Tenth Crusade

The Tenth Crusade (1291-1299) was an attempt by Catholic Europeans to retake Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first retaking the city of Acre.

In 1290, Pope Nicholas IV called for a Tenth Crusade to the Holy Land to retake Acre. William I, King of Normandy was the only European monarch to answer the call. The following year, Acre, the last remaining Crusader state fell to the Mamluk's. William departed from Venice on 11 April 1291 with an army numbering 20,000. William landed in Cyprus where he met with Henry II, King of Cyprus and Otto de Grandson, Jaques de Molay and Guillaume de Villaret. Henry II joined with William who were bolstered by the Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights.

Campaign
William landed in Acre on 20 September 1291. The city had fallen just 5 months earlier and the Mamluk army was not prepared to fight off a large Crusader army with superior siege weaponry. Samuel de Holdene led a second army from Damietta which landed near Ascalon on 2 October 1291 and laid siege to the city. Both cities fell to the Norman's in a matter of weeks after constant bombardment from the siege weapons.

The two Norman armies then joined together and marched on Jerusalem on 21 December 1291. The city was besieged by the Crusaders and a number of battles were fought by relief armies attempting to break the siege. The siege lasted five months despite heavy bombardments. King William entered the city on 5 May 1292. Henry II of Cyprus reached an agreement for the marriage arrangement of Henry's 2 year old daughter Isabella, to his son, Nicholas, making him heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

William began preparing his army for an attack on Tyre, but was forced to cancel his plans when the Mamluk's sent a huge army on Acre. William was defeated and retreated back to Acre where the Mamluk's besieged the city. Samuel de Holdene arrived two weeks later with an army and broke the siege. William then marched on Tyre and laid siege to the city but was forced to return to Acre when the city was once again besieged by a Mamluk army.

William sent envoys to the Vatican, England, France and the Holy Roman Empire requesting reinforcements. Over the next ten years thousands of Crusaders arrived in the Holy Land to help defend Jerusalem. Tyre finally fell to William in 1296 with Tripoli and Antioch falling to the Crusaders by 1299 thanks to an alliance with the Mongol's. In November 1299, William signed a treaty with Sultan Qalawun bringing the Tenth Crusade to an end.

Aftermath
The tenth Crusade was the most successful Crusade in the history of the Holy Land. King William was hailed a hero by the Pope and returned to Normandy to much acclaim. Henry II of Cyprus ruled Jerusalem in name, but the city and and the surrounding territories were governed by Norman barons.

Prince Nicholas married Isabella in 1305 in Rome and proclaimed Prince of Normandy and Jerusalem. The death of Henry II of Cyprus in 1309 saw Nicholas crowned King of Jerusalem and also inheriting his father in laws lands in Cyprus.

Mamluk attacks in the Holy Land continued to ravage the Holy Land and a constant supply of European Crusaders was required to defend the Christian lands.