(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/1291_si%C3%A8ge_d%27Acre.jpg/473px-1291_si%C3%A8ge_d%27Acre.jpg)
From the fall of Acre to the Crusade of Nicopolis
The fall of Acre in 1291 to the Egyptian Mamluks spelled the definitive end of European ambitions to establish a lasting Christian state in the Levant and marked a sharp shift in the focus of Christian military efforts: the crusading movement would go on, but never again would a Crusade sail towards the Near East.
The organising of large-scale expeditions like previous crusades would be hampered by several causes throughout the 14th Century. Political conflicts between the Papacy and European monarchs, beginning with the centralizing efforts of Philip IV of France and culminating in the Papal Schism, would be the first cause of decline of Papal authority. The long-overdue succession conflict for the Duchy of Aquitaine and the throne of France between the Valois and the Plantagenets would erupt in over a century of all-out war and short episodes of wary truce. Finally, the Great Famine of 1315 and the Black Death would kill over a third of the European total population, and lead to significant upheavals in power dynamics, and wealth and political structures.
Instead, Christian Europe would go on fighting religious wars in other areas throughout the 14th Century: in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, they would direct their efforts towards stemming the westward expansion of the Ottomans, both in Asia Minor and the Balkans, while the Reconquista would pick up momentum in Spain and the Maghreb. In Eastern Europe, the Teutonic Order would drive evangelization and settling efforts ever more eastwards, from the recently conquered Prussia and Livonia deep into Lithuania and Russia. Their own state would dominate Eastern Europe until their defeat at Tannenberg at the hands of the Poles and Lithuanians in 1410 shattered their hegemony.
The European efforts would be defeated once again in 1396 when a crusade launched by King Charles VI of France against the Ottomans was routed at Nicopolis, which left the Balkans open to Ottoman conquest and would seal the eventual fate of both the Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/NikopolisSchlacht.jpg/507px-NikopolisSchlacht.jpg)
Practical informations
Dates : Saturday 6 and Sunday 7, September 2025.
Venue : Exact location will be confirmed as soon as possible, it will be either of :
- Lutgaardiscollege, De Wahalaan 11, 1160 Auderghem (close to metro stations Demey and Hermann-Debroux, 10 min walk)
- Institut St Anne, Rue Fort de Boncelles 8, Etterbeek 1040 (close to metro station Thieffry, 5 min walk)
Fee : to be communicated
Questions and registering : almegajw(a)gmail.com
List checking : almegajw(a)gmail.com
Authorized armies and allies are listed below.
(https://scontent-bru2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/480967760_626864883589203_7879684412083991994_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aa7b47&_nc_ohc=bmbOl9ueKlEQ7kNvgGhsUFd&_nc_oc=AdkqxOocTmifJDqhYRVjZtGg3Af_ccFqGfkUeUoRVAUSaO4pVBG3PkvOTs0eCXJ9H1A&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-bru2-1.xx&_nc_gid=2eCZ3lBudrGaU4Iw1GH1Bw&oh=00_AYFBFwhTWPPCoHIbIdRX-aLTBK029A4REl_VPwIyvaU7bA&oe=67F07357)
(https://i.postimg.cc/p9TNd2Jk/Arm-es-pour-BRULIB-25.png) (https://postimg.cc/p9TNd2Jk)