Al-Adil takes Jaffa and the Franks take Beirut (593 AH)

ملك العادل يافا وملك الفرنج بيروت

September 1197 CE · Shawwal 593 AH

Shawwal 593: al-Adil massed the Ayyubid armies at Ayn Jalut, stormed Jaffa's citadel in a day and took all in it as booty and captives. The German-led Frankish relief reached Caesarea too late — their king Henry of Champagne had fallen from a high place at Acre and died, throwing them into confusion. The Ayyubids then razed Beirut's walls; the Franks slipped in, reoccupied it and besieged Tibnin before withdrawing 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

In time

1180119012001210
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Crusades

Overview

In Shawwal 593 AH al-Malik al-Adil took Jaffa from the Franks. The Franks then took Beirut after it had been ruined. 1

Background

At Beirut there was an iqta' holder known as Usama, who sent galleys that cut the Franks' sea route. They complained to al-Adil and al-Aziz, but neither stopped him. The Franks gathered many troops for themselves, most of them from the army of the King of the Germans. 1

Jaffa

al-Adil gathered the troops at 'Ayn Jalut, and they marched to Jaffa. They took the city and ruined it, and they besieged its citadel and took it by force on the same day. Everything in it was taken as booty, and people were taken captive. 1

The Franks came from Acre to Caesarea to block them, but they held back, because their king, al-Kandhari, had fallen from a high place in Acre and died, and their affairs were in disorder. 1

Beirut

When news of the taking of Jaffa reached them, the Franks turned back. al-Adil marched to Beirut, and they demolished its wall and began to destroy its houses and citadel. Usama stopped them and undertook to guard it. 1

The Franks marched to Sidon and took Beirut from the Muslims, since it had been ruined, and they besieged Tibnin and then withdrew from it. 1

Notes

The Gregorian date is derived, and it needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
الملك العادل سيف الدين أبو بكر بن أيوب· Henry, Count of Champagne

People and things also explored

استيلاء العادل على دمشق· al-Aziz's siege of Damascus and the partition settlement (590 AH)· وفاة صلاح الدين بدمشق· غارة الفرنج على بحر عيذاب وساحل الحجاز· الملك العادل سيف الدين أبو بكر بن أيوب· Henry, Count of Champagne· غزوة ملك الألمان وغرقه· The battle of the Ford of Sorrows (Jacob's Ford, 575 AH)

Sources

  1. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir, p. 245-246
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Adil takes Jaffa and the Franks take Beirut (593 AH)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/al-adil-takes-jaffa-593/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Related

استيلاء العادل على دمشق

al-Adil's seizure of Damascus, 27 Rajab 592 — after the Asadiyya and Kurds defected from al-Aziz of Egypt to his brother al-Afdal, the Bilbays settlement gave al-Afdal Palestine while al-Adil stayed in Egypt beside al-Aziz; then uncle and nephew marched on Damascus, suborned al-Afdal's favoured amir Ibn Abi Ghalib of Homs who opened the Bab al-Sharqi at 'asr, entered while al-Afdal knew nothing, and read him the order to vacate the citadel.