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| - At the end of the first half of the 13th century, the crusaders became convinced that Egypt, which became Islam's citadel and arsenal, was an obstacle to their ambition to capture Jerusalem, which they had lost for the second time in 1244. In 1245, during the First Council of Lyon, Pope Innocent IV gave his full support to the Seventh Crusade that was being prepared by Louis IX, king of France.
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| abstract
| - At the end of the first half of the 13th century, the crusaders became convinced that Egypt, which became Islam's citadel and arsenal, was an obstacle to their ambition to capture Jerusalem, which they had lost for the second time in 1244. In 1245, during the First Council of Lyon, Pope Innocent IV gave his full support to the Seventh Crusade that was being prepared by Louis IX, king of France. The goals of the Seventh Crusade were to destroy the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt and Syria and capture Jerusalem. To achieve their goals, the crusaders tried to convince the Mongols to become their allies against the Muslims so that they could encircle and attack the Islamic world from west and east at the same time. The answer of Güyük, the great Khan of the Mongols, to the Pope's envoys was that the Pope himself and the kings of Europe should submit to the Mongols. The ships of the Seventh Crusade sailed from the French ports of Aigues-Mortes and Marseille to Cyprus during the autumn of 1248, then in 1249 sailed toward Egypt, led by King Louis's brothers, Charles d'Anjou and Robert d'Artois. The ships entered Egyptian waters and the troops of the Seventh Crusade disembarked at Damietta in June 1249. Louis IX sent a letter to as-Salih Ayyub. Emir Fakhr ad-Din Yussuf, the commander of the Ayyubid garrison in Damietta, retreated to the camp of the Sultan in Ashmum-Tanah, causing a great panic among the inhabitants of Damietta, who fled the town, leaving the bridge that connected the west bank of the Nile with Damietta intact. The crusaders crossed over the bridge and occupied Damietta, which was deserted. Upon hearing the news of the fall of Damietta, a general emergency (which was called al-Nafir al-Am النفير العام) was declared and commons from Cairo and from all over Egypt began to move to the battle zone. For many weeks, a guerrilla war was launched against the camps of the crusaders; many of the crusaders were captured and sent to Cairo. As the crusaders' army was strengthened by the arrival of Alphonse de Poitiers, the third brother of King Louis IX, at Damietta and encouraged by the news of the death of the Ayyubid Sultan, as-Salih Ayyub, they began their march towards Cairo. Shajar al-Durr, the widow of the dead Sultan, concealed the news for some time and sent Faris ad-Din Aktai to Hasankeyf to recall Turanshah, the son and heir, to ascend the throne and lead the Egyptian army.
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