Edward I's Ninth Crusade: How the Holy Land Forged the Hammer of the Scots

Key facts

• Edward I, before becoming king, took the cross with his wife Eleanor of Castile and joined the Ninth Crusade.
• He received a loan of approximately £17,500 from Louis IX of France to finance the expedition, departing in summer 1270 with only hundreds of men.
• Louis IX died of dysentery in September 1270 at Tunis, but Edward continued to the Holy Land.
• Edward reached Acre on May 9, 1271, with no more than a thousand men, including only a few hundred knights.
• Mamluk sultan Baibars had captured Ascalon, Jaffa, and Caesarea, leaving Acre and Tripoli as the main Crusader strongholds.
• Edward allied with Mongol khan Abagha, who sent 10,000 horsemen to Syria.
• Edward survived a poisoned dagger attack by an assassin sent by the Emir of Ramlah; his English doctor cut away infected flesh to save him.
• Edward learned of his father Henry III's death on November 16, 1272, during his return journey, but did not hurry back to England.
• His crusading experience influenced his later wars with Wales and Scotland, where he earned the nickname 'Hammer of the Scots'.
• Edward built a network of castles in northern Wales inspired by Crusader castles with concentric walls.