Outremer
Victory in Egypt
Amalric was eager to leave Egypt because there had been another disaster in the north. The lords of both Tripoli and Antioch had been captured by Nuradin, and Amalric went immediately to Antioch to defend the city. He had not even enough time to secure the situation there before he had to march south to try to save Banyas, which had been attacked by Nuradin. He was too late, and that great fortress fell into Muslim hands. Nuradin kept Amalric busy all through 1165 and 1166.
Early in 1167, Nuradin again set Shirkuh against Egypt. Once again, the Egyptian vizier Shawar appealed to Amalric for help. Shirkuh arrived at Cairo first and tried to persuade Shawar to make common cause against the Christians, but the Shi'ite would not have a Sunni for an ally. Instead, upon Amalric's arrival, Shawar made a formal treaty with him.
The Frankish army was on one side of the Nile, the Syrian army on the other. Amalric was eventually able to cross, whereupon Shaizar immediately retreated southward up the Nile. Amalric and Shawar set out in pursuit. They caught up with him at Minya and gave battle on March 18, 1167. The Franco-Egyptian army was soundly defeated and fled back to Cairo. Shaizar pursued, but instead of trying to attack Cairo, he kept going and occupied Alexandria instead, which was undefended and whose citizens welcomed him. This turned out to be a poor idea, for Amalric and Shawar now pursued him and besieged him in Alexandria. An Italian fleet blockaded the river and within a month Shawar's army was facing starvation.
After some maneuvering, the Syrians were finally allowed to leave Egypt, after paying a ransom and releasing their prisoners. Amalric left soon after, in August. Shawar promised to pay a large annual payment to Jerusalem for the alliance, and a Frankish garrison was resident in Cairo with control of the city gates. This was a tremendous victory for Amalric and won him great prestige. If the Christians could not actually conquer Egypt, perhaps they could reduce it to the status of a client-state. At least the danger from the south seemed to be removed.