"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎٧‎٨] (٧٣٨/١٦٠)

THE PERIOD OF THE CRUSADES
149
and Egypt under their rule and seriously resumed the ‘ holy
war the end was near at hand. The Syrian Latins split into
warring sections, and made separate treaties with the common
foe, and spent their strength in civil war. No crusades came
from Europe in the last years of the period, and no battles
were fought with the Moslems. A series of sieges, generally
brief, inexorably diminished the Latin territory. When the
stubborn resistance of ‘Akka was overcome (1291), the de
fenders of the surviving towns lost heart, and the last surrender
was made a few months later.
The most interesting of the military expeditions from
Emope in the early part of the thirteenth century struck,
rightly, at Egypt (1218-21, 1249-50), and so lie outside the
limits of this survey. The most influential was that of
Frederick II. But his only military achievements were the
fortification of Caesarea and Jaffa and Saida, and the building
of a new castle (Qurein) for the Teutonic knights of the
Hospital. Part of the crusade of 1239^0 suffered a serious
defeat near Gaza in November 1239. The event again
exemplifies the military errors of the Crusaders. A large
portion of them separated from the main body in the hope
of securing plunder ; they were attacked whilst resting after
a long night march ; the bowmen had not a sufficient supply
of arrows ; the ground was sandy and unfavcurable, the enemy
stronger than the Crusaders had supposed; having found a
safe position, they let themselves be drawn out of it by
a pretended flight. At least 600 were taken prisoners, and
many were killed. Gaza was the scene of several battles about
this time (1239, 1242, 1244), because it was the most advanced
position of Egypt in south-western Syria, and a base of theii
attacks on the Latins.
The invasion of the Kharismian Turks into Syria brought
fresh disaster upon the Latins (1244). They were a roving
band invited from the neighbourhood of Harran by the Sultan
of Egypt to assist him against a league of the Latins with the
Sultan of Damascus. A decisive battle was fought at Gaza,
in which the Latins and their Moslem allies were defeated.