Early in 1221 the army of the Fifth Crusade was encamped in the city of Damietta in northern Egypt. As it planned its next move, messengers began to arrive bearing wondrous news. An army was approaching the Middle East from Asia. At its head was a Christian king named David who was coming to aid the crusaders and liberate Jerusalem from Muslim control. Between January and April, the crusade leaders sent letters about King David to recipients across Europe. Emboldened by David’s approach, the crusaders set out from Damietta to attack Cairo. But David and his army never materialised. Within weeks the crusaders were vanquished, and Damietta back under Egyptian control. Writing a few years later, one chronicler assumed that David had returned to his Asian realm when he heard of the crusade’s defeat. No one in Europe investigated David further, and he was quickly forgotten.
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