On April 26, 1289, the Mamluk Sultanate, led by Sultan Qalawun, captured the Crusader state of the County of Tripoli after a month-long siege. The fall of Tripoli was a major blow to the Crusader presence in the Holy Land, reducing their holdings to a few coastal cities. The event underscored the decline of the Crusader states and the rising power of the Mamluks, who would soon capture the last Crusader stronghold of Acre in 1291.

The Fall of Tripoli was a tragic event for the Latin East that was recorded in numerous chronicles, including those of the Templar of Tyre. The siege and its aftermath inspired a sense of loss and despair in Western European literature, reflected in lamentation poems and apocalyptic texts that saw the fall of the Crusader states as a sign of God's displeasure. This event contributed to the literary tradition of crusading literature, which combined historical narrative with religious and moral reflection.