Mansura

MANSURA, the capital of the province of Dakahlia, Lower Egypt, near the west side of Lake Menzala, and on the Cairo Damietta railway. It dates from 1221, and is famous as the scene of the battle of Mansura, fought on the 8th of February 1250, between the crusaders commanded by the king of France, St.

Louis, and the Egyptians. The old fortress of St. Louis is still to be seen. Mansura has several cotton-ginning, cotton, linen and sail-cloth factories.

The Battle of Mansura, Feb. 8, 1250.

This was the disas trous battle in which the Crusade of St. Louis lost its best hope of success. It is of particular historical interest as an illustration of the cumulative military faults which marked the Crusading campaigns in general, with the rare exception of that under Richard Coeur-de-Lion (see RICHARD I. and ARSUF). The Cru sade of 1249 was aimed at the Islamic power in Egypt, and the landing took place at a favourable moment, for the Sultan was dying and the country consequently in disorder. But King

Louis first forfeited the chance for a rapid march on Cairo and then took the worst possible route—from Damietta through the maze of canals and watercourses of the Nile Delta. The French army took four weeks to cover 5om. of such ground and then, on Dec. 19, 1249, reaching the west bank of the Ashmoum canal opposite Mansura, it found the enemy encamped on the far bank. Nearly two months were wasted before the French at last succeeded in crossing. The battle was waged with reckless daring, and, though in a sense a victory, left the French with a gravely depleted army in face of an almost intact adversary, and the knowledge caused a depression which portended the eventual failure of the expedition.