War of Saint Sabas
Encyclopedia
The War of Saint Sabas or San Saba (1256–1270) was a conflict between the Mediterranean maritime republics of Genoa
(aided by Philip of Monfort
, John of Arsuf
, and the Knights Hospitaller
) and Venice
(aided by the Count of Jaffa and the Knights Templar
).
The war began when the Venetians were evicted from Tyre in 1256 and war grew out of a dispute concerning land in Acre
then owned by the monastery of Saint Sabas but claimed by both Genoa and Venice. Initially Genoa had a clear upper hand, but its early successes were abruptly reversed when the Republic of Pisa
, a former ally, signed a ten-year pact of military alliance with Venice.
In 1257 a Venetian admiral, Lorenzo Tiepolo
broke through Acre's harbour chain and destroyed several Genoese ships, conquered the disputed property, and destroyed Saint Sabas' fortifications; however he was unable to expel the Genoese, who were 800 men strong and armed with 50–60 ballistae, from their quarter of the city despite throwing up a blockade; there were also siege engines among the Venetians.
The famed Genoese crossbowmen
were also fighting in Acre: the life of the count of Jaffa was only spared by a chivalrous Genoese consul who forbade his crossbowman to shoot the count from his tower. Pisa and Venice were hiring men to man their galleys in Acre itself during the siege: the average rate of pay of a Pisan- or Venetian-employed sailor on one of their galleys was ten Saracen besants
a day and nine a night. The blockade lasted more than a year (perhaps twelve or fourteen months), but because the Hospitaller complex was also near the Genoese quarter, food was brought to them quite simply, even from as far away as Philip of Montfort in Tyre.
At that point, in August 1257, the regent of the kingdom, John of Arsuf
, who had initially tried to mediate, confirmed a treaty with the city of Ancona
granting it commercial rights in Acre in return for aid of fifty men-at-arms for two years. Though Ancona was an ally of Genoa and John sought by his treaty to bring the feudatories — most of whom were onside — to support Genoa against Venice, his plan ultimately backfired and John of Jaffa and John II of Beirut
"manipulated the complex regency laws" in order to bring the feudatories of the Kingdom of Jerusalem into a position of support for Venice. In this they had the support of the new bailiff, Plaisance of Cyprus
, Bohemond VI of Antioch, and the Knights Templar. At this juncture, Philip of Montfort, who had been providing food to the Genoese in Acre, was one of Genoa's only supporters.
Philip was staying about a mile away from Acre, in a place called "the new Vigny
" (la Vignie Neuve) with "80 men on horses and 300 archer-villeins from his land" (lxxx. homes a chevau et .ccc. archers vilains de sa terre). In June, as per a plan, he marched on Acre and joined up with a band of Hospitallers while a Genoese fleet attacked the city by sea. The Genoese navy, numbering some 48 galleys and four sailing ships armed with siege engines, under Rosso della Turca was quickly overrun by the Venetians and the Genoese had to abandon their quarter and retreat with Philip to Tyre. The conflict wore down and by 1261 a fragile peace was in effect, though the Genoese were still out of Acre. Pope Urban IV
, who had become understandably worried about the effect of the war in the event of a Mongol
attack, a threat that passed without materialising, now organised a council to re-establish order in the kingdom following five years of fighting.
The Genoese then approached Michael VIII Palaiologos
, Emperor of Nicaea
. After the Treaty of Nymphaeum
was ratified in 1261, the emperor funded fifty ships to fight the Venetians. After this assault, in 1264, the Venetians returned to Tyre to conquer it, but backed out when Tyre received reinforcements.
During the continuous skirmishing of the 1260s, both sides employed Muslim soldiers, mostly Turcopoles, against their Christian foes. In 1266, the Genoese had made an alliance with Baybars, who was to outfit some troops for an expedition against Acre, but the Genoese' promised fleet never got underway. In 1267, Genoa managed to capture the Tower of Flies and blockade the harbour of Acre for twelve days before being evicted by a Venetian flotilla. The ongoing warfare between Genoa and Venice had a major negative impact on the Kingdom's ability to withstand external threats to its existence. Save for the religious buildings, most of the fortified and defended edifices in Acre had been destroyed at one point or other (and Acre looked as if it had been ravaged by a Muslim army) and according to Rothelin, the continuator of William of Tyre's
History, 20,000 men in total had lost their lives, a frightful number considering the Crusader states were chronically short on soldiery.
The War of Saint Sabas was settled in 1270 with a pact to cease the hostilities between the Venetians and the Genoese. In 1288, Genoa finally received their quarter in Acre back.
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
(aided by Philip of Monfort
Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
Philip of Montfort, was Lord of La Ferté-Alais and Castres-en-Albigeois 1228–1270, Lord of Tyre 1246–1270, and Lord of Toron aft. 1240–1270...
, John of Arsuf
John of Arsuf
John of Ibelin was the Lord of Arsuf from 1236 and Constable of Jerusalem from 1251. He was a younger son of John I of Beirut. His elder brother, Balian, inherited Beirut. He served as regent of Jerusalem on two occasions: 1253-1254 for Conrad II and 1256-1258 for Conrad III...
, and the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
) and Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
(aided by the Count of Jaffa and the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
).
