Seventh Crusade
Assessment
The immediate parallels with the Fifth Crusade are obvious: the capture of Damietta, a brave advance upriver followed by catastrophe. But the effects of the Seventh Crusade were perhaps even more profound. Louis was universally respected. There had been no internal rivalries within the Crusader camp. If God did not grant victory here, then perhaps victory belonged only to the early Crusaders, who had long since passed into legendary status.
It would be long before there was again any enthusiasm for crusading; another generation, really. The loss of money and life was disastrous for the Crusader states themselves and especially for the Military Orders; they never fully recovered. Outremer was now faced with an aggressive military state in Egypt and only the ominous advance of the Mongols prolonged its life. Once the Mongols had been dealt with, the Crusader states fell quickly.
Louis himself was deeply distressed over his failure. He lost a brother on the Crusade and many good friends besides. It is evident that he was haunted by this because at the end of his life, he undertook another crusade. In 1270, against the advice of counselors and family, Louis again fielded an army and headed east. His ultimate goal was again deflected by a brother: this time, by Charles of Anjou, now King of Sicily, who persuaded Louis to attack Tunis first. He did so, gained a victory, but died of a fever in August. As a final irony, he was preceeded in death at Tunis by his son, John Tristan, the boy born at Damietta amid disaster.