Prelude

The Battle of La Forbie, also known as the Battle of Harbiyah, was fought October 17–October 18, 1244 between the allied armies (drawn from the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the crusading orders, the territory of Homs, and the Ayyubid-ruled Trans-Jordan) and the Egyptian army of Sultan as-Salih Ayyub, reinforced with Khwarezmian mercenaries. The capture of Jerusalem by the Khwarezmians in August had excited great alarm among both the Chrisitan and the Muslim states. Al-Mansur, the Emir of Homs and an-Nasr Dawud, ruling in the Transjordan, joined the Templars, the Hospitallers, the Teutonic Knights, and the remaining forces of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to take the field against the Egyptian Sultanate. October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... Events Sultan Malik al-Muattam razes city walls. ... Official language Latin, French, Italian, and other western languages; Greek and Arabic also widely spoken Capital Jerusalem, later Acre Constitution Various laws, so-called Assizes of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a short-lived country established in the 12th century by the First Crusade. ... Homs (also Himş, Arabic, حمص, population 700,000) is an ancient city in Syria, dating back to 2300 B.C.. In Roman times it was known as Emesa. ... The Ayyubid Dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Egypt, Iraq in the 12th and 13th centuries. ... Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (died November 1249) was the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt from 1240 to 1249. ... Chorasmian, also known as Khwarezmian or Khwarazmian, is the name of an extinct northeastern Iranian language closely related to Sogdian. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ... The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care... Teutonic Knights, charging into battle. ...

The two armies met near La Forbie, a small village northeast of Gaza. On the allied side, al-Mansur was present in person, commanding about 2,000 cavalry and a detachment of troops from Damascus. The overall Christian command was given to Walter IV of Brienne, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, although the Constable of Jerusalem, Philip of Montfort, was also present. The Christian army consisted of about 1,000 cavalry and 6,000 foot. The Transjordanian forces were under the command of Sunqur al-Zahiri and al-Waziri, and consisted of about 2,000 mounted Bedouin. The Egyptian army was commanded by the young officer Baibars, soon to overthrow his masters and become Sultan of Egypt, and was slightly inferior in strength to its opponents. The city of Gaza is the principal city in the Gaza Strip. ... Damascus by night, the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and one of the worlds oldest cities. ... Gauthier, or Gualtero, was born around the same time (1205) as his father has lost his bud to sicilian throne and died in prison. ... The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin. ... There were six major officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: constable, marshal, seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor. ... Philip of Montfort, (d. ... al-Malik al-Zahir Ruk al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari (also spelled Baybars) (1223 – July 1, 1277) was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria. ...

Al-Mansur advised the allies to fortify their camp and take the defensive, waiting for the undisciplined Khwarezmians to disperse and leave the Egyptians at a considerable disadvantage. However, Walter, to whom the overall command had been given, was unwilling to refuse battle when he had the advantage of numbers, a rarity for the Christians of Outremer. The allied dispositions were as follows: Christians on the right wing, near the coast, the Emir of Homs and the Damascenes in the center, the Bedouin on the left. Outremer, French for overseas, was the general name given the Crusader states established after the First Crusade, especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem. ...

Battle

Battle was joined on the morning October 17, with the Christian knights repeatedly charging the Egyptians and fighting up and down the line. The Egyptian army held its ground. On the morning of October 18, Baibars renewed the fight and threw the Khwarezmians against the Damascene troops in the center of the allied line. The center was shattered by their furious attack, and they turned on the allied left and cut the Bedouin to pieces. The Emir's cavalry held fiercely, but they were nearly annihilated, and al-Mansur finally rode from the field with 280 survivors, all that remained of his troops. Threatened by the Egyptians in front and the Khwarezmians on their flank, the Christians furiously charged, to no avail. Over 5,000 of them were killed, and 800 prisoners taken, including Walter of Brienne, William of Chastelneuf, Master of the Hospital, and the Constable of Tripoli.. Of the troops of the knightly orders, only 33 Templars, 27 Hospitallers, and 3 Teutonic Knights survived; Philip of Montfort and the Patriarch of Jerusalem also escaped to Ascalon. However, Armand de Périgord, the Master of the Temple, the Marshal of the Temple, the archbishop of Tyre, the bishop of Lydda and Ramla (St. George), and John and William, sons of Bohemond, Lord of Botron, were all killed. October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... Ashkelon or Ashqelon (Hebrew אשקלון; Arabic عسقلان ʿAsqalān; Latin Ascalon) was an ancient Philistine seaport on the east coast of the Mediterranian sea just north of Gaza. ... Tyre (Arabic الصور aṣ-Ṣūr native Phoenician Ṣur, ) is an ancient Phoenician city in Lebanon on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 23 miles, in a direct line, north of Acre, and 20 south of Sidon. ... Lod (Hebrew לוד; Arabic اللد al-Ludd, Greco-Latin Lydda) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... Ramla (Hebrew רמלה Ramlāh; Arabic الرملة ar-Ramlah, colloquial Ramleh), is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ...

Aftermath

The Kingdom of Jerusalem suffered worst in the aftermath of La Forbie. It had not been able to put so large an army into the field since the Battle of Hattin, and would never be able to undertake offensive operations again. It brought no lasting success to the Ayyubids; the Khwarezmians were defeated outside of Homs by al-Mansur in 1246 after falling out with the Egyptians, and with the rise of the Mamluk sultans, Baibars came to rule Egypt in 1260. That able and ruthless commander then turned against the Crusader States he had bled white at La Forbie, and devastated them, reducing the Kingdom of Jerusalem to a tiny coastal strip. While Hattin holds great symbolic importance as having led to the fall of Jerusalem, it was La Forbie that truly marked the collapse of Christian power in Outremer. The Battle of Hattin in 1187 was a major setback in the fortunes of the Crusader movement, enabling the Muslims to regain control of Jerusalem from the Christians. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Saga of Japan. ... An Ottoman Mamluk, from 1810 Mamluks (or Mameluks or Mamelukes) (the Arabic word usually translates as owned, singular: مملوك plural: مماليك) comprised slave soldiers used by the Muslim Caliphs and the Ottoman Empire, and who on more than one occasion seized power for themselves. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan Emperor Kameyama ascends to the throne of Japan September 3 - Mongols defeated by Mameluks at Battle of Ain Jalut Samogatians and Curonians defeats Teutonic knights in Battle of Durbe Births Maximus Planudes, Byzantine grammarian and theologian Deaths Monarchs/Presidents... The Crusader states, c. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

References

• Robert Payne (1985). The Dream and the Tomb. Stein and Day/Publishers. ISBN 0-8128-6227-9.
• Joseph Drory (September 2003). "Al-Nasir Dawud: A Much Frustrated Ayyubid Prince". Al-Masaq 15 (2): 161–187.