The war began when the Venetians were evicted from Tyre in 1256 and war grew out of a dispute concerning land in 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....
then owned by the monastery of Saint Sabas but claimed by both Genoa and Venice. Initially Genoa had a clear upper hand, but its early successes were abruptly reversed when the Republic of Pisa
Republic of Pisa
The Republic of Pisa was a de facto independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa during the late tenth and eleventh centuries. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and...
, a former ally, signed a ten-year pact of military alliance with Venice.
In 1257 a Venetian admiral, Lorenzo Tiepolo
Lorenzo Tiepolo
Lorenzo Tiepolo was Doge of Venice from 1268 until his death.Born in Venice, Lorenzo Tiepolo was the son of Doge Jacopo Tiepolo. It is a matter of debate if his second wife, Marguerite, was either the daughter of the King of Romania or of Bohemund of Brienne, ruler of Rascia...
broke through Acre's harbour chain and destroyed several Genoese ships, conquered the disputed property, and destroyed Saint Sabas' fortifications; however he was unable to expel the Genoese, who were 800 men strong and armed with 50–60 ballistae, from their quarter of the city despite throwing up a blockade; there were also siege engines among the Venetians.
The famed Genoese crossbowmen
Genoese crossbowmen
The Genoese crossbowmen were a famous military corps of the Middle Ages, which acted both in defence of the Italian city of Genoa, and as mercenaries for other Italian or European powers....
were also fighting in Acre: the life of the count of Jaffa was only spared by a chivalrous Genoese consul who forbade his crossbowman to shoot the count from his tower. Pisa and Venice were hiring men to man their galleys in Acre itself during the siege: the average rate of pay of a Pisan- or Venetian-employed sailor on one of their galleys was ten Saracen besants
Bezant
Bezant is a medieval term for a gold coin from the Byzantine Empire, which term is derived from the Greek name Βυζάντιον for the relatively minor city which in the 4th c. became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great...
a day and nine a night. The blockade lasted more than a year (perhaps twelve or fourteen months), but because the Hospitaller complex was also near the Genoese quarter, food was brought to them quite simply, even from as far away as Philip of Montfort in Tyre.
At that point, in August 1257, the regent of the kingdom, John of Arsuf
John of Arsuf
John of Ibelin was the Lord of Arsuf from 1236 and Constable of Jerusalem from 1251. He was a younger son of John I of Beirut. His elder brother, Balian, inherited Beirut. He served as regent of Jerusalem on two occasions: 1253-1254 for Conrad II and 1256-1258 for Conrad III...
, who had initially tried to mediate, confirmed a treaty with the city of Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
granting it commercial rights in Acre in return for aid of fifty men-at-arms for two years. Though Ancona was an ally of Genoa and John sought by his treaty to bring the feudatories — most of whom were onside — to support Genoa against Venice, his plan ultimately backfired and John of Jaffa and John II of Beirut
John II of Beirut
John of Ibelin , often called John II, was the Lord of Beirut from 1254, named after his grandfather John I, the famous "Old Lord of Beirut"...
"manipulated the complex regency laws" in order to bring the feudatories of the Kingdom of Jerusalem into a position of support for Venice. In this they had the support of the new bailiff, Plaisance of Cyprus
Plaisance of Antioch
Queen Plaisance of Cyprus, born Plaisance of Antioch or Plaisance de Poitiers was a daughter of Bohemund V of Antioch and his second wife, the Italian noblewoman Lucienne dei Conti di Segni, kinswoman of Pope Innocent III...
, Bohemond VI of Antioch, and the Knights Templar. At this juncture, Philip of Montfort, who had been providing food to the Genoese in Acre, was one of Genoa's only supporters.
Philip was staying about a mile away from Acre, in a place called "the new Vigny
Vigny
Vigny may refer to the following places in France:* Vigny, Moselle, a commune in the Moselle department* Vigny, Val-d'Oise, a commune in the Val-d'Oise departmentVigny may refer to the following people:* Alfred de Vigny...
" (la Vignie Neuve) with "80 men on horses and 300 archer-villeins from his land" (lxxx. homes a chevau et .ccc. archers vilains de sa terre). In June, as per a plan, he marched on Acre and joined up with a band of Hospitallers while a Genoese fleet attacked the city by sea. The Genoese navy, numbering some 48 galleys and four sailing ships armed with siege engines, under Rosso della Turca was quickly overrun by the Venetians and the Genoese had to abandon their quarter and retreat with Philip to Tyre. The conflict wore down and by 1261 a fragile peace was in effect, though the Genoese were still out of Acre. Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...
, who had become understandably worried about the effect of the war in the event of a Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
attack, a threat that passed without materialising, now organised a council to re-establish order in the kingdom following five years of fighting.
The Genoese then approached Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
, Emperor of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
. After the Treaty of Nymphaeum
Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)
The Treaty of Nymphaeum was a trade and defense pact signed between the Empire of Nicaea and the Republic of Genoa in Nymphaion in March of 1261...
was ratified in 1261, the emperor funded fifty ships to fight the Venetians. After this assault, in 1264, the Venetians returned to Tyre to conquer it, but backed out when Tyre received reinforcements.
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
History, 20,000 men in total had lost their lives, a frightful number considering the Crusader states were chronically short on soldiery.
The War of Saint Sabas was settled in 1270 with a pact to cease the hostilities between the Venetians and the Genoese. In 1288, Genoa finally received their quarter in Acre back.