Fall of Tripoli Totally Explained

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The Fall of Tripoli was the capture and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli (in what is modern-day Lebanon), by the Muslim Mamluks. The battle occurred in 1289 and was an important event in the Crusades, as it marked the capture of one of the few remaining major possessions of the Crusaders.

Context

The Muslim Sultan Qalawun, based in Egypt, had previously had a truce with some of the remaining Crusader territories, such as the County of Tripoli. The Christians, for their part, rather than maintaining a united front against the Muslims, had fallen into bickering battles with each other, of which the best known example was the dispute between the merchant republics, Genoa and Venice. Lucia of Tripoli, ruler of the County of Tripoli, had allied with the Genoese, and was therefore opposed by the Venetians, as well as by Bartolemew Embriaco of Gibelet. Frank envoys from either Bartolemew or the Venetians had been sent to Alexandria, Egypt to ask for the intervention of the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun against the Genoese, on the grounds that the Genoese might potentially dominate the Levant and obstruct or eliminate Mamluk trade if left in power. Because of the Venetian envoys, Qalawun thus had an excuse to break his truce with Tripoli, and he moved north with his army.
   Tripoli was also a vassal state of the Mongol Empire, though it was one of the smaller such states, and the Mongols hadn't proven to be staunch defenders of the weak state. Abaqa Khan, the leader of the Mongol Ilkhanate, had died in 1282, and been succeeded by Tekuder, a convert to Islam. Teguder reigned from 1282-1284, and under his leadership, the Islamic-leaning Mongols were not inclined to defend a Christian state against Mamluk advances. This further freed the Mamluks to make attacks against the remaining coastal cities which were still under Crusader control. Teguder had been assassinated in 1284 and replaced by Abaqa's son Arghun, who was more sympathetic to Christianity, but still didn't show much interest in protecting Tripoli.
   The Egyptian Sultan Qalawun also had additional reason to be opposed to Antioch and Tripoli, since the vassal state of Antioch under Bohemond VI, had provided troops in the Mongols' 1258 Fall of Baghdad and 1260 conquest of Syria.
   The Mamluks had attempted to take Tripoli in a 1271 siege, but had instead been persuaded to agree to a truce, because of concerns about the arrival of Prince Edward in Acre that month, as the launch of the Ninth Crusade. The Mamluks had also negotiated a truce with Edward as well, but it was short-lived, as the Mamluks continued their relentless push through the Levant, conquering castle after castle. The Mamluks conquered Margat in 1285, and Lattakiah in 1287.

The siege

The Grand Master of the Knights Templar, William de Beaujeu, informed by Badr ad-Din Bektash al-Fakhri, emir of Qalawun, warned Tripoli of the impending invasion, but his advice went unheeded.
Qalawun started the siege of Tripoli in March 1289, arriving with a sizable army and large catapults. In response, Tripoli's Commune and nobles gave supreme authority to Lucia. In the harbor at the time, there were four Genoese galleys, two Venetian galleys, and a few small boats, some of them Pisan. Reinforcements were sent to Tripoli by the Knights Templar, who sent a force under Geoffrey of Vendac, and the Hospitallers sent a force under Matthew of Clermont. A French regiment was sent from Acre under John of Grailly. King Henry II of Cyprus sent his young brother Amalric with a company of knights and four galleys. Many non-combatants fled to Cyprus.
The Mamluks fired their catapults, two towers soon crumbled under the bombardments, and the defenders hastily prepared to flee. The Mamluks overran the crumbling walls, and captured the city on April 26, marking the end of an uninterrupted Christian rule of 180 years, the longest of any of the major Frankish conquests in the Levant. Lucia managed to flee to Cyprus, with two Marshals of the Orders and Almaric of Cyprus. The commander of the Temple Peter of Moncada was killed, as well as Bartholomew Embriaco. The population of the city was massacred, although many managed to escape by ship. Those who had taken refuge on the nearby island of Saint-Thomas were captured by the Mamluks on April 29. Women and children were taken as slaves, and 1200 prisoners were sent to Alexandria to work in the Sultan's new arsenal. Tripoli was razed to the ground, and Qalawun ordered a new Tripoli to be built on another spot, a few miles inland at the foot of Mount Pilgrim. Soon other nearby cities were also captured, such as Nephin and Le Boutron. Peter of Gibelet kept his lands around Gibelet (modern Byblos) for about 10 more years, in exchange for the payment of a tribute to the Sultan.

Aftermath

Two years later Acre, the last major Crusader outpost in the Holy Land was also captured in the Siege of Acre in 1291. It was considered by many historians to mark the end of the Crusades, though there were still a few other territories being held to the north, in Tortosa and Atlit. However the last of those, the small Templar garrison on the island of Ruad was captured in 1302 or 1303 in the Siege of Arwad, and with it the last bit of Crusader-held land in the Levant.

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