Baibars captures Caesarea and Arsuf from Crusaders

1267

In a swift spring campaign, the Mamluk sultan stormed two of the strongest remaining Crusader fortresses on the Palestinian coast. Caesarea's Herodian walls, reinforced by Louis IX, crumbled under Mamluk siege engines. The Latin kingdom was being dismantled castle by castle, and no relief came from Europe. Baibars ordered both fortifications razed to the ground to deny future crusaders a foothold on the coast.