Ninth Crusade | |||||||
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Part of the Crusades | |||||||
Operations during the Ninth Crusade. |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Prince Edward of England Charles I of Naples Leo II of Armenia Hugh III of Cyprus Bohemond VI of Antioch Abaqa Khan Samagar |
Baibars | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Crusaders: Unknown
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Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown |
Unknown total |
Crusaders: Unknown
Unknown total
The Ninth Crusade, which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land. It took place in 1271–1272.
Louis IX of France's failure to capture Tunis in the Eighth Crusade led Henry III of England's son Edward to sail to Acre in what is known as the Ninth Crusade. The Ninth Crusade saw several impressive victories for Edward over Baibars. Ultimately the Crusade did not so much fail as withdraw, since Edward had pressing concerns at home and felt unable to resolve the internal conflicts within the remnant Outremer territories. It is arguable that the Crusading spirit was nearly "extinct," by this period as well. It also foreshadowed the imminent collapse of the last remaining crusader strongholds along the Mediterranean coast.
Following the Mamluk victory over the Mongols in 1260 at the Battle of Ain Jalut by Qutuz and his general Baibars, Qutuz was assassinated, leaving Baibars to claim the sultanate for himself. As Sultan, Baibars proceeded to attack the Christian crusaders at Arsuf, Athlith, Haifa, Safad, Jaffa, Ascalon, and Caesarea. As the Crusader fortress cities fell one by one, the Christians sought help from Europe, but assistance was slow in coming.