History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 9 Episode 93, King Louis Crusade Roman numeral 3.

Hello again.

Last week we saw King Louis's Crusade take the key Egyptian town of Damietta.

The victory didn't come about as the result of any military skill on the part of the Latin Christians,

but occurred when the Egyptian army abandoned the town.

Their leader for Kia Al-Din having had a brain snap which led him to believe that he

needed to contest the Egyptian leadership rather than fight the invading

Latin Christians.

So it's June 1249.

The Latin Christians are settling into their new accommodation at Damietta, while the gravely ill Egyptian leader,

Ausili Aub and his disgraced battle commander, Fakir Aldin, are in the nearby town of Mansura.

The Latin Christians now have to decide on their next move.

There are two options available to them. The majority of the leaders of the

Crusade support the idea of proceeding to Alexandria on the coast. If Alexandria was taken, the Latin Christians would

control the two main trading centres through which all of Egypt's vast imports and exports needed to pass.

It was high in the minds of those in command of the expedition that the swamps the armies would need to traverse on

their way to Cairo were partly to blame for the defeat of the Fifth Crusade.

King Louis had enough ships to sail to Alexandria and mount an attack on the

city and a victory over Alexandria might force the Egyptian ruler to make favorable terms with the Latin

Christians, meaning the Crusade could succeed without the men having to face the swamps. It was a sound plan and it enjoyed widespread support.

But King Louis wasn't convinced. To him moving inland up the river Nile and attacking Cairo seemed the more honourable of the two options. He was supported in his opinion by his brother Robert of

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