With the loss of the island, the Crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land and it marked the end of their presence in the Levant region.

[5] In 1299, as he prepared an offensive against Syria, Ghazan had sent embassies to Henry II of Jerusalem (now located on Cyprus) and to Pope Boniface VIII, inviting them to participate in combined operations against the Mamluks.

[4][6] Henry made some attempts to combine with the Mongols,[6] and in the autumn of 1299 sent a small fleet of two galleys, led by Guy of Ibelin and John of Giblet, to join Ghazan.

The fleet successfully reoccupied Botrun on the mainland (in modern times this would be along the coast of Lebanon), and for a few months, until February 1300, began rebuilding the fortress of Nephin.

[5][6] But Ghazan then had to retreat the bulk of his forces in February, due to a revolt in the East during the Mongol civil war, as he was being attacked by one of his cousins, Qutlugh-Khoja, the son of the Jagataid ruler of Turkestan.

Sixteen galleys combining the forces of Cyprus with those of the Templars and Hospitallers, and accompanied by Ghazan's ambassador Isol the Pisan, were able to raid Rosetta, Alexandria, Acre, Tortosa and Maraclea.

The plan was to establish a bridgehead on the tiny waterless island of Ruad, just two miles (3 km) off the coast, from which they could launch raids on the city.

[13] On the eve of the Ruad expedition, relations between the Templars and the King of Cyprus, Henry II, were strained, as the former Grand Master Guillaume de Beaujeu had supported a rival claimant to the Cypriot throne.

[4][6] The hopes were that in synchronization with the naval assault, there would also be a land-based attack by the Mongols of the Ilkhanate, as Ghazan had promised that his own forces would arrive in late 1300.

[13][14][15] While the Templar Grand Master had high hopes for the operation,[6][16] the attempt to reoccupy Tortosa lasted only twenty-five days, and the Crusaders acted more like plunderers, destroying property and taking captives.

[6] When Ghazan announced that he had canceled his operations for the year, the Crusaders, after some deliberations, decided to return to Cyprus, leaving only a garrison on Ruad.

[18] A surviving letter from Jacques de Molay to Edward I of England, dated 8 April 1301, informed the king of the troubles encountered by Ghazan, but announced de Molay's planned expedition in the autumn: "And our convent, with all our galleys and tarides (light galleys) [lacuna] has been transported to the isle of Tortosa to await Ghazan's army and his Tartars.

Knowing this, we now intend to go to the isle of Tortosa, where our convent has remained all this year with horses and arms, causing much damage to the casaux along the coast and capturing many Saracens.

[21] On Ruad, Brother Hugh of Dampierre negotiated a surrender to the Mamluks on September 26, under the condition that they could safely escape to a Christian land of their choice.