Editing Eighth Crusade (section)

==The Mongols==
The situation in the Holy Land was complicated by the rise of the Mongols, particularly with the [[Mongol invasions of the Levant]], beginning in the 1240s. The Mongols established the [[Ilkhanate]] in the southwestern part of their empire which served as a counterbalance to the influence of the Muslim dynasties, first defeating the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayubbids]]. Their relationships with the Mamluks and the Christian West were constantly changing, serving as sometimes allies, sometimes enemies.

===Louis IX and the Mongols===
Louis IX also maintained contact with the Mongol rulers of the period. During his first crusade in 1248, Louis was approached by envoys from [[Eljigidei]], the Mongol military commander stationed in [[Mongol Armenia|Armenia]] and [[Ilkhanate|Persia]].<ref name=":1">[[Peter Jackson (historian)|Jackson, Peter]] (1980). “[https://www.jstor.org/stable/568054 The Crisis in the Holy Land in 1260]”. ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 95, No. 376, Oxford University Press, pp. 481–513.</ref> Eljigidei suggested that King Louis should land in Egypt, while Eljigidei attacked Baghdad, to prevent the Egyptians and Syrians from joining forces. Louis sent the Dominican [[André de Longjumeau]] as an emissary to the Great Khan [[Güyük|Güyük Khan]] in Mongolia. Güyük died before the emissary arrived at his court and no action was taken by the two parties. Instead Güyük's queen and now regent, [[Oghul Qaimish]], politely turned down the diplomatic offer.{{sfn|Grousset|1970|pp=272–274|loc=Regency of Orhul Qaimish}} Louis dispatched another envoy to the Mongol court, the Franciscan [[William of Rubruck]], who visited the Great Khan [[Möngke]] in Mongolia. He spent several years at the Mongol court. In 1259, [[Berke]], the ruler of the [[Golden Horde]], westernmost part of the [[Mongolian Empire]], demanded the submission of Louis.<ref>Sinor, Denis (1999). "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/41933117 The Mongols in the West]". ''Journal of Asian History'', Vol. 33, No. 1, Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 1–44.</ref> By contrast, Mongolian emperors Möngke and [[Kublai Khan|Khubilai]]'s brother, the Ilkhan [[Hulagu Khan]], sent a letter to the king of France seeking his military assistance, but the letter never reached France.<ref>Aigle, Denise (2005). "[https://brill.com/view/journals/inas/7/2/article-p143_2.xml The Letters of Eljigidei, H¨uleg¨u and Abaqa: Mongol overtures or Christian Ventriloquism?]". ''Inner Asia''. '''7''' (2): 143–162.</ref>

===The annihilation of the Assassins in Persia===
[[File:Khulug Khan's sige of Alamut.jpg|thumb|[[Hulagu|Hulagu's]] siege of [[Alamut]].]]
In 1257, the Mongol army was in Persia, and Hulagu moved against the murderous [[Nizari Isma'ili|Isma'ili]] sect known as the [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]]. Their ruler [[Rukn al-Din Khurshah|Rukn ad-Din Khurshah]] tried to avert disaster through diplomatic maneuvers. Hulagu moved deliberately through [[Damavand, Iran|Damavand]] and [[Abbas Abad (Tehran)|Abbass Abad]], into the Assassins' valleys. When the Mongol army approached [[Alamut Castle]], Rukn ad-Din surrendered. The governor of the castle refused the surrender order and it was taken by force within several days. Rukn ad-Din was sent to [[Karakorum]] to meet with Möngke, who refused to see him. The two Assassin fortresses that still remained unconquered were [[Gerdkuh]] and [[Lambsar Castle]] and Rukn ad-Din was directed to arrange for their surrender. En route, he was put to death and Hulagu was ordered to exterminated the entire sect. By the end of 1257, only a few of the storied Assassins were left in the Persian mountains.{{sfn|Runciman|1954|pp=300–302|loc=Annihilalation of the Assassins in Persia, 1257}}

===The Mongols in Syria===
In 1258, the Mongol forces under Hulagu defeated the [[Abbasids]] in the [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|Siege of Baghdad]], sacking the city following his successful [[Mongol campaign against the Nizaris|campaign against the Assassins]]. His wife [[Doquz Khatun]] is credited with the sparing of her fellow Christians in the city.{{sfn|Runciman|1954|pp=302–303|loc=The Mongols sack Baghdad}} Hulagu then moved on to Syria, with their [[Mongol invasions of the Levant|invasions of the Levant]]. Here the Mongols were joined with their Christian allies which included [[Hethum I, King of Armenia|Hethum I of Armenia]] and [[Bohemond VI of Antioch]]. The consolidated army successfully completed the [[Siege of Aleppo (1260)|Siege of Aleppo]] in January 1260 and then the [[Damascus#Mamluk period|capture of Damascus]] in March, led by the Nestorian Christian [[Kitbuqa]]. This effectively destroyed what was left of the Ayyubids. Note that the account of the triumphal ride of the Christians Kitbuqa, Hethum and Bohemond into the captured Muslim cities is questionable.<ref name=":1" />

Bohemond was given the port city of [[Lattakieh]] in partial exchange for the installation of the [[List of Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch|Greek patriarch]] Euthymius at Antioch, as the Mongols were trying to improve relations with Byzantium. For this, Bohemond earned the enmity of Acre, and he was excommunicated by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, James Pantaléon. When Bohemond's case was heard, Pantaléon had been elected as pope [[Pope Urban IV|Urban IV]] who accepted Bohemond's explanation for his submission to the Mongols and suspended the excommunication. Euthymius was later kidnapped and taken to Armenia, replaced the Latin patriarch [[Opizzo Fieschi]].{{sfn|Richard|1999|pp=423–426|loc=The Crusade and the Mongols}}

