Outremer
Defeat in Egypt
The arrangement was far too unstable to last. In 1168 a Crusader army led by Count William of Nevers arrived in Palestine, looking for a war, but none seemed in the offing. But the Order of the Hospital was arguing urgently for an attack on Egypt. Shawar had not helped matters by being late with his tribute payments. Worse yet, his son Kamil was rumored to be secretly negotiating an alliance with Shaizar. King Amalric summoned a council in the summer and despite the King's reluctance, it was decided to invade Egypt.
The army set out October 10, 1168. The frontier fortress of Bilbeis held out for three days. Angry at the delay, the Christians slaughtered the inhabitants. Soon after, a Frankish fleet entered the Nile, captured the city of Tanis, and slaughtered its inhabitants as well. These massacres alienated those factions in Egypt, especially the Coptic Christians who were numerous in these towns, that might have been sympathetic to the invaders' cause. Most of Egypt was now united against them.
Because of the delay at Bilbeis, Amalric was unable to take Cairo by surprise. His army was too small to consider besieging the city, so he withdrew a few miles and made camp. He was there only a short time when word came that the Syrians were coming.
Shawar had decided to invite Shirkuh into Egypt. Nuradin gave his emir a large army and plenty of money, with instructions to conquer Egypt. Shawar now tried to play both sides against each other, but he was overmatched. All three armies—the Egyptians, the Syrians, and the Franks—were enemies of one another. At any moment, two of them might combine against the other. But the likely losers were the Franks, so Amalric led his army back out of Egypt on January 2, 1169.
A few days later, Shirkuh entered Cairo. By the end of the month, Shawar was dead. By the end of March, Shirkuh himself had died. His second in command, Saladin, took over the reins of power. Not only had Amalric's Egyptian policy failed, he had been instrumental in bringing into Egypt the most dangerous adversary the Christians had yet faced.