Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Damietta

Siege of Damietta was a siege conducted in April 1218 at Damietta, in what is now Egypt; it ran into the following year. It was part of the Fifth Crusade, which ran from 1213 to 1221. The recorded result: Crusader victory. Recorded strength: As many as 200 ships against Unknown.

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Belagerung von Damiette 1218
Belagerung von Damiette 1218. Upload: Simplicius, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtApril 1218ran into the following year
WhereDamietta, Egypt31.417N, 31.817E
OutcomeCrusader victory
BelligerentsCrusaders; Holy Roman Empire; Kingdom of Jerusalem; Teutonic Knights; Knights Templar; Knights Hospitaller; Kingdom of France; Kingdom of EnglandagainstAyyubid Sultanate of Egypt
Casualties and lossesUnknownandUnknown
Part ofFifth Crusade1213 to 1221

Where it sits in the Fifth Crusade

Siege of Alcácer do Sal, 1217Siege of Mount Tabor, 1217Battle of Machghara, 1217Siege of Damietta, 1218Siege of Cáceres, 121812171218Siege of Damietta, 1218
5 placed engagements of the Fifth Crusade in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateApril 1218 (month precision)
to 5 November 1219
PlaceDamietta, Egypt
31.417N, 31.817E
KindSiege, medieval
Territorial changeDamietta occupied
StrengthAs many as 200 shipsUnknown
Casualties and lossesUnknownUnknown; 67,000 inhabitants killed
Commanders
  • Simon III, Count of Saarbrücken
  • Al-Kamil
Siege of DamiettaSiege of DamiettaBattle of DamiettaSiege of DamiettaSiege of DamiettaBattle of FariskurBattle of BaltimBattle of FariskurBattle of BaltimBur SaidIsmaïliaEl MansuraDamanhûrTantaRashidZagazigShibin el Kom100 km31.417N, 31.817E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Damietta
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Damietta today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-06. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 12 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -7 to 27 m, 34 m of relief, flat country and today it is 54% built-up, 16% cropland, 12% wetland.

built-up: 54%cropland: 16%wetland: 12%water: 9%bare ground: 6%tree cover: 3%built-up 54%cropland 16%wetland 12%water 9%bare ground 6%
west to east, 10.0 km-2 to 17 mnorth to south, 10.0 km-6 to 16 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 4 times between 1169 and 1799.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1218

Siege of Damietta is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 110 in present-day Egypt.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q742693, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Damietta (1218–1219), revision 1381928214, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.