The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) ended in one of the more avoidable disasters in medieval military history — a promising siege of Damietta in Egypt collapsed after the papal legate Pelagius overruled the military commanders and rejected a negotiated settlement that would have returned Jerusalem to Christian control. The army subsequently marched into the Nile Delta at flood season and was trapped. Cook Islands has issued dozens of crusade-themed commemoratives in this period, most sharing the same 25g .925 silver format across the series.
The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) ended in one of the more avoidable disasters in medieval military history — a promising siege of Damietta in Egypt collapsed after the papal legate Pelagius overruled the military commanders and rejected a negotiated settlement that would have returned Jerusalem to Christian control. The army subsequently marched into the Nile Delta at flood season and was trapped. Cook Islands has issued dozens of crusade-themed commemoratives in this period, most sharing the same 25g .925 silver format across the series.