Eighth Crusade

The Eighth Crusade, led by the French King Louis XI, was the second effort to set the holy cities free. Sixteen years after the failure of the Seventh Crusade, the Eighth Crusade began.

Distress about the shrinking potential restricted to the remaining states of Crusaders led to the creation of this crusade. The plan was to attack Tunis first and take it over, then advance up the coast of North Africa and expel the Muslims from Egypt, and last free Jerusalem. King Luis erroneously thought that Tunisia could be converted to Christianity without any difficulty. But when he got there, he saw that the city had been prepared for any invasion. Armed forces from Morocco were brought in to defend the city and a new city wall was erected.

The local soldiers harassed the crusaders. Soon after that, a sickness spread among the crusaders, and King Louis XI fell ill and passed away. One day prior to his passing, Charles of Anjou, Louis' brother, had come with supplies and troops for the Crusaders. Charles assumed complete command of the troops and the crusades. Being an unwilling crusader, Charles promptly made a deal with Tunis' Bey to make sure the crusaders left safely. The campaign was stopped even before it had officially started in August 1270.

Time: 1270