Editing James I of Aragon (section)

==Crusade of 1269==
{{main|Catalan Crusade}}
[[File:Vidal Mayor Primera recopil·lació dels Furs d'Aragó.jpg|thumb|First compilation of the Fueros of Aragon, carried out by the bishop of Huesca Vidal de Canellas in 1247. Vidal Mayor.]]

[[Abaqa]], the "Khan of Tartary" (actually the [[Ilkhan]]), corresponded with James in early 1267, inviting him to join forces with the [[Mongols]] and go on [[crusade]].<ref>Chaytor, 90.</ref> James sent an ambassador to Abaqa in the person of [[Jayme Alaric de Perpignan]], who returned with a Mongol embassy in 1269.<ref name=Runciman330>Runciman, ''History of the Crusades'', pp. 330–332</ref> [[Pope Clement IV]] tried to dissuade James from crusading, regarding his moral character as sub-par, and Alfonso X did the same. Nonetheless, James, who was then [[Conquest of Murcia (1265–66)|campaigning]] in [[Murcia]], made peace with [[Muhammad I of Granada|Muhammad I]], the [[Nasrid dynasty|Sultan of Granada]], and set about collecting funds for a crusade. After organising the government for his absence and assembling a fleet at Barcelona in September 1269, he was ready to sail east. The troubadour [[Olivier lo Templier]] composed a song praising the voyage and hoping for its success. A storm, however, drove him off course, and he landed at [[Aigues-Mortes]]. According to the continuator of [[William of Tyre]], he returned via Montpellier ''por l'amor de sa dame Berenguiere'' ("for the love of his lady Berengaria") and abandoned any further effort at a crusade.

James's sons [[Pedro Fernández de Híjar|Pedro Fernández]] and [[Fernán Sánchez de Castro|Fernán Sánchez]], who had been given command of part of the fleet, did continue on their way to [[Akko|Acre]], where they arrived in December. They found that [[Baibars]], the [[Mameluke]] Sultan of [[Egypt]], had broken his truce with the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] and was making a demonstration of his military power in front of Acre. During the demonstration, Egyptian troops hidden in the bushes ambushed a returning Frankish force that had been in [[Galilee]]. James's sons, initially eager for a fight, changed their minds after this spectacle and returned home via [[Sicily]], where Fernán Sánchez was knighted by [[Charles of Anjou]].