The+Crusades+-+5th+Crusade

The dotted line shows the path of the Fifth Crusade. [] The Fifth Crusade is one of the five minor Crusades. It started on June 1, 1217 and it concluded on September 8, 1221. Even though this Crusade lasted four years, in the end, nothing was achieved. **Cardinal Pelagius** is at fault for this, and if Cardinal Pelagius was not stubborn, the Christians could have obtained the city of Jerusalem by fighting one battle. This does not happen though and the Christians lose everything they’ve won and everything they could have one because of one man. The original plan for the Crusade was to leave on June 1, 1217 but the Crusaders ended up departing on the spring of 1218, hundreds of German and French ships arrived at Acre, a port in Jerusalem, and met with **King John**, the king of Jerusalem. King John believed the first thing they should do was target Egypt, which was the richest province of the Muslim world back then. To do this, they were going to capture Damietta which is the port on the mouth of the Nile. The city of Damietta [] To protect themselves, the Egyptians put a chain in the Nile so the Crusaders could not get across and there were archers on towers to prevent ships from getting close to the chain and breaking it. After days, the Franks were able to get into the Saracen tower. On August, 1218, the Crusaders broke the chain and passed it to Damietta. But it took them until November, 1219 to capture the city. When the city was about to fall, Malik al-Kamil, the Sultan of Egypt, offered to give the Crusaders their True Cross back and hand over Palestine(including Jerusalem); al-Kamil did this because al-Kamil knew the Crusaders would be able to conquer Egypt. Malik al-Kamil [] King John was more than happy to accept but Cardinal Pelagius said that he will not accept unless the Saracens hand over Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Al-Kamil refused to do that and the hope of the Christians gaining Jerusalem was dead. After this, Cardinal Pelagius and King John fought for leadership. On February 1220, King John gave up and went back to Acre. This meant that Cardinal Pelagius ruled Damietta and Cardinal Pelagius was in charge, and the first thing Cardinal Pelagius did was to order his soldiers to attack Cairo, but the knights did not obey. They were loyal to King John and they were not going to take orders from anyone else. Because of this, they stayed in Damietta for another year and a half until King John returned on the summer of 1221 because he did not want to be in charge of ruining the Crusade. On July 24, 1221, the Crusaders found themselves surrounded and hopeless, so the soldiers retreated without the command from Cardinal Pelagius. As the soldiers retreated, they were attacked by the Turkish and by the time they got back to Damietta, they knew they were beaten. Cardinal Pelagius asked al-Kamil to trade now but al-Kamil did not want to trade anymore, but al-Kamil did agree to give the True Cross back to the Christians; but this act never happened. On September 8, 1221, the Fifth Crusade ended and the Crusaders left Damietta. King John Brienne of Jerusalem []
 * The Fifth Crusade **

**Pope Innocent III**
Pope Innocent the III was born in 1160 and died in the year of 1216. During the middle ages, he was considered to be the most powerful pope because he was the greatest influence over Europe. Pope Innocent the III was elected in January 8, 1187. He became the official pop in 1189. When he was the pope, he has concerned different church councils and reformed some churches. Because he did lots of good work for the church and helped out a lot, he thought he could control over all the crusaders. Unfortunatley, he was not able to grant his wish. Pope Innocent the III alleged his power of the church that was in Rome becuase King Henry VI died, but he did not abdicated his throne to anybody. When Pope Innocent the III found the information about this, he thought he could be the next ruler of the church. So with his power, he was able to grip the church of Rome. Pope Innocent the III died in Perugia in 1216 and he was 55 when he died. Pope Innocent III []

**King Andrew of Hungary**
King Andrew of Hungary was not a well regarded king. He is known for almost creating an anarchy in his kingdom. This happened because after he spent all of the royal funds, the only place he could look to for help was the feaudatories. In 1217 King Andrew set off to begin the 5th crusade. He returned a year later in 1218. He had failed. Italian, Frisian and German Crusaders had to then go and finish what Andrew had started.

King Andrew of Hungary []

**Cardinal Pelagius**
Pope Innocent III, and later Pope Honorius, both believed that victory for the 5th crusade could only be achieved if it was led by the church. Cardinal Pelagius was the chosen representative for the church. At first there were many people who doubted Pelagius’ ablility to lead them to their victory, but he was able to prove very quickly that he deserved the position that was awarded to him. As time went on Pelagius began to lose the respect of his soldiers, but he never lost his determination. This though, was not enough. As the crusade went on, it became obvious that Pelagius’ efforts would not suffice.

Cardinal Pelagius []