Alexandrian Crusade
1365 CE to 1366 CE
The brief Alexandrian Crusade, also called the sack of Alexandria,occurs in October 1365 and is led by Peter I of Cyprus against Alexandria.
Relatively devoid of religious impetus, it differs from the more prominent Crusades in that it seems to have been motivated largely by economic interests.
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Peter Thomas, who had become patriarch of Constantinople in 1364, is one of the chief promoters of the crusade of 1365.
Peter, having collecting money and mercenaries in western Europe, leads a mixed Cypriote and Western force of Crusaders against Alexandria on October 11, 1365, subjecting the city to a horrible sack and massacre.
Mézières, who accompanies the king to Alexandria, receives the government of a third part of it and a promise for the creation of his order, but the European knights, satisfied by the immense booty, refuse to follow Peter in attacking Cairo, and the king is obliged to return to Cyprus, the only permanent result of his expedition being the enmity of the Mamluk sultan of Egypt.
Peter's unruly crusaders return to Cyprus with immense booty.
Pierre plans to return to Egypt, but no European aid is forthcoming.
Peter continues his crusade, this time aiming to attack Beirut.
However his military operations end after intervention of the Venetians willing to offer Peter high compensations for his military preparations, in order to not attack against Damascus.
Peter raids Tripoli in 1366, before the terms of service of his European reinforcements can expire.
Pierre's unruly crusaders return to Cyprus with immense booty as reprisals follow against Christian merchants in Syria and Egypt.
Pierre has sent Mézières to Venice, the princes of western Europe, and to Avignon to obtain help against the Saracens, who now threaten the kingdom of Cyprus.
His efforts are in vain; even Pope Urban V advises peace with the sultan.
Mézières remains for some time at Avignon, seeking recruits for his order, and writing his Vita S. Petri Thomasii (Antwerp, 1659), which is invaluable for the history of the Alexandrian expedition.
The Prefacio and Epistola, which form the first draft of his work on the projected order of the Passion, are written at this time.
Amadeus is in Savoy assembling his army in early 1366.
More than half of the army consists of the hereditary vassals of the count of Savoy, and almost no family in his dominions is unrepresented.
His half-brother Ogier and his nephew Humbert, son of his half-brother Humbert, both join.
Aymon, younger brother of James of Piedmont, and Amadeus's two illegitimate sons, both named Antoine, participate.
Among crusaders are the English knight Richard Musard, the count's cousin Guillaume de Grandson, Aymond, heir of Amadeus III of Geneva, who is too ill to fulfill his vow, and Louis de Beaujeu, sire d'Alloignet, who is taking the place of Antoine de Beaujeu.
By the time it reaches Venice, this army will have been been organized into three batailles under the oversight of the marshal Gaspard de Montmayeur: the first to be led by Amadeus, Gaspard, Aymard de Clermont, and the brothers Guy and Jean de Vienne; the second by Étienne de la Baume, the sire de Basset, and the sire de Saint-Amour; the third and largest, the grosse bataille, is to be commanded by Guillaume de Grandson, Antelme d'Urtières, and Florimont de Lesparre, and includes the count's relatives.
Seeing that the Alexandrian Crusade had harmed its commercial relations with the Islamic powers, the Republic of Venice is disinclined to participate in the projected crusade or to provide it transportation east.
A letter from Pope Urban in March 1365 had not convinced them otherwise, but an embassy from Amadeus had procured a promise of two galleys in light of the count's request for five (and two fustes).
Urban, the architect of the crusade, has negotiated with Genoa and Marseille to procure ships, but the promise of transportation from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV will never be fulfilled.
Amadeus, in preparation for his departure, at Le Bourget-du-Lac, on January 3, 1366, names his wife, Bonne de Bourbon, regent in his absence, to be assisted by a council of seven, at least two of whom have always to be witness to her orders to make them effective.
Perhaps as a protest at the lateness of these efforts, or at the proposed destination, which is not the Holy Land, on January 6 Pope Urban revokes the bulls of April 1, 1364, thus cutting off a major source of funding.
Although Amadeus goes to Avignon to protest, and apparently receives a Papal blessing for his adventure, the bulls remain revoked.
The count is forced to demand a general subsidy (tax) for the viagio ultramarino (voyage overseas), but this will remain uncollected until 1368 and the cost of naval transportation had to be met by loans (ten thousand florins) from some banks of Lyon and the pawning of the family silver.
On February 8, Amadeus begins the journey over land to Venice.
Amadeus had reached Rivoli by February 15, and Pavia, where his brother-in-law Galeazzo II Visconti rules, by mid-March.
He then turned around and visited Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne before returning to Pavia by late May, there to be godfather at the baptism of his nephew Giangaleazzo's infant son Giangaleazzo II.
His sister, the elder Giangaleazzo's mother, Bianca, makes a donation to his war chest at this time, and his brother-in-law makes loans of both money and men: twenty-five thousand florins and twenty-five men-at-arms, six hundred brigandi (mercenaries) and sixteen conestabiles under his bastard son Cesare, to be paid at Galeazzo's expense for the first six months.
Half of the crusading host under Étienne de la Baume goes from here to Genoa to embark on the fleet awaiting it and take it to Venice.
On June 1, the rest of the army under Amadeus leaves for Padua, where …
…the ruling family, the Carraresi, offers him the use of their palace in Venice.
Amadeus and the main army arrive on June 8 at Venice, where the Venetians, informed that the crusade is not directed at the Holy Land, offer more assistance, including ships and men if the crusaders will take Tenedos from the Genoese (which they will not).
The departure of the fleet takes place around June 21.
The fleet sails down the Dalmatian coast, stopping at Pula (Pola), Dubrovnik (Ragusa), Corfu and finally Koroni (Coron), which is under Venetian control.
There Amadeus learns that Marie de Bourbon, daughter of Duke Louis II of Bourbon, whose sister Bonne is Amadeus's wife, is being besieged in her castle at Pylos (Navarino) by the Archbishop of Patras, Angelo Acciaioli, who has seized her lands on behalf of Philip of Taranto, her brother-in-law, who disputes the claim to the Principality of Achaea by Marie on behalf of her young son, Hugh, whose father is the late Robert of Taranto.
Early in 1366 Marie and Hugh had raised an army of mercenaries from Cyprus and Provence, and had begun to reclaim the territory of the principality she claims.
During negotiations, Marie's castellan of Pylos, Guillaume de Talay, had arrested Simone del Poggio, the bailiff of Philip of Taranto, and imprisoned him in Pylos's dungeons.
By the time of Amadeus's arrival, a counteroffensive led by the archbishop has cornered Marie and Hugh in Pylos.
The count of Savoy is requested to arbitrate.
He determines that Marie should renounce any claim over Patras, and that the archbishop should evacuate his troops from southern Achaea and leave Marie in peaceful possession of it.
At Koroni, the Venetian fleet, which was being led by Antelme d'Urtières, captain of the count's galley, rendezvouses with the Genoese to form a fleet of fifteen ships under the overall command of the admiral Étienne de la Baume.
The army is divided between the galleys on the basis of geography: there is one ship for the men of Bresse (Breysse), another for "the men of Faucigny" (des gens de Foucignie), another for those of Savoy proper (Savoye), etc.
All the ships are to sail within sight of each other and none to sail ahead of the count's, fines being prescribed for violations of these commands.
Flag signals by day and lanterns by night are used to communicate between ships; attack signals are given by trumpeters on the count's ship.
The entire voyage is strictly controlled by the count of Savoy.
From Koroni, …