[1217-1219 A.D.]
Pious exercises, however, re-established order. The ecclesiastical chief of the Latin Christians led the army in religious procession across the river of Kishon, to the valley of Jezreel. They bathed in the Jordan, made their pilgrimage to the Lake of Gennesaret, observed with devout awe the scenes of various miracles performed by Christ, and returned to Acre. But they soon repaired their wasted strength, and trod with holy reverence the road to the scene of the transfiguration. The ascent to Mount Tabor, however, was difficult; and the summit was defended by a strongly garrisoned tower. Attached as much to pilgrimages as to war, the crusaders went in holy order to Tyre and Sidon; but the inclemency of the season drove them into disorder, and the Saracens made dreadful havoc on their divided parties. The Christians separated for the remainder of the winter. The kings of Cyprus and Hungary repaired to Tripolis; and if the people were grieved at the death of the former of these princes, their feelings were quickly changed into indignation against the latter. Neither the entreaties nor the threats of the clergy could persuade the unstable Andrew to remain in Palestine. Taking with him most of his soldiers and stores, he traversed Armenia and the Greek Empire, and at last returned to his kingdom, which had been so deeply exhausted by this expensive expedition, that it did not for years recover its pristine strength.
The king of Jerusalem, the duke of Austria, and the master of the Hospitallers, took up a strong position on the plains of Cæsarea. The Templars, the Teutonic knights, and Walter d’Avesnes, occupied Mount Carmel, and their station was defended by a tower which the Templars had formerly erected, for the defence and protection of the Jerusalem pilgrims. In the spring of the following year they were joined by new and zealous crusaders from the north of Germany. Cologne had been the rendezvous, and nearly three hundred vessels sailed from the Rhine. Many of the ships were wrecked by the violence of the autumnal winds, and the remainder anchored off the Portuguese shore. By the aid of the Germans, the queen of Portugal took Alcacer from the Moors. Conscience and valour would be equally satisfied by the slaughter of Saracens, in whatever country they might be. As soon as the Cologne reinforcements arrived, the chiefs assembled in council, and it was agreed that siege should be laid to Damietta, which was looked upon as the key of Egypt. A voyage of a few days brought the Christian army within sight of Damietta. The catapults and ballistæ shook the walls of the citadel to their foundations, and the garrison was happy in surrendering to the discretion of the besiegers.
Before the joy of the Christians had subsided, news arrived of the death of Saphedin. The power of his house had lately been strengthened by the death of the sultan of Mosul, the last great supporter of the name of the atabegs. But Saphedin did not live to complete the addition of all Mosul to his empire of Damascus and Egypt. The brother of Saladin has been variously represented, according to the different feelings with which he was regarded. But the crusaders had such a limited knowledge of oriental affairs, that their invectives cannot be opposed to the reputation which he acquired for virtue and ability. His second son, Coradin, the prince of Syria and Palestine, did not proclaim the death of his father till he had secured himself in the possession of the royal coffers. Discord and rebellion were universal throughout Egypt, when the news arrived of the death of Saphedin; and his son Kamil, lord of that country, was compelled to fly into Arabia for protection from his mutinous people.
After the surrender of the castle of Damietta, the acquisition of the city appeared so easy an achievement, that the besieging army sunk into inertness and dissoluteness. The sultan of Syria had anticipated the fall of Damietta, the sultan of Egypt despaired of its defence, and no wisdom could calculate the magnitude of the effects which its capture might produce. Prudence suggested the policy of negotiation, and the Latins were therefore offered the piece of the true cross, the city of Jerusalem, and all the prisoners in Syria and Egypt. The Mussulmans were to rebuild the walls of the sacred city. Of the whole kingdom of Palestine they only proposed to retain the castles of Karak and Montreal, as necessary for the safe passage of the Meccan pilgrims and merchants. The evacuation of Egypt was the equivalent expected from the Christians for these important concessions.
[1219-1220 A.D.]
