Al-Ashraf Khalil vs Michael III

Al-Ashraf Khalil succeeded his father Qalawun as Sultan of Egypt. He was the second ruler of the Qalawunid dynasty. His accession was contested by some Mamluk factions, but he quickly consolidated power.

Al-Ashraf Khalil led the Mamluk siege of Acre, the last major Crusader stronghold in the Levant. After a six-week siege, the city fell on May 18, 1291. The capture of Acre ended the Crusader presence in the Holy Land.

Following the fall of Acre, Al-Ashraf Khalil's forces captured the remaining Crusader coastal cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Beirut without significant resistance. These conquests completed the Mamluk reconquest of the Levant and eliminated all Crusader footholds.

Al-Ashraf Khalil was assassinated by a group of Mamluk emirs while hunting near Cairo. His death was likely due to internal power struggles. He was succeeded by his young brother An-Nasir Muhammad, beginning a period of instability.

Michael III became Byzantine emperor at age two after the death of his father Theophilos. His mother Theodora served as regent. His reign saw the final restoration of icon veneration and a cultural revival.

Under the regency of Theodora, the Council of Constantinople in 843 formally restored the veneration of icons, ending the second iconoclast period. This event is celebrated as the 'Triumph of Orthodoxy' in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Michael III sponsored the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs. They created the Glagolitic alphabet and translated the Bible into Old Church Slavonic, spreading Christianity and literacy among the Slavic peoples.

Michael III was assassinated in his bedchamber by his co-emperor Basil I, who then became sole emperor. Michael's reign ended the Macedonian dynasty's rise. His death marked the beginning of the Macedonian Renaissance.