The Remaining Crusades after the fourth

After the fourth crusade there were many other crusades. The fifth crusade was from 1218 to 1221. The leaders were Pelagius, cardinal legate and John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem. Pope Innocent III called another crusade in 1213. Most of the Christian leaders were busy fighting eachother, and his request fell in deaf ears; the Christians didn't want another defeat. So, he found another way to launch a crusade, by appealing to the regular Christian citizens who were idle. In return he offered indulgence for every Christian who joined the fifth crusade. The crusaders left for Acre in 1217 and joined leaders John of Brienne, and Pelagius.

After some success in the Holy Lands, a large army from Germany and Holland prepared to reach the Holy land and re-capture Jerusalem. In June 1218, the crusaders attacked Damietta, an important Egyptian settlement. The Sultan Al-Adil was unprepared, but the city resisted the crusaders. It took the crusaders several months and thousands of lives to enter Damietta, but once they did looted it for several days finding enough loot to inspire them to attack Cairo next, their only obstacle to a powerless Egypt and an open road to Jerusalem. The fifth Crusade was the last crusade organized by the church where different nations fought jointly to recover the Holy Land. The sixth Crusade was the next attempt to fight the Muslims.

The sixth crusade started in 1249. It was led by the western emperor, Fredrick II of Germany. He had promised to continue on with the sixth crusade even though he was excommunicated (kicking out of the church). Frederick, after much procrastination. set off to the Holy Land with a formable army in 1228. There was really no fighting involved for the Syrians would not support a ruler at odds with the Pope and Frederick was too smart to fight when he could get what he wanted by diplomacy. There was tranquillity in the Holy Land for 15 years, and the peace raised the Latin's of Palestine to a prosperous condition. The results of the crusades were lost through the quarrel between the pope and the emperor.

The seventh crusade was from 1248 to 1254. It resulted when the Egyptians Mamelukes routed a local Christian army in 1244. It was led by Louis IX of France (Saint Louis), this also attacked Egypt, but failed amid great suffering.

The eighth Crusade was in 1270. Louis's second attempt to invade Muslim Africa, which ended in failure when he died. The ninth Crusade was from 1271 to 1272. It never actually reached the Holy Land, despite being led by Prince edward of England.

The most curious crusades were those preached against several enemies of the papacy, most notably against Fredrick II Von Hohenstaufen. In the 14th century, the French popes in Avignon raised several crusading armies to campaign Italy against those who supported German, rather than papal rule. Through this time the French popes had taken refuge in Avignon, the political situation in the Italian Papal states being to hostile to allow the popes and their servants to live in Rome.

Scenes from the seventh crusade.

Map of the Fifth crusade.

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