They still maintained a fortress at the northern city of Tartus (now in north-western Syria), engaged in some coastal raids, and attempted an incursion from the tiny island of Ruad; but, when they lost that, too, in a siege in 1302, the Crusaders no longer controlled any part of the Holy Land.

Baibars captured Caesarea, Haifa, and Arsuf in 1265, all the important Crusader holdings in Galilee the following year, and then Antioch in 1268.

[9] Following the fall of Tripoli, King Henry II, son of Hugh III, sent seneschal Jean de Grailly to warn European monarchs of the critical situation in the Levant.

[12][13] One Arab account claims that an affair between a rich young wife of the city and a Mussulman was discovered by the husband: gathers together some friends goes out from Ptolemais [...] and immolates them both to his injured honour.

[15] The Italian reinforcements were ill-disciplined and without regular pay; they pillaged indiscriminately from both Muslims and Christians before setting out from Acre.

According to Runciman they attacked and killed some Muslim merchants around Acre in August 1290,[10] although in Michaud's account they instead pillaged and massacred towns and villages.

On the suggestion of Guillaume de Beaujeu, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, the Council of Acre debated the issue; the Sultan's demand was rejected, with the Crusaders claiming that the murdered Muslims had been responsible for their own deaths.

Guillaume de Beaujeu received a message from Khalil, which stated the latter's intention to attack Acre and to refuse peace overtures.

The only noteworthy reinforcements came from Henry II of Cyprus, who fortified the walls and sent troops led by his brother Amalric, Lord of Tyre.

[17] Acre was defended by an inner and outer wall, with a total of twelve towers built by European kings and rich pilgrims.

From days nine to eleven the Mamluks pushed forward barricades and wicker screens until they reached the fosse before the outer wall; Carabohas, rapid-fire siege engines, were brought up.

An amphibious assault on the Hamans – stationed on the northernmost section of the line by the sea – was successful although the Crusaders suffered heavy casualties.

[2] The king's arrival temporarily buoyed morale, but an inspection of the city convinced Henry II to attempt a negotiated settlement; the Crusaders believed that tribute could buy a truce.

The Crusaders refused to surrender, and appealed to Khalil to lift the siege and accept peace for the sake of the civilian inhabitants.

Khalil remained intent on conquering the city, perhaps encouraged by the popularity of the cause among his troops; his counteroffer to allow the defenders to surrender and leave with their lives and property was rejected.

Toward the end of the meeting, a Crusader artillery stone landed near the dihliz; the Sultan was greatly angered and ordered a full assault the following day.

[31] The Mamluk army assembled before dawn on 18 May[31] and attacked the entire length of the wall to the sound of trumpets and drums carried on 300 camels.

[nb 2][31] On the Montmusard walls, the Lazarists remained while the Templars and Hospitallers[37] made a failed attempt to retake the Accursed Tower.

[34][nb 3] Organized Crusader resistance collapsed, and the retreat to the harbour and the ships was chaotic;[34][37] wealthy refugees offered exorbitant sums for safe passage.

[nb 6][citation needed][42] On 20 May, the tower held by the Templars, led by Peter de Severy, asked for amnesty.

Trying to spare the civilian population under his protection, Peter de Severy opened the gates and stepped forward with a delegation of Knights Templar.

[citation needed] The tower collapsed after prisoners and booty had been removed; according to Mamluk accounts, a few sightseers and looters were killed.

The Sultan returned to Cairo with the gate of the Church of Saint Andrew from Acre, which was used to construct a mosque[48] and released Philip Mainebeuf's delegation.

Al-Ashraf was greeted by the whole population of Damascus and the surrounding countryside lining the route, ulama [legal scholars], mosque officials, Sufi sheiks, Christians and Jews, all holding candles even though the parade took place before noon.”[50] The fall of Acre signaled the end of the Jerusalem crusades.

By 1291, other ideals had captured the interest and enthusiasm of the monarchs and nobility of Europe and even strenuous papal efforts to raise expeditions to retake the Holy Land met with little response.

The crusades of the 14th century aimed not at the recapture of Jerusalem and the Christian shrines of the Holy Land, but rather at checking the advance of the Ottoman Empire into Europe.

Two short works dedicated to the siege were produced by contemporaries on the basis of eyewitness accounts: the Hystoria de desolacione of Thaddeus of Naples and the anonymous Excidium Acconis.

[51][52] The Gestes des Chiprois, written a generation later and surviving in a single manuscript, is the other main source from the crusaders' perspective.