EIGHTH CRUSADE MAJOR PLAYERS Louis IX  King of France, Crusader General  Edward I  King of England  Charles of Anjou  King of Naples & Sicily    MAJOR BATTLES Tunis  Louis hoped to begin the Crusade by liberating this city, but died there of typhoid fever  The tale of this Crusade is unfortunately short. After Louis IX unsuccessfully returned from the Seventh Crusade in 1252, Crusader holdings in the East began to fall under Turkish control with rapid succession. Aleppo and Damascus fell in 1260, Antioch in 1268. Prompted by the fall of Antioch, Louis set out once more in the hopes that he could first liberate Tunis, and then proceed to win back the rest of the eastern cities. King Edward of England, and King Charles of Naples and Sicily accompanied him. In 1270 the army landed, and Louis almost immediately caught typhoid fever. He died on August 25th, 1270. Charles did not feel like he was in a position to continue the Crusade without Louis's leadership. He negotiated a treaty for his safe departure and promptly left Tunis. Edward also attempted to negotiate, and won a treaty that promised 11 years of peace. He too returned home. By the time the 11-year peace had ended, no one in the Western empires seemed interested in attempting to defend eastern territories. After Louis's fall in Tunis, Tripoli was also taken in 1289, and finally Acre in 1291. The most eastern city now under western control was Cyprus. The territories of the East remained under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian state until the modern era. Louis IX was canonized St. Louis in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII. He is now considered the Patron Saint of barbers, construction workers, prisoners, the infirm, and kings, among others. The failure of the Eighth Crusade, and the subsequent loss of all eastern holdings by the western empire, affectively ended the Crusades. The Medieval period was coming to a close and kings became more concerned with securing the borders of their own kingdoms. Armies were needed to fight each other, and holy fervor was being replaced with national pride.