All the legitimate consequences of the Crusades were at the command of the soldiers of the cross. The king, the French, the earl of Chester, and the Teutonic knights hailed with joy the prospect of the termination of the war. But the legate, the bishops, the Italians, the Templars, and Hospitallers were deaf to counsels of moderation. They contended that no faith could be reposed upon the promises of infidels, unless peace was made at the point of a victorious sword. The siege had already lasted seventeen months, and it would be disgraceful to fly from the fair prospect of success. Unhappily for the general interests of the Christian cause, the mild suggestions of policy were disregarded amidst the clamours of thoughtless valour. Hostilities were recommenced. The besiegers interrupted all communication between the Egyptian army and the garrison of Damietta. Resistance was fruitless, but the Mussulmans were too brave and too proud to surrender. The legate and the king assaulted the walls, and soon entered the city, with the same ruthless feelings as had maddened the early crusaders, when they first leaped on the battlements of Jerusalem.
But revenge sought its victims in vain. Damietta was one vast charnel-house. Of a population, which at the beginning of the siege consisted of more than seventy thousand souls, three thousand only were the relics. The conquerors marched through a pestilential vapour. The streets, the mosques, and the houses were strewn with dead bodies. From scenes of death the Christians turned to plunder. Damietta was as rich a city as any in Islam, and the terrible anathemas of the legate could not prevent self-appropriation of spoil. Dominion over the place was given to the king of Jerusalem. The splendid mosque was converted into a Christian church, and dedicated to the Virgin and all the apostles. But the soldiers were soon compelled to return to the camp, for pestilence was in the city. Life and liberty were granted to the surviving Mussulmans, on their performing the horrid and melancholy task of cleansing the city from the remains of their relations and friends.
So great was the terror which the loss of Damietta spread among the Mussulmans, that the fortress of Tanis surrendered. By this acquisition, the way into Palestine was open. But instead of urging their advantages, the army passed the winter in luxury and in discord, and in the spring more than half of the soldiers returned to Europe. The power of the legate was supreme, and the king of Jerusalem retired in disgust to Acre. The duke of Bavaria, and many knights from Germany and Italy, arrived, as soon as the weather would permit the passage; but they disdained to submit to the command of a bishop, and Pelagius was compelled to solicit with humility the return of the king. Jean de Brienne repaired to Damietta, and a council was held on the subject of hostile operations. The conquest of Egypt was resolved upon, and the army marched by the eastern side of the Fatimite branch of the Nile, till their progress was arrested by the canal of Ashmun. On the southern side of that canal the Mussulman forces were posted. Every sultan of Syria had sent assistance to their brother in the faith, and the allied troops under Kamil could cope with the Latins in the field.
The sultan, however, would not trust his kingdom to the caprice of fortune. He offered peace to the Christians on nearly the same terms as those which had been proposed previously to the last assault on Damietta. The legate refused with indignation these noble offers; but instead of crossing the canal and giving the enemy battle, he remained for more than a month inactive on his post expecting the unconditional surrender of the sultan. During this time the Nile had rapidly increased in height. The Mussulmans opened the sluices and inundated their enemy’s camp. The Christians could neither advance nor retreat; and, to use the humble simile of a Templar, they were enclosed like a fish in a net. When the overflowings of the Nile had swept away all the tents and baggage, Pelagius sent an embassy to the Mussulman camp, imploring a safe return to Acre, and offering to surrender Damietta and Tanis to the Mussulmans. The distress of the Christian army was mitigated by the humanity of Kamil. The king of Jerusalem was one of the hostages, and in an interview with the sultan, he wept for the miserable state of his army. “Why do you weep?” inquired the sultan. “I have reason to weep,” replied the king, “for the people whom God has given into my charge, are perishing in the midst of the waters, or dying of hunger.” The sultan shed tears of pity, and opened the Egyptian granaries for their relief. When, after eight months’ possession by the Latins, Damietta was delivered into the power of the Mussulmans, the hostages were exchanged, and the Christian army retreated to the seacoast, through the road by which they had advanced in full confidence of victory. The barons of Syria, and the military orders, retired to Acre; and the volunteers returned to Europe.