Damietta

The city of Damietta was a port in ancient times, but lost its importance when Alexandria was constructed, stealing much of its trade. In Arabic times, Damietta retained some importance as a naval base, but did not grow to prominence again until Fustat, the capital of Egypt before Cairo, became a large city. This was a gradual process, but by the 13th century Damietta had grown to become the most important port on the Nile. The leaders of the Fifth Crusade decided to seize it, and return it in exchange for Jerusalem. That, upon its loss in 1219, the sultan offered to trade away Jerusalem, before the Christians even asked for it, demonstrates Damietta's strategic and economic value.

After the disaster of the Fourth Crusade, Pope Innocent III attempted to preach a new armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem, led not by kings but by the Church itself. This was met with little enthusiasm from the kings, who were still asked to attend, just not control anything. It was also in part sabotaged by Innocent's success in inspiring crusades in southern France, against the Cathars, and in Iberia, against the Moors. These conflicts were closer and seemed more lucrative to nobles in Western courts.

Innocent's successor, Honorious III, did eventually muster an army, mostly from lesser nobles, and a fleet from Frisia to carry them. In 1217 the army gathered in Italy, but the Frisian fleet was delayed, so in 1218 part of the army landed in Acre. After some discussion with the leaders of the various states in Outremer, it was decided that Jerusalem, even if taken, could not be kept while Egypt remained a power. The crusaders re-embarked, and landed near Damietta. Their plan was to take this city, and use it as a base to prepare an attack on Cairo.

A relief force, led by Al-Kamil, the vizier of Egypt, was able to keep the Christians on the defensive for six months, until February 1219. Shortly after the Christians landed, the old sultan had died, and this vizier took his place. The Christians were only able to defeat the relief force in odd circumstances (see Story Seeds, later). The camp of the Egyptian army was sacked and Cardinal Pelagius, the Pope's representative, was able to take credit. He became the de facto leader of the crusaders.

Al-Kamil wanted to clear Egypt of the crusaders, so that he would be free to consolidate his rulership of his own territories. He offered the crusaders a deal: in exchange for their immediate departure and thirty years of truce, he would give them Jerusalem and all surrounding territory, save two castles. This fractured the leadership of the Crusaders. John of Brienne, the titular King of Jerusalem, and the barons of Outremer, wanted to accept the deal. Cardinal Pelagius put John in his place and turned it down, with the support of the Italian nobles. Pelagius also had the support of the masters of the Templars and Hospitallers, who were the de facto leaders of the French nobles. Al-Kamil sweetened the deal by offering an extra 30,000 bezants paid immediately in coin. Pelagius once again refused.

Pelagius ordered a series of attacks on Damietta, and had to counter sorties from within the city. Al-Kamil returned with a fresh army, to harass the Christians. Hoping for a decisive blow, the Christians massed against the sultan's fortified position in August 1219. Al-Kamil retreated, and then the Christians forces lost cohesion as various leaders ordered pursuit, looting, or returning to their positions surrounding Damietta in case of a sortie. Al-Kamil noticed this, and attacked. The professional core of the Christian army, led by John of Brienne and the military orders, prevented complete rout, but the defeat was heavy.

Al-Kamil, still wanting the Christians gone, offered them a fresh deal. The offer was: thirty years truce, all of the land except the two castles, 30,000 bezants, the True Cross, money to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (which his brother had pulled down in January) and all of the prisoners he'd just taken in the battle. Again, John of Jerusalem was strongly in favor, but the Italians and French were against. The Italians believed the Holy Roman Emperor was about to arrive, and that this would tip the strategic balance. Al-Kamil continued raiding, hoping to resupply and re-garrison Damietta, but the Christians repelled his attacks.

In November 1219, some crusaders noticed one of the towers of the town was

not garrisoned. A small group climbed over an unguarded wall, opened an undefended gate, and the city fell. Of the 80,000 inhabitants when the siege began in February, only 3,000 were still alive, and of these, only 100 were healthy. The rest had died of starvation and disease. The city was looted, against the orders of the leaders of the Crusade, but the remaining defenders were so few that they could be defended by the personal retinues of the leadership group, and so they were kept from harm.

