The Re-Conquest of Tripoli 1289

By: Natalie Mallat

The Re-Conquest of Tripoli

The Crusader state in Tripoli was the largest Frankish Catholic stronghold in the Levant. It had the longest rule, lasting for an uninterrupted 180 years. The County extended from Byblos (Jbeil in modern-day Lebanon) to Latakia (modern-day Syria).

THE FRANKISH ARRIVAL

During Arab Prince Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan’s rule in Damascus, General Sufyan ibn Mujib conquered Byzantine Tripoli. It was a flourishing Muslim city under the Rashiduns, Umayyads, and Abbasids.

After the Fatimids took over, Tripoli held an independent de-facto administration by Banu Ammar. This Arab noble family ruled the city for 40 years until the Franks arrived. The local community kept repulsing their attacks and survived on aid from Syria.

Count Raymond of Toulouse isolated the city and blocked merchants’ routes. Food became scarce and the Tripolians greatly suffered. With no military help from the surrounding Muslim territories, the city was forced to surrender. Raymond died during the siege leaving a bitter conflict between his son Count Bertrand and his nephew and leader of armies William Jordan. Baldwin, King of Jerusalem arrived in Tripoli to settle the dispute between the two rivals.

William of Tyre specified that William Jordan was to receive Tortosa as well as ‘Arqa. Count Bertrand was to receive Mons Peregrinorum, Tripoli, and Jubayl. William Jordan and Bertrand were to receive their halves of the emergent county as vassals of Prince Tancred and King Baldwin respectively.

Soon after the council, William Jordan died in suspicious circumstances. Bertrand received ‘Arqa and the rest of William’s conquests. Although Baldwin of Jerusalem promised the people of Tripoli a safe exit, this was never done. As soon as the city gates were opened, a huge massacre took place. Men were killed while women and children were sold into slavery.

TRIPOLI- THE DEFACTO DIVISION

In 1102, Pons, Count of Tripoli did not attend the Council of Nablus, one of the most important formative moments in the history of the Latin East. Soon after, tension between the King of Jerusalem and the Count of Tripoli flared up, almost to the point of bloodshed.

Pons was politically isolated in the East at this time. Baldwin II was ruling both Jerusalem and Antioch, whilst the king’s own former county of Edessa was being ruled by Joscelin, who was personally dependent on the king.

Later, Tripoli separated from the patriarchate and kingdom of Jerusalem. The County emerged as an independent state under the Frank Counts. Kevin James Lewis notes that “In many ways, the county of Tripoli owed its very existence as an independent polity to Pons and the remarkable stability of his reign.”

After Pons’s rebellion, the Count of Tripoli and the Tripolitans more generally tended to be acknowledged as a discrete entity, not a part of the royal army.

ATTEMPTS TO RE-CAPTURE TRIPOLI

The numerous trials to liberate Tripoli included Sultan Saladin’s son Al Malik’s unsuccessful campaign. After the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols, power was shifted to the Egyptian Mamluks. Sultan Al Zahir Baibars besieged Tripoli twice. The location where Baibars camped in Tripoli still holds the name Al Qubba al Sultani- The Sultan’s dome.

When Mansur Saif al-din Qalawun rose to power, he had an official peace truce with Bohemond, Count of Tripoli. This stated that the Crusaders would not aid the enemies of the Mamluk Sultanate. Qalawun found an excuse to break his truce with Tripoli when Bohemond secretly aided Bartholomew in Syria to build a fortress in Marqab. Qalawun sent a warning letter to Bohemond who ordered the fortress to be destroyed and sent gifts to the Sultan in order to keep his merchants in Egypt.

During this time, the Christian powers could not remain united due to many internal conflicts. This weakened Tripoli’s defense. After the death of Bohemond VII, his sister Lucia traveled from Italy to Tripoli to succeed him. Bohemond’s mother Sibylla tried to consolidate power by reappointing Bartholomew, Bishop of Tortosa.

The angry Knight Templars of Tyre and Barons of Tripoli called for support from Genoa and their council agreed that the large provinces of Tripoli be given to them. Eventually, Tripoli’s nobles and the Supreme Council gave authority to Lucia.

The new Countess had secret negotiations with Bartholomew in order to suppress the power of the Genoese. When this became public, the Genoese turned to the Mamluk Sultan for revenge and informed him that this would distract the Mamluk trade.

 

THE PATH TO TRIPOLI

With this, Mansur Qalawun found a reason to break the official truce with Tripoli. He embarked on military preparations to attack the County. Qalawun then headed to Damascus without revealing his true aims. Confidential letters were sent to all Levantine cities to urge them for Holy War (Jihad).

Qalawun marched with a tremendous army through the Mountains of Lebanon which were covered with thick layers of snow. The Mamluk soldiers endured the harsh winter weather. The massive Muslim army had around 10,000 Knights, 100,000 soldiers, and many advanced war machines. They were filled with volunteers, Princes, and Emirs who wanted to participate.

The siege of Tripoli lasted 34 days during which Qalawun had set 19 war machines and large catapults against the walls. Reinforcement was sent to the Crusaders from Venice, the Knight Templars, the Hospitallers, Cyprus, and John of Grailly in Acre. Qalawun fired his machines and the non-stop bombardments crumbled Tripoli’s walls. The Venetians were the first to flee the city and Lucia left to Cyprus.

In one of the most important events in history, the last major Christian stronghold in the Levant fell and the Crusaders were expelled. The Muslims responded to the liberation of Tripoli with joyful celebrations. Cities were decorated, festivities were organized and poets and writers commemorated this great occasion. The reaction of the West to the Crusader's defeat was unexpected. They renewed agreements and commercial ties with the Mamluks.

TARABULUS AL MUSTAJADDA

After the destruction of the Crusader state, the Mamluks created a new inland city and named it ‘Tarabulus al Mustajadda’. It was entirely their own construction. Qalawun rebuilt the city and provided it with better protection and defense. He leveled the old one and it became one of the 6 main Mamluk Kingdoms of the Levant.

The new prestigious city grew at a fast pace and had numerous madrasahs (schools), mosques, markets, and hamams (bathhouses). It was very impressive and had a great running water system. Ibn al-Dimashqi mentioned that there was hardly any house in the town that did not have numerous trees in its courtyard.

References

Gada, M. Y. (2017). Rethinking the Impact of the Crusaders on the Muslim-Christian thought and development. QIJIS,5(2).

Izzo, J. W. (2018). Review of The Counts of Tripoli and Lebanon in the Twelfth Century: Sons of Saint-Gilles. By Kevin James Lewis. Rulers of the Latin East 1.

Lewis, K. J. (2014). Rule and identity in a diverse Mediterranean society: aspects of the county of Tripoli during the twelfth century

Petry, C. F. (2022). The Mamluk Sultanat: A History.

Petry, C. F. (2022). The Mamluk Sultanate from a Global Perspective.

Tadmuri, O. A. (1974). The history and relics of the city of Tripoli in the Mamluk era from the Mansouri conquest until now. (1st ed.) Tripoli: Dar al-Nubala.

 

About the author:

My name is Natalie and I am interested in historical studies and research. I have studied engineering with courses on art history. I am particularly focusing on the architectural and artistic influence between the East and the West during the Medieval and Renaissance world. I post my research articles on my personal blog: https://bibliotecanatalie.com/

 

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