This obnoxious crusader

In November 1271 a Frankish army of about 7000 men left Acre and marched south, towards Jerusalem. It consisted of King Hugh Lusignan and the barons of Cyprus, Lord Edward and a force of English and Scottish knights, some Turkish mercenaries, and a company of Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic knights.

Even in November, the Franks struggled with the heat. They marched by night and rested by day, until the fortified town of Qaqun came in sight. This was their target.

Qaqun had a long history. Prior to the Crusades, an Arab village existed on the site. In 1110 it was held by a Frank, Eustace Garnier, as part of his lordship of Caesarea. The population consisted of Syrian Christians, Frankish settlers and possibly some Muslims. The lord governed through an Arabic-speaking interpreter called a dragoman.

Over time the Hospitallers acquired part of Qaqun, as did the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary Latin in Jerusalem. In 1187 the Master of the Temple, Gerard of Ridefort, summoned men from the Templar 'convent' at Qaqun to fight a Muslim force near Galilee. French sources relate that the Templars were destroyed in a battle near Nazareth the following day, although a few survivors returned to Qaqun.

The Frankish lordship came to an end in 1265, when the town fell to Sultan Baybars along with Caesaera and Arsuf. The next year he restored the castle and converted the church into a mosque. Baybars intended to make Qaqun not only his principal military base in the Sharon plain, but also the centre of a new administration replacing the old Frankish district.

For as long as the Franks remained in the Holy Land, the Mamluk base at Qaqun threatened their very survival. It also posed a direct threat to Pilgrim Castle, a Frankish stronghold to the north, and guarded the approach to Jerusalem. Unless Qaqun was recaptured, there could be no advance on the Holy City.

Baybars himself had gone north, to repel a Mongol invasion of Syria. The Golden Horde came at the behest of Lord Edward, who had sent envoys to the il-khan as soon as he landed at Acre. Unknown to Baybars, the English prince was using the Mongols as bait. While the Mamluk field army marched off into Syria, the crusaders struck at Qaqun.

The attack started on 23 November. Islamic writers give the most detailed accounts. Before assaulting the town itself, the Franks ambushed a large encampment of Turks or Turcomans. These were accompanied by a large herd of horses and cattle and led by two local emirs, as well as the governor of Qaqun. This would suggest the encampment was a supply column, heading for the castle.

Relying on darkness, the Franks charged into the camp shortly before dawn. They slew one of the emirs, badly wounded the second, slaughtered a thousand Turcopoles and took five thousand head of cattle. After destroying the column, the Franks charged on to assault Qaqun. This was guarded by a strong tower, surrounded by ditches full of water. The governor, who had escaped the ambush, apparently ran away.

Word of the attack reached Baybars at Aleppo on 4 December. He had been bushwhacked; a new experience for the sultan, who generally beat up the Franks without much difficulty. He quickly returned to Damascus and organised a relief operation. This was led by the emir Jamal al-Din Aqush al-Shamsi with troops raised from Ain Jalut.

At the sight of the relief force, King Hugh and Lord Edward decided to withdraw. They were advised to retreat to the Military Orders, who had become very risk-averse: perhaps because they had so few knights, and couldn't afford any more disasters.

As they withdrew the Franks were chased and overtaken by the Mamluks, who ordered them to return certain prisoners. They refused, and a rearguard action ensued which left a number of men killed and horses and mules hamstrung. According to a Muslim report, the latter numbered 500 head; not a good day to be a horse.

The Chronicle of Melrose, composed in Scotland, supplies another anecdote. During the retreat, a Scottish squire turned aside to answer a call of nature. Midway through his business, he was jumped by a band of Mamluks and carried off into slavery. Never to be seen again, poor lad.

The rest of the Franks reached the safety of Pilgrim Castle, driving prisoners and cattle before them. Afterwards they returned to Acre. Of the failed attack on Qaqun, Baybars sarcastically remarked:

“If so many men cannot take a house, they are unlikely to conquer the Kingdom of Jerusalem.”

Even so, the whole affair had given Baybars a nasty shock. The Mongol alliance in particular was a cause for concern: the sultan's chief fear was ending up surrounded by an alliance of Franks-Mongols-Armenians. He fixed his sights on Edward, 'this obnoxious crusader', as Islamic chroniclers called him.

Qaqun remained a sizeable Arab village until the 1940s, when it was destroyed by Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Today only the medieval tower-keep and some derelict structures are still standing. The tower is choked with rubble and cactus, although the graves of the mosque and a cistern can still be seen.