Acre 1291
The Siege of Acre
‘Izz al-Din al-Afram, who had previously fought in Nubia, arrived in Damascus on 3 March 1291 to supervise the transport of siege equipment to Acre. It took several days to get everything on the road and the last detachment, commanded by Husam al-Din Lajin, only left Damascus on 23 March. That same day al-Malik al-Muzaffar of Hama arrived, followed by his army and siege equipment on the 26th. Next day other forces from central Syria reached Damascus, led by Sayf al-Din Balban al-Tabakhi. However, no troops came from northern Syria, presumably because they had to defend the frontier with the ever-threatening Mongols.
On 6 March Sultan Khalil and the main army of Egypt set off from Cairo, across Sinai to Gaza where they were joined by Baybars al-Mansuri with the troops of Karak before continuing to Acre.The assembling of Mamluk forces from different locations, considerable distances and across very difficult terrain, reaching their destinations in a coordinated sequence without confusion or shortage of supplies was a remarkable tribute to Mamluk military organization. Meanwhile an advance guard appeared outside Acre early in March, forcing European settlers to abandon the outlying villages and leading to more women, children and old men being sent to safety in Cyprus.Sultan Khalil reached Acre on 5 April and established his headquarters on Tal al-Fukhar just east of the city, whereupon the entire Mamluk army moved forward into its siege positions with the Ayyubid army of Hama adopting its traditional position on the extreme right wing. The Templar of Tyre witnessed events: ‘The sultan pitched his tents very close together, from Toron all the way up to al-Sumairiya, so that the whole plain was covered with tents. The tent of the sultan himself, which is called the dahlis (Arabic for vestibule or reception room) was on a small hill, where there was a lovely tower and gardens and vineyards of the Templars. This dahlis was entirely red, and its door opened facing the city of Acre.’ The siege of Acre formally began the next day; meanwhile part of the Sultan’s harem arrived in Damascus on 9 April.
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