Al-Kamil could see no way to retake Damietta. The city had fallen without damage to its defenses, and the crusaders controlled the sea approaches, so it could be resupplied. As he had the option of neither assault or siege, he retired twenty miles south, to Mansourah. Al- Kamil knew his army was demoralized and that the crusaders had the momentum of the war on their side. The Nile inundation failed in 1219, so his almost-magical ability to pay for things could not be used. Al-Kamil waited out the winter, expecting an immediate assault. He hastily threw together defensive fortifications, and braced himself for a final battle. Loss of Mansourah, and his army there, would leave nothing between the crusaders and Cairo.

There are many little side stories from the history of the Fifth Crusade that offer story seeds for troupes.

Breaking the Chain

The approaches to Damietta are protected by water, and a stout chain, strung across the Nile, prevented troops landing on the firmer ground behind the city. The chain ran from the city walls, across the navigable channel of the river, to a small tower on an island. Destroying this chain took a month. Two groups of people are absolutely certain that they destroyed the chain.

A group of French soldiers are perfectly certain they laid siege to the small tower on the island. They attacked it from boats until they wore down the defenders, then they rushed the tower with scaling ladders, many of their comrades dying in the process. Many carry small pieces of the chain, as mementoes of the battle.

A group of Dutch soldiers are equally cer-

tain they created a ship with a massive saw beneath it, like the ram of a galley. They rammed the saw against the chain, then backed water and rammed again, eventually cutting the chain in half. They have commissioned church bells, which will be rung annually in celebration of their victory. The Dutch warriors also often carry bits of the chain, drawn from the water by the fixed ends once the city had fallen.

The odd thing is that some of the leaders of the crusade believe that both stories are true, without noticing that this isn't possible. It's not that they have thought the matter through and attributed a share of the victory to each group: when talking to the Dutch they absolutely believe the Dutch story, and when talking to the French they completely believe the French story. If they are ever confronted with the incompatibility of the stories, they can't see what the problem is, and soon after forget the conversation.

Is this a miracle, hidden by Divine power, or the machinations of two powerful faeries, contesting for the vitality of the crusaders?

The Defeat of the Kurds

The Christians were able to destroy the first Egyptian army due to infighting.The Sultan heard rumors that the general of his largest contingent of warriors, the Kurds, was preparing a coup against him. With a great deal of dramatic flair, the sultan burst into the tent where the conspirators were meeting, and at the precise moment they all had their hands on a copy of the Qur'an making oaths to depose him. Taking them all prisoner, he returned to Cairo, to consolidate his position, in case conspirators were also active there. His army scattered when they woke, as their leader was gone and his general was a prisoner.

Is the conspiracy to overthrow the sultan a mundane plot? It might have been generated within the army, or by Christian agents. Alternatively, is it a form of contagious madness caused by a demon, the result of a faerie whispering promises of rule to the general, or a battle between the puppets of the Order of Sulemain?

Damietta in January 1220

The Christians were able to keep their rivalries in check while there were no spoils from the the war. Now that Damietta and much of the surrounding land has been conquered, the leaders have fallen out completely. John of Brienne assumed that Damietta was to be part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Pelagius has said this is not the case, although he has not said to whom it should belong. Somehow, Pelagius has also offended both crusading orders, so they now support John of Brienne.

Soldiers partisan to various lords have fought minor skirmishes, so for their own protection crusaders now keep together in squads of countrymen. In the last month, some of these squads have fought fatal battles in the streets, and the Italians have made a concerted push to force all Frenchmen from the city. The crusading orders, who had stayed serenely above what they see as little more than an argument over booty, have in turn routed the Italians. All the while Pelagius keeps waiting for the Holy Roman Emperor, and he continues not to arrive.