Smyrniote Crusades

The Smyrniote Crusades were campaigns by a Latin Christian coalition against the Aydınid emirate, which captured Smyrna’s harbor in 1344 and held it until 1402.

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Battle of Smyrna: A 1344 naval and amphibious assault in which crusaders seized Smyrna’s harbor from the Aydınids. This victory established the harbor foothold that the crusades sought to preserve.
Pope Clement VI: The pope from 1342 to 1352, who organized a Latin coalition against Turkish maritime power in the Aegean. He promoted the coalition that launched the Smyrna campaign.
Humbert II of Viennois: The dauphin of Viennois who led a crusading expedition to Smyrna in 1345. He commanded the campaign after the harbor’s capture and was killed in a failed attack.
Siege of Smyrna (1402): A siege in which Timur’s forces captured Smyrna’s harbor fortress from the Knights Hospitaller in 1402. It ended the Latin occupation that began with the 1344 campaign.
Smyrna: An ancient port city on the Aegean coast, now part of İzmir, Turkey. The crusaders captured its harbor but did not take the Aydınid-held upper city.
League of Smyrna: A naval alliance formed in 1343 by Venice, the Knights Hospitaller, Cyprus, and the papacy against the Aydınids. Its fleet carried out the expedition that captured Smyrna’s harbor.
Henry of Asti: A papal diplomat and bishop who helped organize the anti-Aydınid coalition and died at Smyrna in 1345. His death alongside Humbert weakened the crusaders’ leadership soon after their victory.
Timur: A Central Asian conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire and invaded Anatolia in 1402. His forces destroyed the crusaders’ Smyrna stronghold during the Anatolian campaign.
Aydınid dynasty: A Turkish beylik that ruled parts of western Anatolia from the early fourteenth century until its absorption by the Ottomans. Its control of Smyrna and Aegean fleets made it the crusades’ principal target.
Umur Beg: The Aydınid ruler and naval commander who expanded his emirate’s power across the Aegean in the fourteenth century. His raids and maritime strength helped prompt the crusading coalition.