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How did Marseille regain prosperity during the Crusades?

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View of the old port of Marseille, France, with numerous boats docked in the harbor and the city's terracotta-roofed buildings rising up a hill, topped by the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica. — Marseille Seaside view of the Old Port of Marseille, France.

Marseille regained its prosperity during the Middle Ages by serving as a vital shipping and staging point for the Crusades.1

Following a long period of decline that left the city in ruins, it was repopulated in the 10th century under the protection of the viscounts of Provence. This strategic role in the Crusades facilitated the city's economic revival, eventually allowing it to purchase the rights of the viscounts and establish itself as a republic centered around the Old Port by the beginning of the 13th century.1