The 1271 Siege of Tripoli was initiated by the Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

 ruler Baibars

Baibars

Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...

 against the Frankish ruler of the Principality of Antioch

Principality of Antioch

The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...

 and the County of Tripoli

County of Tripoli

The County of Tripoli was the last Crusader state founded in the Levant, located in what today are parts of western Syria and northern Lebanon, where exists the modern city of Tripoli. The Crusader state was captured and created by Christian forces in 1109, originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse...

, Bohemond VI. It followed the dramatic Fall of Antioch

Siege of Antioch (1268)

The Siege of Antioch occurred in 1268 when the Mamelukes under Baibars finally succeeded in capturing the city of Antioch. Prior to the siege, the Crusader Principality was oblivious to the loss of the city as demonstrated when Baibars sent negotiators to the leader of the former Crusader state and...

 in 1268, and was an attempt by the Mamluks to completely destroy the Crusader states of Antioch and Tripoli.

Background

In the mid-13th century, the Crusaders

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 had been steadily losing ground, and were being squeezed between the advancing troops of the Egyptian Mamluks from the south, and the advancing Mongol Empire

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

 from the east, with insufficient assistance arriving from Europe in the West. Around 1260, Bohemond VI, under the influence of his father-in-law, King Hethum I of Armenia

Hethum I of Armenia

Hethum I ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1270. He was the son of Constantine, Lord of Baberon and Partzapert and was the founder of the dynasty which bears his name: the Hetoumids...

, had submitted Antioch and Tripoli to the Mongol Empire

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

, making them vassal states which contributed troops to the Mongol forces, in their battles against the Muslims. The Mongols made dramatic victories in Persia and Syria, effectively destroying the Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

 and Ayyubid Caliphates, and causing a shift of Islamic power to the Egyptian Mamluks in Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

. However, before the Mongols could continue their advance southwards through Palestine towards Egypt, a succession crisis resulted in the withdrawal of the majority of their troops, as the Mongol princes convened on Karakorum

Karakorum

Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...

 to decide on a new Great Khan. A smaller force was left to occupy Syria and engage in raids through Palestine, but the Crusaders and the Mamluks engaged in a truce, which allowed the Mamluks to advance northwards through Crusader territory, and engage the weakened Mongol force at the Battle of Ayn Jalut in 1260. When the bulk of the Mongol forces returned in 1262, they were never able to avenge the loss. Meanwhile, the Mamluks proceeded to reclaim the rest of the Levant from Crusader hands. Jerusalem had been taken in 1244 by the Khwarezm Turks, and the Egyptian Mamluks worked their way northward, capturing castle after castle.

In 1268, the Egyptian Mamluks besieged and captured Antioch

Siege of Antioch (1268)

The Siege of Antioch occurred in 1268 when the Mamelukes under Baibars finally succeeded in capturing the city of Antioch. Prior to the siege, the Crusader Principality was oblivious to the loss of the city as demonstrated when Baibars sent negotiators to the leader of the former Crusader state and...

, leaving Bohemond with only Tripoli. Baibars next turned his sights on Tripoli, and sent a letter to Bohemond threatening him with total annihilation, and taunting him for his alliance with the Mongol ruler Abaqa:
Bohemond begged for a truce, so as not to lose Tripoli as well. Baibar mocked him for lack of courage, and asked him to pay all the expenses of the Mamluk campaign. Bohemond had enough pride left to refuse the offer. By this time, the Mamluks had captured every inland castle of the Franks, but the Mamluks had heard reports about the arrival of the Ninth Crusade

Ninth Crusade

The Ninth Crusade, which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land. It took place in 1271–1272....

, led by the prince who would later be Edward I of England

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

. Edward had landed in Acre on May 9, 1271, where he was soon joined by Bohemond and his cousin King Hugh

Hugh III of Cyprus

Hugh III of Cyprus , born Hughues de Poitiers, later Hughues de Lusignan , called the Great, was the King of Cyprus from 1267 and King of Jerusalem from 1268 . He was the son of Henry of Antioch and Isabella of Cyprus, the daughter of Hugh I...

 of Cyprus and Jerusalem.

Baibars therefore accepted Bohemond's offer of a truce in May, abandoned the siege of Tripoli, and instead concentrated his forces in Damas

Damas

Damas can refer to:Geography* Damas-aux-Bois, a village in northeastern France* Damas-et-Bettegney, a village in northeastern France* Damas River, a seasonal river of Eritrea* Pichi Damas River, a river of Chile* Isla Damas, an island of Costa Rica...

, in anticipation of future battles. Edward made an attempt to coordinate his own actions with the Mongols, but was not successful since the Mongols were busy with internal conflicts, and Edward's own forces were very small and fairly ineffective. He therefore opted to negotiate his own truce with the Mamluks, before returning to England.

Aftermath

The next major offensive against Tripoli was in 1289 by the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun

Qalawun

Saif ad-Dīn Qalawun aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Mamluk sultan of Egypt...

, who successfully orchestrated the Fall of Tripoli

Fall of Tripoli

The Fall of Tripoli was the capture and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli , by the Muslim Mamluks...

 and destruction of the Crusader State. He then made plans to capture the last major Crusader stronghold, Saint-Jean d'Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

, but died in 1290. The Fall of Acre was achieved in 1291 by Qalawun's son, Al-Ashraf Khalil.