The seventh crusade

The Seventh Crusades, Which constitute our thesis topic, took place between 1248-1254 years and emerged as a result of heavy defeat of Crusaders in the east in the battle of La Forbie (El-Harbiya) in 1244 by the Ayyubid and Khawarazm soldiers that was even worse than the Battle of Hattin (1187). In Europe; Germany and Italy were struggling with the problems between Friedrich II. and the Pope. At the same time, the effects of the Mongols, who had already reached Central Europe, were still felt in this period, and the possibility of withdrawal of Mongolian invaders had caused uneasiness. In 1245, a council was held in Lyon, France where some decisions were taken about the problems of the church, the takeover of Jerusalem by Muslims, and the Mongol threat. One of the decisions taken in this council was the crusade to be organized to Egypt, which was one of the most important centers of the Islamic world then, led by Louis IX the King of France. The Seventh Crusade has a very important position in terms of its effects on the Islamic World. The Ayyubid ruler Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub was seriously ill when the Crusaders took over the city of Dimyat, and he died soon after he came to know about the invasion. Salih Najm al-Din's only surviving son, Turan Shah was in Hisn-keyfa (Hısn-ı Keyfa) at that time. The wife of the sultan, Shajarat al-Durr, sent a message to Turan Shah to enthrone him as a head of the state by hiding the death news of the ruler from the army and the people. In this critical period when the Crusaders had already taken Dimyat and were heading towards Mansura, a disaster was prevented as the army cheered up with the news of arrival of Turan shah to Egypt thereby blocking their progress and crusaders were defeated. As a result of this defeat, the Crusaders were obliged to hand over Dimyat to the Muslims and to pay 800,000 dinars of ransom. The Mamluk group was uncomfortable with the attitude of Turan Shah and they declared his stepmother Shajarat al-Durr as their ruler after killing Turan Shah. Thus, soon after the Ayyubid state won the war, his stepmother, Shajarat al-Durr, was replaced by the death of the last ruler, Turan Shah and the era of Mamluk saltanate started by ending the Ayyubid domination in Egypt. Keywords: Damietta, Louis IX, Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, Mamluk.