Crusade of the Infants of Aragon

The Crusade of the Infants of Aragon was a minor crusade that took place in late 1269. It had its genesis in the same events that led to the Eighth Crusade of the following year. The intention of King James I of Aragon was to join forces with the Mongol Ilkhanate and jointly attack the Mamluk Sultanate. In the event, James himself abandoned the enterprise after a storm forced his fleet into port in September. Two of his illegitimate sons, the infantes Fernando Sánchez de Castro and Pedro Fernández de Híjar, led what remained of the fleet to Acre, but the rendezvous with the Mongols was abandoned and their small force accomplished little before they returned home in the spring of 1270.