Seventh Crusade
Journey to Egypt
The King and Queen sailed to Cyprus, arriving at Limassol
on September 18, where they were received by King Henry of Cyprus. They were joined there by the Grand Master of the Hospital, the Grand Master of the Temple, and many of the Palestinian barons. Louis called a council and there it was agreed to aim for Egypt. Both in the Latin West and in Outremer it was understood that Jerusalem could never be secure so long as Egypt was hostile.
Once the objective was decided, Louis wanted to set out at once, but the locals persuaded him that an attack on the Nile delta in winter would be too risky. There were few harbors along the delta; landing required calm seas and the winter storms made these unpredictable. Despite his eagerness, Louis agreed to wait until spring.
During the winter, the king was distracted by various diplomatic maneuvers, including sending an expedition to the Mongols to seek an alliance there. Constantinople begged him to help in its struggle with the Emperor of Nicaea. Antioch asked for help. The Templars were engaged in some complex negotiations with Aleppo. Louis steadfastly refused to be distracted from his crusading goal and refused all these entanglements, except he did send six hundred archers to Bohemond at Antioch.
In the spring, additional troops arrived from the Morea. Louis had arranged for supplies at Cyprus, but he had planned only for a stay of weeks, not months, and he now had far fewer stores than he had hoped. More time (and supplies) was wasted in trying to find ships, for Venice now refused to help at all, and Genoa was distracted by a war. When a fleet did assemble, it was promptly scattered in a storm. When Louis sailed in May 1249, he had with him only about a quarter of his army.