Third Pantocratorian Crusade

The Third Pantocratorian Crusade was the most catastrophic of the Pantocratorian Crusades. Like the Second Pantocratorian Crusade, it set out from Adrienople, and like the Second Pantocratorian Crusade, it was forced by a storm to land in the Exarchate of New Jerusalem. The Crusader fleet was destroyed in the storm, and a third of the Crusaders drowned within sight of the shore of the island. The survivors formed up under the command of the Grandmaster of the Order of the Pantocrator's lieutenant, Sir Pierre Phocas (the Grandmaster himself having died in the storm).

The Crusaders marched to New Jerusalem to offer Exarch Julius II help with subjugating the Indian population, which was still very much autonomous and occassionally aggressive. However, Sir Pierre Phocas had nothing but contempt for Exarch Julius II, who was half Indian himself, and quite content to live in peace with the natives. Sir Pierre accused the Exarch of not doing his part to subjugate the island in the name of God and the Emperor, and pronounced his native blood as the motivation for this rank treachery. He accused him of being the puppet of his mother, whom he called "a savage whore". The Exarch was incensed by the criticism of the upstart, and expelled Sir Pierre from the hall.

Sir Pierre returned to his army and besieged the city. His motivation seems to have been to install himself as Exarch, although it is unclear whether he thought Emperor Constantine XX in New Rome would tolerate it. In any case, the siege went on for three months. The Exarch was utterly unprepared for it, and New Jerusalem had almost no defenders - the only reason it didn't end immediately was because the Crusaders had lost all their artillery at sea. Instead they had to try storm the walls, and failing that, to starve out the inhabitants. The walls were stormed several times, and each time the Crusaders were beaten back, although only barely. It seemed as if the Exarch would be forced to surrender, but on September 15, 1653, the siege was lifted when an Indian army fell on the besiegers, destroying them in a bloodbath in defence of New Jerusalem and the heir, through his mother, to King Majohitep. In gratitude, the Exarch granted the Indians imperial citizenship.