The Mongols had no intention of engaging the Franks in battle. Nevertheless, [[Julian Grenier|Julian of Sidon]] conducted raids near Damascus, killing a Mongol commander, a nephew of Kitbuqa. In response, Sidon was sacked. [[John II, Lord of Beirut|John II of Beirut]] led a group of Templars to attack the Mongols, leading to the capture of John and Templar grand master [[Thomas Bérard]], requiring a large ransom.{{sfn|Marshall|1994|pp=176–187|loc=Raiding Expeditions}} The Mongol capture of Damascus compelled the sultan of Egypt [[Qutuz]] to take action. Hulagu had sent envoys demanding that the sultan surrender Egypt. The envoys' heads were quickly removed and displayed on the [[Bab Zuweila]] gate of Cairo. This was followed by [[Mongol raids into Palestine#Mongol campaigns of 1260|raids into Palestine]] and the apparently inevitable Mongol conquest was stalled when Hulagu, the Mongol commander in Syria, returned home after the death of his brother Möngke, leaving Kitbuqa with a small garrison. The Mamluks of Egypt then sought, and were granted, permission to advance through Frankish territory, and defeated the Mongols at the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in September 1260. Kitbuqa was killed and all of Syria fell under Mamluk control. On the way back to Egypt, Qutuz was assassinated by the general [[Baibars]], who was far less favourable than his predecessor to alliances with the Franks.{{sfn|Runciman|1969|pp=571–575|loc=The Mongols}}

===The death of Hulagu and rise of Abaqa===
[[File:AbaqaEnthroned.png|thumb|[[Abaqa]] with Doquz Khatun.]]
Hulagu died of natural causes in February 1265, weakening the Mongols' position. His widow Doquz Khatun secured the succession for her step-son [[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]], a Buddhist who was then governor of Turkestan. Before his death, Hulagu had been negotiating with [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] to add a daughter of the Byzantine imperial family to his large number of wives. The emperor's illegitimate daughter [[Maria Palaiologina]] was sent in 1265, escorted by Euthymius. Since Hulagu died before Maria arrived, she was instead married to Abaqa. Abaqa's transition to [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhan]] was slow, and was continually threatened by the Golden Horde, invading his territory the next spring as part of an alliance with the Mamluks. The hostilities continued until the death of Berke in 1267. [[Kublai Khan]] attempted to intervene and the new khan [[Mengu-Timur|Möngke-Temür]] did not launch a major invasion into Abaqa's territory. Nevertheless, Möngke-Temür maintained the alliance with Baibars, who then felt that he could resume his campaigns against the Christians without fear of interference.{{sfn|Runciman|1954|pp=318–319|loc=Death of Hulagu}}

===Clement IV and Gregory X===
Urban IV died in October 1264 and [[Pope Clement IV|Clement IV]] was elected as pope in February 1265.<ref>William Walker Rockwell (1911). "[[wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Clement/Clement IV|Clement IV]]". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. '''6''' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 483–484.</ref> Abaqa attempted to secure cooperation with the Western Christians against the Mamluks. Beginning in 1267, he corresponded with Clement IV and sent an ambassador to Europe in 1268, trying to form a [[Franco-Mongol alliance]] between his forces, those of the West, and those of his father-in-law Michael VIII. In 1267, the pope and [[James I of Aragon]] sent [[Jayme Alaric de Perpignan]] as an ambassador to Abaqa. In 1267, a papal letter responded positively to previous messages from the Mongols, and informed the Ilkhan of an impending Crusade:

{{blockquote|The kings of France and Navarre, taking to heart the situation in the Holy Land, and decorated with the Holy Cross, are readying themselves to attack the enemies of the Cross. You wrote to us that you wished to join your father-in-law (the Greek emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos) to assist the Latins. We abundantly praise you for this, but we cannot tell you yet, before having asked to the rulers, what road they are planning to follow. We will transmit to them your advice, so as to enlighten their deliberations, and will inform your Magnificence, through a secure message, of what will have been decided.|1267 letter from Pope Clement IV to Abaqa{{sfn|Grousset|1934|p=644|loc=Volume 3, Clement IV and Abaqa}}}}Aqaba received responses from Rome and from James I of Aragon, though it is unclear if this was what led to James' unsuccessful expedition to Acre in 1269. Abaqa is recorded as having written to the Aragonese king, saying that he was going to send his brother, Aghai, to join the Aragonese when they arrived in Cilicia. Abaqa also sent embassies to [[Edward I of England]]. Clement IV died in 1268 and, following the [[1268–1271 papal election|longest papal election]] in history, was succeeded by [[Pope Gregory X|Gregory X]] in September 1271.<ref>Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "[[wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Gregory (Popes)/Gregory X|Gregory X]]". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. '''12''' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 574.</ref> In 1274, Abaqa sent a Mongol delegation to Gregory X at the [[Second Council of Lyons]], where Abaqa's secretary [[Rychaldus]] read a report to the assembly, reminding them of Hulagu's friendliness towards Christians, and assuring them that Abaqa planned to drive the Muslims from Syria.{{sfn|Cahen|1969|pp=722–723|loc=Abagha}}