Following the successful siege of Jerusalem, the Crusaders were forced by strategic and economic needs to focus their main interest on conquering and securing the coastal cities of the Levant and their hinterland.

But only after the Fatimids at the end of May 1102 at the battle of Jaffa suffered a decisive defeat and their last campaign in the following year led by Taj al-Ajam and Ibn Qadus was also unsuccessful, King Baldwin I was able to resume his offensive to conquer the coastal towns.

[c] The besiegers, said to have numbered about 5,000 men, deployed catapults and a siege tower, which, after some prolonged fighting, eventually prompted the defenders to begin negotiations on the terms of the surrender.

But shortly before the surrender of Acre, 12 Muslim galleys coming from Tyre and Sidon and a large transport ship with men and war material entered the city's harbor, in which these reinforcements revived the will to fight.

After the failure at Acre, King Baldwin made another advance into Mount Carmel to clear it of the gangs of bandits who were still making the traffic routes around Haifa unsafe from there.

Baldwin, seeing the opportunity before him, entered into negotiations with the Genoese, which ended in their agreeing to support him if, after taking Acre, they would receive a third of the spoils, trade privileges and a settlement in the business district of the city.

Due to the lack of assistance from Egypt, the Fatimid governor of Acre, the Mamluk Bena, better known as Zahr ad-Dawlah al-Juyushi, offered to surrender to the besiegers, on same terms as granted in Arsuf.

[d] "When the Genoese saw how [the Muslims] went out with all their household goods and dragged their treasures with them, they were blinded by avarice and greed, broke into the city, killed the citizens and robbed them of gold, silver, purple fabrics and other valuables”,[5] the chronicler Albert of Aix reported, “[t]he Frankish people”, i.e. the men of the royal army, were "seized by the flame of greed" and took part in the plundering orgy, which is said to have cost the lives of about 4,000 inhabitants and defenders of Acre.