In late March 1265 Sultan Baibars, Muslim ruler of the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

s, laid siege to Arsuf. It was defended by 270 Knights Hospitallers. At the end of April, after 40 days of siege, the town surrendered. However, the Knights remained in their formidable citadel. Baibars convinced the Knights to surrender by agreeing to let them go free. Baibars reneged on this promise immediately, taking the knights into slavery.Slack, Corliss K. (2013)
Historical Dictionary of the Crusades
Scarecrow Press, p. 50.

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