 In late October , Al @-@ Kamil sent messengers to the crusaders offering to restore Jerusalem , Bethlehem and Nazareth to them if they withdrew from Egypt . Although John and the secular lords were willing to accept the sultan 's offer , Pelagius and the heads of the military orders resisted ; they said that the <unk> could easily recapture the three towns . The crusaders ultimately refused the offer . Al @-@ Kamil tried to send provisions to Damietta across their camp , but his men were captured on 3 November . Two days later , the crusaders stormed into Damietta and seized the town . Pelagius claimed it for the church , but he was forced to acknowledge John 's right to administer it ( at least temporarily ) when John threatened to leave the crusaders ' camp . According to John of Joinville , John seized one @-@ third of Damietta 's spoils ; coins minted there during the following months bore his name . Al @-@ Mu 'azzam Isa , Sultan of Damascus , invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem and pillaged Caesarea before the end of 1219 . 
