“It could be deduced from the Gospel that the crusade was a legitimate act of retribution for the Saracens’ forcible conquest of Christian territory and their blasphemies against Christ.”
As we saw, a few days ago, a crusader army launched a decisive assault that captured the Tower of Damietta, breaking the Muslim defenses across the Nile and opening the way for the Fifth Crusade’s advance into Egypt.
Taking Damietta itself would, however, prove an arduous task; a lengthy siege commenced, with occasional, and ever increasing, assaults—often led by the Templars.
Sultan al-Kamil eventually fled his own camp near the city wall, which was quickly appropriated by the Christians—with the knights of the Temple, once again, in the van:
The Templars, leaders in the ascent of the horses, having put up their banners, hurried to the city in a swift march, throwing down the wicked ones who came boldly from the gates to resist those who were advancing.
The sultan, terrified by their audacious advance, proceeded to offer generous terms to the crusaders. In exchange for their withdrawal from Egypt, he would restore Jerusalem to the Christians, establish a thirty-year truce, return all castles captured west of the Jordan River, and pay a tribute of between 15,000–30,000 gold bezants (sources differ).
John of Brienne, titular king of Jerusalem, was eager to accept this ostensibly handsome offer, but the papal legate, Cardinal Pelagius, who by now shared leadership of the army with John, rejected it.
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