FEATURES ARCHIVE

In 1362 king Peter I, the Lusignan King "of Cyprus and Jerusalem" launched what was to be the final crusade against the Muslim Mamluk empire in the Eastern Mediterranean. A rallying cry went round Europe, and in 1365 the force set sail from Cyprus on its way to Mamluk Alexandria. Despite being outnumbered, a mixture of luck and courage meant that at the end of the day the crusaders had total control of the city. King Peter wanted to use this as a bridgehead to wrest further territory away from the Mamluks, but the majority of his soldiers regarded the main purpose of the journey as an excuse for plunder. The vast majority of the force set sail back to Cyprus, their boats laden with booty. So much was taken that for years afterwards divers in the mouth of the harbour found items that had been jettisoned from the overloaded retiring boats.  While the crusaders profited in the short term, the Venetians were horrified as all their trade with the Mamluks in the Mediterranean was jeopardised. 

The vast majority of crusader swords that have survived in good condition have done so because they were given to the armory in Alexandria. As here, they all have the name of the relevant amir who gave them, which is the most important dating method of all that we have for mediaeval European swords. Our sword was donated by the Amir Aristay II, who was the governor of Alexandria between December 1400 and May 1401 and who died in 1408. At that time it was perfectly normal for swords to be given in a religious context.  In the 12th century the citadel of Aleppo was decorated with swords and weaponry that had been captured from the Crusaders which "provided a spectacle which people admired for seven days". It continued a pre-Islamic tradition where captured swords were displayed in the Kaaba at Mecca. Shortly after 1517 the swords that had been preserved in the armory at Alexandria were taken by the then victorious Ottomans to be kept in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul which is to this day where the greater majority of them are to be found.

About the Author
William Robinson is the International Specialist Head of Islamic Art, and Rugs & Carpets at Christie’s King Street. He is the author of numerous articles for publications such as Apollo and Hali and an internationally recognized lecturer on carpets and Turkish pottery. In 1993, Mr. Robinson was responsible for the sale of The Bronze Lion for £2.4 million, which set a world auction record at the time for Islamic art. Mr. Robinson is a graduate in Art History and Archeology from Cambridge University and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.