May 13 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") assembles a Crusader fleet of 120 transports and embarks an army (some 15,000 men) at Limassol. Unfortunately, a storm scatters the ships a few days later. On May 30, Louis sets sail to Egypt – only a quarter of his forces sails with him, the others make their way independently to the Egyptian coast. Finally, the royal squadron arrives off Damietta on June 4 aboard Louis' flagship the Montjoie. The king's advisers urges a delay until the rest of his transports arrive before attempting to disembark, but Louis refuses.[1]
June 5 – Siege of Damietta: Louis IX lands with a Crusader force and captures Damietta, after a fierce battle at the edge of the sea. The onslaught of the knights of France and those of Outremer under John of Ibelin, force the Ayyubids back with heavy losses. At nightfall, Fakhr ad-Din withdraws his army over a bridge of boats to Damietta. Finding the population there in panic and the garrison wavering, Fakhr ad-Din decides to evacuate the city. On June 6, Louis marches triumphantly over the bridge into Damietta and builds a camp to attack Cairo.[2]
November 20 – Louis IX sets out (against the advice of his nobles) with a Crusader force from Damietta, along the southern road to Mansourah. A garrison is left to guard the city – where Queen Margaret of Provence and Patriarch Robert of Nantes remain. The Crusaders make slow progress along the Nile, carrying a number of supplies and equipment. After 32 days, Louis orders to make camp opposite the Ayyubid camp near Mansourah, protected by a branch of the river and fortifications. Both camps use their catapults to bombard each other.[3]
December – Louis IX consolidates his forces at Mansourah. After the death of Sultan As-Salih Ayyub, Fakhr ad-Din effectively becomes the ruler of Egypt. He takes command of the city's defense and his cavalry harasses the Crusaders but none of these skirmishes is successful in holding up the Crusader's advance. Meanwhile, Louis orders the construction of a dyke at Mansourah, although the Crusaders build covered galleries to protect the workmen, the Egyptian bombardment (particularly Greek fire), is so formidable that the work is halted.[4]
Europe
February 16 – Louis IX sends Andrew of Longjumeau on a diplomatic mission to meet the "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire. He carries letters from Louis and the Papal States, and rich presents, including a chapel-tent lined with scarlet cloth and embroidered with sacred pictures. From Cyprus he goes to the port of Antioch in Syria and travels for a year to the khan's court at Karakorum.[5]
Winter – William of Villehardouin tours the Peloponnese and selects sites for new fortifications such as Grand Magne and Leuktron. At Mystras (ancient Sparta), he builds a fortress and a palace.
Jean Mouflet makes an agreement with the abbot of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in the Senonais region in France: in return for an annual payment, the monastery will recognize Jean as a "citizen of Sens". He is a leathermerchant, with a leather shop that he leases for the rent of 50 shillings a year. The agreement is witnessed by Jean's wife, Douce, daughter of a wealthy and prominent citizen of Sens, Felis Charpentier.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, p. 220. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, p. 221. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, pp. 222–223. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Beazley, Charles Raymond (1911). "Andrew of Longjumeau". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 972–973.
^Macrides, Ruth (2007). George Akropolites: The History – Introduction, Translation and Commentary, pp. 246–248. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-921067-1.
^Picard, Christophe (2000). Le Portugal musulman (VIIIe-XIIIe siècle. L'Occident d'al-Andalus sous domination islamique. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. p. 110. ISBN2-7068-1398-9.
^"John XXII". Oxford Reference. Retrieved December 4, 2021.