The Barbary Crusade, also called the Mahdia Crusade, was a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

- Genoese military expedition in 1390 that led to the siege of Mahdia, then a stronghold of the

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

in Hafsidi

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...

(geographically corresponding to modern Tunisia). '' Froissart's Chronicles'' is the chief account of what was one of the last crusades.

Background

During the lulls of the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

knights looked for opportunities for glory and honor.accessed 07-10-08 As Genoese ambassadors approached the French king Charles VI to subscribe to a

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

, they eagerly supported the plan to fight Muslim pirates from North Africa. These pirates had their main base at Mahdia on the Barbary coast. Genoa was ready to supply ships, supplies, 12,000 archers and 8,000 foot soldiers, if France would provide the knights. The proposal by the doge

Antoniotto Adorno Antoniotto Adorno may refer to the following: * Antoniotto I Adorno (1340–1398), Doge of the Republic of Genoa (1378, 1384–1390, 1391–1392, 1394–1396) * Antoniotto II Adorno Antoniotto II Adorno (c. 1479 – 12 September 1528) was Do ...

was presented as a

. As such it would give prestige to its participants, a moratorium on their debts, immunity from lawsuits, and papal indulgence. The French force also included some English participants and consisted of 1,500 knights under the leadership of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon.

Siege of Mahdia

A relief army reportedly 40,000 men strong was brought up by Hafsid Sultan

Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II Abu al-Abbas Ahmad II () (reigned 1370–1394) was a Hafsid Caliph of Ifriqiya. He restored the Hafsid kingdom to full power after a period of disarray which followed the invasion of Ifriqiya led by Abu Inan Faris of the Marinids. Biography A ...

supported by the kings of Bejaia and Tlemcen (Bejaia sent it out of obligation, while Tlemcen feared that the loss of Mahdia would result in a Domino effect) camped nearby, avoided pitched battle, but started to harass the crusaders. The Crusaders had to build a wall around their camp and fortify it. The Berbers sent out a negotiating party asking why the French would attack them, they had only troubled the Genoese, a natural affair among neighbors. In answer they were told that they were unbelievers who had "crucified and put to death the son of God called Jesus Christ." The Berbers laughed saying it was the Jews not they who had done that. Negotiations broke off. In a subsequent encounter with the large relief army the Crusaders killed many but eventually had to retreat exhausted and tired. The duration of the siege not only frustrated them, but their logistical systems started to weaken. When a final assault on the city was repelled they were ready to settle for a treaty. On the opposing side the Berbers realized that they could not overcome the heavier armed invaders. Both sides looked for a way to end the hostilities. Mahdia Crusade 02

Lifting the siege

The siege was lifted with the conclusion of a treaty negotiated through the Genoese party. The treaty stipulated a ten-year armistice. By mid-October the Crusaders had returned to Genoa. Losses due to the fighting and disease amounted to 274 knights and squires.

Aftermath

Both sides celebrated victory. The Berbers had repelled the invaders, and the Genoese could conduct trade with less interference. The French knights had no tangible goals but had participated for action and glory. They failed to learn any lessons from a "chivalric adventure with religious overlay". Their mistakes of unfamiliarity with the environment, lack of heavy siege equipment, underestimation of the enemy, and internal quarrels were repeated six years later on a grander scale in their fatal last crusade at Nicopolis.

Notable participants

* Louis II, Duke of Bourbon * Philip of Artois, Count of Eu *Admiral Jean de Vienne * Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy *

John of Nevers John I (french: Jean sans Peur; nl, Jan zonder Vrees; 28 May 137110 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his death in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs durin ...

* John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset *

Geoffrey Boucicaut Geoffrey Boucicaut, was the brother of the illustrious marshal of France Jean le Maingre. He and his army occupied Avignon in 1398 and started a five-year siege of the Palais des Papes where the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII was, which ended when Bene ...

Jean d'Harcourt VII Jean VII d'Harcourt (1369-18 December 1452, Châtellerault) was a French nobleman. He was Count of Harcourt, Count of Aumale, Viscount of Châtellerault, and Seigneur of Mézières, of Elbeuf, of Lillebone, of La Saussaye etc. He was the son ...

* Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham *

Gadifer de la Salle Gadifer de La Salle (Sainte-Radegonde, 1340 –1415) was a French knight and crusader of Poitevine origin who, with Jean de Béthencourt, conquered and explored the Canary Islands for the Kingdom of Castile. Life Gadifer de La Salle was born ...

* Jean de Béthencourt

References

External links

{{Coord missing, Tunisia * Conflicts in 1390 Sieges Battles involving France Battles involving the Republic of Genoa Battles of the Crusades 13th century in Ifriqiya Military history of Tunisia 14th century in Ifriqiya 1390 History of Mahdia