| On this day Crusader rule in the Holy Land came to an end when the Mamlūks took the city of Acre, the last stronghold of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The Crusades were a series of military expeditions organized by Western Christians to check the spread of Islam, to retake control of the Holy Land and formerly Christian territories, and to conquer pagan lands. After a desperate and heroic defense, Acre was taken by the Mamlūks, and the inhabitants who survived the massacre were enslaved. Acre and ... |