Battle of Forbie
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2019) |
Battle of Forbie | |||||||
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Part of the Crusades | |||||||
Battle of Forbie, from Chronica Majora by Matthew Paris | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Khwarezmian mercenaries |
Ayyubid Homs Ayyubid Damascus Ayyubid Kerak | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Salih Ayyub Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Salihi Husam al-Din ibn Abi Ali | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000 cavalry More than 6,000 infantry | About 11,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | About 7,500 |
The Battle of Forbie, also known as the Battle of La Forbie or the Battle of Hiribya, was fought October 17, 1244 – October 18, 1244 between the allied armies (drawn from the
Prelude
The
The two armies met near
Al-Mansur advised the allies to fortify their camp and take the defensive, waiting for the undisciplined Khwarezmians to disperse and leave the Egyptians at a considerable disadvantage. However, Walter, to whom the overall command had been given, was unwilling to refuse battle when he had the advantage of numbers, a rarity for the Christians of
Battle
Battle was joined on the morning of October 17, with the Christian knights repeatedly charging the Egyptians and fighting up and down the line. The Egyptian army held its ground. On the morning of October 18, Baybars renewed the fight and threw the Khwarezmians against the Damascene troops in the center of the allied line. The center was shattered by their furious attack, after which they turned on the allied left and cut the Bedouin to pieces. The Emir's cavalry held stubbornly, but they were nearly annihilated; Al-Mansur finally rode from the field with 280 survivors, all that remained of his troops.
Threatened by the Egyptians in front and the Khwarezmians on their flank, the Crusaders charged the Mamluks facing them and were initially successful, pushing them back and causing Baybars some concern. Their assault gradually lost momentum as the Khwarezmid tribesmen attacked the rear and the flanks of the Christian forces, which were defended by disorganized infantry. The well-armed knights fought on doggedly and it took several hours for their resistance to collapse.[2]
Over 5,000 Crusaders died. 800 prisoners were taken, including
, Lord of Botron and his son John, were all killed.Aftermath
Pope Innocent IV at the First Council of Lyon in 1245 called for a new Crusade, the seventh, but the Franks were never again to muster major power in the Holy Land. The Kingdom of Jerusalem suffered worst in the aftermath of Forbie. It had not been able to put so large an army into the field since the Battle of Hattin, and would never be able to undertake offensive operations again. It brought no lasting success to the Ayyubids; the Khwarezmians were defeated outside Homs by Al-Mansur Ibrahim in 1246 after falling out with the Egyptians. Baybars[a] was accused of joining the Khwarezmians and was later arrested by as-Salih Ayyub and executed in prison.[5]
While the Battle of Hattin holds great symbolic importance as having led to the fall of Jerusalem, it was Forbie that truly marked the collapse of Christian power in Outremer.[citation needed]
In fiction
- The events of the Battle of Forbie serve as a backdrop for the novella, "The Sowers of the Thunder", by Robert E. Howard.
Notes
- Al-Zahir Baibarswho became a sultan.
References
- ISBN 1-84383-067-1.
- ISBN 978-1-905704-58-3.
- ^ Runciman 1987, p. 227.
- ^ Barber 2012, p. 145.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, p. 285.
ব্যাটল অব লা ফর্বি - The Battle of La Forbie or The Battle of Hiribya | In Bangla | Peak Fiction [1]
Sources
- Barber, Malcolm (2012). The New Knighthood (10th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Robert Payne (1985). The Dream and the Tomb. Stein and Day/Publishers. ISBN 0-8128-6227-9.
- Joseph Drory (September 2003). "Al-Nasir Dawud: A Much Frustrated Ayyubid Prince". Al-Masaq. 15 (2): 161–187. .
- Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977), From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260, Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-87395-263-4
- Runciman, Steven (1987), A History of the Crusades Volume III, Cambridge University Press