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			Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV (b.1227-d.1292) reigned during the fall of the last Crusader state at Acre in 1291. The fall of Acre is often cited as effectively ending any substantive Christian authority in the Holy Land. Like his predecessors, Pope Nicholas IV did not want to see crusading efforts end and devoted considerable, but unsuccessful, efforts to the calling of a new crusade. The zeal Nicholas demonstated for a crusade after the fall of Acre may have been inspired by grumblings about his early leadership, specifically his lack of attention to the situation in the East. At the time of his pontificate there existed considerable criticism over internal crusades against heretics or other Catholics like Frederick II and his descendants. The main complaint was that such crusades diverted valuable resources from the Latin East. Christians in the East had been making their displeasure with such efforts known for decades. In the wake of the fall of Tripoli in 1289, only one year after Nicholas became Pope, he was rebuked by a Templar messenger from the East. The Templar complained of Nicholas's support for crusading efforts in Sicily and noted that such strength and resources should have been used in the Holy Land. In the wake of the fall of Acre, Nicholas turned his attention to the East and he called upon various Christian princes to lead a new expedition to the Holy Land. The Pope oversaw provincial synods during which plans for a new crusade were debated. Among the issues discussed were the union of the Knights Templars and the Knights of St. John out of fear that tensions between the orders had made the fall of Acre possible. This was not a new idea as discussion of a union between the two orders had taken place as early as the Council of Lyon in 1274. In the wake of the disasterous fall of Tripoli in 1289 and Acre in 1291, both taking place during his pontificate, Nicolas was open to to any potential solutions and encouraged open debate on the union of the orders. Ultimately, the pope's efforts produced nothing substantive in terms of actually launching another crusade and his death in 1292 ended his efforts. Crusader Popes- Crusades-Encyclopedia Tripoli- Crusades-Encyclopedia Acre- Crusades-Encyclopedia Council of Lyon, 1274- Crusades-Encyclopedia Knights Templars- Crusades-Encyclopedia Frederick II- Crusades-Encyclopedia (c) Andrew Holt, June 2005-Permission is granted for electronic copying and distribution io print for educational and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.