The fall of Acre in 1291 turned Llull from pacifistic persuasion toward crusade

Evidence

The youthful Llull may have been naively optimistic that his logical argumentation mediante fide, employing his Art, could convert the Saracen and Jewish masses. In his Vita coaetanea, Llull came to realize that his task would not be so easy, and he was quick to blame the rich and powerful (among Saracens and Christians) who, out of spite and worldly ambition, failed to be convinced by his methods. Llull finally embraced crusade following the fall of Acre in 1291. … Ghazan in 1302 wrote to Pope Boniface VIII proposing an anti-Muslim alliance, but in 1303 he was defeated by the Mamluks. Llull learned that the khan had converted to Islam, not Christianity. Christendom would have to make practical plans for crusade without counting on Eastern allies. He wrote a series of tracts arguing for the necessity of an expedition to recovery the Holy Land—a crusade to be accompanied by missionaries trained in Arabic and in Llull’s Art. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1326

Categorization

• QUESTION: The Mongol khan’s conversion to Islam instead of Christianity is a pivotal geopolitical twist worth investigating further — how did Western Christendom’s alliance hopes actually play out?
• XREF: Connects to imperial/religious alliance dynamics in other medieval history readings; also the theme of missionaries vs. military force echoing in earlier Llull chapters.