, instead, in 1204, conquered the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Background After the failure of the Third Crusade, there was little interes, which had been taken over by the VenetiansVenice ( Italian Venezia German Venedig , the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,073 (2001). The city stretches across numerous small islands in a marshy lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater l. Innocent planned for the crusaders to meet at BrindisiBrindisi (in Latin Brundusium Brundisium is an ancient city in the Italian region of Puglia. It had 100,000 inhabitants and was important because of its large natural harbor. In 245 BC or 267 BC it was conquered by the Romans. The famous Roman poet Virgil in 1216Events Prince Louis of France, the future King Louis VIII, invades England in the First Barons' War Henry III becomes King of England. Births Deaths June 11 Henry of Flanders, emperor of the Latin Empire (poisoned) June 16 Pope Innocent III October 18 or, and prohibited trade with the Muslims to ensure that the crusaders would have ships and weapons. Every crusader would receive an indulgence, including those who simply helped pay the expenses of a crusader but did not go on crusade himself.
Oliver of Cologne had preached the crusade in Germany, and Emperor Frederick II attempted to join in 1215. Frederick was the last monarch Innocent wanted to join, as Frederick was the only one capable of challenging the authority of the Papacy (and would do so in the years to come). Innocent, however, died in 1216. He was succeeded by Pope Honorius III, who barred Frederick from participating, but organized crusading armies led by Leopold VI of Austria and Andrew II of Hungary. They left for Acre in 1217, and joined John of Brienne, nominal king of Jerusalem, Hugh I of Cyprus, and Prince Bohemund IV of Antioch to fight against the Ayyubids in Syria. In Jerusalem, the walls and fortifications were demolished to prevent the Christians from being able to defend the city if they should reach it and take it. Palestinian Muslims fled the city, afraid that there would be a repeat of the bloodbath of the First Crusade in 1099. The Ayyubids, however, were not interested in fighting. Nothing came of this, and Andrew, Bohemund, and Hugh returned home in 1218. Later in 1218 Oliver of Cologne arrived with a new army, and with Leopold and John they discussed attacking Damietta in Egypt. To accomplish this they allied with Kay Kaus I , the Seljuk Sultan of Rum in Anatolia, who attacked the Ayyubids in Syria in an attempt to free the Crusaders from fighting on two fronts.In June of 1218 the crusaders began their siege of Damietta, and despite resistance from the unprepared sultan al-Adil, the tower outside the city was taken on August 25. They could not gain Damietta itself, and in the ensuing months diseases killed many of the crusaders, including Robert of Courcon. Al-Adil also died and was succeeded by Al-Kamil. Meanwhile, Honorius III sent Pelagius of Albano to lead the crusade in 1219. Al-Kamil tried to negotiate a peace with the crusaders, but Pelagius would not accept these offers. In August, Francis of Assisi, then a subordinate of Pelagius, tried to open negotiations with al-Kamil and Pelagius, but had no success. By November, the crusaders had worn out the sultan's forces, and were finally able to occupy the port.
Immediately the papal and secular powers fought for control of the town, with John of Brienne claiming it for himself in 1220. Pelagius would not accept this and John returned to Acre later that year. Pelagius hoped Frederick II would arrive with a fresh army, but he never did; instead, after a year of inactivity in both Syria and Egypt, John of Brienne returned, and the crusaders marched south towards Cairo in July of 1221.
By now al-Kamil was able to ally with the other Ayyubids in Syria, who had defeated Kay Kaus I. The crusaders march to Cairo was disastrous; Al-Kamil simply flooded the Nile, cutting the crusaders' access to the roads, and then surrounded them, forcing Pelagius to agree to a peace. In September al-Kamil retook Damietta, and the crusaders left for home, having failed to accomplish anything of importance in their three years in Egypt.
Crusades