In the early middle ages the Christian presence in the Middle East took a series of blows from often superior Muslim forces, only for a fresh wave of Crusaders to regain territory. But the Fall of Acre in 1291 was the dramatic event that finally brought dreams of a Christian Holy Land crashing down. The city was captured by Crusaders 1189-1191. The aftermath was a horrific massacre of 3,000 Muslim prisoners. Three quarters of a century later the Mamluk sultan, Baibars, conquered Crusader. After his death, European visitors assaulted Muslim traders and the sultanate in Cairo reacted with force. Templars and Hospitallers fought alongside secular knights. But Muslim forces killed or enslaved thousands in reprisal for the historic massacres. The Crusaders' campaign to unite Christendom around Jerusalem would never recover.